The Walled Garden

31/10/2026

Support this fantastic local business, it would be such a shame if it wasn't there any more. Don't let the dark nights put you off just drive down and enjoy some quality food and w**e 👌

❤️🍷 WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO KEEP EL TANO OPEN 🍷❤️

We wanted to share a little update with all our lovely customers and the local community.

We’re going to be completely open and honest with you all. El Tano is struggling, and we’re genuinely worried about how much longer we can keep going.

The hospitality industry is facing incredibly difficult times, and as a small independent business, we’re really feeling the pressure.

With the darker evenings, colder weather and rain setting in, our evenings have become extremely quiet. Unfortunately, the bills don’t get any smaller just because fewer customers come through the door.

We’ve put so much time, money, hard work and love into creating El Tano, and the thought of having to close our doors is heartbreaking.

🍷 SO, WE’RE TRYING SOMETHING NEW! 🍷

Starting Friday 13th November, we’re introducing W**E TASTING EVENINGS EVERY FRIDAY from 7pm till late!

For £60 per person, you’ll enjoy:

🍷 Five carefully selected w**es

🧀 A beautiful large cheese board

🍇 Information about every w**e, including its origins, grape varieties and w**emaking

🍰 Dessert accompanied by a dessert w**e

We want to create something special that gives people a reason to come out, even during the colder months, enjoy a lovely evening and discover some incredible w**es.

🚗 IMPORTANT – ACCESS TO EL TANO & WORDEN HALL CAR PARK 🚗

We know some customers have been confused about access to Worden Hall, particularly during the darker evenings.

Please don’t assume the gates are closed just because it’s dark!

✅ The gate remains OPEN until we leave the premises.

✅ Cars can still access the Worden Hall car park during our opening hours.

✅ Taxis can enter to drop off and collect customers.

✅ You can still visit us in the evening, even after the park gets dark!

🕰️ OUR OPENING HOURS

Monday – Closed

Tuesday – Closed

Wednesday – 12pm–8pm

Thursday – 12pm–8pm

Friday – 12pm–10pm

Saturday – 10am–10pm

Sunday – 10am–8pm

🍷 Friday W**e Tastings – From 7pm till late!

❤️ A LITTLE MESSAGE FROM US ❤️

We really don’t know how much longer we can survive if things continue as they are.

We’re doing everything we possibly can to keep El Tano going, trying new ideas, introducing events and finding ways to bring people through our doors.

But ultimately, we cannot do it without you.

We’re not a big chain with endless financial backing. We’re a small, independent, family-run business trying to make a living doing something we absolutely love.

Every glass of w**e, every bottle purchased, every cheese board, every visit and every recommendation genuinely makes a difference.

Even if you can’t visit, sharing our posts, recommending us to friends or leaving us a lovely review helps more than you probably realise.

Please don’t wait until your favourite small local businesses have closed to wish you’d visited more often. 💔

We would love nothing more than to see El Tano busy again, filled with laughter, conversation and people enjoying themselves.

We haven’t given up yet, and we’re hoping with a little more local support, we won’t have to.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far. We appreciate you more than you know. ❤️

📍 El Tano W**es – Worden Hall, Worden Park, Leyland

📩 Message us to book your Friday w**e tasting evening or reserve a table.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES. THEY NEED YOU NOW MORE THAN EVER. ❤️🍷

With love
Janine & Marco 🇮🇹🇦🇷

**es **eTasting

31/10/2026

🌱 We're welcoming referrals for Roots & Routes, our fully funded outdoor programme at The Walled Garden, Worden Park.

Who is Roots & Routes for?

💚 Young people aged 16–18who are not currently in education, employment or training (NEET), are at risk of disengaging, or find traditional learning environments difficult.

💚 Young people aged 19–24 with additional needs who would benefit from a more practical, supportive environment.

Roots & Routes offers a different approach. No classrooms, no formal lessons, just time outdoors in a small, welcoming group, learning through doing and being part of something.

Together, we'll get involved in:

🌱 Growing plants and gardening

🐝 Wildlife and biodiversity projects

🛠️ Practical, hands-on projects around the Walled Garden

🤝 Building friendships, confidence and connections

The programme is particularly suited to young people who may be experiencing anxiety, low confidence, social isolation, neurodivergence or social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.

It's about building confidence, finding a routine, discovering new interests and taking small steps towards whatever comes next.

📅 Every Monday, 11am

📍 The Walled Garden, Worden Park, Leyland

💚 Fully funded – free to attend

Know a young person who might benefit?

We welcome referrals from parents, carers, schools, colleges, support workers and other professionals.

