Travel bucket list idea:
United Kingdom (UK)
The rolling hills and picturesque villages of the Cotswolds are dotted with historic manor houses, castles and estates – and these, in turn, come with some of the most glorious gardens in the country.
Landscapes designed by Capability Brown and William Kent sit alongside contemporary, recently-restored gardens; vast National Trust-owned estates roll out around small, privately-owned gardens that have been a lifetimes work. The affluence of the Cotswolds means that most of the gardens are pristinely kept, and most offer interesting guided tours explaining the garden’s history and current gardening techniques.
Some are dedicated to aesthetics, some to specific species, but there’s also a significant number advocating and showcasing leading thinking on home-grown produce.
Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom (UK)
Experience
This National Trust property is one of the best known and most influential Arts & Crafts gardens in Britain, with its linked ‘rooms’ of hedges, rare trees, shrubs and herbaceous border.
Adult price: £10
Good for age: 18+
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom (UK)
It doesn’t get much more bucket list than strolling through the private gardens of an English king. Highgrove House is the private home of King Charles III, and every spring and summer, the gardens open to the public for guided tours.
Designed and developed over forty years, the organic gardens spread over six different areas, from a colour-filled arboretum – home to acers, magnolia and cherry trees – to the Victorian ‘stumpery’, where tree ferns rise up beside natural wood sculptures, and a wildflower meadow.
Tours are led by the King’s garden guides, who have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Highgrove and all its treasures.
Adult price: £29.50
Good for age: 18+
Stroud, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom (UK)
Experience
Dotted with follies, quirky buildings, colourful borders and unusual shrubs and plants, Painswick dates back to 1799, and is the UK’s only complete surviving rococo garden.
Adult price: £10
Good for age: 18+
Great Milton, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)
Experience
Providing much of the home-grown produce for the chef’s world-famous cooking school are 11 enchanting gardens and orchards. These interactive day courses in the gardens offer advice, ideas and inspiration for growing your own produce, from the best in the business.
Adult price: £150
Min age 13
Good for age: 18+
Duration: 1 day
When: Selected dates
Freq: weekly
Bicester, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)
Experience
Owned by the same family since 1635, Rousham is a gloriously untouched garden, free of commercialisation, still very much as originally designed by famous 18th-century gardener William Kent.
Adult price: £8
Min age 15
Good for age: 18+
Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom (UK)
Experience
A history-rich, Grade I listed castle dating back to 1443, visited by King Henry VII. The big draw here, though, is the ten themed gardens covering 15 acres, including a reconstructed Elizabethan parterre garden.
Good for age: 18+
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom (UK)
Westonbirt was originally the private estate of Victorian entrepreneur Richard Holford, a passionate collector and plant hunter at a time when trees and shrubs from across the world were being introduced to Britain.
Today, his collection has grown into the National Arboretum, with 15,000 different species of trees fanning out from seventeen miles of paths, including the National collection of Acers, which flame raspberry, auburn and saffron in the autumn months.
The highlight is the 300m-long Treetop Walkway, which rises gently to a height of 13 metres, giving amazing views over the tree canopy. Younger kids will love the ‘play trail’ and there are several different walking route according to how much time you have to explore.
Adult price: £11
Good for age: 13+
Most gardens are easy to do independently, but there are plenty of local companies offering day (or longer) escorted tours to some of the best-known gardens. Public transport is, however, limited and many gardens often lie some distance from stops. Self-driving is your best bet.
The Cotswolds gets packed in late spring and summer – if you want to visit gardens then (when they are admittedly at their most beautiful), go on a week-day or first thing in the morning.
Autumn days, when the foliage blazes and the air is crisp and cool, can be wonderful and less crowded, if you’re not concerned with seeing summer blooms.
