Hackfall Woods was owned by John Aislabie from 1731 onwards and he created a wonderland of follies and woodland gardens to entertain Victorian visitors. It fell into disrepair and during my childhood I would visit and play amongst the grotto's and fairytale landscape acting out stories of hobgoblins, pixies and elf kingdoms.
In 2007, together the Hackfall Trust and Woodland Trust began restoring the wilderness back to it's former glory. For a visitor like me, returning to where I once played amongst the overgrown ivy covered ruins and explored hidden gems, the sudden revival of the woods is also tinged with sadness of a time land forgot and then thrown back into the spotlight of modernity.
The Grotto, built of tufa stone and restored recently.
A little Turner landscape to whet your appetite, probably sketched on his Yorkshire Tour in 1816, this stunning watercolour captures the magic of Hackfall, with Mowbray Castle perched on the horizon and the River Ure drifting by in the foreground. Time has stood still for almost 200 years... here's the same view point caught on camera.
If you visit, don't forget to pack your wellies... and look out for the Big Bad Wolf... he's sure to be lurking!
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