School holiday cabin fever? Try a family Snowdrop walk or Snowdrop trail this February half term.
There’s nothing more Spring-like than walking amongst the tiny dancing lanterns of thousands of snowdrops carpeting a peaceful woodland floor.
A family garden visit is food for the senses, soul and spirit.
Howick Hall Gardens
Our local garden in Northumberland, Howick Hall Gardens is just 5 minutes down the road from us. It’s a beautiful coastal garden, best known for it’s spring bulbs, woodland grounds which extend over 65 acres and of course Snowdrops.
The estate showcases two arboretums with an eclectic mix of around 11,000 worldwide shrubs and trees – billed as a United Nations of the tree world! – and miles of mostly accessible gravel walks including a trail to the sea.
Things not to miss..
- The Snowdrops!!!
- Pick up a Snowdrop Explorer Challenge sheet at reception
- Family explorer challenge sheets at reception. Choose nature trails, woodland Olympics, scavenger hunts, wildlife spotting or giant tree measuring – online downloads available
- Visitor centre in the house
- Tree climbing – just don’t let your little monkeys loose in the arboretum trees!
- Physical Disability Map for accessible routes and information
- Sensory garden by the North Northumberland National Autistic Society
- Lunch or afternoon tea in the gorgeous Earl Grey Tea House cafe
- Earl Grey tea, where it was first invented
- Miles of woodland walks including a beach trail, mostly accessible except the East Arboretum
- 12th century church
- An iron age hillfort close to the beach. It’s not spectacular, more info here
A Snowdrop walk for the soul
Howick Hall Gardens has a stunning woodland snowdrop walk in Spring, with lots of fun extras along the trail to engage our wildlings even more.
Secret Snowdrops
How about hunting for these yellow snowdrops, growing secretly somewhere within the grounds? No clues from us though! And absolutely no picking.
You can also spot pottery animals in the woods too, see the photo below.
When we visited in 2017 Caroline was still having chemo and radiotherapy for her cancer and Wild Gump (my Dad) was in a wheelchair having severely torn a muscle.
- Life lesson: when aged 74, don’t play tennis with younger men without a proper warm-up…!
Despite this, we’re very proud of Wild Gump for staying active and getting outdoors into his 70s!!
We also proved that the walks and trails are wheelchair accessible.
The indomitable Caroline heroically pushing Gump around the Bog Garden
Our 2020 visit was on a chilly, grey day. No arty, sun-lit snowdrop pics this time. No wheelchair, and no bald head anymore! The wild one’s hair is long and lush again.
Caroline’s ever faithful Otto also found some friends in the woods, hidden in leaves so as not to squash any snowdrops! As a bear, he’s written lots about Caroline’s cancer if you’re interested.
Coastal gardening challenges
Howick Hall Gardens are near the coast (in the Northumberland Coast AONB) and make for a somewhat challenging garden to maintain in terms of climate, salty air and windswept location.
Many volunteers as well as paid gardeners help throughout the year and the grounds offer something different throughout the seasons. Snowdrops are followed by daffodils, tulips, rhododendrons and stunning woodland scenery all year round.
As well as the Snowdrop swathes, I particularly liked a boggy, dead flowerbed overlooking the house where some giant plants, presumably Gunnera or something similar, had died back during the winter.
On the face of it a dismal and dreary scene but it actually had a stark, architectural beauty against the delicacy of the snowdrops. I was reminded of empty war trenches in the aftermath of a battle. Evocative, unusual but somehow pleasing to the eye.
And for the grammar pedants among us, there are some rather well educated rabbits and hares at Howick…
Howick Hall sensory garden
The sensory garden had opened since our last visit and we were impressed with the location of the site, the beauty of the flowerbed plantings and the brilliant sensory additions. It’s a sheltered and warm space, located next to the huge walled garden.
It was created in 2018 with the North Northumberland Branch of the National Autistic Society and funding from the National Garden Scheme. We spent a long, relaxing time in the tranquil setting. Well worth a visit.
Miles of garden walks
The gardens include several miles of walks including the ‘Long Walk,’ down to a private beach on the coast, the arboretums, a 12th century church, a pond and separate bog garden, picnic areas, an extensive car park, a fabulous new visitor centre with access to two beautiful rooms in the house, and a cafe with gift shop.
This is us adventuring off the Long Walk in 2016!
NB You don’t have to cross the water like this, there’s a new bridge to reach the beach!
Full moon home education walk
At Kids of the Wild we love family walks and we love walking in the dark too, so my favourite story about the original Howick Hall inhabitants involves a spooky full moon walk through the grounds…for children only!
The first Earl home-educated all of his 16 (I think!) children. To ‘ensure’ they weren’t afraid of the dark – though this could easily have backfired – he made them walk on their own, in the dark, 1 and a half miles from the house to the sea!
This nerve-wracking nighttime escapade was a rite of passage for each of the children on the July full-moon in the year of their 10th birthday!! That’s a wild kid’s birthday present and a half! The route took the children through the gardens and woods right down to the beach where their mission was to pick a particular flower on the cliffs. Taking home education to a whole other level!
I think I’d have liked the first Earl, with his ethos of nature, adventure and creating fearless wild kids, though I feel for any of those children who weren’t quite ready for the deep-night tests of endurance their father made them undertake.
