Wooden Wonderland: The Massive Alnwick Garden Treehouse
More like a tree mansion than mere house, this lumbering structure is (unfortunately) not as old, haphazard and full of mystery as it might first appear. Nonetheless impressive, the Alnwick Garden Treehouse was commissioned by the Duke of Northumberland in the early 2000s as part of his castle complex and the associated Alnwick Garden.
Despite its less-than-thrilling origins it is still an amazing work of architecture, lifted on support logs angling up from below and intertwined with trees large and small piercing the structure all around.
The building is littered with decks in both plan and section, windows and other ways to look out and experience the surroundings and is accessed by a broad wooden rope bridge from behind.
While it might not be as cobbled-together and structurally improbable as it first seems it is certainly a playful treehouse the likes of which most of us could not have even dreamed as children.
Today, the Alnwick Garden Tree House is a restaurant serving dishes like chicken liver parfait with plum and shallot chutney. It can also be rented for weddings and other special events.
“Just outside of The Garden’s perimeter wall is perhaps the most surprising and exciting of all the surprises and excitements offered by The Alnwick Garden – the largest wooden treehouse in the world, winner of the Newcastle Journal Landmark Retail and Leisure Award 2005 and the Local Authority Building Control 2007 Award for innovatory disability access. Built around 16 mature lime trees, which grow through and into the building The Treehouse is a combination of Siberian larch, Scandinavian redwood, Canadian cedar and Scots and English pine, all from sustainable sources.”
About Alnwick Garden
“Created by the Duchess of Northumberland, The Alnwick Garden is a delight; a modern garden combining sculpture, water features, and beautiful plants to create a wonderful family attraction. The Garden features the largest collection of European plants in the UK and the largest Japanese Cherry Orchard in the World.”
