The Alnwick Garden was created from the late 1990s by Jane Percy, the Duchess of Northumberland, on the site of a walled garden that had been derelict for decades. The ambition was to build something truly contemporary — not a recreation of a historic garden but a series of new experiences — and the result is one of the most visited gardens in Britain, attracting around 400,000 visitors a year.
The Grand Cascade at the entrance is the signature feature: a series of water jets and channels that tumble down 120 jets of water in a choreographed display that changes every 30 minutes. Beyond it, the garden is divided into distinct areas — the Rose Garden (the world's largest collection of fragrant roses, with 3,000 plants), the Ornamental Garden, the Serpent Garden with its water sculptures, a treehouse restaurant, and the infamous Poison Garden. The treehouse, built among a group of large trees, is one of the most distinctive restaurants in northern England and worth visiting in its own right even if you don't have tickets for the garden.