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RHS Garden Bridgewater blooms on the old Worsley New Hall estate

RHS Garden Bridgewater blooms on the old Worsley New Hall estate
Illustrative image: Pexels

Greater Manchester's most ambitious garden project of recent decades has been growing beautifully. RHS Garden Bridgewater, on the former Worsley New Hall estate in Salford, has quickly become one of the region's best-loved places to spend a day outdoors.

The garden opened in May 2021, ten months later than originally planned because of the pandemic. It became the Royal Horticultural Society's fifth national garden, bringing one of the charity's flagship sites within easy reach of Greater Manchester's millions of residents.

The scale of the undertaking was remarkable. Bridgewater has been described as the biggest horticultural project undertaken in Europe since its planning permission was granted in 2017, with a total cost of around £35m. Salford City Council invested £19 million in the project.

The design was led by the renowned landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith, who created the masterplan for the site. His vision drew on the estate's history while giving it a new life as a modern public garden.

At its heart is the Weston Walled Garden, an 11-acre space that has been restored as part of the project. Its old walls create a sense of calm enclosure, and the planting within changes through the year, so that a visit in spring feels quite different from one in high summer or autumn.

Elsewhere, the plans included a series of distinct gardens, among them the Chinese Streamside Garden, giving visitors a reason to wander and explore. The estate's setting close to the Bridgewater Canal adds to its charm, linking the garden to Salford's industrial heritage.

Salford City Council features the garden among its regeneration projects, and it has given the area a major new visitor attraction within easy reach of the city. For local families it has also become somewhere to return to again and again, watching the young gardens mature with each passing season.

RHS Garden Bridgewater is in Worsley, close to the Bridgewater Canal. Tickets, seasonal highlights and visiting information can be found on the Royal Horticultural Society's website. Comfortable shoes are a good idea, as there is plenty of ground to cover across the estate.