We were kindly invited along to The Alnwick Garden to experience the utterly beautiful Cherry Blossom Trees in all their glory.
We have been to The Alnwick Garden many times over the years and we always have an annual pass because we love to experience the popular attraction throughout the year, however we have never managed to see the Cherry Blossom before, as we were always too late or too early or too busy! So when they invited us along, we obviously said yes!
We got to visit at 9am before the public started entering which was a great help, because it meant we had more options for photos without worrying about other peoples' kids in the photos.
Scroll on to view our recent photos.
A bit about the Orchard
The Cherry Blossom Orchard is made up of the Taihaku Blossom Trees, in fact they have over 300 of them and this is the largest collection of this particular blossom tree outside of Japan.
In 1926 Captain Collingwood Ingram was invited to Japan to give a lecture, here he was shown a book and it had a photo of the Taihaku tree which had become extinct. He then recognised the blossom on a tree in a Sussex garden and took a cutting. From this he was the able to reintroduce the species back in Japan in 1932 . All of the Trees at The Alnwick Garden are offspring of that Sussex tree. How amazing is that! The Taihaku is also known as the Great White Blossom Tree. The trees are currently in bloom now and you have around 2 weeks to experience the beautiful blossom before it all falls off. If you follow The Alnwick Gardens on social media they do let you know when they are ready and you can watch on the blossom watch cam.
Don't let that put you off though because the same trees are stunning during Autumn too with a coppery orange tone. (I have added photos below for you to see)
What else can you do at The Alnwick Garden
The Poison Garden Tours
Rose Garden
The Grand Water Cascade (gorgeous in the summer when it's hot outside)
Serpent Garden
Ornamental Garden
Bamboo Labyrinth (The boys love this) I do too when it's boiling because you get the lovely shade.
Cherry Orchard
Roots & Shoots garden
Woodland Walk
Need To Know
Admission prices apply to enter the Garden. You can book online if you don't already have an annual pass there's a hut set up for day admissions.
Toilets/changing rooms
Shop
Café (The Ice cream is delicious!)
Mini Golf (separate fees and entrance)
Alnwick Castle (separate fee and entrance)
Combine the above with the Gardens you could spend a full day here
Car park close to the entrance for disabled, other parking is across the road.
No dogs allowed in the Gardens except guide dogs
The Poison Garden Tours every 30 minutes (I would suggest 6+ based on grabby hands and how toxic some of the plants are)
Alnwick is a fantastic place to head for a day out we highly recommend a visit.
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