Visit to The Grange Garden

It was one of those days when the weather was all wrong, rain, mist, chilly, not a summery August day at all. The news that a vehicle had hit the parapet wall of the bridge at Conistone Cold (again) and the A65 was closed from Long Preston probably didn’t help. It was therefore not a complete surprise that there were only 9 of us arriving at The Grange for a tour of this lovely garden. However in Carleton the rain had stopped, the mist had cleared and Mrs Wooler greeted us most warmly and, assisted by her gardener, gave us a wonderful tour. This is a large and varied garden surrounding an imposing house which was built in the 1850s for the Land Agent of the Duke of Devonshire. Continuously occupied since then the house changed hands many times until Mr and Mrs Wooler bought it in 1974.

The garden has lots of lovely trees; at one time there was a tree from every continent, and there are still some splendid examples now. A large Magnolia tree which produces fruits, and a huge Copper Beech are especially impressive, as the the rare Variegated Oak and a Hornbeam Hedge. There are Viburnums, Cornus for winter colour, bulbs to welcome the Spring, and a large and beautiful herbaceous border. This has many unusual plants and one can view it from both sides which makes for added interest. We saw the formal garden with Box hedges, the wildlife pond, the rock garden and the formal water feature with a seating area which looks out over the long distance views across to Skipton and beyond. Like all good gardens there has been careful planning to ensure interest at every season. The stand of Birch trees with their white bark will look wonderful in winter sunshine and the wild flower meadow area will be lovely in early summer. This is also a family garden with a large tree house and we did smile at the notice on the peas in the vegetable garden - “Keep off our peas, Grandad!’, evidence that the grandchildren are following in the family tradition of gardening.

Tea and biscuits were the welcome conclusion to a most enjoyable and informative tour. Our sincere thanks to Mrs Wooler for a wonderful visit.

CB