National Trust: Hare Hill Garden in Cheshire Review

Nestled secretly between Alderly Edge and Prestbury is Hare Hill Gardens a National Trust Property in Cheshire. Hare Hill Garden is a tranquil wooded garden, surrounded by historic parkland, with a delightful walled garden at its heart.

We headed there over the Easter Holidays with some friends and wondered why we had not discovered this little gem of a place before. If you are a National Trust member or just want to spend half a day out with the kids as they indulge in some forest activities, trails, watching birds, admiring the flowers as you enjoy a packed picnic lunch then this place is worth a visit.

There was ample of car parking space and staff were ever so friendly. There was a tiny souvenir shop there as well. The garden entry is free for National Trust members but for non-members, there is a small fee, this is mentioned below.

If you are heading to the Gardens with kids it is worth checking out Hare Hill’s what’s on page or just given them a call as they do organise fun walks or trails such as The Easter Egg Hunt in Spring, Wind in The Willow Trail which will be taking in August or other activities to keep the kids occupied. We found Hare Hill a fantastic place for our kids to be…. just kids and enjoy nature!

The Walled Garden where we had our picnic is a lovely garden area with lots of flat ground for you to put a picnic mat and for the kids to do some cartwheels. The garden which has a beautiful lawn made us feel like we needed to buy quality lawn feed to just get our garden looking that good.  As the name ‘Walled Garden’ suggests, the garden is surrounded by a wall and has a gateway, a pergola and wire sculptures. There are good collections of rhododendrons and hollies in the woods as well.  The last owner of Hare Hill, Charles Brocklehurst commissioned the two equestrian wire sculptures by Christopher Hobbs as a tribute to his twin brother, Patrick, who died in a riding accident. The metal pergola designed by Philip Jebb was built by the National Trust after the death of Colonel Brocklehurst.

In the late 18th century, William Hibbert purchased an area of land from the Leicester family and created Hare Hill as his country estate. To create a grand setting for his new home, which he built close to Birtles Hall, the home of his brother Robert Hibbert, William landscaped the parkland. William and his family divided their time between their house in Clapham Common and Hare Hill.  He died in London in 1844, and Hare Hill passed to his son William Tetlow Hibbert.  In the 1879 Francis Dicken Brocklehurst bought Hare Hill and embarked on an extension to the house and also created a wooded garden, with a traditional Victorian walled kitchen garden at the centre, which was completed around 1902.  In March 1904, the last owner of Hare Hill – Colonel Charles Brocklehurst – was born, along with his twin brother Patrick. Charles divided his time between Cheshire and his house in London, where he worked for Christie’s Auction House as a silver expert and later partner. He was an army infantry officer in World War Two and after the war worked in the North West and Midland areas for the National Trust. Both the Brocklehurst twins were keen horsemen, with Patrick joining the Royal Scot’s Greys, a mounted regiment.  Tragedy struck the family in 1930 when Patrick took part in an Army steeplechase at Tidworth and he past away in a horse riding accident. By the 1960s, following the deaths of his parents, Charles was spending increasing amounts of time at Hare Hill. He had developed a keen interest in horticulture, and through his influential circle of friends in London he had made contact with plantsman James Russell.