Monty Don was left in awe by a lesser-known garden he confessed he had never visited before. In his new series, Monty Don's British Gardens, the TV host explores 60 gardens across the UK, kicking off in Scotland and Northumberland in the first episode, set to air this Friday on BBC Two.
Chatting with Alex Jones and Clara Amfo on The One Show this Wednesday (January 8th), he revealed that The Alnwick Garden particularly caught his eye during his tour. "It was an extraordinary idea," he expressed. "The Duchess decided to make this vast public garden and I don't think anybody's ever done that before.
"To make a garden deliberately for the public that they can enjoy. And spending millions, I mean millions and millions and millions. "It was... I'd never been, I'd wanted to go.". Monty then remembered a conversation he had years ago about the allure of the garden, which is just a 40-minute drive from Newcastle.
"I remember talking to someone years ago, saying 'What is it about Alnwick?'" he told Alex and Clara. "And this was someone who lived in Newcastle, and he said 'It's because it's ours'. And that's special.". Alex was also captivated by an impressive water feature that welcomes guests at Alnwick and disclosed that children are encouraged to 'muck about' in the fountain.
Confirming the garden's child-friendly vibe, Monty added: "The best thing about it... I went in and you're looking around, what can we film, what's going on here?. "And I saw a row of toy tractors lined up in front of that thing, I thought 'Yeah, this is the place'.
