Volunteers restore walled garden

The volunteers have been putting the finishing touches to a walled kitchen garden behind the visitors centre, which was originally used to grow food to supply Longshaw Lodge, the Duke of Rutland's hunting residence.

However, it lay dormant for many years and was overgrown. Now volunteers have dug eight vegetable beds and put in the first plants.

Project manager Paul Mowforth said: "One of our biggest challenges is the fact that the garden is about 1,100ft above sea level. This will affect what we can grow because of the short growing season, so this first year will be an experiment to see what's successful and what isn't.

"We've been researching what fruit and vegetables grow well at altitude, and will be trying beetroot, potatoes, peas, gooseberries, and blackcurrants – even horseradish."

He added: "We're hope that visitors to the Longshaw Estate will take a look at the walled kitchen garden and be inspired to grow their own food at home. We want to spread the message that it's easy to grow your own and turn it into tasty food that is simple to cook."

Picture: Chris Lawton.