For folk interested in gardens, this place is high...

For folk interested in gardens, this place is highly over-rated - I recommend a visit to Howick Gardens instead. At Alnwick, the plants in the rose garden and the ornamental garden are well-grown, but as a whole the garden design doesn't work - the central fountain and cascade is spectacular but is rather out of place: the adjacent parts of the garden don't really support it. The Poison Garden is a gimmick - we grow at least 90% of the plants in our own garden, including Monkshood (A. napellus), which the guide told me was the same as Wolfsbane (A. lycoctonum), which I particularly wished to see. Also - the food outlets do not cater for vegans - even the chips are cooked in animal fat.