New Garden at CARE Ponteland

Horticulture training has always been high on the agenda at our services in Ponteland. As well as being a very therapeutic activity, it also provides many people with vocational skills to enable them to achieve real work placements.

For many years, local people have bought plants and other garden related items from the residents working in the greenhouse on site. This business has helped us to continue to maintain and develop our training services.But now, with help from the The Freemasons' Grand Charity and the McVitie Trust, CARE has been able to embark on a new project that will not only provide current and future residents with their training, but has also established a visitor attraction within the area.

Working with local garden designers, ‘Arum’, we have established a wonderful Garden and Maze that will compliment our current horticulture activities. It was during an Arctic blast on Thursday 31 January 2008 that over 200 visitors braved icing winds to witness Peter Beardsley assist CARE resident Hew Wright to formally cut the ribbon and declare the new visitor attraction open to the public. Despite the weather, the event was a huge success.

Many families and local celebrities attended the Opening to wish us well with the new venture. Residents welcomed The Worshipful the Mayor of the Borough of Castle Morpeth, accompanied by The Mayoress, Peter Beardsley, Mike Craik, Chief Constable of Northumbria Police Authority, and representatives from The Freemasons' Grand Charity and the McVitie Trust, who all joined CARE’s Trustees and staff to celebrate the occasion.

Nick Townsend, Chairman of CARE’s Trustees, said he was extremely grateful to The Freemaons' Grand Charity and to the McVitie Trust for the support that they have given to enable the organisation to establish their horticulture project, “As a Charity, our aim is to provide the support network and the opportunities to enable people with learning disabilities to live as independently as possible. We have been able to build a training facility that will not only promote valuable social inclusion, a subject dear to our hearts, it has established a beautiful and tranquil space for visitors to enjoy, all year round”.

It is hoped that many people will visit over the coming months, perhaps returning each season to see how the garden changes throughout the year. With recent weather patterns, it is especially good to know that Hadrian’s Café at CARE Ponteland, an eatery adjacent to the garden, has an enviable reputation for good, home-cooked food. Just what is required after a bracing winter’s walk!