Gardens

Wortley Hall's Gardens stand 11 miles to the north west of Sheffield in the village of Wortley. A sweeping driveway from the village leads you to the magnificent 26 acres of Gardens, which are laid out in the Italianate style on an eastward facing slope enjoying magnificent views through the vale of Worsborough and beyond.

Within the 11 acres of formal Gardens you will find a great deal to interest the keen horticulturist the 100 metre long Peace Walk planted with herbaceous perennials on one side and old English Roses on the other, a Lavender walk which becomes a sea of deep blue in June and July visited by honey bees and butterflies in their thousands, a sunken garden planted with dwarf Azaleas and Rhododendrons; which are a haze of colour in late May to early June. Under the south facing Palladian front of the Hall, the Italianate terracing and many of the formal features remain but what was once a parterre garden, is now lawned. This sets off the magnificent displays of Summer bedding in the urns and around the fountain, which brings a spectacular blast of colour during the Summer months.

The 15 acres of pleasure grounds really are a treat for any Arboriculturist with plantings, from the 17^th and 18^th Century, including Giant Redwoods, Bhutan Pines, Yews, Cedar and many great specimens of Beech and Oak including a hollow Sessile Oak 24 feet in girth and some 500 years old. More modern plantings include collections of Holly, Walnut and Sorbus giving welcome berry colour in the Winter months. Spring finds Wortley in a blast of bulb colour with Snowdrops followed by Daffodils and Bluebells carpeting the dappled woodland floor. The small ornamental lake and old ice house gives a whole host of wildlife a home throughout the year from frog spawning in Spring to dragonflies hovering and diving in Summer.

The old Kitchen Garden, has in the last couple of years been given a new lease of life by Heeley City Farm www.organickitchengarden.co.uk , it is now growing organic fruit and vegetables which are sold in local farmers markets and used in the Hall's kitchens. Some of the old varieties of fruit trees still remain in the Kitchen Garden including a cordon of pear trees one variety of which is Soldat Labourer one of only two examples remaining in the UK.

The Gardens hold many more features and surprises for visitors to discover as they walk round this beautiful environment.

Wortley Hall's Gardens are part of the gardens of South Yorkshire group for more information of historical gardens in South Yorkshire visit www.gardensofsouthyorkshire.com.