| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Leader: | |
| Leader: |
Eileen, Mary U, Sue McG, and Pam
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| Group email: | Garden group |
| When: | Please see Events for dates and times |
| Venue: | See Events |
| Cost: | £13 annual subscription 2026 to include speakers and room hire. Other events and activities at cost. |
The Garden group aims to have a varied programme each year with visits to gardens by coach or car share in the warmer months, sometimes including a talk/tour by one of the gardeners. We also have more casual visits to local gardens or villages that open in aid of charities. Our outings are relaxed and enjoyable with enough time allowed for members to enjoy the café on offer as well as time to spend in the nursery or gift shop where these are on site. We are a friendly group and one of the joys of summer is enjoying tea and cake in convivial company. In the cooler months we have talks from interesting speakers.
Please look at the Events below for details of our plans and look at the Group News further down the page to review memories and lovely garden photos from the last year or so.
Garden Group Risk Assessment and Emergency Contact Details.
Forthcoming events
Below are some of the places we have been and enjoyed over the last year or so. I hope you enjoy the memories.
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Crook Hall
Read more: Crook HallOur u3a Garden group paid a visit to National Trust’s Crook Hall on Tuesday, 4th August. The day started wet, but the sun came out as we began our guided talk and tour with volunteer gardener, Clive. It was an interesting visit and we learned about the history of the hall and gardens as well…
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Seaton Delaval Hall
Read more: Seaton Delaval HallThis outing was a joint Local History Group/Garden Group visit to Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland. On 10th July, a glorious day, the group set off by coach to explore some botanical and historical aspects of the (in)famous hall and gardens at Seaton Delaval. The hall’s history was vividly outlined in a walking tour given…
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Scampston Hall
Read more: Scampston HallMembers of the Garden group enjoyed a coach trip to Scampston Hall in North Yorkshire on Wednesday, 8th July. It was a scorching hot day and you can see from the colour of the grass just how hot and dry it has been the last few weeks. About half the group had opted for the…
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Summer 2026 garden visits
Read more: Summer 2026 garden visitsOliver Ford Garden The owner of the Oliver Ford Garden at Consett is a garden designer and winner of BBC Gardener of the Year in 2007. It was open in 2026 on 5th June. It is a one and a half acre garden designed to blend in with the surrounding landscape. The overall feel of…
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Dalemain Mansion & Historic Gardens
Read more: Dalemain Mansion & Historic GardensThe Garden Group had a coach trip to Dalemain Mansion House and Historic Gardens today, 4th June. Many on this trip enjoyed a guided tour of the house and said it was very interesting. All spent some time in the gardens. Sadly the weather was against us and it rained almost all day, varying between…
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Thornton Hall May 2026
Read more: Thornton Hall May 2026Fabulous Thornton Hall on this blazing hot late Bank Holiday Monday. This was a u3a outing and has become an annual event for our Garden group to kick off the summer garden visits. Magnificent flowers and borders without a weed in sight, as usual, plus refreshments and the plant fair. There were at least sixteen…
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Constable Burton Tulip Festival
Read more: Constable Burton Tulip FestivalMembers of the Garden group enjoyed a visit to the Constable Burton Tulip Festival on Monday, 4th May. This is an annual event over the early May Bank Holiday weekend. Constable Burton is a private house and the interior can’t be viewed but the grounds open a few times a year for special events, and…
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RHS Harlow Carr
Read more: RHS Harlow CarrOur day out to RHS Harlow Carr on 7th April has been the highlight of the year so far. The weather could not have been better for the time of year, and we arrived before it became too crowded. “Where to go first?” was the question given all the delights on offer. A few of…
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Winter 2026 Garden Events
Read more: Winter 2026 Garden EventsIn January 28 members of the Garden Group went to Bishops Lodge in Toronto for a New Year lunch and a 50-question quiz. Jean H and Sue McG created the quiz and we had seven tables, each making up a team. There was much laughter and whispering on the tables so that potential answers were…
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Autumn 2025 Garden Events
Read more: Autumn 2025 Garden EventsIn September we held our annual planning meeting. The Garden group members contributed to a list of potential venues to visit and speakers to come and talk to us and all members had the opportunity to vote for the ones they wanted. The result is a list of venues and speakers that will keep us…
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Plotter's Forest Christmas Light Trail
Read more: Plotter's Forest Christmas Light TrailOn the evening of Wednesday, 3rd December several of us from the Garden Group met at the Plotter's Forest entry hut at Raby Estates to walk round their Christmas Light Trail. This photo shows some of the group enjoying the evening. The photos below show you the walk around the trail. There was a pretty…
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Auckland Palace Gardens Tour
Read more: Auckland Palace Gardens TourOn 13th August on a very hot day, even hotter than the day before, it was a little ‘testing’ for some of us. However, we were again fortunate to get a first-rate guide called Clive, who was both knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We started in the south-facing Walled Garden, which dates from the 17th century, a…
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