The Hop Garden, High Spen

The Hop Garden, High Spen We're a volunteer-run food growing project in Gateshead set up to promote organic and sustainable practices

Find us at 1 The Crescent Allotments, off Bute Road South, High Spen, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE39 2AW. What3Words: gestures.dynamics.flamingo

We're normally open Friday mornings year round from 9.30am until about 11am for volunteer sessions (and if you just want to pop in and enjoy the garden and see if we have any produce for sale) and at other times for public events. If you're making a spec

ial trip, email us or drop us a DM beforehand to check the gate will be open. This community resource is run under the umbrella of Nourish the Wild CIC, with any profits invested back into the garden. Selling plants and produce helps to pay for our rent and insurance etc. We do not receive any ongoing public funding, instead applying for occasional grants to run subsidised workshops and events. Everyone involved in volunteering on the garden gives their time for free in exchange for a share of the produce. Sign up to our email newsletter for your personal invite to our upcoming events and workshops ahead of the general public: https://mailchi.mp/b07eede4846a/sign-up-to-our-newsletter

Did you know we have 13 different varieties of apple growing at The Hop Garden?🍎Top row (L to R) James Grieve, Cox, Beau...
04/09/2026

Did you know we have 13 different varieties of apple growing at The Hop Garden?

🍎Top row (L to R) James Grieve, Cox, Beauty of Bath, George Cave, White Melrose

🍏Middle row (L to R) King of Pippins, Unknown heritage cooker, Catshead, Red Bramley

🍎Bottom row (L to R) Katy, Grandpa Buxton, Sunset, unknown cooker and a Hessle pear snuck in on the end, along with some hazel nuts, hops and damsons...

Do come along and help yourself to windfalls - these mad winds have brought loads down today and we can't keep up with collecting them!

🍎Hops and apples available! Pop along to the community garden this Friday morning (4 Sept) from 9.30am if you'd like som...
30/08/2026

🍎Hops and apples available! Pop along to the community garden this Friday morning (4 Sept) from 9.30am if you'd like some cooking or eating apples or hops.

Cash donations towards the garden's running costs - please simply give what you can afford.

Hops are not just for making beer (although they are obviously great for that!), they can also make a calming sleepy tea, and can even help just popped inside your pillow case😴

Fairies, potions and magic seeds could all be found in the community garden this afternoon! 👑We had a fabulous time maki...
10/08/2026

Fairies, potions and magic seeds could all be found in the community garden this afternoon! 👑

We had a fabulous time making flower crowns from willow, wild flowers and herbs; along with potions for our baths and bellies, and sowing 'cut and come again' salads to take home.

Thanks to everyone who came along and made it so much fun to run; we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did....

Just saw one of these on the community garden - never seen one before, and apparently they're not that common this far N...
08/08/2026

Just saw one of these on the community garden - never seen one before, and apparently they're not that common this far North.

Photo courtesy of UK Moths site as I didn't have anything on me to capture it at the time, but fortunately it had very distinctive markings that I could remember!

07/08/2026

Just to let everyone know that today will be the only Friday morning in August that the garden is open - back as usual in September.

Feel free to pop in this morning from 9.30am to say hello and pick up a few apples😊

05/08/2026

Vertical planter from Gardenscapes Uprooted one month on looking great!

🍎Apples available!🍎 Come get some gorgeous Beauty of Bath apples from the community garden. The recent winds have blown ...
28/07/2026

🍎Apples available!🍎

Come get some gorgeous Beauty of Bath apples from the community garden. The recent winds have blown lots off the tree and, like many early apples, they don't keep more than a few days before going a bit mushy tasting. They're also grown chemical free 😊

So give an apple a good home and come along between 6-6.30pm tomorrow night (Wednesday 28 July) - cash donations towards the garden welcome.

Find us at 1 The Crescent Allotments, just off Bute Road South.

We had a wonderful time this morning quietly using our imaginations to bring our own magical libraries into being, inspi...
27/07/2026

We had a wonderful time this morning quietly using our imaginations to bring our own magical libraries into being, inspired by Lucy's brilliant new book.

Having Bookish Dreams Illustration run a creative session at the garden has been a plan for a while now, so it was great to be able to finally make that happen today!

Don't forget our last family session is on 10 August from 2pm until 3.30pm on a PAYF basis - no need to book, just turn up.

We spent a lovely few hours in the sunshine this morning for the first of our summer family workshops 🙂There was a hunt ...
20/07/2026

We spent a lovely few hours in the sunshine this morning for the first of our summer family workshops 🙂

There was a hunt around the garden to find where the garden gnome's reducurrants came from, which included searching for different textures to use in our pictures, and the chance to draw what we could hear. We also used our wooden paper potters to make some newspaper pots for sowing peas.

And it was all washed down with some fresh mint tea for the grown ups, and homemade raspberry lemonade for the children, made from the garden's fruit (the raspberries, that is, we don't yet grow lemons!)

Thanks to everyone who came along today and don't forget we have Lucy from Bookish Dreams Illustration coming along next Monday 27 July from 10am until 11.30am, and then our final drop in art and growing session on Monday 10 August from 2pm until 3.30pm.

If you'd like to come to Lucy's you simply need to fill in the form in the comments to secure your place. All these sessions are PAYF on the day to ensure no one feels they aren't able to join in due to the cost; so please do support us with whatever you are able to give.

We love a good before and after shot, and this morning was a great opportunity for one! A huge thank you to Than, Ems, J...
10/07/2026

We love a good before and after shot, and this morning was a great opportunity for one! A huge thank you to Than, Ems, Janessa, Sarah and Simona who came along this morning to help give the community orchard some much-needed TLC.

We reclaimed the train track, cut down the seeding docks, sticky jacks and nettles, and rescued the fruit bushes that were swamped by grasses.

If you haven’t visited before, the orchard can be found just across from the Hop Garden, at The Crescent Allotments in High Spen, which is accessed via Bute Road South.

It’s open 365 days a year and you’re welcome to pick whatever is growing at the time - everything from gooseberries and raspberries to apples and pears.

All we ask is that you respect the space and those who care for it and only take what you need, leaving plenty for others (which includes the local wildlife!)

If you’d like to improve your summer fruit tree pruning skills, we have a half-day workshop coming up on Saturday 15 August based at the community orchard.

Places are limited to ensure everyone gets what they need, so if you’re interested, email Than via [email protected] for more information.

Address

1 The Crescent Allotments, Off Bute Road South, High Spen
Gateshead
NE392AW

Opening Hours

9:30am - 11:30am

Website

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