The Alnwick Garden
The Alnwick Garden
4
10:00 - 16:00
Monday
10:00 - 16:00
Tuesday
10:00 - 16:00
Wednesday
10:00 - 16:00
Thursday
10:00 - 16:00
Friday
10:00 - 16:00
Saturday
10:00 - 16:00
Sunday
10:00 - 16:00
About
The Alnwick Garden is one of the world’s most extraordinary contemporary gardens. From poisonous plants and treetop walkways to glorious roses and towering delphiniums, the Duchess of Northumberland’s vision for a forgotten plot is now a truly 21st century experience full of imagination and fun, all brought to life with water.
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  • Margaret S
    5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Delightful, playful and imaginative.
    What a delightful surprise the garden was. Apparently it was the Duchess of Northumberland’s vision and forethought to transform the wasteland area, and what a transformation was created. Congratulations to the staff we engaged with, they were knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. I would recommend a visit for old and young alike. It’s wheel chair friendly and very accessible. We will return when the weather warms up and the blossom in flower.
    Hi Margaret, Thank you for your excellent feedback. The team here at The Alnwick Garden pride ourselves on being a garden for everyone, so we are delighted that you would recommend The Alnwick Garden for old and young alike. We are pleased to hear you found the staff engaging, knowledgeable, friendly and helpful, we have passed on your kind comments. The team here at The Alnwick Garden are looking forward to you visiting again in the future.
    Written 27 March 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 20 March 2023
  • daverose1972
    Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent Customer Service
    We visited Alnwick Gardens for Afternoon Tea.We we’re very impressed with all the Staff working there. They all smiled and spoke as we passed them. We were most impressed by a staff member who phoned us when we left our brollies in the eating area and then kindly brought them to the car park. We shall certainly visit again when the plants/flowers are in full bloom.
    Hi Dave, For you to say "We were very impressed with all the Staff working there" makes our day. Thank you for such a fantastic review. We strive to provide superior customer service and really appreciate your kind words. We are looking forward to you visiting us again.
    Written 29 March 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited March 2023
    Written 28 March 2023
  • katia3223
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lovely afternoon tea
    We booked in for afternoon tea. The food was great. Attentive staff that topped our drinks up and didn't complain about the numerous water refills my daughter requested. Finished off with a lovely walk around the garden. It was great day out.
    Hi Katia, Thank you for your very kind review. We are happy to hear you felt taken care of. We put in the work to keep you and all of our customers happy. Your kind words are greatly appreciated. We hope to see you again in the future. Have a nice day ahead.
    Written 29 March 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 28 March 2023
  • Intarsia80
    Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom34 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A Morning well spent
    A lovely garden to walk around. So many thoughtful touches like the swing seats amongst the cherry blossoms, which must look wonderful in May and June. We had a tour of the poison garden and picked up lots of fascinating information from the friendly guide. Finished off with tea and cake in the cafe, which has great views of the water features. The fountains came on as we sat there and made the kids say ‘Wow!’.
    Good Afternoon, Thank you so much for your kind words. We really appreciate you taking the time out to share your experience with us - we agree, the poison garden is fascinating and our guides are friendly. We look forward to you visiting again soon.
    Written 3 April 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited April 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 2 April 2023
  • Suilven
    Scotland, United Kingdom183 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Really impressive and enjoyable, but it could be better still
    It’s a good place to take children, who particularly enjoy the fountains and the ride-on tractors and excavators. It might be best to take dry clothes for them, as they tend to want to dodge the fountains, not very successfully. The walk through the cherry orchard is pleasant and the adult swings are an excellent idea. The downsides? Well, it’s not a cheap day out, but then again the cost of running it all must be considerable. On that theme, we noticed that the fountain sequence seemed to be running less frequently than on our last visit, perhaps to keep the electricity bills down. The cafe is still a shambles. It can take half an hour to buy a snack and a drink. What is needed is a free-flow arrangement so that people can choose what they want (perhaps just a coffee) and then make for one of two or three tills. Instead, everyone has to queue while endless coffees are individually made. There are perfectly respectable self-service coffee machines these days, which would save all the hassle. And it might be an idea to tell the otherwise excellent guides in the Poison Garden to leave out the jokes about French people and not to assume that we all voted for Brexit. I know it’s meant to be entertainment but those elements came across as crass and unprofessional.
    Good Morning Suilven, Thank you for taking the time to share such a detailed review about your recent experience at The Alnwick Garden. We are sorry to hear that you were not pleased with the experience in the café, however, it is helpful to know how our visitors experience different aspects of the garden. Thank you for your suggestions and feedback, we take into consideration every piece of feedback we receive as it gives us the opportunity to continually improve. If you have any other feedback, please send to feedback@alnwickgarden.com. Thank you
