In pictures: The Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park near Ripon re-opens for the new season

The Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, in Grewelthorpe near Ripon, has lots for people of all ages to enjoy in the coming months.

Visitors to the 45-acre site can walk around the beautifully planted woodland gardens, lakes and arboretum, while taking in the striking sculptures and sounds of wildlife.

Sasha Jackson-Brown, estate and operations manager, said: “We are a bit of a hidden gem. When people find us, they tend to come back.

“We get visitors from all over the world who say how beautiful Yorkshire is.

“It's a really peaceful and tranquil garden - people often say that. You can get off the beaten track here.

“We have nice topography for walking round. It's a nice gentle day out, and we are dog-friendly so it's a nice place to come and have a wander with your dog.”

The garden has one of the North’s largest collections of rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias.

Sasha said: “The daffodils are coming out, which is lovely.

“We are really well known for our rhododendron collection, coming into flower in May.

“We have a lovely collection of magnolias which are going to come into flower in the next week or so, plus azaleas.

“In summer we get our famous blue meconopsis. They are notoriously difficult to grow but we have the right climate for them here.”

The team has been busy while the garden was closed over the winter, working on preparing the site for the new season, which runs until November 2.

“There's lots to do in the winter months, but it's very different to when we're open in the summer,” Sasha said.

“We put everything away that needs winter cover, carry out general maintenance, bring some of our sculptures in, generally put the plants to bed. We do all our tree checking.

“We are a 45-acre site, so we have an awful lot of footpath work. We resurface these nearly every autumn or spring before opening.

“We do all our health and safety checks - it's a time for everything to get serviced.

“So while it seems like we're quiet in terms of no visitors, there's lots going on.”

For 2025, more than 60 new temporary sculptures have been installed as part of the “Sculptures in the Landscape” exhibition.

“Over the winter months, we are planning where the sculptures go,” Sasha said.

“In total we will have over 160 sculptures dotted around, so people can check them out.

“We have a collection of 40 pandas in funny poses, which I think the kids will like.”

Events taking place in the coming months include botanical illustrations workshops, the “Spring Garden Experience”, a nature writing workshop and a modern calligraphy workshop, as well as children's activities during the school holidays.

For more information, visit https://www.himalayangarden.com/