Lowther Castle & Gardens

Lowther Castle & Gardens is an intriguing attraction. It looks grand enough at first sight, but the castle is literally a shell of its former self. Just the outer walls remain and it’s now an impressive ruin when once there was a room for every day of the year.

The castle is now a garden with carpets of greenery rather than fine rugs. With 130 acres for you to explore, it’s a bit like The Secret Garden on a stately home scale. Once abandoned – and in some places concreted over to park tanks during World War II – the garden is being brought back to life.

Discover the Victorian Roman bath and columns whilst the Edwardian rock gardens and Japanese gardens show the horticultural fashions of an earlier era. Look out for new additions such as a rose garden laid out in the design of an English rose.

Bike hire is also available on the estate so you can travel further afield taking some of the estate cycle trails. Lowther Castle & Gardens is a family-friendly place so you can also hire bike trailers and tagalongs too.

If you’re visiting with kids, the main attraction has to be the enormous adventure playground: The Lost Castle. Set in the woodland, it’s one of the biggest and best in the UK, built from sustainable timber to echo the architecture of Lowther Castle itself. Only with added slides and zip-wires.