North Yorkshire's 'hidden gem' walled garden that's adored by BBC Gardeners' World

In North Yorkshire, there’s an “exquisite” walled garden that’s adored by Gardeners’ World which was the filming location for a Sky Original movie starring Colin Firth and Julie Walters – have you discovered it?

Helmsley Walled Garden is described as a “beautiful space” that holds “peace and tranquillity for all” situated on the edge of the market town within the North Yorkshire Moors.

The garden sits beneath the ruins of Helmsley Castle and is framed by a high brick wall that dates back to 1758.

Designed with a parallelogram outline in mind to maximise warm sunlight in a northern garden, it was originally built to provide fruit and vegetables to the Feversham family at Duncombe Park.

However, it’s now made up of vibrant borders, wildflower meadows, glasshouses and apple orchards to name a few – all of which is now managed by more than 100 volunteers.

Areas within Helmsley Walled Garden include The Clematis Garden, The White Garden, The Secret Garden, The Garden of Contemplation, The Physic Garden and The Kitchen Garden.

North Yorkshire’s ‘hidden gem’ walled garden loved by Gardeners’ World is a Sky film star

The Helmsley Walled Garden website shares: “Helmsley has a relaxed and gentle atmosphere – we allow annual seedlings to pop up here and there – and a stroll around the garden will give you a sense of the rhythm and ebb and flow of nature.

“You will find restful lawns, neatly trimmed but also meadows where the grass has been allowed to grow long and is interspersed with bright bulbs and flowers.

Have you been to Helmsley Walled Garden this spring? (Image: Tripadvisor)

“Enjoy the riot of vibrant yellows and oranges in the Hot Border or rest your eyes in the tranquil White Garden.

“Helmsley Castle sits watching over the garden, giving a feeling of stability and resilience and visitors can enjoy a sense of local history wandering through our heritage Yorkshire apple collection.”

It continues: “The borders along each of the three garden walls have a different theme.

“The colourful iris border runs along the west facing wall leading to maple corner and the wildlife pond.

“The wildlife garden stretches along the north facing wall to the central gate, leading to the foliage border, whilst the long border runs from one end of the garden to the other.

“East facing, this border is at its best in spring with a mix of peonies and spring bulbs.”

Gardeners’ World recently visited the walled garden and spoke to current garden manager Chris, to find out more about its history, its “250-year-old secret”, stunning borders, rare apples and “hidden” glasshouses.

In an Instagram post @gardenenersworldmag wrote: “At Helmsley Walled Garden, what was once a derelict space has been transformed by volunteers into a thriving, restorative garden where people come together, connect with nature and support their wellbeing through gardening.”

Chris revealed that after the First World War, the walled garden slowly declined, which was a common occurrence at the time.

But it was local practice nurse Alison Ticehurst in 1994 who brought Helmsley Walled Garden back to life once more.

Chris explained: “She pushed open the gates and she was obviously presented with a garden which was in complete disarray.

“She then got together people from the community to come and restore the garden.

“She wanted to create a place for the community to come to, a restorative place, a place for health and well-being.

“Helmsley is now not an entirely productive garden.

“Over the years garden spaces have been created like rooms throughout the five acres so visitors can come and get inspiration for their own garden in all sorts of different ways.”

You can watch the full tour in the Gardeners’ World YouTube video below:

Meanwhile, Helmsley Walled Garden appeared in Sky’s 2020 remake of The Secret Garden starring Dixie Egerickx, Colin Firth and Julie Walters.

Filmed in Yorkshire reveals that for the production crew, “it presented the ideal setting mixing heritage character with a wide variety of garden landscapes”.

One of the most notable filming locations within the walled garden was the double herbaceous borders that run the entire length.

Currently, the walled garden has a “very good” 4.3/5 rating over on Tripadvisor, based on more than 600 reviews.

A recent visitor said: “What a delight sits behind this walled garden.

“As a visitor from Australia, I love English gardens.

‘This is a real hidden gem’ (Image: Tripadvisor)

“The gardens were wonderful and the tour from two of the volunteers gave us an insight into how the garden was formed and the bigger picture behind it.

“Cared for by an army of volunteers, it is not only a wonderful garden, but an opportunity for people who maybe lonely, retired and not sure what to do with their life, or just want to make new friends together for a common purpose.

“Using no herbicides or poisons, it attracts insects, bees and butterflies.

“What a lovely peaceful place to visit.”

Another commented: “This is a real hidden gem, we could have spent much longer looking round, be sure to allow at least a couple of hours for a leisurely look around the whole area.

“It is one of the nicest gardens I have visited and a credit to the volunteers.”