Walled Kitchen Gardens Network – Forum 2026Back to the Events & Training

Holkham Hall – the walled garden c. Holkham Estate

We are looking forward to welcoming you to the 25th Anniversary of the Walled Kitchen Gardens Network, and are so pleased to announce the Forum for 2026 will be at Holkham Hall in Norfolk, on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th October 2026.

Booking will open early in March, with speakers confirmed during the months ahead, but you are welcome to register your interest.

This year we will be celebrating the ongoing recognition and restoration walled gardens and of significant and historic places like Holkham, but also start to look forward to discussing how these gardens will need to managed for the next 25 years and beyond, looking at climate change, understanding how to maintain structures, the importance of soils and nature, and giving credit to the skills required to keep gardening these places.

One of the ‘Treasure House of Britain’, Holkham Hall is the beautiful historic home of the Coke family and Earls of Leicester, who have been at Holkham since the early 17th century. The Palladian style mansion, was built by Thomas Coke, the first Earl of Leicester, between 1734 and 1764, and is now a thriving estate under the eighth Earl, with diverse businesses including agriculture, wilding and establishment of nature reserves, tourism and property.

Holkham’s Walled Garden is a fine example of an historic walled kitchen garden, originally laid out by Samuel Wyatt during the late 1700s. The garden is divided into ‘squares’ and ‘slips’, each with their own theme and associated planting. Within the walls of the six-acre Walled Garden, are a spectacular stand of Georgian and Victorian greenhouses and vineries, a formal ornamental garden, an established vineyard, and productive gardens

The Walled Kitchen Gardens Network, began in 2001 after the first Forum was held at Hellens in Herefordshire and Susan Campbell and Fiona Grant decided to set up an online Grapevine. The Network has become an important part of the conservation, recognition and future of walled kitchen gardens, with the annual Forum demonstrating so well the importance of contact and communication between people and gardens. We hope you will be able to join us to celebrate the 25th Anniversary, at Holkham Hall in October.