    Written 4 April 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited April 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 3 April 2023
  • Hawklord_pxr5
    Galashiels, United Kingdom874 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wonderful gardens, but very busy
    This is a quite wonderful place, with an amazing array of plants, but was extremely busy when we visited, which made it difficult to relax. The water feature was really nice, most interesting bit was the Poison Garden, our guide was excellent. There’s a number of different places to have a snack, but queues were too long so we left and went into town.
    Thank you for taking the time out to leave us your review and valuable feedback. We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed The Poison Garden tour, the guides in The Poison Garden take pride in providing interesting tours and sharing their vast knowledge. Thank you again, and we hope to see you again at The Alnwick Garden in the future.
    Written 13 April 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited April 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 12 April 2023
  • Discover40673724140
    1 contribution
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Poor afternoon tea
    My daughter took me for a birthday treat as I have been several times and love the gardens. The cherry orchard was lovely but otherwise not much colour in the garden down to the recent cold weather. Neither of us liked the jaws shark in the top pond , we thought it looked very tacky. We had afternoon tea booked for one but got to the cafe about 25 mins early. But we were told just to take a seat and she wd get to us as early as possible. 40 mins later we were still seating and had to ask again the waitress didn’t apologise and pretended we hadn’t been forgotten about. Eventually we got our tea. Very disappointing bread was dry consisted only fsmoked salmon sandwich a dry chicken one and a cheese one smothered in a tomato relish. A sausage roll a scone with hardly any fruit in it. There was a tiny rock hard lemon meringue a bit of cake and a sort of deconstructed cheesecake. Not nice. I would have complained but all the staff disappeared again and I didn’t want to waste anymore time. To be fair to the staff they were very overworked and queues were long. It spoilt our day as it was so poor.
    Thank you for taking the time out to send us your very valuable feedback. We are very sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations. Your feedback has been passed on to the relevant departments and will be used to improve our services. We really appreciate your feedback and if you wish to offer any further feedback, please email feedback@alnwickgarden.com as we would love to hear from you.
    Written 21 April 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited April 2023
    Written 20 April 2023
  • junew2016
    32 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Blossom time
    This garden is small but perfect. The topiary is incredible and the water features are fascinating. We were lucky enough to visit when the cherry trees were in blossom which was magical. The only disappointment was the cafe which was poorly stocked and poorly staffed with long queues.
    Thank you for your excellent review, we agree The Cherry Orchard is truly magical during blossom season. We appreciate your feedback reference the café as we are always looking for ways to improve our services for you and all our visitors. We hope to see you again at The Alnwick Garden again in the future.
    Written 26 April 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited April 2023
    Written 21 April 2023
  • carolyn r
    Harrogate, United Kingdom17 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Unfriendly Staff and overpriced food
    The gardens are good. The cherry blossom at this time of the year was really lovely. However, overpriced food, some of the staff were rude and abrupt. Never known anywhere else when you buy an annual pass that you have to have your photo taken. It certainly does not mention this on the website that you will have to have this done.
    Hi Carolyn, Thank you for your review and your feedback. We really appreciate your feedback as it will help us to continually improve experiences for you and all our visitors.
    Written 26 April 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited April 2023
    Written 25 April 2023
  • jennyO1440DG
    Chapel-en-le-Frith, United Kingdom5 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Disappointing experience.
    We are keen gardeners and were really looking forward to seeing a lovely garden. This is not a garden for plants people. The layout design was good and the ornamental garden was well maintained, however I suspect that many were planted for the season. We came away thinking that you can achieve anything if you throw enough money at it. Our overall impression was that it is a place for tourists to spend a couple of hours. The cherry trees were impressive because of the number of trees planted but the atmosphere was completely spoiled by the numbers of visitors. In addition we felt that the entry fee was too high.
    Hi Jenny, Thank you for taking the time out to offer us your feedback. We really do appreciate you sharing your experience with us as a keen gardener. We are pleased you appreciate how well the ornamental garden was maintained as our Garden team work incredibly hard to maintain it and the rest of the Garden all year round. We do hope you will visit again later in the year to see the difference when other parts of the Garden are in full bloom.
    Written 26 April 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited April 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 25 April 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles5,072 reviews
Excellent
2,781
Very good
1,236
Average
569
Poor
282
Terrible
204

