Cascade and Rock Garden
The Cascade and surrounding Rock Garden, which is easily the largest of the features found in the Gardens, is also somewhat easy to overlook, despite its size. Located directly below the main entrance to the Gardens, the best views of the Cascade are obtained from the far end of the garden, either looking back from the Prospect Tower, or walking along The Canal from the Bandstand.
If you cross the small bridge over The Canal, there is a very picturesque Cascade Walk that weaves through the Rock Garden taking you from the bottom of the valley up to the Choragic Monument and entrance of the Gardens, crossing a delightful set of rustic stepping stones part way along. As you cross the stepping stones if you look up the Cascade, you will also get a good vantage point for a statue of Neptune, which sits in one of the higher ponds.
The Cascade dominates the West end of the valley, and forms part of the dam that creates the Boating Lakes on the front lawns of the Towers. The architect John B. Papworth is attributed with the calculation for the water supply for making the Cascade, and is likely to also be responsible for the White Bridge and Retaining Wall that forms the path between Mutiny Bay and the Towers. It is not known if Papworth worked alone on the project or if other designers were also involved in the layout of the Rock Garden.
Papworth was known to be in attendance at Alton Towers in 1821 and 1822, so it is likely that it was during these years that his work, including the Cascade transformed the centre of the valley into the string of lakes we see today.
Then and Now
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The view down the Gardens from the top of the Cascade is a perfect spot to take in the sheer amount of greenery that was introduced to the valley by the 15th Earl. Unfortunately, in our more recent picture, the Canal was overgrown with water plants in desperate need of weeding and dredging.
