Archive: Apr 2025
Introducing our brand new partnership with Fundraise & Recycle!
We’re absolutely delighted to announce our latest collaboration at The Alnwick Garden, as we continue to fulfil our sustainable and charitable goals, by encouraging all of our lovely visitors to recycle used clothing and textiles.
We now have two interactive clothes banks on site, one in the accessible car park and one in the overflow car park where we are encouraging you, yes you, to drop off the bits you no longer need. All of the donated clothes allow us to raise funds for our charity whilst recycling and helping people who need it the most.
These aren’t just any clothes banks, they’re incredibly state of the art and beautiful, with digital data trackers, a charity profile and even the ability to talk to you, yes, you read that right! The incredible team at Fundraise & Recycle help charities, schools and community groups to fulfil their fundraising goals and have already raised nearly £500,000 and counting.
Look out for further information about how you can help us to meet our ambitions to fundraise to support our community and education programmes but for now, here’s some helpful links:
Our Profile
About Fundraise & Recycle
Sponsor one of our Clothes Banks
Start a campaign
To learn more about our Charity, click here
Registered Charity Number: 1095435
As spring brings a splash of colour back to the British landscape, arguably there are no springtime flowers as strangely striking as the velvety purple Pasqueflower.
So, what is a the Easter flower, how is it potentially poisonous and what is the Poison Garden team here at The Alnwick Garden doing to ensure its protection for future generations?
A plant with roots in Christian symbolism, the Pasqueflower synonymous with Easter and is often used in church displays during Lent and Easter. Its purple hues (representative) to the liturgical colour of penitence and mourning, which is worn in churches during the Lenten season, leading up the Christ’s crucifixion. Its emergence in barren landscapes at the end of winter, serves as a living symbol of resurrection, representing the stone rolling away from the tomb and the coming of new life.
Botanically known as Pulsatilla Vulgaris, the Pasqueflower belongs to the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, which includes many beautiful yet poisonous flowering plants.
The Pasqueflower contains protoanemonin, a compound released by the plant when it is crushed or damaged. On contact with the skin, the substance can cause burning sensations, blistering and dermatitis. If that wasn’t bad enough, when ingested, even the smallest amount can cause severe irritation to the mouth and throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, with extreme cases siting side effects of convulsions and respiratory distress. Luckily, they are said to have a bitter, repulsive taste.
These silken-haired purple wildflowers are native to Europe and parts of the UK, including Northumberland, where they thrive in chalky soil and barren limestone grasslands. However, due to the degradation of their habitats and changes in the land use, these flowers are now rare in the wild and are listed as a Priority Species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.
Most surviving wild colonies are found on protected grasslands and nature reserves, where they are carefully monitored each spring, but here at The Alnwick Garden, we have two species within the gates of our very own Poison Garden. The Poison Garden contains over 100 species of Poisonous Plants, carefully cared for and protected by our gardeners, but also studied by our Poison Garden guides.
Although gore and gruesome, the Poison Garden is an essential part of our charitable mission, ensuring that we protect endangered plants, protect the public by educating them about drugs and informing them on the dangers that potentially lurk in their own back gardens to ultimately keep the public safe! Head Guide at The Poison John Knox said, ‘we aren’t trying to scare people from having them, but educate, so they can have this flower safely in their garden.’
Keep your eye out for the Pasqueflower this Easter and always remember the cardinal Poison Garden rule, no pickin’, no lickin’!
We’re delighted to announce our brand new corporate partnership, as The Alnwick Garden teams up with locally loved, family-run firm Blueline Taxis.
The team at Blueline Taxis, are committed to making your journey comfortable, convenient, stress-free and, with shared goals, values and a community focus, they are the perfect pairing as the latest travel partner to come ‘on board’ with us.
Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be running joint offers, competitions and collaborations but for now, here’s a little more insight into why Blueline are the peoples choice when it comes to local private travel.
Driving a greener future
An alignment of goals, values and beliefs are essential in any successful partnerships and, just like The Alnwick Garden, Blueline are committed to reducing their environmental impact and promoting sustainability within their operations. The Blueline Green Policy reflects their dedication to a greener future and outlines the steps they take to ensure our services are eco-friendly.
Each year, Blueline serve over 10,608,000 passengers throughout the region, boasting an exceptional 99.7% satisfaction rating.
Their fleet of modern, eco-friendly vehicles ensures every journey is safe, comfortable, and efficient and we can’t wait to be teaming up with their 800 drivers to ensure visitors get to and from The Garden and Lilidorei.
For the community
The Alnwick Garden is more than a garden and Blueline is more than just a transportation service; like us, they’re deeply ingrained in our community. They proudly support and collaborate with local charities, working together to make a positive impact in the lives of those they serve. Blueline’s commitment to diversity and inclusion extends to their strong track record in supporting LGBT and disability rights – causes that are close to our hearts at The Garden too and integral to our company values.
“As North East England’s leading taxi firm, we’re incredibly proud to become an official transport partner for The Alnwick Garden,” said Tom Shanks, Director at Blueline Taxis. “This partnership aligns perfectly with our shared values – from our growing fleet of low-emission vehicles matching their sustainability goals, to our mutual focus on accessibility and creating welcoming experiences for all visitors. Whether it’s families enjoying a day out or tourists exploring the region, we’re committed to providing reliable, environmentally-conscious transport that complements the Garden’s world-class offering.”
Thank you so much to the team at Blueline Taxis, we’re excited to see where our partnership takes us!