ema654
Selkirk, UK54 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Family
Lovely day out. Great little trail for kids to follow and staff very enthusiastic and friendly.

We will definitely be back in summer
Written 28 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi ema654, Thank you so much for your excellent review and rating! We are all looking forward to welcoming you back in the summer.
Written 28 February 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

GEF1986
Leicestershire, UK195 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Family
We enjoyed exploring the gardens ar Alnwick. We bought the offer tickets to get into Lilidorie and Alnwick Gardens.

The children's quiz at the Gardens gave us the opportunity to go around d the various areas and explore.

We ate in the restaurant area opposite the fountain and the food was nice.
Written 20 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi GEF1986, Thank you so much for taking the time to review us and share your experience with us. We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the trail around The Garden! We agree, it is a good way to explore all the different areas and elements of the Garden. We hope we will be able to welcome you all back to The Alnwick Garden again in the future.
Written 23 February 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

ballyduffboy
Todmorden, UK2 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
Kids really enjoyed the giant play area- it was a late booking so was really Christmasy but very cold!!! Food afterwards was very reasonable and better than I expected- only quibble was no where really for adults to sit
Written 17 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi ballyduffboy, Thank you so much for your review. We are thrilled to hear the kids enjoyed their experience. We are also grateful for your feedback that has been noted and will be considered as we make changes in the future.
Written 19 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

EnglandCath
Wirral, UK239 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Friends
WOW what a place. The gardens are great and the fountains are amazing. We toured the poison garden which was very interesting. It is unsuitable for disabled but hubby had a scooter from the castle for the day and went everywhere in that. My only gripe was the cafe. Lunch was dried out and staff were a bit surly.
Written 27 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi EnglandCath, Thank you for taking the time to review us and share your experience with us. We are thrilled to hear that you thought that The Garden and Cascade were amazing and also enjoyed The Poison Garden! We have noted your feedback and we have passed this to the appropriate department so we can make the necessary changes. We hope we will be able to welcome you all back to The Alnwick Garden in the future.
Written 3 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

julie60
Blackpool, UK666 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
Came for the Christmas light trail and absolutely loved it. Completely magical. We were there an hour but could’ve stayed longer. Brilliantly matched with the music. My husband wasn’t that bothered about going but he loved it too. Made our Christmas holiday!
Written 26 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi julie60, Thank you so much your excellent review. We are delighted that you all had a magical experience when you visited the Light Trail at The Alnwick Garden and we are so pleased to hear that it made your Christmas holiday. We hope we will be able to welcome you all back again next year.
Written 3 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Bluebell_Skye
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK102 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
I’ve been to the light trail for a few years now and can see that the range improves each year. Some lovely additions
However last year there were little stalls situated on the trail that were absent this year . The trail through the cherry orchard needs revising. It’s dangerous due to lack of lighting. I saw many people struggling. I missed the sound show coming out of the orchards which you had last year. Rather abrupt female member of staff as we completed the trail and prepared to go home. She seemed surprised we were leaving
We went to northern lights too and felt they had the right balance of lighting and accessible pathways
Written 17 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Bluebell_Skye, Thank you for your review and feedback. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed the latest additions to the Light Trail. Have noted your feedback and it will be considered as we make changes. We are grateful for your feedback as it gives us the opportunity to improve our services for you and all our visitors in the future.
Written 3 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Amy L W
18 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
Many parts of the garden were fenced off due to the night light trail. This included some of the ramps for disabled access. Couldn't get near the fountains at all as fenced off.

Poison garden tour - this seemed very rushed and we only got info on a handful of plants, we didn't even get a chance to read the info on the wall linked to the killers. This is a shame as part of reason we went. Told there was a book in gift shop but couldn't find it.
Written 9 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi amylw2020' Thank you for sharing your feedback. We are sorry that your experience was not as good as you had hope. At The Alnwick Garden, we strive to provide the best experience we can for our customers, so it is disappointing to hear that you found that this was not the case. We take our customers’ feedback very seriously, and we are grateful to you for reaching out to us. It is by feedback like yours that we are able to continually improve experiences in the future.
Written 20 December 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Elaine J
Wallsend, UK8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
We have visited the light trail tonight. It was absolutely amazing definitely worth visiting. We will come again next year. The path ways had lights along the way. There was one path that wasn’t lit but there was a member of staff advising that the light was off and it was dark.
Written 9 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi 898elainej, Thank you for taking the time to leave us your excellent review. We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your visit to The Light Trail, and just as pleased to hear that you will visit us again next year! We are looking forward to welcoming you all back next year.
Written 20 December 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Suestcolumba
Hull, England11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Friends
We went to see the Christmas Lights in the Alnwick Garden and we were very impressd with all the work that had gone into it. It was very colourful and there were surprises around every corner. We also visited The Pinery in the gardens which is a lovely gift shop holding some very unusual items. My friend liked one of the lovely neck warmers but I didn't have any cash on me as we were on a coach trip and I had left my bag on the bus. So when I arrived home I contacted them by email. They were very helpful, especially Wayne Blenkin. He sent photos of the item and packaged it up to send to my friend. He went above and beyond to help us and I shall definitely go there again.
Written 6 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Suestcolumba, Thank you for your excellent review and kind feedback. We are thrilled to read that you enjoyed your visit to The Light Trail. Wayne would be excited to know how pleased you were with his service! Wayne is always going the extra mile to help all our visitors, and we are so lucky to have him. We will definitely share this with him. We are all looking forward to welcoming you back to The Alnwick Garden in the future.
Written 11 December 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Chris L
Morpeth, UK8 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
Travelled to the gardens as a local to see the garden light trail. Unfortunately the path was not very well lit and very hard to follow. There needs to be more light on the path and better directions. First chance to get a drink and staff in the teepee didn’t know how to work the coffee machine. So purchased one of the most boring hot chocolates I’ve ever had in my life. No cream no marshmallows. Very disappointed in the whole experience.
Written 5 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi chrisIA5081YL, Thank you for your review. We are sorry to hear that you were left disappointed with your most recent experience. We are grateful for your honest feedback and it has been noted by the appropriate departments. We strive to offer all our visitors a great experience, so it is disappointing when we hear that any of our visitors felt that wasn't the case. We can assure you that we will make the necessary changes to avoid things like this happening in the future.
Written 11 December 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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