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Mill Barn tel: 01254-853300 Area: Lancashire |
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| Visitor Information | -- email: |
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Mill Barn |
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| Opening Days and Hours | ||||||
Sats, Suns 9, 10, 23,24 June (1-5). for NGS |
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| Parties
/ Coaches: No |
Groups
/ Coaches need Appointment: Yes Groups by appointment especially in May, June and July |
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House
Open for Viewing: No |
National
Garden Scheme days: Yes Sats, Suns 9, 10, 23,24 June (1-5). |
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Best
Times of Year to Visit: May-July |
To
see: |
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| Admission Prices | ||||||
| Adults £4; Children free | ||||||
| Onsite Facilities | ||||||
| Parking:
Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes |
Shop:
No Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: No |
Teas:
Yes Light Refreshment: No Picnics: No |
Dogs
Allowed: No On Lead only: Yes Special Events: Yes 'Art and Garden' 16,17 June 11-5. A selling exhibition with about 35 Artists and Craftspeople in the Garden organized by Chris Mortimer and a local artist Pam Potter. Entrance £3 |
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| Other
Facilities: Partial access for the disabled |
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| Garden Features | ||||||
| English Heritage Garden Grade: | ||||||
| National Collection: | ||||||
| Description of Garden | Designer:
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Mill Bank nestles in the valley of the River Darwen whose waters flow over a series of falls along the length of the garden. Indeed, the river is a focus of the design. Owner and dedicated gardener, Chris Mortimer, was inpired to create a garden incorporating the remains of mills that previously lined the river bank. A view of the garden from a deck high above the river bank tempts visitors down to the remains of an old weir planted with saxifrages and other alpine plants. Behind this a tunnel, off which is a grotto, leads to a suspension bridge across the river and above this on the cliffs a dark tower draws the adventurous visitor upwards to view the garden from above. The less adventurous can continue from the foot of the bridge through a pergola, to reach a pond and the summer house. Behind this a new path, the 'Hyperspace Bypass' leads up through a quarry pit to the upper garden of shrubs and trees and then up further still to an oarchard and vegetables. Additionally, Susan Childs, a neighbour of Mr Mortimer, has created an extensive garden of perennials on the riverbank. This provides an interesting foil to Millbanks' six-foot cooper triffid and Temple of Alchemy - a humorous reference to the owner's scientific profession! The juxta-positioning of such features is also indicative of the diversity of this garden as a whole and the imagination and determination of its creator. |
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| History of Garden | ||||||
Dr Chris Mortimer bought a very different property in 1972 from what is now Mill Barn. The house was derelict and the land littered with tin sheds, old cars and cinders dumped by the paper mill that had stood across the way. After years of hard labour, in which all attention was focussed upon the garden, Chris was in a position to look about for plants that could survive the often cold conditions of his valley floor home. Lighting upon hardy perennials, he created the garden as it now stands, extending it in 1981 to include an overlooking hillside and then again in 2004 to include an area of additional river bank, woodland and meadow. |
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| Nearby Lancashire Hotels, Facilities & Amenities | ||||||
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& Accommodation: |
Restaurants: |
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  - Lancashire |
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*Information
Updates
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0470_MillBarn.jpg - Mill Barn (Lancashire)
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