Holker Hall & Gardens

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor

Visit now

Holker Hall & Gardens

Cark-in-Cartmel, Nr Grange-over-Sands, LA11 7PL
01539558328
  • Wednesday10:30am - 5:00pm
  • Thursday10:30am - 5:00pm
  • Friday10:30am - 5:00pm
  • Saturday10:30am - 5:00pm
  • Sunday10:30am - 5:00pm

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Holker Hall & Gardens
Cumbria's Living Heritage, Holker Hall & Gardens
Book now

One of Cumbria’s finest historical sites, the gloriously asymmetrical pile of rambling galleries and green spaces that is Holker Hall and Gardens dates back to the sixteenth century and has acquired a series of beautifications over the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In particular, early Victorian architect George Webster’s sympathetic additions in the Jacobean Revival style contribute to a fantastical, Shakespearean atmosphere. Nikolaus Pevsner was impressed!

Formerly the Cartmel Priory, the property was granted to the Prestons during the Dissolution and then passed to the Lowthers and its present occupants, the Cavendishes.

The Cavendishes are active stewards and continue to add features to their property. One recent addition is the impressive and mysterious Labyrinth, a maze in which guests can wander for hours. Constructed using local materials from the estate, and designed according to certain ancient principles, a wander in Holker’s labyrinth makes a fine activity for a summer’s day.

Inside Holker Hall, you’ll find a wealth of fine art and period furniture. There’s also a regular art market, and seasonal events for Christmas and Halloween, including arts and crafts courses for all comers. Surrounding the hall are miles of parkland and woods, making Holker a great departure point for outdoors enthusiasts.

What's on near Holker Hall & Gardens

A large mechanical puppet controlled by multiple people. Encounter Festival in Preston
FestivalsLancashire
Encounter Festival in Preston

Expect a jam-packed day of outdoor performance, live music, family fun – plus Preston’s iconic Torchlight Procession and fireworks finale.

Free entry
MusicBlackburn
Confessional Festival

Blackburn’s Confessional Festival turns ten, celebrating with two days of live music set beneath the stained glass and vaulted stonework of Holy Trinity Church.

From £20

Where to go near Holker Hall & Gardens

Cumbria
Restaurant
L’Enclume

We review Simon Rogan’s Michelin starred restaurant L’Enclume, a great spot for upscale fine dining in Cartmel.

Rogan and co exterior
Cumbria
Restaurant
Rogan & Company

Sister restaurant to Simon Rogan’s two Michellin starred L’Enclume – more low key but just as tasty.

Morecambe
Guide over Sands

At low tide, the exposed bed of the Irish Sea connects the Lancashire coast with the Cumbrian hills across Morecambe Bay, allowing crossings over the sands.

Cumbria
Theatre
The Coro

Nestled in the heart of Ulverston, a rural market town on the fringes of the Lake District, stands The Coro —an esteemed historic hub for arts, culture, and entertainment

The Swan Hotel and Spa
Windermere
Hotel
The Swan Hotel and Spa

The Swan Hotel in Newby Bridge is a boutique hotel with quirky rooms and cottages, based at the tip of Lake Windermere in the Lake District.

Morecambe
Event venue
Gaskell Hall

The Gaskell Hall was opened in 1931 and is named after Elizabeth Gaskell, the novelist who regularly stayed in the village.

Leighton Hall
Event venue
Leighton Hall

Famous collection of Gillow furniture and objets d’art, plus gardens and woodland walks. Educational ‘bee corner’, ‘woodland hotel’ and ‘caterpillar maze’ for children.

The Bay Cycle Way is a perfect introduction to long-distance cycling. Morecambe Bay is one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the UK.
Morecambe
Tourist Attraction
Bay Cycle Way

The Bay Cycle Way is a perfect introduction to long-distance cycling, and passes through some of the UK’s most beautiful coastline.

Lancashire
Music venue
The Platform

Music, comedy, dance, drama and children’s shows in an Edwardian railway station, opposite The Midland Hotel.

Eden Project North

Opening in 2024, Morecambe bay will become a centre for eco tourism with the exciting arrival of the Eden Project North.

Culture Guides

Author portrait
Literature Events in the North

Our latest round-up features plenty of one-off live literature events to wrap your ears about, so get those diaries ticking over...

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Sprints
Music in the North

10 fresh shows across Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool, threading together noise, ritual, euphoria and release in all their messy, beautiful forms.

Detail of an abstract sculpture, with burned materials and rusty chicken wire at the centre, with rusted metal bars bent around it.
Exhibitions in the North

Chocolate fountains, beautiful batiks and medieval marginalia - this month's supersized Exhibitions Guide has it all.