Acorn Bank Virtual Garden Tour

The Orchard and Dovecote at Acorn Bank, Cumbria — © National Trust/Melvin Jefferson

As part of our virtual garden tour series, we are diving into lots of gorgeous gardens, offering history alongside current videos and photographs from the people who run them. It’s not as perfect as wandering the borders in person, but watching a little slice of what’s happening in gardens throughout the country is a lovely way to spend some down time.

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Summer house, Iford Manor — © Marianne Cartwright-Hignett

This time we're peeking inside the National Trust's beautiful Acorn Bank Garden near Penrith in Cumbria. Head gardener Heather Birkett shows us around sections of the garden, which was a Knight's Templar site in the 1200s. It was donated to the National Trust in 1950. Discover our other virtual garden tours here.

Author Dorothy Una Ratcliffe donated Acorn Bank to the National Trust and the oldest part of the garden, the Italianate Sunken Garden, dates back to the mid 1600s. The ornamental pond in the Sunken Garden is home to all three native species of Newt – Palmate, Smooth and Great Crested.

The garden has the largest herb collection of the National Trust and the herbs include dye, industrial, culinary and strewing herbs. There is also a significant reference collection of 175 apple cultivars, with a specific focus on heritage varieties from the north west of England and other cultivars that can cope in the cold and damp climate.

One of the walls in the Herb Garden was originally heated using internal horizontal flues connected to 3 fireplaces. This extra warmth was used to keep frost off apricot blossom. Some of the apricots grown here were given to Lady Anne Clifford in the 1660’s along with some damsons. We still have lots of damson trees in this part of the garden, but now our apricots are grown in the greenhouse!

Interesting plants at Acorn Bank

Narcissus ‘Telemonius Plenus’ – a frilly double cultivar that dates from 1600s
Malus ‘Lemon Square’ – an apple cultivar particular to the Eden Valley in Cumbria, home to Acorn Bank. Thought to be very closely related genetically to ‘Golden Spire’, but here at Acorn Bank behaves quite differently.
The smallest plant in the Herb Collection is Smooth Rupturewort (Herniaria glabra). Never growing taller than 4cm, it forms a lovely bright green mat. Traditionally used to treat urinary tract infections and cystitis, and was only harvested whilst in flower. It grows easily from seed and would make an interesting alternative to grass for a lawn!