RHS Garden Bridgewater

About RHS Garden Bridgewater

Bridgewater sits on the estate of Worsley New Hall, a Gothic-style mansion designed by Edward Blore and built between 1840 and 1845 for the 1st Earl of Ellesmere. The landscape designer William Andrews Nesfield worked on the grounds from 1846, laying out formal terraces and fountains, and the estate had an 11-acre walled kitchen garden. Queen Victoria visited twice. After use as a Red Cross hospital and a wartime training ground, the hall was damaged by fire in 1943 and later demolished.

The RHS began work in 2017 to a masterplan by landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith, and the garden opened on 18 May 2021. Historic features such as the Bothy chimney, Garden Cottage, the potting sheds, stables and lake have been restored and reused. The garden takes its name from the Bridgewater Canal that runs alongside.

What to see

• The Weston Walled Garden, home to the Paradise Garden, with its glasshouses and borders, and the Kitchen Garden.
• The Chinese Streamside Garden and the newer Yangzhou Scholars' Garden.
• Moon Bridge Water and Ellesmere Lake.
• Middle Wood, Victoria Meadow and the Orchard Gardens.
• Peel Learning Garden, Community Grow and the Woodland Play area for children.

Planning your visit

The garden is off Leigh Road (A572) in Worsley, about 9 miles from Manchester city centre. Car parking is free but can be busy in the morning. Visitors who arrive by bus, train, bike or on foot get a reduced price, and Salford residents can visit free on Tuesdays with pre-booking until May 2027.

There are several cafés, a free-to-enter garden centre, and wheelchairs and mobility scooters can be booked online. Two carers accompanying a disabled visitor go free, and the garden map shows wheelchair-accessible routes.