Welcome
the summer draws to a close I reflect
A s proudly
on an extremely busy six
months for The Garden. So much has been
achieved in such a short period of time.
The highlight must be winning Large
Visitor Attraction of The Year at the recent
Northumberland Tourism Awards. This
was fitting recognition for the enormous
effort all the staff and volunteers have put
in over the last 18 months.
I have also just learned that The Garden is
a finalist in the 2017 UK Social Enterprise
Awards. This highlights The Garden’s ever
increasing social impact and its importance
in the local community. This is something
we intend building on in the months and
years to come.
Another exciting development was the
official opening of our new Forgotten
Garden Advent ure Golf course in August.
If you haven’t played yet I seriously
recommend you give it a try (special
discounted price for Friends of course).
The Alnwick Garden
The festive season kicks off with the Grand Light Parade on
the 18th of November.
Last but not least, thank you for your support over the last
year. I hope you find your Friends membership value for
money and of course I hope you enjoy this latest edition
of the Friends Magazine. Moving ahead our strategy over
the next few months is to continue to offer fresh, exciting
events, remain as affordable as possible and strengthen our
community programmes.
Best wishes for the rest of 2017!
Mark Brassell
Director
Other recent highlights include the
amazing two weeks of cherry blossom we
were treated to in April as well and
splendour of the Rose Garden in full
bloom. We have tried to keep the season
brimmed full of quirky and imaginative
events. This meant welcoming a multitude
of weird and wonderful creatures to The
Garden from gorillas, giant squirrels and
oversized rabbits to a camel with a meercat
jockey! We also welcomed back some old
friends with the gang from Paw Patrol and
the entire Peppa Pig family.
Looking ahead we have a bumper and
rather scary Halloween in store and our
best Christmas offer yet. This Christmas we
are installing a bigger Skating Rink, a Giant
Snowglobe, Christmas Trail, Christmas
Market and more entertainment than ever
before. Don’t forget we also have the real
Father Christmas at The Alnwick Garden.
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