🔗 Find out more or make a referral:
https://rootedconnections.org.uk/events/roots-and-routes-young-adult-gardening-programme-leyland

Please share with anyone supporting young people in and around Leyland. Aswell as local groups. Sometimes a different environment can make all the difference. 🌱💚

31/10/2026

Things are really starting to take shape at The Walled Garden! 🌱💚

Over the last couple of weeks, there's been plenty of digging, clearing, and groundwork as our new pathways begin to take shape.

One of the things we're particularly excited about is making our beautiful 170-year-old mulberry tree a central feature of the garden, with a new circular pathway around it. 🌳

It's lovely to be able to celebrate the garden's history as we bring it back to life.

Thanks to funding from Lancashire Environmental Fund and South Ribble Borough Council, we're able to make some much-needed improvements, including new accessible pathways, growing areas and an extended lawn that will help bring the whole space together.

There's still plenty to do!

The pathways need finishing, new planting areas are taking shape, and we'll be laying the new lawn in spring to give the grass the best chance to establish.

But each week brings us a little closer to the garden we've been imagining.

After so much planning, it's wonderful to finally see these changes happening on the ground. And we can't wait to welcome more people into this beautiful space as it continues to grow.

A huge thank you to everyone helping make it happen. 💚

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

Let's grow! 🌱💚

29/09/2026

🌱 Learn practical gardening skills at the Walled Garden in Leyland.

We’re working with Lancashire Adult Learning to bring an Introduction to Gardening Skills course to Worden Park this November.

Whether you want to look after your own garden, develop skills for volunteering, explore a future in horticulture or simply enjoy learning something new, this is a welcoming place to start.

You’ll learn to identify plants and trees, care for garden tools and carry out everyday garden maintenance. No previous gardening experience is needed.

📅 Starts Tuesday 3 November 2026
🕐 Tuesdays, 1–3.30 pm, for four weeks
📍 The Walled Garden, Worden Park, Leyland, PR25 1DJ
👥 For adults aged 19+

This intro course is fully funded for anyone living in Lancashire and aged 19+. There is no earnings criteria for the introduction course, so this is open to all.

The course includes certification on successful completion, with opportunities to progress to Level 1 and Level 2 study.

Please share with anyone who might be interested, including colleagues, volunteers and local community groups.



Find out more and register https://rootedconnections.org.uk/events/introduction-to-gardening-skills-lancashire

23/09/2026

🌱 Please share! We’re looking for young people locally who might benefit from Roots & Routes at the Walled Garden in Worden Park.

It’s a fully funded, small-group programme for young people who may be struggling with confidence, anxiety, isolation, or engaging with education, training, or employment.

No gardening experience needed, just a supportive place to get involved, build confidence, and take that next step at their own pace 💚

Parents, carers and professionals can refer 👇

🌱 Know a young person who could use a different kind of next step?

We’re now taking referrals for Roots & Routes, our new fully funded programme at the Walled Garden in Worden Park, Leyland.

It’s for young people who may be out of education, employment or training, at risk of disengaging, or simply finding traditional learning and support environments difficult.

There are no classrooms and no gardening experience is needed.

Instead, we’ll spend time outdoors, in a small and supportive group, getting involved in:

🌱 Growing and gardening
🐝 Wildlife and biodiversity projects
🛠️ Hands-on projects around the Walled Garden
🤝 Working alongside others and being part of something

Along the way, we’ll help young people build confidence, routine, practical skills, social connection and a sense of achievement, at their own pace.

Roots & Routes may be particularly suitable for young people experiencing anxiety, low confidence, social isolation, neurodivergence, SEMH needs, or other barriers that make more formal settings difficult.

The goal isn't to have everything figured out.
Sometimes the first step is simply finding somewhere you feel comfortable turning up. 💚

📍 The Walled Garden, Worden Park, Leyland
🌱 Fully funded
🔗 Find out more / register or refer:
https://rootedconnections.org.uk/events/roots-and-routes-young-adult-gardening-programme-leyland

Parents, carers and professionals can refer.

Please share; you might help this reach a young person who really needs something like this.

21/09/2026

🌿 Fancy some fresh air and good company this afternoon?

Our Monday Social Gardening session is on today at The Walled Garden, Worden Park, Leyland - 1–3pm.

Come along for a couple of hours of gentle gardening, lovely people and a warm cuppa. ☕🌱

There are tasks for all abilities, so you don't need to be an experienced gardener, just turn up as you are and get involved in whatever feels right for you.

