Bee a part of restoring ‘secret’ garden at Northumberland site

Volunteers restoring a 200-year-old ‘secret’ garden linked to a historic relic in the coastal village of Cresswell have launched a crowd-funding initiative to help turn their plans into reality.
Steve Lowe in the Cresswell walled garden.Steve Lowe in the Cresswell walled garden.
Steve Lowe in the Cresswell walled garden.

The walled garden adjacent to the 14th Century Pele Tower once provided all the fruit, vegetables and cut flowers for the stately Cresswell Hall that was home to the family which gave its name to the village.

Sadly, when the hall was demolished in the 1930s, the garden was largely abandoned and has remained so. However, enthusiastic volunteers have started planning to restore it so that it can be used as a unique community space, food producing patch and local educational asset.

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They have already cleared and moved a small mountain of rubbish, started looking at how the restored garden will take shape and began planting for its future.

The next step the volunteers want to take is raising enough funds to plant an orchard, partly with some of the trees their Victorian predecessors would have cropped, as well as starting their own colony of beehives to produce honey for local use.

They need to raise money through a crowd-funding initiative to attract support from North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll’s fund that aims to help projects launched by community initiative groups.

Soft fruits are also set to be grown in the restored walled garden.

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Steve Lowe, volunteer co-ordinator and engagement officer at Cresswell, said: “When we talked to local people about what they would like to see in our restored garden, lots of them said they wanted to see an orchard – but a number also said they would like to become beekeepers.”

Therefore, the volunteers have approached the Alnwick and District Beekeepers Association for help in establishing their own colony of bees at Cresswell and they have made plans to teach people about bees and how to look after them.

They have already been given their first hive and hope to have three more by the summer.

Mr Lowe added: “It would be wonderful if people could support our crowd-funding initiative to help us restore the walled garden at www.spacehive.com/bees-and-trees

“There is also a chance for people to volunteer to join us planting and maintaining the garden, as well as enjoy the fruits of their labours by picking the crops we will be growing.”