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Please use the following format and info on your own site to link to your page in Gardens-Guide.com: at Gardens-Guide.com http://www.gardens-guide.com The premiere directory of open gardens in the UK and Ireland today Ask your friends and suppliers as well to link to your page in Gardens-Guide as well. Every link we get into your page helps rankings for both of us in search engines. **************************************************************** **************************************************************** **************************************************************** Garden Name: Sizergh Castle Last Modified: 19-01-2011 Garden ID: 0417 pic: 0417_Sizergh.jpg NOTE: If this says "missing", then please send us a picture for your page which is at least 1000 x 1000 pixels in size. Thanks! Owner: National Trust Address: Kendal Postcode: LA8 8AE County: Cumbria tel: 015395 60951 fax: website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-sizerghcastlegarden email: sizergh //at// nationaltrust.org.uk English Heritage Grade: II* Opening Times: NOTE for 2012: Please check with garden owners or their website to confirm current dates open http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-sizerghcastlegarden 13th Mar - 30th Oct, daily, 11am - 5pm, 31st Oct - 31st Dec; daily; 11am - 4pm Last admission 30mins before closing Best Times of Year to Visit: To see: National Collection: National Garden Scheme days: No Comments: Parties / Coaches: Yes Comments: Viewing by Appointment: Yes Comments: House Open for Viewing: Yes Comments: Castle: 13th Mar - 30th Oct, Sun - Thurs; 12noon - 5pm, (access 12noon-1pm by guided tour only, freeflow from 1pm) Admission Prices: Gift Aid Admission (Standard Admission prices in brackets) House and garden: adult £8.45 (£7.65), child £4.30 (£3.90), family £19.80 (£17.90), family (1 adult) £11.90 (£10.75). Garden: adult £5.50 (£5), child £2.85 (£2.55). Reduced rate when arriving by bicycle or public transport Parking: Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes Shop: Yes Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: Yes Teas: Yes Refreshments: Yes Picnics: Yes Dogs allowed: No Only on Lead: No Events: Yes Other Facilities: Manual & powered buggies available, guided walks. Features: Beautiful medieval house, extended in Elizabethan times, surrounded by rich gardens and estate in Cumbria's special limestone country; Exceptional series of oak-panelled rooms culminating in the Inlaid Chamber; Portraits, fine furniture and ceramics accumulated over centuries on display; Garden includes two lakes and a superb rock garden; Many walks from the castle to dramatic viewpoints over Morecambe Bay to the Lake District fells; Still inhabited by the Strickland family by whom it was built in the Middle Ages Designer: Description of Garden: Two of the main features in this garden are the 14th century Pele-tower covered in climbers which in autumn glows a fiery red and the Rock Garden, much restored by the Trust, which is rightly regarded as one of the best in the country. It is set in a dell fed by streams, pools and waterfalls from the lake above. When first planted, it was quite open but encroaching conifers have made it more secluded as time has passed. These conifers, many of the dwarf varieties, especially on the lower banks, are features in themselves and make the numerous winding walks amongst them a very enjoyable experience. In the Rock Garden the original alpines have been replaced by wet-loving plants, especially ferns, making this one of the best collections in Britain, but the main reason why the Rock Garden is so successful is that it sits well amongst the limestone outcrops, screes and cliffs that abound naturally on the large 1,500 acre estate. Nearer to the castle, the terraces with their shrubs and climbers, glorious in their autumn tints, the spectacular maples and recently restored Dutch Garden full of flowering cherries, make this a garden to be visited from early Spring to late Autumn with so much to delight the eye at all times. History: Sizergh Castle was originally built as a bastion against the marauding Scots to the north on one of the few passable routes south for invading bands. It was the home of the Strickland family for 750 years before being acquired by the National Trust. The firm of T. R. Hayes of Ambleside was brought in in 1926 to design and build the rock garden using natural local limestone materials. They were also responsible for some of the terracing near the house and a flight of stone steps leading down to a tower above the lake. Local Inns: Punch Bowl Inn, Crosthwaite Strickland Arms at entrance to property Accomodation: Crosthwaite House, Crosthwaite Uplands Hotel, Cartmel Punch Bowl Inn, Crosthwaite Restaurants: Village/Town/Sightseeing: