This famous garden encapsulates much of the early English landscape style, though none of the famous gardeners of the period worked on it. Typical of the Yorkshire spirit, Aislabie felt he could do it without them and it is clear that he and his son William, without question, succeeded. Starting at the formal Water Garden, which is the basis for John Aislabie's creation, the visitor proceeds past a sequence of curved and semi-circular ponds, with the beautiful Temple of Piety and a number of classical statues set in front of the wooded hillsides, and follows serpentine paths past other buildings and views down the valley.

On one side is the Banqueting Hall, on the other the Octagon Tower, Temple of Fame and Anne Boleyn's Seat. The latter features the famous surprise view up the river to Fountains Abbey. Tiers of trees, mostly native species of oak, lime and beech reach up either side of the valley and further down Aislabie accentuated the wildness of the landscape by exposing rocks and planting cleverly to reveal the contours of the land and twists of the river to produce one of the earliest examples of the Picturesque style in England. Finally, leaving by the East Gate, the visitor sees the towers of Ripon Minster framed in the gateway. A masterpiece of landscaping.