News
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South Lakes’ Artists’ Christmas Music May Inspire Charitable Support
Vocal chords around the southern Lake District and beyond are being warmed up for a Christmas musicathon, taking place over December weekends, at Levens Hall and Gardens. The historic home also hopes the feast of seasonal and festive music will increase support for a charitable cause, thanks to…
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Cumbria Small Visitor Attraction Winner Drives Group Travel ‘Topiary Tourism’
Tour organisers heading to the Lake District can put the world’s oldest topiary garden on their itinerary, on any day of the week between March 28 and October 3, 2025, if they visit Levens Hall and Gardens, Cumbria Tourism’s Small Visitor Attraction of the Year. The historic house and garden…
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Elizabethan Levens Channels its Past With ‘Deck the Hall’ Musical Christmas
Visitors to Levens Hall and Gardens can connect with the Hall’s Elizabethan roots this December, as Cumbria’s Small Visitor Attraction of the Year stages a series of ‘Deck the Hall’ occasions, combining the joy of music, played by inspiring local musical groups, with the opportunity to see
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Head to World Record Garden to See the Annual ‘Haircut’
Gardening lovers, inquisitive folk and others who just like to get on the track of something unique and quirky, should cherry pick a great day out this September and make a beeline for the world’s oldest topiary garden, at Levens Hall and Gardens in the Lake District. This is the time of year at…
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Levens Kitchen and Bakery’s Executive Chef Heads to Westmorland County Show
An executive chef, who has worked in some of the most famous kitchens in London and now leads the catering team and vision at a Lake District visitor attraction, will be heading to the Westmorland County Show to give an inspiring cookery demonstration. Robert Stacey, executive head chef at Levens…
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Make Levens Number One On Your Garden Must-Yew List
What should you be putting on your must-yew list, if you are a keen gardener wanting to box clever? A trip to see the world’s oldest topiary garden must surely be up there? How about learning all about the use of ha-has, by seeing the oldest English example of one? Or maybe even heading to…
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Something for Your Must-Yew List in Late Summer
Put a trip to Levens Hall and Gardens, in the South Lakes, on your ‘must-yew list’ before October 4, whether a keen gardener wanting to box clever, or someone wanting to tick off seeing the world’s oldest topiary garden and earliest example of an English ha-ha. Heading to the garden in…
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Messages in the Bottle Highlight Topiary Community’s Passion
Cumbrian-based Levens Hall and Gardens is celebrating the success of an initiative that helped bring the European topiary community together in a shared feat of achievement this year. Having already seen worldwide gardens throw themselves into its May-time World Topiary Day celebration every year…
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Play Art Hide-and-Seek in the South Lakes This Summer
Make a beeline for the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year*, Levens Hall and Gardens, and you can enjoy a summer game of ‘art hide-and-seek’. There are 11 works of art, all helpfully positioned on giant easels, to find within the extensive gardens and not just in the world’s oldest topiary…
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Cumbrian Small Visitor Attraction of the Year Enjoys Big Exposure
Levens Hall and Gardens, recent winner of the Small Attraction of the Year Award at the Cumbria Tourism Awards 2024, is to feature on the TV programme, Cumbria: The Lakes and the Coast, in an episode to air on July 31. Head gardener, Chris Crowder, will be interviewed in the programme which will…
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New Seeds of Wellbeing Sown by Cumbrian Gardens
The health and wellbeing benefits of yoga are being entwined with those emanating from biophilia and the feel-good factor we derive from nature, thanks to a brand-new series of events at Levens Hall and Gardens, in Cumbria. During the summer months, a number of special yoga sessions have been…
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Cumbrian Visitor Attraction Introduces Temporary Umbrella Ban