The Earl Grey Tea House cafe (and gift shop)
We finished our visit in the delightful cafe with sunny window tables overlooking the lawned garden and terrace. The cafe serves light lunches, snacks and cream teas.
Don’t forget to sample an Earl Grey tea in the location it was invented. Apparently the water in the area tasted so unpleasant in years gone by that the 2nd Earl Grey invited a Chinese mandarin to improve the flavour. The recipe included locally grown bergamot and the rest is history!
Moody Summer sky over the Earl Grey Tea Room
There are local goodies on sale too (Puffins abound) and a fab old dolls house for supervised children to play with.
Top tip – sit by a window and watch birds galore and red squirrels (if you’re lucky) getting stuck into peanuts on the bird feeders hanging just outside the windows.
The only downside to the tea room is that you can’t pop in unless you’ve bought a garden ticket – they’re missing a trick here as locals and tourists would be there all the time.
Howick Hall visitor information
Overview
- Open 10.30am to 4pm daily, 6pm main season
- NE66 3LB Visit Howick Gardens
- Buses drop off near the gates
- Free parking
- Blue badge spaces or drop off at the house – call in advance
- Power assisted wheelchair loan – call in advance
- Wheelchair accessible
- Assistance dogs only
- Toilets
- Cafe and gifts
- Visitor centre – family history, tree and plant facts, gardening, info
2025 Opening hours
March 31st to mid-November 10.30am to 4pm
April 01st to September 30th 10.30am to 6pm
Are dogs allowed at Howick Hall?
No dogs except assistance dogs.
Prices
- Family (2 adults, 2 children) £27.25
- Adults £12.10
- Children 5-16 yrs £3.85
- Children under 4 FREE
- Over 60s £11.00
- Students £6.05
Season Tickets – Family £102.85, Child £18.15, Single £49.50, Double £84.70
Tourist Return Tickets are valid for 7 days from purchase for return entry.
All include a voluntary 10% gift aid donation.
Wild wishes, secret Snowdrop seekers, for discovering flowering Springtime treasures wherever you are!
More family gardens to visit
At the other end of the country in deepest Cornwall is the enchanting Tanglewood Wild Garden, a fantastic day mooching in nature for families and children. Look out for the skeletons, giant spiders webs and whales…
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We love to reply to your messages so let us know about any other snowdrop trails that you’ve enjoyed.
Inspiration for gardening with kids & outdoor time
Check out our kids gardening pages or find inspiration for more outdoor time anywhere on Kids of the Wild!
I love walks like this! If only we lived closer to Northumberland as there’s so much to see and do here. One of my sons is really into his tea so the Earl Grey tea room would be perfect. We love doing the snowdrop trail at Hever Castle, our local castle, and the sensory trail and trees to climb make this one extra special. Thanks so much for sharing on #FarawayFiles
Thanks Clare, I think the tree climbing was far more fun than the snowdrops for Caroline, though she loved searching for the yellow ones. It’s a great horticultural day out!
Loving the epic adventures, snowdrops (we’ve just returned from our own hunt at Chiswick Gardens) and great to hear about the sensory gardens! Bookmarking for our future travels, have a lovely weekend!
Have a great weekend too! And do yell if you’re ever up this way. X
The weather may have been miserable this Februaury but I have to say the snowdrops everywhere have been rather impressive.Great trees to climb there by the look of it too, always a bonus #CountryKids
I agree, the snowdrops have been superb this year. The tree climb over the stream was a particular challenge and very good fun!
Now this resonates with me, my late father bred snowdrops especially yellow ones. I even have one named after me, you can buy June Boardman (my mother) but I am still building up commercial quantities #FarawayFiles
How wonderful to have a plant, especially the evocative snowdrop, named after you! PLEASE let me know when they are available commercially as I’d love to buy a plant or two.
How wonderful to have a plant, especially the evocative snowdrop, named after you! PLEASE let me know when they are available commercially as I’d love to buy a plant or two.
What a lovely setting for snowdrop spotting. Love that sensory garden too #countrykids
It’s a lovely garden, lots of walking and not over-formal
Beautiful place! Love the sensory garden, and I agree with you about the February flowerbed that nature can be very beautiful in a state of decay, too! I can’t remember ever seeing yellow snowdrops… x #CountryKids
What a beautiful place! I love the sensory garden, and also agree with you about the February flowerbed that nature can indeed look amazing in a state of decay, too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen yellow snowdrops… will need to keep my eyes peeled! x #CountryKids
I’ve never seen yellow snowdrops anywhere else, I’d love to hear if you spot any. Another commenter says her father bred them, so they might be secretly all over the place. Hopefully not threatening our native greens too much though! I’m hoping to buy some from her in future.
How lovely to revisit Howick Hall with everyone in much better health and a snowdrop walk is always a lovely thing to do in February. I’ve never seen yellow snowdrops before and didn’t know such things existed. Love how the Wild Grandparents and Caroline have such enthusiasm for outdoor adventure. That sign for the rabbits and hates made me chuckle too. The story about the first Earl is wonderful – what a way for his children to mark their 10th birthdays. Love the look of the sensory garden, my children would love that too. Thank you for sharing with #CountryKids
Thanks Louise, it’s good to be back, hopefully a bit more regularly now! I’d never heard of yellow snowdrops either. Nature constantly fascinates