The Cumbrian visitor attraction will reopen for its 2022 season on April 3 and will then be
open every week, (Sunday to Thursday), until October 6, providing many opportunities to
explore the unique facets to this family home, much loved by its owners, the Bagot family.
This year, a new audio guide takes visitors through the many pleasures to be found in Levens
Hall & Gardens’ outdoor space, whilst also hinting at some of the remarkable things to be
found inside the Hall. The audio does not just focus on one of the most remarkable things
about Levens Hall & Gardens – the world’s oldest topiary garden – but also highlights many
other pleasures to see and enjoy and the hard work that goes into making the gardens the
delight they are today.
The Topiary Garden will this year be the star attraction when it comes to the second World
Topiary Day on May 12. Levens Hall & Gardens founded this celebration in 2021 and will this
year see it embraced by around 60 gardens worldwide, including Versailles, Eyrignac et Ses
Jardins and Les Jardins Suspendus de Marqueyssac in France, Longwood Gardens, Jardins de
Buis and Ladew Gardens in the USA, Palheiro Gardens in Madeira, Pazo Pegullal in Spain and
Kragenhof in Belgium.
The day, and the following Sunday (May 15) will be a focus of special activities and tours,
encouraging visitors to come and see topiary trees that have seen over three centuries pass
by in gardens founded in 1694.
Over 100 clipped trees, in dramatic, geometric, abstract and character-filled shapes, can be
enjoyed, including the Great Umbrella Tree, the Toppling Wedding Cake, Queen Elizabeth I
and her Maids of Honour, the Judge’s Wig and the Jug of Morocco Ale.
Levens Hall & Gardens, set against the landscape of the Lakeland Fells, boasts a living garden,
which means that no week offers the same experience that is delivered the week before. This
is, in part, due to the wonderful herbaceous borders, which brim with colour regardless of
season. Some colour schemes operate in a zonal fashion, with one part of the garden boasting
Pastel Borders and another with what are known as the ‘Red Borders’.
Many varieties of rose, often hybridised to combine a traditional and modern variety, offer
delightful fragrances and scents, whilst spring visitors can also breathe in the scent of wild
garlic, which grows under the huge beech hedges, also a feature here since the garden was
founded by Guillaume Beaumont, a former gardener to King James II.
Venturing further around the garden enables the visitor to appreciate another feature that has
played a huge part in the history of garden design – the first ha-ha ever built in Britain. This
ha-ha – a small hidden wall in a ditch - enabled the garden’s owners to enjoy uninterrupted
views of the landscape, whilst keeping livestock and any floodwaters back and demonstrated
how gardens could achieve astounding views, free from fences and walls.
The gardens are not the only remarkable thing about Levens Hall & Gardens, however. The
Hall opens at 10am for guided tours (subject to availability on the day) and between 11am
and 3.30pm for general admission (last entry at 3pm) and has much for the visitor to
appreciate.
Levens Hall has strong connections to the Duke of Wellington, whose niece, Lady Mary
Wellesley, married into the Bagot family, and there are various items which belonged to the
Duke and his adversary, Napoleon. A bowling green bowl is also said to have been used by
Sir Francis Drake, whilst playing the game on Plymouth Hoe as the Spanish Armada appeared
on the horizon.
Other things not to miss at what is the largest Elizabethan house in Cumbria, include the
oldest English patchwork in existence, which dates back to 1708 and was crafted by the wife
of the Hall’s 17th century owner, Colonel James Grahme, and his daughters. Visitors can also
relish the Spanish leathers on the property’s interior walls, the ornate plasterwork and fine
oak panelling, not to mention the fine collection of clocks, which were a passion of past
owners.
When not appreciating the fine interior, furnishings and objets d’art inside the family home,
or wandering the extensive grounds, visitors can treat themselves to fabulous meals, cakes
and bakes and even pizzas in the contemporary café, Levens Kitchen, or spend time in the
gift shop.
Those wanting to take advantage of the stunning location for exercise and a good intake of
fresh Lakeland air, can extend their day out by venturing into medieval Levens Deer Park, just
across the road from the historic home. In 1790, this was described as “the sweetest spot
that fancy can imagine” and an hour-long circular walk, which can be lengthened to a 3.5
hour circular walk taking in scenery to the north east of Levens Hall towards Kendal, can
create a deep understanding of why this is still very true today.
Pathways allows the visitor to explore the park, view the River Kent flowing through the
terrain, and take stunning pictures of the many trees and varieties of bird and wildlife that call
it home. These include Levens Hall & Gardens’ own herd of 90 Norwegian black fallow deer
and the rare-breed Bagot goats, which feature on the Bagot family’s coat of arms. The park
is also the perfect place for a picnic, as long as visitors take their litter home with them.
With so many more things to see at Levens Hall and Gardens, it is the perfect place to visit in
2022. Whether you wish to explore indoor treasures from across various centuries, stunning
and unique gardens, a scenic park filled with wonderful natural facets, or an eatery to tempt
the taste buds, Levens Hall and Gardens has it all.