We hope you've had a lovely weekend… but if you haven't, that's okay too. 💚 Come and spend a little time outdoors with us, we can pretty much guarantee you'll leave feeling more uplifted than when you arrived.

🌿 1–3pm today
📍 The Walled Garden, Worden Park, Leyland
☕ Warm drinks, friendly faces & plenty to get stuck into
💚 Everyone welcome

18/09/2026

***Update: the first 6 week programme is now fully booked! What an amazing response 😊 we can't wait to meet you all. If you would like to join and missed out on the first one, we are running 2 more 6-week programmes so please pop your details in the form and we will contact you as soon as they go live. 💚

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🌿 We are so excited to announce our first fully funded course at the Walled Garden!

Held – a project by Rooted Connections is a new six-week wellbeing programme created for parents and carers of children aged 0–5.

Thanks to funding from South Ribble Borough Council, places on the programme are fully funded. 🤍

Held is about making some time and space for you.

Over six weeks, the same small group will come together at the Walled Garden to explore meditation, breathwork, gentle movement, journalling and creative activities, with time to talk, reflect, share and connect with other parents and carers navigating the early years.

There’ll be time outdoors, herbal teas, conversation and the chance to slow things down for a little while.

Held puts your wellbeing at the centre. 🌱

✨ Fully funded places
🌿 Six weekly sessions with the same small group
🤍 For parents & carers of children aged 0–5
📍 The Walled Garden, Worden Park, Leyland
🧘 Meditation • breathwork • gentle movement • creativity • sharing • connection

One booking secures your place for all six weeks.

Places are limited to keep the group small.

Bookings are now open:
👉 https://rootedconnections.org.uk/events/held-wellbeing-for-parents-leyland

A huge thank you to South Ribble Borough Council for supporting us to bring our first fully funded course to the Walled Garden. 💚

07/09/2026

Thank you for the sharing these wonderful seeds with us 💚

25/08/2026

Chapter 7 of our 250 years series... The Great Vine of Worden 🍇

🌿250 Years of Worden Walled Garden

Chapter 7, The Great Vine of Worden 🍇

This is one of the Walled Garden’s most remarkable living links with its past.

The old, gnarled wood above these grapes belongs to a Black Hamburg vine whose story has become almost as intriguing as the garden itself.

Grapes have been grown at Worden for generations.

We know they were important here during the Farington era, and by the nineteenth century the garden had its own vine house. Later records describe several Black Hamburg vines growing here, capable of producing an astonishing 120–140lb of grapes in a good year.

But the grapes weren’t always simply harvested for the garden.

By the 1950s, a lovely tradition had developed. Worden’s annual grape harvest was distributed to retirement homes across South Ribble, with the Mayor taking the grapes out into the community.

We know the Faringtons had been growing grapes here for generations before that, but we’re still trying to discover exactly when the tradition of sharing Worden’s harvest began.

There’s something rather lovely about it.

Something grown within these walls being used to connect with people beyond them. 💚

But the vine has another story attached to it…

For many years, people have said that Worden’s vine has a connection to the famous Great Vine at Hampton Court Palace — supposedly grown from a cutting taken from it.

It’s a wonderful story.

But is it true?

That’s something we’ve been trying to uncover.

And, as is often the case with history, the answer isn’t quite as straightforward as we’d hoped…

📖 From the archives: Records from the early 1990s describe Black Hamburg vines at Worden producing up to 140lb of grapes annually, alongside the long-running tradition of sharing the harvest with local retirement homes.

💚 Writing the next chapter by uncovering the last 250 years.

Next week: The Hampton Court Mystery — Is Worden’s Vine Really a Cutting from the Great Vine? 🍇

16/08/2026

🌼 A little bit of folklore has appeared in the Walled Garden…

This beautiful mullein (Verbascum) has somehow found enough soil to grow from the tiniest gap beside one of our old doorways – so we’re leaving it exactly where it chose to be.

Mullein has a fascinating history. For centuries it appeared in traditional herbal medicine, particularly in preparations for coughs, sore throats and respiratory complaints.

It has folklore too. Mullein was associated with protection and warding off evil, while its tall dried flower stems were once dipped in fat or wax and used as torches – giving rise to old names including “hag’s taper.”

And its usefulness hasn’t ended. Its yellow flowers provide food for pollinators, while Verbascum is also the food plant of the brilliantly named mullein moth caterpillar. 🐛🐝

All of that history and wildlife value from a plant that simply decided to grow in a crack beside a 250-year-old garden wall. 💚

Sometimes nature really does choose the perfect spot. 🌱

*Traditional uses mentioned for historical interest only.