Cumbrian visitor attraction, Levens Hall and Gardens, home to two giant, centuries-old topiary umbrella trees, is ironically placing a temporary ban on umbrellas - all to try to instil a love of Shakespeare amongst the younger generation. On July 25, it is welcoming the internationally renowned…
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Enjoy a Uniquely Themed Holiday Thanks to New 'Topiary Tourism' Guide
Have you ever thought of basing a holiday or short break around topiary? Have you considered weaving your way around France, exploring all the topiary delights that French gardens can provide, before or after visiting the world’s oldest topiary garden at Levens Hall and Gardens in the Lake…
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New 'Topiary Tourism Guide' Shapes Unique Day Out or Holiday
Garden lovers who revel in the art of topiary have been treated to a new resource, which celebrates topiary artistry worldwide. The new Topiary Tourism Guide has been produced by Levens Hall and Gardens – a Cumbrian visitor attraction that is a Guinness World Record Holder thanks to having the…
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Enjoy a Topiary Extravaganza
Celebrate World Topiary Day on Sunday May 12 in the garden of its founder, Levens Hall and Gardens, which is marking the day with a very special admissions price offer, one-day-only topiary tours, art hide-and-seek and a special art workshop. The Cumbrian-based gardens, near Kendal, will be offering…
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Create a Brilliant ‘Beaumont Banner’ for World Topiary Day
Cumbrian house and gardens, Levens Hall and Gardens, is searching for budding artists who can create a fabulous ‘Beaumont Banner’ – its version of the famous Google Doodle. As the founder of World Topiary Day, which is again engaging gardens and garden enthusiasts around the globe this year on…
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May to Supercharge Newest Tourism Niche – Topiary Tourism
‘Topiary tourism’ will be spreading its way across the world in May 2024, as gardens from Peterborough to Le Touquet and Pennsylvania follow the lead of Cumbrian garden, Levens Hall and Gardens, in helping visitors better appreciate the art-form of topiary and enjoy experiences around it. This…
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‘Topiary Tourism’ Ready for May Crescendo
'‘Topiary tourism’ will be spreading its way across the world in May 2024, as gardens from Peterborough to Pennsylvania follow the lead of Cumbrian garden, Levens Hall and Gardens, in helping visitors better appreciate the art-form of topiary and enjoy experiences around it. This type of…
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Levens Hall and Gardens Inspires New ‘Topiary Tourism’
'‘Topiary tourism’ will be spreading its way across the world in May 2024, as gardens from Peterborough to Pennsylvania follow the lead of Cumbrian garden, Levens Hall and Gardens, in helping visitors better appreciate the art-form of topiary and enjoy experiences around it. This type of…
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Levens Hall and Gardens Creates ‘Topiary Message in a Bottle’ Relay
Cumbrian garden, Levens Hall and Gardens, is celebrating its fourth global celebration of topiary – World Topiary Day – with a very special international ‘relay’. The historic Elizabethan property, which is home to the world’s oldest topiary garden, founded in 1694, has created a…
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Cumbrian Garden Provides Canvas for ‘Tree Therapy’
When Levens Hall and Gardens, near Kendal in the southern Lake District, open its doors again on Wednesday March 27, the Elizabethan property and its stunning 10-acre gardens, including the world’s oldest topiary garden, will become a canvas for a season-long art exhibition inspired by trees. The…
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Cumbrian Garden is Perfect Canvas for ‘Tree Therapy’ Outdoor Exhibition
The stunning ‘canvas’ provided by the world’s oldest topiary garden, other beautiful themed garden areas and one of the country’s most renowned Elizabethan halls is set to exhibit even more artistry in 2024, beyond that of perfectly clipped trees and stunning beds and borders. Levens Hall…
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Cumbrian Food Hero Urges County to Get Behind It
Cumbrian Food Hero Urges County to Get Behind It Cumbrian food and drink hero, Levens Kitchen and Bakery, based at Levens Hall and Gardens near Kendal, is urging Cumbria to get behind it, as it seeks to turn a Countryside Alliance Awards’ northern shortlisting into a win. Levens Kitchen and Bakery…
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Levens Hall and Gardens Forges Stronger Links With European Counterparts
