Whinfell Quarry Garden
JUNE 2018 – WALK EVERY DAY FOR A WEEK CHALLENGE – DAY 6 – more about the challenge here.
Whinfell Quarry Gardens is one of the Sheffield’s best kept secret. It’s adjacent to Whirlow Brook Park and can be accessed from Ecclesall Road South.
It houses huge Californian Redwoods, fountain-like Japanese Acers and countless Himalayan rhododendrons and Azaleas.
About the Garden
The garden in the former Whirlow Quarry was started at the end of the 19th century. The flagstone quarry was being worked until around the 1880s and in 1895 Samuel Doncaster leased it from the Fitzwilliam Estate to create a garden to complement the house he was building at Whinfell.
In the 1930s Whinfell House and Garden passed to another steel family, the Neills who in time gifted the Garden to Sheffield City Council. Sadly due to budget constraints the Garden was not maintained. In 2001 the Friends of Whinfell Quarry Garden was formed to tidy it up and restore it to something approaching its former glory.
The redwoods are the tallest in South Yorkshire and the second tallest in Yorkshire – the tallest redwoods are in Halifax.
I really enjoyed walking around. It is a very peaceful place, perfect if you want to relax and unwind. It is free to enter and open as a public park.
I visited the garden right after the rhododendron season which must be quite pretty. I will try to go next year.
If you are interested in gardens in and around Sheffield, check out my previous posts on Sheffield Botanical Garden or Lea Gardens near Matlock.
