20 best gardens to visit in the UK this spring
As lockdown restrictions ease, the sun starts to shine and outdoor spaces begin to reopen, we look ahead once again to family days out. With vibrant flowers, dramatic history and stately homes, the UK is home to some of the most beautiful gardens in the world. With so many gardens in the UK, it can be challenging to know where to visit first. To help you decide where to visit on your next trip, we’ve compiled a list of the best gardens to visit in the UK.
1. Aberglasney Gardens, Wales
Reopening: Saturday 27th March 2021
Nearest campsite: Rhandirmwyn Club Site
Set in the Twyi Valley of Llangathen, Carmarthenshire, Aberglasney is Grade II listed mansion surrounded by 10 acres of magnificent gardens. In 1999, the garden was made famous by the BBC television show, A Garden Lost in Time, which followed its extensive restoration. With an Elizabethan Cloister garden in its centre, Aberglasney is one of the finest gardens in Wales.
2. Alnwick Garden, Northumberland
Reopening: Monday 29th March 2021 – booking required
Nearest campsite: Dunstan Hill Club Site
Sitting beside the magnificent castle of the same name, the Alnwick Garden comprises formal gardens and fascinating history. Despite falling into disrepair at the turn of the 21st century, the Duchess of Northumberland redeveloped the garden between 2001 and 2006. Today, the Alnwick Garden is one of the most ambitious gardens in the UK. The garden is home to the world’s largest Taihaku cherry orchard and a spectacular rose garden.
3. Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall
Reopening: Not yet announced
Nearest campsite: Sennen Cove Club Site
Located in the charming Cornish town of St Ives, the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Gardens offers an exclusive insight into one of Britain’s most revered artists. Living and working in Trewyn Studios – now the museum – between 1949 and 1975, Barbara Hepworth was an artist and sculptor renowned for her Modernist work. Wander through the gardens, studying her most iconic work.
4. Biddulph Grange Garden, Staffordshire
Reopening: Open – booking required
Nearest campsite: Leek Club Site
Situated in the Staffordshire town of Biddulph, near Stoke-on-Trent, Biddulph Grange is a Victorian garden created by James Bateman for his collection of plants. Featuring diverse collections of rhododendrons, summer bedding displays and the oldest surviving golden larch in Britain, Biddulph is a fascinating day out for anyone interested in botany, geology and theology.
5. Botanic Garden, Belfast
Reopening: Not yet announced
Nearest campsite: Delamont Country Park Club Site
Established in 1828 by the Belfast Botanic and Horticultural Society, the Botanic Gardens is a significant part of Belfast’s Victorian heritage. With an early example of a glasshouse and some of the world’s oldest seed plants, Belfast’s Botanic Garden is one of the most impressive gardens in Northern Ireland. Located in the heart of the city, the Botanic Gardens is a Green Flag Award winner – recognising it as one of the UK’s best open spaces.
6. Branklyn Gardens, Perthshire
Reopening: Thursday 1st April 2021
Nearest campsite: Scone Club Site
Created in the 1920s using seeds collected by plant hunters, Branklyn Gardens covers 2 acres of hillside garden. During springtime, vibrant alpine flowers, dog’s tooth violet and Himalayan blue poppies flower in abundance.
7. Cambridge University Botanic Garden, Cambridgeshire
Reopening: Open – booking required
Nearest campsite: Cambridge Club Site
Welcoming over 275,000 visitors each year, the Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a 40-acre, grade II listed heritage garden. Maintaining the University’s collection of over 8,000 plant species, the garden welcomes visitors of all ages while supporting University teaching and research. The botanic garden is home to one of the most diverse collections of trees in the country.
8. Down House, Kent
Reopening: Open – booking required
Nearest campsite: Oldbury Hill Club Site
Nestled in the Kent countryside Down House was the former home of the revered English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was here that Darwin worked on his theories of evolution and his study where he wrote ‘On the Origin of Species’. Stroll through the gardens that inspired Darwin, often described as an outdoor laboratory for his experiments.
9. Eden Project, Cornwall
Reopening: Monday 17th May 2021 – booking required
Nearest campsite: Tregurrian Club Site
Often labelled as the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Eden Project is a dramatic global garden housed in tropical biomes. Explore the largest indoor rainforest in the world, wander around 20 acres of gardens and discover over 3,000 varieties of plants at the Eden Project.
10. Gordon Castle Walled Gardens, Scotland
Reopening: Friday 26th March 2021 – booking required
Nearest campsite: Speyside by Craigellachie Club Site
Sitting beside Gordon Castle in North East Scotland, world-renowned designer Arne Maynard has lovingly restored the walled garden to its former glory. Over 200 years old, the Gordon Castle Walled Garden is one of the largest and oldest walled gardens in Scotland. Covering eight acres of vegetables, fruit, herbs and cut flowers.