Cumbrian visitor attraction, Levens Hall and Gardens, has become even closer to the European topiary community by becoming a member of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society (EBTS). The historic property, home to the world’s oldest topiary garden, dating back to 1694, has become increasingly…
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Final Musical Weekend Features Pandemic Quartet and Classic FM Contenders
A quartet which formed and sang together in the park during the days of Covid social distancing and a choir shortlisted for the Classic FM carol competition 2023, are amongst the musicians who will this weekend be entertaining visitors to Levens Hall and Gardens near Kendal. After two tricky…
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Historic Cumbrian House Anticipates ‘Napoleon’ Visitor Boom
A Cumbrian visitor attraction is anticipating an unexpected increase in Christmas 2023 event numbers, following hugely complimentary early reviews of Ridley Scott’s new movie, Napoleon. Thanks to the life breathed into the character of the French Emperor and soldier by actor Joaquin Phoenix…
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Head to Levens Hall for ‘Silhouettes and Song’
Head to glorious Lake District visitor attraction, Levens Hall and Gardens, for Silhouettes and Song - an event focusing on the essence of a quintessential British Christmas and the opportunity to tick something off your must-do travel list. On six weekend days between December 2 and December 17…
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Levens Hall Re-shapes Event to Focus on the Essence of Christmas
Lake District visitor attraction, Levens Hall and Gardens, has changed its special Christmas event, to take into account pressures on household budgets during the cost of living crisis. Although Levens Hall and Gardens traditionally closes in the first week of October each year, it has, for the past…
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World Record Gardens Ready to Attract the September ‘Clipping’ Crowd
Cumbrian visitor attraction, Levens Hall and Gardens, is enjoying a month in which the appeal, especially for avid gardeners, takes on a whole new dimension, with many visiting largely to see the gardening team at work. September is the month in which the team start to get to grips with the huge and…
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Cherry Pick and Visit Levens Hall This September
With better weather forecast for early September, there is no excuse not to put a visit to Lake District visitor attraction, Levens Hall and Gardens, on the itinerary, especially as the clock is ticking down to its season’s closure, on October 6. September presents an opportunity to see the…
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Head Gardener Happy to be Back in ‘Clipping Season’
Levens Hall and Gardens’ head gardener, Chris Crowder, has started the first of his two favourite months of the year, despite these being the ones in which the arduous task of clipping the world’s oldest topiary garden begins. The Cumbrian visitor attraction is open until October 6 and the next…
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Levens Hall Highlights the Superlatives That Make a Visit so Special
Following some parts of the country experiencing their wettest ever July, Cumbrian stately home and visitor attraction, Levens Hall and Gardens, has been considering some other superlatives, very close to home and which August Bank Holiday visitors might enjoy. The first superlative is…
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Head to Levens Hall and Gardens to Embrace Sunshine-and-Showers Weather
With British weather set to continue to be an underwhelming combination of sunshine and showers for the foreseeable future, where better to head than to a historic home that can offer you both ‘sun umbrellas’ and insight into Wellingtons? Levens Hall and Gardens, open for this season until…
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Levens Bakery Duo Given Food For Thought by ‘Copenhagen’ Discovery
The dynamic duo of bakers who have just opened the doors of the exciting new South Lakes-based bakery takeaway, Levens Bakery, have been given some food for thought, having delved a little into the history books. As Robert Stacey and Mireia Ferreres Luna, competitors on Series 5 of Bake Off: The…
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New Patisserie Pitstop for the Lake District Foodie Map
