Kelburn Estate - Kelburn for famillies

The Secret Forest

What is the Secret Forest? | What's lurking inside? | Image gallery

The Chinese Gardens

The Chinese Garden is intended as a place of quiet and tranquility, planted with exotic flowers and shrubs and dominated by a statue of the Buddha. A small stream runs through the middle that is crossed by an ornate Chinese Bridge. At one end is a small Chinese Pavilion which contains original Chinese paintings illustrating stories from two traditional Chinese poems. On the Pavilion's ceiling are four colourful dragons.

The Crocodile Swamp and the Grotto

To cross the crocodile swamp or reach the entrance to the Grotto, you must carefully negotiate the wooden stepping stones. In all but the driest conditions, water flows over the top of the grotto into the pool. Inside is the grotto's guardian, a reptilian monster who feeds on human heads. There is an escape route that leads out along a below-ground passageway to the Gingerbread House.

The Celtic Totems, the Snake and the Bird

The mysterious Celtic Totems in the centre of the Secret Forest, designed by Elizabeth Brodie as a homage to Celtic and prehistoric art, are three decorated six foot poles, supporting heads of women carved in stone. In another part of the Forest you may find the Cobra about to strike, the work of sculptor Guy Elder, who also carved the Black Bird in the Giant's Castle. But the most imposing sculptures are the works of Alan Less - in particular, the Time Man and the Giant Bird that sits on its nest guarding its egg and surveying the whole of the Forest.

The Pagoda

The centrepiece of the Secret Forest is the Pagoda designed by Vernon Gibberd. Over thirty-five feet high, there are 42 wrought-iron steps to the high balcony, which can accommodate nearly fifty people at once and provides a spectacular view over the Secret Forest.

The Castle with No Entrance

The Castle with No Entrance is the home of a greedy Goblin who guards his treasure constantly and watches for intruders from his high window in the tower. For fear of robbers, he has blocked up all doors and gates into the castle, but there is a hidden entrance that leads to a secret way in. There is also a way out at the top of the tower leading onto the overhead walkway. Within the castle is the Well where the Goblin keeps his treasure and, pinned to the wall, is his iniquitous family tree.

The Inner Wood

The Inner Wood lies at the entrance of the Secret Forest and is largely enclosed by trees and branches that form a canopy over your head. Hiding within the Inner Wood are several animals including deer and foxes, a wolf and a wild boar.

The Prisoner in the Cell

Below the Overhead Walkway is an enclosed passage leading from the Castle with No Entrance to the Inner Wood. At the end of the passage is the chained prisoner in his cell. Maybe he was put there by the Goblin who caught him trying to steal his treasure. Maybe he was imprisoned by the Witch, but most believe he was locked up by the Chinese Wizard of the Pagoda, who caught him trying to elope with his daughter.

The Maze of the Green Man

The Gate with the Three Entrances leads you into the Maze and the realm of the Green Man. The Green Man is made of solid oak and lives in the centre of the Maze, enclosed by other sculpture representing a variety of animals and plants that thrive by day and night. The Green Man is an ancient Spirit of Nature, ecologically rather than literally green, with mystical powers over all life. Take one of the entrances into the maze and if you make no wrong turning, you will reach his lair, passing other sculptures of mystical and symbolic creatures on the way.

The Gingerbread House

The Gingerbread House is a six-sided building embossed on two walls with cakes and lollipops and all manner of sweet things. It is the home of the witch, who crouches hidden in her kitchen, waiting for children who are tempted to enter in search of sweets and other goodies, in this house, she brews her cauldron and casts her spells, while two of the victims (who may be Hansel and Gretal) hang from the ceiling in a cage, awaiting their fate.

The Woodcutter's House

The Woodcutter's House, at the farthest end of the Forest, has been constructed by laying tree trunks horizontally one on top of the other and securing them together with dowels. This is the most homely of the buildings where visitors can feel safe from the spirites that hold sway over the forest. There is also a secret passage leading from the Woodcutter's House that takes you to another part of the forest.

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