These are The Secret Garden filming locations in Yorkshire that you can visit

A release date has for the new film adaptation of classic children's novel The Secret Garden has been confirmed.
Helmsley Walled GardenHelmsley Walled Garden
Helmsley Walled Garden

The movie will hit cinemas in April 2020, and a trailer has now been released online.

The remake of the 1993 version stars Colin Firth and Julie Walters, and the shoot took place at several locations in Yorkshire in the summer of 2018.

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The 1993 adaptation, which starred Dame Maggie Smith, was also filmed in Yorkshire.

Helmsley CastleHelmsley Castle
Helmsley Castle

Georgian statue returns to Fountains Abbey grounds over 100 years after mysteriously vanishingMost of the locations used in both films are open to the public.

Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1911 novel is set in the North York Moors, where the main character Mary Lennox's uncle, Archibald Craven, owns a brooding mansion called Misselthwaite Manor.

Scenes that take place in the secret walled garden - which in the story is locked by Mr Craven after his wife's death in an accident - were shot at Helmsley Walled Garden, a five-acre garden beneath the ruins of Helmsley Castle.

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The 450-acre Duncombe Park estate and house nearby were used to stand in for the fictional Misselthwaite Manor.

Duncombe ParkDuncombe Park
Duncombe Park

In the 1993 film, Allerton Castle, near Knaresborough, and Fountains Hall and the Studley Royal Water Garden, on the Fountains Abbey estate, were used in the Misselthwaite scenes.

The setting of the film has been moved forward to 1947 for the new adaptation, rather than the Edwardian period in which the novel is set.

The Secret Garden tells the story of orphan Mary Lennox, a 10-year-old whose parents died in a cholera epidemic when the family were living in British India. She is sent to her uncle, and gradually learns about the garden while recovering her health, becoming determined to find her way inside.

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Allerton CastleAllerton Castle
Allerton Castle

The five-acre garden was laid out in 1756, after the Duncombe family had built Duncombe Park nearby. It has now been restored as a working kitchen garden. The castle originally had its own walled garden along the banks of the river to the south. The current garden has glasshouses which date from 1850.

The garden is open every day from April 1 until October 31 from 10am to 5pm. Admission is £8 for adults and free for children. There is also a cafe.

Helmsley Castle

This impressive medieval fortress was built in stone in the 13th century and has passed through the hands of several noble families - it was once owned by King Richard III. It was besieged during the Civil War and much of the site was destroyed, although the mansion was spared. The Duncombe family's association with the castle began in 1695, when banker and politician Charles Duncombein bought the estate. His sister and her husband later inherited it and their son changed the family name to Duncombe. The family commissioned the building of Duncombe Park, with the intention of the castle acting as a picturesque backdrop to their country house. The castle is now owned by English Heritage.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water GardenFountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden
Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden
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The castle is open daily in summer and on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in winter.

Duncombe Park

The family seat of the Duncombe family, who use the title Barons Feversham. The house has not been open to the public since 2011, although visitors can tour the gardens and birds of prey centre. The estate featured as Groby Park in the 2012 TV adaptation of Parade's End. It was used as a World War One hospital and then leased to a girls' school in the 1920s while the family lived in a property nearby until 1985, when they moved back into their ancestral home.

The parkland is open throughout the year.

Allerton was the ancestral home of the Stourton family, the Lords Mowbray, until 1983. It's currently owned by American businessman Gerald Rolph.

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It's no stranger to TV and film appearances, having featured in ITV period drama Victoria and the movie Lost in Austen.

Guided tours of the Victorian gothic house are available throughout the year.

Fountains Hall and Studley Royal Water Garden

Fountains Hall is an Elizabethan prodigy house that is part of the Fountains Abbey estate, which also includes the Studley Royal Water Garden, laid out in the 18th century by the Aislabie family, who owned the Studley estate.

The house was later let to the Vyner family, and is now in National Trust ownership. Parts of it have been turned into holiday lets. The grounds are open to the public throughout the year.

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