The Alnwick Garden....

***This blog post is quite bit picture heavy......I'm not apologizing....I took over 300 photos so have done well to whittle them down to about 50.....hehehe***

We visited The Alnwick Garden on Wednesday and had a fantastic day.....I traded my Nectar points in and for £10 worth of them I got a family ticket which would of cost £33....

The Alnwick Garden is one of the world’s most ambitious gardens. The Duchess of Northumberland’s vision for a forgotten plot is now a truly 21st century experience full of imagination, inspiration and fun. The Garden is a space designed to be enjoyed by all your senses, with a collection of over 4,000 plant varieties to discover, thousands of seasonal blooms and countless opportunities to get wet and play in The Garden’s water sculptures. 

What to see.

Ornamental Garden - Home to one of the country's largest collections of European plants in striking geometric beds.
Grand Cascade - Marvel at the scale of the Grand Cascade, and take in the spectacular half-hourly displays.
Serpent Garden - Wind your way through the Serpent Garden's sinuous topiary to find the water features hidden in its coils.
Rose Garden - Discover the riotous colours and delicate scents of the Rose Garden, with over 3000 David Austin Roses.
Poison Garden - Explore what lies beyond the locked gates of the Poison Garden.
Roots and Shoots Garden - Get your hands dirty, learn about the growing techniques in use and take a peek at our beehives.
Cherry Orchard - Over 300 Tai Haku cherry trees underplanted with 50,000 Purple Sensation Alliums.
Woodland Walk - Take a walk through the beautiful Woodland Walk, and see if you can spot any of the resident red squirrels.
Pavilion - The Pavilion gives a beautiful panorama of The Garden and is home to the Pavilion Café.

When we got there the queue to get in was long.....Luckily for us a guy came round asking if we had e-vouchers or paid passes we can skip the queue and just get them checked and go straight in....Hooray! 

We decided to sit down and eat our food first.....What an experience.....The girls were running back wards and forwards to the amazing water fountains and the ducks decided to join us.....lol They were brave.....Snapping up Ellie's sandwich out of her hand.....Becky's crisps and pecking at all the cake packets.....I couldn't move for laughing.....

After we'd eaten we went exploring.....There is so much to see.....I'm not into plants and flowers at all but I found it interesting and a lot of fun! All the way around the gardens there are pools and cascades of water.....The girls were in them any chance they got.....

 We must have walked for miles....Not once did the girls complain. There were plenty of seats to have a rest and unusual things to see....

 After a couple of hours we decided we needed a toilet break....It took a while to find them as they are not signposted....We found some in the cafe eventually. I wasn't to impressed with them....I know it was busy but the sanitry bins were over flowing and there was toilet rolls scattered about the floor....I thought at a place like this the toilets would be better maintained....

After walking through the Cafe I smelt the coffee and needed one. We took a pit stop...2 lattes, 2 doughnuts and 2 slices of cake was £22.80!! What!! I was quite shocked at the price....I'm so glad we had taken our own food to fill up on....Goodness knows what four meals would cost....There was plenty of seating around the cafe...More than was needed which was a good thing.

As we were walking around the gardens we had noticed a section of water fountains and pools which children could play in....Ellie was so keen to get in these....Ellie has a thing about water and absolutely loves it. She was in her element....Becky not so much she loves the water but thought it was too cold....I had packed a change of clothes and a towel but didn't think about taking swimming costumes....Jeans and t-shirts were the girls splashing attire....hehehe

They had a fantastic time.....They got changed into their dry clothes behind a bush...I think that is what Alnwick Garden is missing....Somewhere to get dry and changed espcially for older kids who are shy of flashing their bum to the world....lol.

A few things I noticed....

There are no litter bins....If there are they are well hidden....Considering there are a lot a people visiting bringing picnics they would come in very handy....but on the other hand I never saw any litter laying about either....
There are a lot of wasps and bees but they are not like normal one's....You just brush them away and they take the hint....
You are allowed to feed the ducks but they are like locusts....Feed one and they all come running!
A change of clothes is vital if you have kids who like water...
The cafe is expensive but the little Ice-cream stall outside is not....
We found the toilets outside the actual entrance....They could do with being signposted more....
There are plenty of staff walking about which I found reassuring....

We had an amazing day out and will visit again...It is a fantastic family day out....Even if you are not a garden/flower lover there is a lot more too it than that.....

I was not prompted to write this.....I just wanted to share our amazing day!!