Is Helmsley Walled Garden open in winter?

It is open Wednesday to Sunday until Sunday 20 December 2026, then closed until March 2027.

Are dogs allowed at Helmsley Walled Garden?

Yes. All dogs on leads are welcome, and water bowls are provided.

Do you have to pay to go to the café?

No. The Vine House Café, shop and plant sales are free to enter without a garden ticket.

Is Helmsley Walled Garden free for RHS members?

Individual RHS members get free entry on Wednesdays. Bring your card.

Where do you park for Helmsley Walled Garden?

The Cleveland Way long-stay car park, about 150m away. The garden has no car park of its own.

Is Helmsley Walled Garden wheelchair accessible?

Yes, it is almost entirely step free, and wheelchairs can be borrowed if you book ahead.

Things to Do

Helmsley Walled Garden

By Jon Cosson · Updated 29 October 2026 · Checked 29 October 2026

Helmsley Walled Garden is an 18th century kitchen garden tucked below the walls of Helmsley Castle, run today by a charity that uses it for therapeutic horticulture. Its five acres of planting and restored glasshouses, and the Vine House Café, make it one of the gentlest places to spend a morning in Helmsley.

Before you go: the practical facts

Open in Maps: Google Maps · Apple Maps

Address: Helmsley Walled Garden, Cleveland Way, Helmsley, North Yorkshire, YO62 5AH. The garden warns that this postcode sends sat navs to Duncombe Park, so follow the footpath signs from the town instead.
Who runs it: Helmsley Walled Garden, a registered charity (number 1074448).
Opening, November and December 2026: Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, last entry 3pm.
Winter closure: closes for winter after Sunday 20 December 2026 and stays shut in January and February.
2027 season: reopens in March, Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. From April to October, 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm.
Admission: a standard day ticket is £14, or £15.50 with Gift Aid. Under 16s and carers go free. Day tickets are sold only at the kiosk on the day. Annual membership and a residents' pass are also available. RHS members get free entry on Wednesdays.
Café, shop and plant sales: the Vine House Café serves food and drink 10am to 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday. You can visit the café, gift shop and plant sales without a garden ticket.
Dogs: all dogs on leads are welcome throughout the garden, with water bowls provided.
Accessibility: the garden is on one level and almost completely step free, with tamped gravel and sand paths and wood chip in the Kitchen Garden. Steps lead to the Orchid House, which has a ramp. A few wheelchairs can be borrowed free if you book ahead. An accessible toilet by the Salad House is always open.
Toilets: the accessible toilet above, plus toilets by the café entrance.
Getting there: the garden has no car park of its own. Use the Cleveland Way long-stay car park run by North Yorkshire Council, about 150m away, which has two disabled spaces; charges apply, see /plan/parking. Drop-offs at the gate can be arranged with the garden by email. On foot, walk from the Market Place past All Saints Church, turn into Church Street, then left into Cleveland Way and follow the signs. EYMS bus 128 runs from Scarborough and Pickering, and Reliance 31X runs from York to Kirkbymoorside via Helmsley.

What you will see

The planting. Five acres of planting inside the old walls, including a Kitchen Garden with wood chip paths.

The glasshouses. The Vine House Café sits in one of the restored Victorian glasshouses, and the Orchid House is worth the few steps up.

The views. The castle ruins rise directly above the garden walls, and there is a separate wildflower meadow beyond.

A short history

The walled garden was built in the 1750s to grow fruit and vegetables for Duncombe Park, the great house that employed around 20 gardeners. After the First World War the gardeners never came back. The garden was run for a while as a market garden, then left derelict.

In 1994 Alison Ticehurst, a local practice nurse, saw its potential as a place where people could benefit from therapeutic horticulture. She raised money, gathered volunteers and began clearing the ground, but died suddenly soon after planting started. Friends and volunteers carried on, and the charity still follows her vision today.

Tips and timing

Visit before 20 December for a last look this year; it then shuts until March 2027.
Spring and summer are the showiest months; check the garden's own What's On page for events.
Combine it with Helmsley Castle next door, then walk the Cleveland Way towards Rievaulx Abbey.

Nearby

Helmsley Walled Garden FAQs

Is Helmsley Walled Garden open in winter?: It is open Wednesday to Sunday until Sunday 20 December 2026, then closed until March 2027.
Are dogs allowed at Helmsley Walled Garden?: Yes. All dogs on leads are welcome, and water bowls are provided.
Do you have to pay to go to the café?: No. The Vine House Café, shop and plant sales are free to enter without a garden ticket.
Is Helmsley Walled Garden free for RHS members?: Individual RHS members get free entry on Wednesdays. Bring your card.
Where do you park for Helmsley Walled Garden?: The Cleveland Way long-stay car park, about 150m away. The garden has no car park of its own.
Is Helmsley Walled Garden wheelchair accessible?: Yes, it is almost entirely step free, and wheelchairs can be borrowed if you book ahead.

Sources checked 29 October 2026: Helmsley Walled Garden, home, visit, access and history pages; North York Moors National Park, Helmsley Walled Garden and the Vine House Café; North Yorkshire Council, Cleveland Way car park Helmsley.

Where to stay in the North York Moors

Self-catering cottages, village inns and farmhouse boltholes right across the moors, from the southern villages to the coast.

Browse places to stay