Lowther Castle and Gardens 21st April 2018

We have always enjoyed our visits to Lowther Castle but had never actually walked around the gardens before, so on a nice spring day we set off.

There was an exhibition in the courtyard gallery that told the story of Lowther. It has belonged to the Lowther family, latterly the Earls of Lonsdale, since the Middle Ages.
The age of the country house waned in the early years of the 20th century and in 1936 Lowther Castle was closed. The military used it for secret tank testing during WWII before returning it to the family.  They removed the roof and kept it as a monument rather than demolishing it.

However after being left to deteriorate for many years, a charitable trust was established to restore the castle and grounds. The castle opened in 2011 after the initial restoration and the stable courtyard has been converted into a visitor centre, cafe and shop.

The gardens are being restored too. It is a huge garden when you get inside.
We began by looking around the ruins of the tower and the recently planted Parterre.

We wandered towards the Great Yew Walk, past the mosaic floor.

The yew trees are huge ...

We passed the Roman Pillars and the Countess Summerhouse ....

before coming to Matilda's summer house.

What stunning summer houses!
We passed by the new Rose Garden being constructed this year ...

on our way to the viewpoint on the Western Terrace - and what a view!

... and another summerhouse!

We went past the woods where the new wooden adventure playground, known as the Lost Castle, opened in 2016.
Yet another summer house popped up by Jack Croft's Pond.

The Patte d'Oie (a design where 3,4,or 5 roads/paths radiate out from a central point) led to Shap Abbey steps.

Walking back along Emperor's Drive we could see the plants shooting in the Wild Flower Meadows. There were lots of cowslips flowering at the moment but can't wait to see the meadows later in the year.
The banks were full of daffodils as we headed back towards the courtyard and cafe - which we can definitely recommend.

Energy restored we headed back past Yew Avenue to the New Orchard. The trees were not quite in blossom yet but will be a lovely sight soon.
Passing the Roman Bath we found the Rock Garden. This is full of plants and moss-covered stones. A beautiful display of primulas was attracting bees and bee flies.

We have wanted to see a real live Bee Fly and there were several flying in and out of the flowers. They have a long proboscis for drinking nectar and although called a bee fly they are not bees and are completely harmless. They look like bees with their furry body and patterned wings, and buzz as they fly, but are not a bee at all.  The female bee fly flicks her eggs towards the entrance to the underground nests of bees and wasps and once they hatch the larvae make their way into the nests and eat the larvae of the bees and wasps.

This was the nearest we could get to a photo ....below is what it really looks like!

But a fascinating insect to watch in the sunshine and with the real bees was definitely making the rock garden hum! We also saw a small tortoiseshell and a couple of peacock butterflies.
There was a lovely display of trilliums in the rock garden too.

Moving on we passed through what had once been the Japanese garden and the Sweet Scented garden - although they are now both devoid of plants and very neglected.
We found the terrace again and walked towards the squirrel hide - no squirrels in sight today! - but we did see a hare loping along the track below the terrace.
A wonderful garden to explore - even on a busy day there is more than enough room for everyone.
Definitely somewhere to revisit.