Eggleston Hall Nursery & Gardens.

Eggleston Hall Walled Nursery and Gardens lies in the heart of Teesdale, on the upper course of the river Tees. 

Which means technically, living a bit further down the Tees, I could get to the gardens via rubber dingy.

But in the end I  (my partner) decided it would be easier just to take the car. A 40 minute journey and we had arrived. 

But before entering there was just enough time for a bit of food and a cuppa in the tea rooms – good enough to be the sole reason for visiting; but it wasn’t. We were here for the Gardens.

There’s no ticket office here. Just this, an honesty box: 

‘outside the garden shop, atop a chimney pot’

At 2.50 a head it really is a steal; this place puts a lot of other public gardens to shame. We gladly popped a fiver in.

You can pick up a leaflet at the honesty box which gives detail of the garden trail that you’ve just paid for – simply follow the numbered stones. It also tells you a little about the history of the place:

Whilst we tried to stick to the garden trail, it was easy to veer off and in the end, we just roamed without aim. First we were taken to the herbaceous borders;

Which, for an Autumn that started well before summer was supposed to end, for the heart of Teesdale, high up in the hills, were looking amazing. 

It’s here you also get a glimpse into the restored Victorian greenhouses; as mentioned in the leaflet above.

Beautifully done, which makes me very happy indeed.

There’s also a wishing pool:

As if the place wasn’t charming enough already.

Still sticking to the trail, as you carry on down the winding paths, you’ll pass more herbacious perennials, shrubs and large trees:

Taking a quick detour (forced by curiosity.) 

You’ll be taken down to the old churchyard:

The leaflet says that the ruined chapel dates back to 1612, with the gravestones reflecting this. It’s where a lot of Egglestone rarest plants lie.

And inside the chapel, large, Mature Trees now grow:

What charm. It’s even nicer in  early spring. This was when I last visited:

Taking the steps back up to the main Gardens, we followed the outside wall which had a collection of beautiful roses trained along it:

There’s also nails embedded in the wall: some of which, were knocked in by gardeners 100’s of years ago.

Through an archway:

And past the behind the scenes bits:

Potting shed.

Which in all great Gardens, you should never be too far away from ( I think anyway.)

You’ll reach the Nursery, which is just as wonderful as the formal areas, if on an enormous scale:

It’s in the actual walled garden, but there’s so many plant’s, you can barely see the wall until your next to it. All grown on site; all for sale. Apart from the ones that are being kept future years stock:

Emersed in taking photos, we sort of lost track of the official garden trail. So we just aimlessly roamed:

The wall is adorned with lots of espalier fruits:

And also the Angel of the North:

And proper walled garden gates:

There’s step over Apples, leading to a pergola of apples:

And, high in the hills, plenty of windfalls. 

A stream leads you back to the shop and entrance:

But firstly you’ll pass the Hosta House,

Which, for any Hosta lover is a paradise.

The shop area is planted beautifully: 

And all kinds of wildlife ( although I’m not sure this last one really counts)

And inside, like out, there’s ghosts:

This is a true plantsmans nursery. Ran by true plantsmen. From the leaflet: 

It’s so much more than that though. Eggleston is  a special place. Unique, Warm and honest. Magic.

The owners of Eggleston Gardens and Nursery have generously set up a brilliant YouTube Channel; on it you can find out a lot more about the nursery , and indeed what it takes to run one. Search on Youtube ‘ Plantsmans Corner’ or ‘Eggleston gardens’ . It’s a brilliantly funny learning resource for the budding horticulturalist. You’ll learn a hell of a lot from it.