Lowther Castle Gardens - A Great Project

Yesterday I paid a short visit to Lowther Castle near Penrith, Cumbria, between the Lake District and the Eden Valley. Lowther is like a fairy tale castle set in magnificent parkland in the valley of the River Lowther, a tributary of the Eden. Sadly though, it has been in ruins for decades. The financial impact of the extravagant lifestyle of the Lowther lords led to its closure and substantial dismantling in the mid-20th century, not helped by being taken over by a tank regiment during WW2.

Now managed by a charitable foundation (distinct from the Lowther Estates) a major regeneration project has been in progress since 2012.

The courtyard looks very different from three years ago, and this weekend is the location for a plant fair. After looking at the stalls, browsing around the shop in the old stable block, and downing a cup of tea in the splendid new cafe I didn't have time to explore much further, but am planning to return.

On another visit, which I intend to be very soon, I must look at the work going on to re-create the garden areas. This is an enormous venture and will take years, with hard graft and many thousands of plants. However, Lowther Castle deserves to have its gardens restored to match the beauty of its location.

Brougham Castle, Penrith, Cumbria

Recently I've been visiting, photographing and writing about the castles owned by the 17th century Duchess of Pembroke, Lady Anne Clifford. Although Skipton Castle in West Yorkshire was her primary home, and today is still well-preserved, several of the others were in the Eden Valley in Cumbria just outside the Lake District boundary.

Pendragon Castle in Mallerstang, Brough Castle and Brougham Castle are all now in varying states of collapse and disrepair (although made safe for visitors) but in her day Lady Anne renovated them all. Appleby Castle is the best preserved of her major properties this part of the country.

Brougham Castle was her favourite, and it was there that she died (in her late 80s, a great age at that time). She was buried in Appleby church.

Several articles are on around-england.co.uk and in the meantime here is a picture of Brougham Castle by the River Eamont, a tributary of the Eden.