Welcome
The Alnwick Garden
I t is hard to believe that we are already well into 2017 and we are about to kick off a new season . Before we look forward to the season ahead it ’ s always good to reflect on the season past . So many positives can be taken from 2016 . The highlight of the year must be the opening of the Drop-in Centre which coincided with our 15 year birthday celebrations . This gave us the opportunity to showcase the tremendous impact The Garden has had on the local community from both a social and economic perspective . We were also very proud to be a finalist at the Living North Awards in the category of Best Large Visitor Attraction .
The Garden enjoyed an extremely busy second half of 2016 with some of the highlights being our character appearance days when Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol delighted thousands of families . The Halloween half term activities were extremely popular with The Garden fast becoming the Halloween destination of the North East . Festive Season visitor numbers more than doubled over last year thanks to the successful Christmas Market , Santa Visits and Skating Rink . This is really encouraging and shows what can be achieved in the future .
The Treehouse experienced a year of transition with many staff changes . I am pleased to say that we have a new and energetic team forming that will be able to take the operation to the next level .
Looking ahead I can tell you that the Team worked tirelessly through January to get The Garden and infrastructure looking as neat as ever ready for the new season .
So what does this new season have in store ? Even more than last year ! Adventure Golf , Nutkins , Paw Patrol , Hopalot Street Theatre , Peppa Pig , Prince Amir Street Theatre , Busy Lizzie , Gorillas , Veggie Nannies , Squawk Street Theatre and much more . We will be celebrating Easter with a special Easter Trail and of course
our traditional Fairy-tale Trail will be relaunched with new clues in July .
We are introducing some really exciting crafts at the Crafty Cottage that visitors of all ages will find exciting . We have Billionaire Boy outdoor theatre scheduled for the 16th of July which is a must for David Walliams fans .
We recently introduced 40 new species of David Austin Roses in the rose garden . We will be officially launching the swinging benches in the Cherry Orchard at the Cherry Blossom Festival in May . Please keep your eye on our social media feed for Blossom Watch updates ! We are in discussions with SAGE Gateshead to bring more musical events to The Garden and we are even looking at all things dark and sinister with a special event involving a forensic pathologist later in the year .
The list goes on and I have only covered those events that will occur up until August . I ’ m sure you will be pleased to know that for the third year running we have decided to keep our prices the same . We are instead focusing on giving Friends and visitors greater value for money by increasing the number of events and activities throughout the year .
There is some uncertainty when one looks towards the future particularly around the weakness of the Pound and Brexit but I am confident that the dynamic team we have , supported by our dedicated group of volunteers and Trustees , can continue to have a positive impact on the lives of Friends , day visitors and the beneficiaries of our charitable programmes .
Mark Brassell Director
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