Once a popular tourist site with its own tea room and regularly featuring in the national media, the faded remains of this peculiar place are still accessible. I'm not entirely sure if they are strictly speaking open (the "all welcome" sign has been painted over) but the coin box still accepts donations and the gate was still open when I was last there.
Some guy created lots of concrete animals in the 1960s and 70s of the least publicised attractions in Northumberland. They were all placed in the back garden of his Branxton home. The house now belongs to his granddaughter.
Branxton is some 25 miles from Alnwick - near Flodden field and just off the A697 between Wooler and Coldstream. I've included it mainly because hardly anyone in Northumberland seems to mention it which seems a great shame, because it really is a very odd place. It's like the White Witch from Narnia has settled in this remote corner of Northumberland.
Most of the animals could do with a lick of paint - the giraffes in particular haven't aged well - but it's worth the trip just to wander around this garden stuffed full of concrete animals.
And it's not just animals. There are statues of Winston Churchill and Robert Burns, and countless odd texts set into the plinths and pathways in the garden.
Some pictures of the menagerie are set out below. The jumble of images is to try and convey the nature of the site. It certainly isn't because my HTML skills are incredibly lacking.