Head to the Lake District this summer and you will find a fabulous new patisserie at which to grab those home-baked breads and delicious cakes and bakes that can create such great memories on your Cumbrian picnic, or back at your self-catering accommodation. The new Levens Bakery, at Levens Hall and…
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Levens Hall Prepares to Make it a Baking Hot Summer
- New Levens Bakery to open this month An expansion at Levens Hall and Gardens may well also see South Lakes’ waistlines growing a little, as the much-loved Levens Kitchen responds to popular demand, increasing its capacity to create mouth-watering cakes, pastries and bread,
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World Topiary Day Attracts Garden Lovers from Far-flung Locations
Visitors from across the UK flocked to Levens Hall and Gardens on Sunday May 14, to learn more about the world’s oldest topiary garden, pick up topiary tips and see a special topiary-inspired dress that helped mark the celebration. The Cumbrian visitor attraction also hosted a delegation from the…
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Blackpool Student’s Topiary-inspired Dress to be Unveiled at Global Event
A young textile student from Blackpool is excitedly counting down the days to the unveiling of her most special fashion creation to date, set to play its part in an event celebrated worldwide. Hex Gregson, in her final year at UCLan, will be heading to Levens Hall and Gardens, in the southern Lake…
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World Topiary Day to Encompass Tours, Tips and Topiary-inspired Dress
Levens Hall and Gardens near Kendal is preparing for one of its busiest days of the season as it throws open its gates for its third World Topiary Day, on Sunday May 14, 2023, after a wave of national publicity over the past few months, prepares to inspire garden lovers and unveils a special
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Top Topiary Day Out is a Cut Above
The world’s oldest topiary garden, Levens Hall and Gardens, near Kendal in Cumbria, is celebrating its third World Topiary Day on Sunday May 14, 2023, offering visitors a day out like no other, with gardening inspiration, the unveiling of a specially created topiary-inspired dress, topiary-themed
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10 Reasons to Put Levens Hall and Gardens On Your Itinerary in 2023
Levens Hall and Gardens in Cumbria is enticing group visitors in 2023, with a combination of fascinating history tours, glorious garden inspiration and the special event of World Topiary Day. The attraction is also now open six days a week, with Friday opening a new development for 2023. The Hall…
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Arrival of Sandringham in Topiary World Crowns Three-Year Rise in Global Interest
As it prepares to mark the third anniversary of its award-winning celebration, World Topiary Day, the owners of the world’s oldest topiary garden, at Levens Hall and Gardens, are relishing welcoming the newest - King Charles III’s new Sandringham House topiary garden. World Topiary Day 202…
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First Italian Garden Participates in World Topiary Day 2023
World Topiary Day 2023, the global celebration founded by Levens Hall and Gardens, which helps spread the love of topiary across both the globe and the world of gardening, will see the first-ever Italian garden taking part in the celebration this year. Organisers reached out to gardens worldwide…
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10 Reasons To Visit Levens Hall and Gardens in 2023
Levens Hall and Gardens, voted the number one garden to visit in England for two years running¹, and one of the most searched for online, has reopened for the 2023 season, ready to thrill visitors from across the world. The appeal of the historic house transcends both house and garden, thanks to…
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Serendipity Sees Textile Student Involved in World Topiary Day 2023
A talented young textile design student is channelling inspiration provided by topiary, to create something super-special for both her degree and this year’s World Topiary Day celebrations. Hex Gregson, from Blackpool and in her final year of a BA Hons in textile design at UCLan in Preston, is…
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Taking On the Odds: What History Can Teach Us
You win some, you lose some. That’s certainly been the lesson throughout history when it comes to wagers and gambles and many prominent people have learned it, from Lord Byron’s daughter and mathematician Ida Lovelace to Queen Victoria’s son, Albert Edward, later King Edward VII. Ida…
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Event to Help Gardeners Shape Up!
