Arley Hall & Gardens

ARLEY’S gardens have been created over 250 years by successive generations of one family.

They offer an unusual blend of long history and traditional design with inspired modern ideas.

The herbaceous border is Arley’s best-known feature and is thought to be the first of its kind planted in England.

It looks stunning right through to late September and is a feature not to be missed.

Within Arley’s eight acres of formal garden, which can take you several hours to meander around, there are many different areas, each with its own distinctive character. 

Highlights include the Ilex Avenue of 14 cylindrical evergreen holm oaks, Pleached Lime Avenue of trees and the Furlong Walk.

Visitors enjoy the scents of the Rose Garden, the seclusion of the Flag Garden and the tranquillity of the Fish Garden.

The Arbour Walk is also awash with colours particularly in Spring.

The gardens were commended for their ‘unusual blend of long history and traditional design with inspired modern ideas and additions’.

It is not just the formal gardens that impress visitors. Since the 1970s the current Lord Ashbrook – whose ancestors have lived at Arley for more than 500 years – has been developing The Grove.

This informal garden in a woodland setting contains spring bulbs, a very large collection of rhododendrons and azaleas.

There’s also a wide range of flowering shrubs and trees including varieties of oak, birch, magnolia, prunus, sorbus, malus, kalmia and hydrangea.

Particularly colourful in spring, The Grove provides an attractive walk throughout the season and visitors frequently comment on its peaceful atmosphere.

At Arley you will see a huge range of plants making it a treasure trove both for the keen plantsman and for the less specialised visitor.

Please visit in-line with current restrictions, and check their website before visiting to ensure they are open.