The Forbidden Corner, England

A couple more postcards I got from Amanda... They show The Forbidden Corner in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire. I have to admit I'd never heard of this place before, and I only knew about Wensleydale because there's a cheese with that name. :P



The Forbidden Corner is a folly-filled garden open to the public in the grounds of the Tupgill Park Estate near Leyburn in North Yorkshire, England. Developed in the 1980s by Colin Armstrong, the owner of Tupgill Park, in association with the architect Malcolm Temptest the gardens were originally conceived as a private pleasure garden. They were subsequently expanded and opened to the public. The gardens were built and opened without the necessary planning permission and were threatened with closure by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority in 2001, a decision that was overturned on appeal. The gardens are now a very successful and popular attraction, and have been voted the best European folly of the 20th century by the Folly Fellowship and best children's attraction in Yorkshire.

The Forbidden Corner consists of a number of follies, woodlands, walled gardens, tunnels and grottoes furnished with statues, installations and other works of art, architecture, animated models and various oddities largely drawn from the European classical tradition, along with particular fancies of the proprietor and architect. As a whole these are arranged to create a maze for the visitor to explore. No map of the gardens is provided. There is instead an illustrated checklist of items to be found, completion of which will confirm complete exploration of the gardens.

It sounds like SUCH a cool place, I'd love to visit it some day!



Here's another card from the Forbidden Corner, this one shows The Green Knight.