Adding topiary touches to your garden provides fabulous design benefits, as visitors to Levens Hall and Gardens’ World Topiary Day event, on Sunday, May 14, 2023, will discover. Topiary can add elegance and structure, eye-catching focus and an evergreen appeal to gardens but many of us need a…
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Levens Hall and Gardens Aims for a Six-Continent World Topiary Day Celebration
The founder of World Topiary Day and home to the world’s oldest topiary garden, Levens Hall and Gardens, is aiming for a six-continent World Topiary Day celebration in 2023. Ahead of the third World Topiary Day, to be staged on Sunday May 14, 2023, the Cumbrian-based heritage attraction is seeking…
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World Topiary Day Heads to the Weekend
Levens Hall and Gardens is moving the date for its third World Topiary Day to a weekend slot, so 2023’s celebration can provide even more people globally – and more heritage gardens within Cumbria - with a date on which to spread the love of topiary. In 2023, World Topiary Day will take place on…
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Levens Hall Appeals For Head Gardener Knowledge
Just a few weeks after Horticulture Week named Levens Hall and Gardens’ Chris Crowder as one of the top head gardeners in the UK, the Cumbrian visitor attraction has created a guide to all 11 of the head gardeners who have held the post since the 17th century. Much research has gone into trying…
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World Topiary Day Marks Legacy of 11 Gardeners Who Shaped the World’s Oldest Topiary Garden
As it plans its third World Topiary Day, set for Sunday May 14, 2023, Levens Hall and Gardens is celebrating the 11 head gardeners who have shaped the world’s oldest topiary garden in its little haven in the South Lakes, Cumbria, UK. The first – Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont – laid the gardens…
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Celebrate World Topiary Day at Levens Hall and Gardens
The world’s oldest topiary garden, Levens Hall and Gardens, will be celebrating its third World Topiary Day on Sunday May 14, 2023, offering a blend of gardening inspiration, music and topiary-themed activities. The Cumbrian-based gardens, whose Topiary Garden was founded in 1694 by the first head…
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New Foodie Treat Launches in Time for Christmas
Levens Hall and Gardens has launched a new food delight, having commissioned local Cumbrian food heroes, Wild & Fruitful, to create its own very special chutney, rooted in Levens Hall’s centuries-long history. Ahead of Christmas 2022, the South Lakes heritage attraction has created a chutney based…
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Experience the Illumination of the World’s Oldest Topiary Garden
Grab a ticket for an event that will create goosebumps and allow you to view the world’s oldest topiary garden in a way only the select few have done, by securing your pass to Cumbrian-based Levens Hall and Gardens’ wondrous Winter Event. From December 8 to December 12, ticketholders have the…
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Why Levens Hall is the Ultimate ‘Umbrella Attraction’
Lake District heritage home, Levens Hall and Gardens, is reminding visitors that it is a fabulous ‘umbrella attraction’ and not just because of the Great Umbrella Tree, way over 300 years old and one of over 100 eye-catching pieces (including another umbrella tree) within the world’s
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Visit the Ultimate ‘Umbrella Attraction’
Head to Lake District heritage home, Levens Hall and Gardens for the ultimate post-heatwave ‘umbrella attraction’ experience. Visitors to the Elizabethan property can view the Great Umbrella Tree, way over 300 years old and one of over 100 eye-catching pieces (including another umbrella…
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UK Garden Launches Appeal for Information About Its French Founding Father
Heritage attraction, Levens Hall and Gardens is using its World Topiary Day celebrations to issue an appeal for more information about its founder, Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont. The heritage home and gardens, located in the Southern Lake District near Kendal, is hoping to discover more about the…
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Levens Hall and Gardens Hails the Advent of ‘Topiary Tourism’
Levens Hall and Gardens, a heritage property close to Kendal in the Southern Lake District, believes it has created a new concept in the world of travel – topiary tourism. Ahead of its own special celebration of the art of clipping trees into geometric, abstract and themed shapes, World Topiary…
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World Topiary Day Event to Explain Cup and Saucer’s Fate
Chris Crowder, head gardener at Levens Hall and Gardens, is going all out to take the art of topiary out to a worldwide audience, whilst preparing to give visitors to Levens Hall and Gardens a rare chance to just focus on the world’s oldest topiary garden and learn the answers to some quirky
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100-Garden Target Set for World Topiary Day 2022
Levens Hall and Gardens is setting a 100-garden target, as it aims to boost participation in what is already a growing event in every sense of the word – World Topiary Day (May 12, 2022). The Cumbrian-based house and gardens, home to the Guinness World Record-holding ‘world’s oldest topiary…
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Enjoy a Clipping Marvellous Celebration in Cumbria!
