In 2014 our courses moved to the beautiful coast of north Northumberland where we have begun the renovation of a fine old Victorian kitchen garden. The renovation work provides an unusual opportunity for our students to be involved in the development of the garden infrastructure and planning. It's many years since the garden was in full use but the site is lucky enough to have a massively high brick wall along its east and north sides. The wall was built from the dutch bricks which were used as ballast by coal ships from Newcastle in the nineteenth century.
The old farmhouse has been lovingly restored and now includes a pond and wildflower meadow.
The kitchen garden lies on the north side (to the left of the picture). The soil is a heavy well drained loam with few nasty weeds - no creeping buttercup or couch, just a few nettles. The biggest challenge was digging out a few very old tree stumps whose roots have gone under the walls. You can see the massive (recently re-pointed) south facing wall which will give the garden such a beneficial micro-climate.