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England's most stunning gardens
From Birmingham's charming Botanical Gardens to the exotic gardens of Belsay Hall in Northumberland, Nicola Iseard takes her pick of England's most stunning gardens that make for a perfect day out
Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Designed in 1829 by J C Loudon - a leading garden planner and horticultural journalist - and opened in 1832, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens have a wonderful feel to them, rather like stepping foot in a Victorian public park. A charming old style bandstand stands proudly on the well-clipped lawn, overlooked by a formal terrace and surrounded by 15 acres of magnificent ornamental gardens. Take a stroll through the Rock Garden, with its yew trees, rhododendrons and fire-red Chilean fire bush, and wander past the National Bonsai Collection, a courtyard housing a display of around 25 bonsai trees of various style. Make sure you leave plenty of time to visit the Lawn Aviary too, where you can see laughing thrushes, Himalayan monals and azure-winged magpies.
Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire
As the name suggests, these beautiful gardens, set in 180 acres of rolling Hampshire countryside, were founded by distinguished plantsman, the late Sir Harold Hillier, in 1953. The collections, planted around his house and garden, have blossomed spectacularly over the last half century and today the landscape is filled with 12,000 different species and over 40,000 plants. It is truly a garden for all seasons, featuring a 200m-long summer flowering border, a Gurkha Memorial Garden, filled with an impressive collection of Nepalese plants, a heather garden, and the largest Winter Garden of its kind in Europe.
Belsay Hall, Northumberland
The Belsay estate - made up of a castle, hall and garden - has belonged to the Middleton family since the 13th century, and boasts one of the most picturesque garden landscapes in the country. Covering 30 acres in all, the land is made up of formal gardens by the hall, which blend into the wild woodland beyond. Most remarkable are the romantic quarry gardens on the walk to the castle, a series of ravines and pinnacles inspired by the quarries of Sicily, and where many rare plants survive. Other highlights include the wild flower meadow - filled with orchids and snakes-head fritillaries - and the rhododendron garden, which is not open to the public but can be viewed from the house and terrace, and is ablaze with colour in late May and June.
Buckfast Abbey Gardens, Devon
When it comes to peaceful, tranquil gardens, there is nowhere quite like Buckfast Abbey. Situated on the south eastern edge of Dartmoor, it has been home to a community of Benedictine monks since 1018, but is today open to visitors too, and there is no better way to unwind than by exploring its glorious grounds. Take a stroll through the sweet-smelling lavender garden, which contains some 150 varieties of the species and attracts swarms of butterflies during high summer. Equally as fragrant is the sensory garden, designed to stimulate the senses, with a chamomile seat surrounded by honeysuckle and white roses, and gently flowing water over granite stone. There is also the physic garden, full of around 200 plants which would have been grown in a monastic herb garden.
Chatsworth House, Peak District (pictured above)
The best way to explore the 105-acre garden at Chatsworth House - the magnificent home of the 12th Duke and Duchess of Devonshire - is to follow the five miles of trails which weave their way through the grounds. You'll pass rare trees, formal hedges, streams and ponds, as well as sculptures and temples. One of the most lovely spots is the newly opened Quebec area, developed from four acres of land that had been overgrown for over 100 years and were finally cleared this year. Make your way along the path, with its sweeping views of the park, and past the small 300-year-old stone cascade. Make sure you leave plenty of time to get lost in the huge yew maze in the heart of the garden, too.
* Nicola Iseard is the deputy travel editor of the Daily Express.
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