Head to the glorious English Lake District this May and you can have a ‘clipping marvellous’ time learning all about the art of topiary and the amazing creations that can result from it. World Topiary Day celebrations are being staged at Levens Hall and Gardens, close to Kendal, in and around…
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May to Bring Gardeners a Clipping Marvellous Celebration!
Gardeners should pop May 12 in their diaries and reach for the garden shears, if they wish to share their topiary delights with their global counterparts on World Topiary Day 2022. Founder, Levens Hall and Gardens, based near Kendal in Cumbria and home to the world’s oldest topiary garden, will be…
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Levens Hall and Gardens Creates Festive First
Levens Hall and Gardens, the stunning Elizabethan house close to Kendal, whose gardens include the world’s oldest topiary garden, has created a ‘first’ for those wishing to see both house and garden in a unique and festive way. Although traditionally closed over winter, Levens Hall and…
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Head to Cumbria to See Levens Hall’s Festive First
Levens Hall and Gardens, the stunning Elizabethan house close to Kendal in Cumbria, whose gardens include the world’s oldest topiary garden, has created a ‘first’ for those wishing to see both house and garden in a unique and festive way. Although traditionally closed over winter, Levens…
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World Topiary Day Enthuses Global Gardens
A Cumbrian visitor attraction has seen an event in the gardening calendar, which it founded just a few months ago, go global in its appeal, delivering more impact than even it anticipated. Levens Hall and Gardens, located close to Kendal, is witnessing gardens and historic homes around the world…
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Levens Hall and Gardens’ World Topiary Day Goes Global
A Cumbrian visitor attraction has seen an event in the gardening calendar, which it founded just a few months ago, go global in its appeal. Levens Hall and Gardens, located close to Kendal, is witnessing gardens and historic homes around the world busily making plans for the second World Topiary…
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Make Levens Hall and Gardens Your No. 1 September Attraction
Make a beeline for Levens Hall and Gardens, near Kendal in the Lake District, this September, to celebrate some unique facets of this Cumbrian heritage house and gardens, before it closes for the autumn and winter. September is the perfect month to visit Levens Hall and Gardens for four key…
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12 Reasons to Visit Levens Hall & Gardens in 2021
2021 is the undisputed year of the Great British Staycation’ and, right through the summer holidays and on to October 7, Levens Hall and Gardens (www.levenshall.co.uk) offers brilliant things to tick off your must-do list. Beyond that date, Levens Kitchen, the contemporary café and…
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Topiary Gardens Perceive Their Rhythm and Structure to be Assisting Post-Pandemic Mental Health
The mental health of many was a worry even pre-pandemic, but is of even greater concern now. For those lucky enough to live close to the southern Lake District, however, there is a unique place to be, which could offer the mindfulness benefits which many of us require. The owner of Levens…
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World’s Oldest Topiary Gardens Found ‘World Topiary Day’
South Lakes visitor attraction, Levens Hall and Gardens, which is home to the world’s oldest topiary gardens, is hoping to spread the love of topiary through its creation of the first World Topiary Day. The Guinness World Record-holding Cumbria-based gardens, located close to Kendal, has chosen…
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World’s Oldest Topiary Gardens Found ‘World Topiary Day’
Levens Hall and Gardens, home to the world’s oldest topiary gardens, has created the first World Topiary Day, set for May 12, 2021, to encourage British homeowners to celebrate topiary and its joys. For World Topiary Day, the Guinness World Record-holding Cumbria-based gardens, has chosen the…