The Green Finger Tips Gardening Club took a pleasant trip to the Crown Inn at Roecliffe near Boroughbridge for a delightful lunch and then on to Littlethorpe Manor gardens. The gardens are in the small village of Littlethorpe positioned on the southern edge of Ripon characterised by houses interspersed with fields.

Set in the 11 acre grounds of Littlethorpe Manor, the gardens have been designed and developed over the last 14 years by Head Gardener, Eddie Harland who gave us a guided tour.  There are 4 acres of formal gardens and lawns around the house, with 7 acres of parkland below a large retaining wall.

The gardens first opened to the public in 2002 through the National Garden Scheme, a registered charity established in 1927 raising money to support nursing and caring charities such as We Are MacMillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Help the Hospices to name a few.

It was a brilliant garden to walk around and we almost finish the tour when the heavans opened up and the brollies went in to use and we headed for the large tent where we were served tea, coffee and cakes!

The garden is maintained by a team of three, we dont know how they did it as it was immaculate.

Below are some photographs taken on the day.