CASTLE GROUNDS: Trees for Teesdale volunteers Dave Peat, Geoff King, Dennis Hudson, Richard Child and Richard Jackson with English Heritage gardeners Karen Garamond and James Taylor planting the new garden
CASTLE GROUNDS: Trees for Teesdale volunteers Dave Peat, Geoff King, Dennis Hudson, Richard Child and Richard Jackson with English Heritage gardeners Karen Garamond and James Taylor planting the new garden

WORK is underway to turn a rundown sensory garden in the grounds of a castle into a wildflower meadow and orchard.

Volunteers and staff from English Heritage braved the cold wind last week, planting 7,000 daffodil and snowdrop bulbs, laying turf and planting a mixture of apple and pear trees to create a new-look space inside the grounds of Barnard Castle. 

Concrete structures, which formed part of an original sensory gardens, have now been removed. English Heritage says it wants to create a more inviting, environmentally friendly garden.

A picnic area and new path will also be installed. James Taylor, English Heritage gardens manager for North Yorkshire, alongside volunteers from Trees for Teesdale, have been planting a mixture of apple and pear trees.