Forgotten garden opens to public at Gawthorpe Hall

Gawthorpe Hall is the final stop on The Brontë Way, a route with strong associations with Charlotte Brontë

A forgotten garden hidden in the grounds of an Elizabethan mansion will be opened to the public after being "transformed" by volunteers.

The walled garden at Gawthorpe Hall, Padiham, will be open throughout the year after a team of National Trust rangers and volunteers worked to bring it back to life.

Its opening aims to show visitors how the landscape and local wildlife is conserved.

Nik Taylor, lead ranger at Gawthorpe Hall, said it was "really exciting to share this special place with our visitors" after "a lot of hard work".

Situated on Burnley Road, the forgotten garden was formally known as the kitchen garden and included a cottage, one or more bothies (accommodation for under-gardeners and "journeymen") a potting shed, a boiler-house and other buildings likely to be used for storage.

It now houses an outdoor yurt - to be used for educational talks and crafts - beehives, fruit trees, a wild meadow, and an area dedicated to growing plants and vegetables.

"Come and meet us and learn how the garden would have looked, how its purpose has changed through the ages and how we now use it as a hub for our community work in the wider estate,” Mr Taylor added.

A second-hand bookshop, run by volunteers, has also opened onsite.

The first event in the walled garden, Bio Blitz, will take place in the garden on 15 June - an session to find and identify as many species of plants, animals and fungi as possible.