When Alison Ticehurst pushed open the doors to this forgotten garden in 1994 she found no trace of the beautiful lawns, herbaceous borders and kitchen garden that would have been part of this classic 18th century walled garden 200 years previously.

Engaging local people to help her, Alison cleared weeds and self seeded trees to expose the framework of what is now a stunning garden. Buried under soil and vegetation, the original paths and dipping pond of the garden were slowly revealed by Alison and her dedicated volunteers.

These paths remain today and their quirky, asymmetrical layout are an important part of what makes Helmsley Walled Garden not only a popular visitor attraction but a uniquely restful and restorative space.

Although often beautiful, perfect symmetry can be sometimes intimidating for many of us. Maintained entirely by our volunteers, Helmsley is an accessible garden in every sense of the word. Our beautiful herbaceous borders demonstrate a gently ordered approach that encourages our visitors to meander and discover our many garden rooms. The original footpaths create interesting shapes dictated by the rhombus footprint of the brick walls and our central dipping pond can be accessed, and its fountain heard, from every corner of the garden.

We are launching, for 2025, a new appeal that will look to restore and repair the central path that runs down the length of our renowned Hot Border. Our plan is to remove the soil that has built up over the years and repair the edges of this 150 meter long path with a sympathetic kerb edge that compliments the existing remaining stone. In addition, we will repair a longstanding leak in our dipping pond and raise the level slightly for ease of maintenance.