11. Hidcote Manor Gardens, Cotswolds
Reopening: Open – booking required
Nearest campsite: Winchcombe Club Site
Set among the rolling hills of the Cotswolds, Hidcote Manor Garden is one of the most popular and influential arts and crafts gardens in Britain. Created by American horticulturist, Major Lawrence Johnston, the manor is home to mazy pathways, secret gardens and plants that burst with colour.
12. Hilton Court Gardens, Pembrokeshire
Reopening: Open – booking required
Nearest campsite: St David’s Club Site
With 8 acres of woodland, gardens, ponds and a geodesic tropical dome, Hilton Court Gardens is the ideal place to take a walk and unwind. Located in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the garden is housed in a Victorian courtyard and teeming with colourful wildflowers and bustling wildlife.
13. Inverewe Garden, Highlands
Reopening: Thursday 29th April – booking required
Nearest campsite: Inverewe Gardens Poolewe Club Site
Sitting beside the shimmering Loch Ewe in the Scottish Highlands, Inverewe Garden is an award-winning botanical garden, home to Wollemi Pines, Tasmanian eucalyptus and California redwoods. Maintained by the National Trust for Scotland, the garden is also home to Scotland’s “Big 5” species: red squirrels, red deer, otters, seals and golden eagles.
14. Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, London
Reopening: Open – booking required
Nearest campsite: Chertsey Club Site
Officially London’s largest UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kew Gardens is home to the world’s most diverse collection of living plants. Explore the iconic Palm House and its exotic rainforest, before moving on to the Prince of Wales Conservatory, home to 10 of the world’s climatic zones.
15. Levens Hall, Lake District
Reopening: Sunday 28th March – booking required
Nearest campsite: Windermere Club Site
Located at the gateway to the Lake District National Park, Levens Hall is a privately-owned Elizabethan house in the centre of a 9,500-acre agricultural estate. Home to the world’s oldest topiary gardens, Levens Hall was built around a 13th-century Pele tower and was expanded and rebuilt towards the end of the 16th century. The topiary garden is home to shrubs over 300 years old.
16. Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall
Reopening: Open – booking required
Nearest campsite: Veryan Club Site
Awarded ‘Garden of the Year’ in 2013, the Lost Gardens of Heligan sits within Cornwall’s Roseland Heritage Coast and covers 200-acres of exotic gardens. Twenty-five years ago, Heligan’s historic gardens were unknown and unseen; lost under a tangle of weeds. It was only the chance discovery of a door in the ruins that led to the restoration of this once great estate.
17. RHS Hyde Hall, Essex
Reopening: Open – booking required
Nearest campsite: Kelvedon Hatch Club Site
Set in the heart of rural Essex, Hyde Hall is an extraordinary garden maintained by the Royal Horticultural Society. Despite sitting just 30 minutes from North London, Hyde Hall is an oasis of peace and tranquillity. Since its inception in the mid-1950s, this 360-acre site encompasses diverse gardens, from traditional to modern, exhibiting ornamental horticulture, wild woodlands and majestic meadows.
18. RHS Rosemoor, Devon
Reopening: Open – booking required
Nearest campsite: Umberleigh Club Site
Sheltered in the beautiful Torridge Valley, between Dartmoor and Exmoor National Park, RHS Rosemoor is an enchanting 65-acre garden comprising inspiration and tranquillity. Surrounded by woodland, the garden is rich with natural beauty through every season. Meander through the Rose Gardens; the largest of its kind in the South West.
19. Spetchley Park, Worcestershire
Reopening: Wednesday 24th March 2021 – booking required
Nearest campsite: Blackmore Club Site
Home to the Berkeley family for over 400 years, Spetchley Park is home to a collection of rare plants, shrubs and trees from around the world. Surrounded by ancient parkland, lakes and deer park, Spetchley Park is a fantastic day out for the whole family.
20. Studley Royal Water Garden, Yorkshire
Reopening: Open – booking required
Nearest campsite: Boroughbridge Club Site
Officially designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, Studley Royal Water Garden is an awe-inspiring water garden. Veiled in a secluded valley, the Georgian Water Garden includes classical statues, follies and garden buildings. Take a walk up to Surprise View, or “Anne Boleyn’s Seat”, offering spectacular panoramic views of the garden and neighbouring Fountains Abbey.
Campsite information provided by The Camping and Caravanning Club
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