Calm space garden needs younger helpers to survive

Volunteers at a community garden tucked away behind a village high street fear for its future if they cannot attract more young people to get involved.

Whickham Hermitage Garden was a thriving Victorian garden attached to the hermitage but it fell into dereliction in the 20th Century.

It was restored and reopened in 2006 by local resident Dave Peacock whose ambition was to create somewhere for the community to visit. He died in 2021, but volunteers continue to maintain the space.

Trustee Charles Mears said: "The only thing we suffer from is the age of volunteers because we're all getting older, there are not so many coming through of younger ages."

Mears said though there are other community spaces in Whickham such as Chase Park, the Hermitage Garden gives older residents a calm community space to sit throughout the year.

"My concern is eventually people who are volunteering reach a point where they physically can't.

"If we're going to maintain it, we have a certain amount of finances to pay someone to look after it for two to three years, but if we have no volunteers, it would be handing it back to the council after that."

The Tomlinson family are regular visitors to the garden [BBC/Daniel Hall]

Peter Tomlinson lives in Whickham and visits with wife Jen and five-month-old son Oscar.

"I don't think many people who live outside of Whickham know that it's here," he said.

"I think it's somewhat deliberately not very well signposted but that's kind of the beauty of it when you do discover it and realise it's here, it's kind of secluded a little bit, but you're only 20 yards from Front Street."

Tomlinson said he often sees volunteers hard at work when he visits on a Saturday morning.

"You'll see retired members of the community working hard with a coffee and keeping all the different shrubs and trees well manicured, and making sure that the garden continues to be something to be proud of."

Whickham Community Heritage Garden is regarded as a calm place for older people to sit [BBC/Daniel Hall]

The garden has recently been in the spotlight in local media, which has brought new visitors in.

Steph Wallace, visiting from Heaton, said gardens such as Whickham Hermitage are not only important as a community space, but to give people inspiration for their own gardens.

"The planting is really lovely for this time of year, the colours are really autumnal and there are loads of things to see," she said.

"I think these small gardens can pack a lot in."

Steph Wallace says community gardens can inspire people's ideas for their own gardens [BBC/Daniel Hall]

Zoe Armstrong, who runs the Orangery Cafe in the grounds, said the garden was a "hidden gem".

"We still quite often will get people who say they've lived in Whickham for 20 years and they're only just discovering us today," she said.

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