Mellerstain House Gardens

Mellerstain is a house famous for its Robert Adam interiors, but the grounds are open every day of the year and make a fine garden visit in their own right. The house stands on a hillside above water, and on a clear day you can see the Cheviot Hills.

The main feature is the formal terraced garden in front of the south front, designed in the early twentieth century by Sir Reginald Blomfield and regarded as a major example of Edwardian garden design. The terraces step down through three levels, with staircases, balustrades, parterres, statues and a pond, before opening out onto a wide lawn that runs down to the lake. Walking down through the levels and turning back to look at the house is the best way to understand the design. For gardeners, the terraces are a clear lesson in how steps, balustrading and repeated shapes can link a big house to its landscape.

Beyond the terraces, the parkland still follows the eighteenth-century plan by William Adam, with a long tree-lined line running out towards the Hundy Mundy tower, a Gothic folly that acts as an eye-catcher on the horizon. There is also a walled garden, a mausoleum and a woodland walk. The woodland path has some steep slopes and old stone steps, and garden paths are gravel and grass. Dogs are welcome in the gardens on a lead. The Courtyard Café opens on house days, and tickets are sold there.