The history of Nottingham's Wollaton Park and Hall is well-documented. From the red deer that strut around the green hills, to the hall's industrial history, many of us would like to think we know all there is to know about the iconic mansion and its grounds. But look very closely as you enter the Elizabethan park and you'll find the Secret Walled Garden .
You may scratch your head and wonder why you haven't spotted it before, but you certainly aren't alone. It wasn't until 2007 when a number of locals - who would later become volunteers - discovered the garden by chance when taking their dogs for a walk. They found the space, once beautiful and grand when it was built in the 1880s, now abandoned and derelict.
"When we first came here all you could see was ivy everywhere," says Jane Baynham. She's been a volunteer at the garden "right from the word go" when the project started in 2017, and has seen the transformation from then to what the garden is today. Now largely resurrected, the garden grows a variety of different fruit, vegetables and plants.
Jane has started running tours around the garden, letting, for the first time in years, people finally experience the once 'secret' garden . She says the feedback to the largely unseen space has been positive, with many people noting they couldn't believe the transformation when shown historic photos. "It’s hard now to picture in your mind’s eye what it was actually like when we got here," she said.
"We spent at least two and h.