Visiting the garden at Attingham Park

Snowdrops Outside the Bothy, Attingham Park, Shropshire | © National Trust/ Rob Hall

Step out on a walk in Attingham's garden and discover a restored Walled Garden, two-acre orchard and historic pleasure grounds teeming with wildlife. Be inspired to grow your own seasonal fruit and veg by visiting the Georgian Kitchen Garden.

Attingham's Winter Garden

On a crisp winter’s day, look out for the delicate frosty patterns formed in the Walled Garden and orchard. At this time of year you’ll still be able to spot some wintry green and red colours in the Pleasure Grounds from the holly, yew, dogwood and fir trees planted throughout.

The annual snowdrop display is coming into bloom at the National Trust’s Attingham Park. Traditionally seen as a sign that spring is on the way, the estate’s snowdrops are at thier best from early to mid-February (dependent upon weather conditions).

Close up of snowdrops at Attingham Park, Shropshire | © National Trust/ Rob Hall

Where to spot snowdrops

Wrap up warm and take a refreshing stroll to spot the snowdrops. Flowering when little else will, these tough and pretty flowers usually appear in February at Attingham, but the first sightings can be as early as January depending on the weather. Look out for them close to the Entrance Gates on the Front Drive and in the Orchard, with the best displays in the woodland, in the Pleasure Grounds, and around the Mile Walk.

Wild snowdrops tend to flourish in damp woods, and this is the best place to find them at Attingham. Here at Attingham we actively ‘manage’ the snowdrops. The garden team removes leaves and undergrowth from the woodland floor in the areas where the snowdrops grow, giving the snowdrops space to spread out and flourish. It’s trickier than it sounds; remove too much undergrowth, and bracken and nettles will take over. Don’t remove enough, and the snowdrops won’t be encouraged to spread.

Snowdrop Evening Walks

Wrap up warm and head out on an early evening walk to discover Attingham's magical carpet of snowdrops this February.

Join us after dark for 3 nights this February and see Attingham's woodland in a different light, with hundreds of festoon lights and flood-lit snowdrops. There will also be light projections in the Walled Garden from Wild Strawberry Interactive Multimedia Limited.

Find out more

Snowdrops with fairy lights in the background during Snowdrop Evening Walks at Attingham Park, Shropshire — Snowdrop Evening Walks at Attingham Park, Shropshire | © National Trust/ Jayne Gough

Attingham Walled Garden

Soak up the scents, sights and sounds of Attingham's restored Walled Garden. Originally created in the 1780s, the team have been bringing this important part of the Attingham Estate back to life and production. After falling into disrepair, and having different uses in the 20th century, this Georgian kitchen garden is both beautiful and bountiful today.

Enjoy a taste of the Walled Garden at home

Fresh produce grown in the Walled Garden is used in seasonal dishes on the menu in the café. Depending on the harvest, surplus crops are sometimes available to buy in the Stables Shop.

Blossom in Walled Garden, Attingham Park, Shropshire | © National Trust/Jayne Gough

At home in the orchard

Attingham's two-acre orchard reflects the size of the wider Attingham Estate. The orchard and walled garden were the most intensely productive areas of the Georgian estate. Probably built in the 1780s, at the same time as the mansion, it’s located out of sight, away from the rivers Severn and Tern that meander across the estate.

An apple a day

Georgian gardeners carefully cultivated different varieties of apples that ripened throughout the year, extending the natural growing season with early and later crops of eating and cooking apples.

This is still the case today. The first of the apples to be picked are the Red Joanetting apples in July and the last are the Sturmer Pippins in November to be supplied to Attingham's Carriage House Café and Stables Shop for most of the year. The Georgians would have been without home-grown apples only during May and June.

Brimming with wildlife

The orchard is a haven for wildlife and insects. Bees feed on the spring apple blossom and birds, such as blue tits and blackbirds, nest in the trees in holes left by falling branches. Wasps are welcome in the organic orchard as they play an important role in keeping aphids down by feeding on them.