UK Gardens by County
Gardens in England
Bedfordshire Gardens
Bedfordshire is largely an agricultural area with the River Ouse in the north. Bedford, standing on the river, is the county town famous for its connection with the seventeenth century author of Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan. The town’s location on the Ouse clothes it with picturesque riverside gardens and walks. Of course, no visitor to this lovely county should miss the Duke of Bedford’s palatial mansion Woburn, packed with art treasures andset...read moreBerkshire Gardens
Berkshire, famous for places such as Windsor Castle, Royal Ascot and Eton College. Its boundary is adjacent to Greater London and stretches westward some 60 miles to the Wiltshire border. With its many historic houses and buildings and picturesque villages and towns Berkshire has something to offer everyone. The River Thames runs along the northern boundary and is popular with boat owners and other water based activities such as cannoeing.Buckinghamshire Gardens
In Buckinghamshire, The National Trust owns no less than 1,000 acres of Chiltern beech woodland and rolling farmland, as well as most of the lovely village of Bradenham. Aylesbury, the county town is a great centre for exploring Buckinghamshire, as well as being the main market centre for the fertile Vale of Aylesbury. Hidden away in woodland near Kimble is Chequers, the official home of British Prime Ministers. Another spectacular stately home is...read moreCambridgeshire Gardens
Cambridgeshire forms the western march of East Anglia and what this singularly flat county lacks in woodlands it more than makes up for in glorious rivers with the Great Ouse and the Nene. Within Cambridgeshire lies much of the Fen district, a vast area of highly fertile black farmland, once underwater but through many generations drained by cuts and sluices. The last undrained section of the Great Fens is Wicken Fen which now forms the oldest ofthe...read moreCheshire Gardens
The Cheshire Plain is a rolling dairy farming region renowned for Cheshire cheese and the remarkable black and white half-timbered architecture. Scattered within this lovely area are some fascinating houses that the holiday maker simply must visit. Little Moreton Hall, regarded as the most perfect example of a timber-framed moated manor house in the country with musical evenings, suppers and special tours of the splendid wall paintings and knot garden....read moreCornwall Gardens
Cornwall is a very special and separate part of Britain since it was isolated from the mainland by the River Tamar. Consequently it retains much of its Celtic character, in fact the name Cornwall comes from the Saxon Cornovii and Wealas meaning Welsh of the west. Historically this is a region of Iron and Bronze Age settlements and monuments, holy wells and ancient churches, a land criss-crossed by the paths of the early saints. The intricate and decidedly...read moreCumbria Gardens
The county of Cumbria, consisting of the old counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and a substantial slice of Lancashire, is now the second largest of the English counties, containing within its boundaries the Lake District, a region of impressive grandeur. Cumbria attracts vast numbers of visitors at all times of the year to enjoy the climbing, scrambling, sailing, rambling and the joys of the open fells. Magnificent work is done in this area by the...read moreDerbyshire Gardens
Derbyshire contains a remarkable mix of pastoral and industrial scenery and the two counties share with Yorkshire and Cheshire the impressive Peak District. Kinder Scout, an exposed peat plateau, is the highest point of Derbyshire’s Peak District, at the starting point of the Pennine Way National Trail, and gives glorious views across the county. Derbyshire’s section of the Peak District covers no less than 555 square miles of the county and affords...read moreDevon Gardens
Devon is a superb holiday region and few counties in England can match its variety of scenery with two contrasting coastlines and some quite spectacular countryside. The northern coast, Devon’s longest unspoilt coastline, is an impressive array of high cliffs along the Bristol Channel and a series of great headlands protecting fine broad sandy beaches from the wild Atlantic gales. Here are small resorts of a very special charm including Lynton, an...read moreDorset Gardens
Dorset is largely Hardy’s Wessex. There is hardly a part of the county that does not appear, although under a pseudonym, in one of Thomas Hardy’s books. In the north of the county a region of sandy heathland stretches from the border with Hampshire to the centre of Dorset, while a range of chalk downs rolls to the east towards Salisbury Plain. In the south, the coast consists of a narrow broken ridge of chalky cliffs, the most easterly known as the...read moreEast Riding of Yorkshire Gardens
When visiting East Riding of Yorkshire, you'll find award-winning beaches, undulating countryside, dramatic coastline and an abundance of picturesque villages with their village greens, historic churches and duck ponds. Amid all this you will also discover the stylish proms of Bridlington, Hornsea and Withersea. Whether its outdoor pursuits or museums and galleries, there is something for everyone.Gardens in East Riding of Yorkshire
East Sussex Gardens
One could be excused for regarding West Sussex as very much a seaside county, certainly Rudyard Kipling saw the county as ‘Sussex by the sea’, but there is considerably more to Sussex than its undoubtedly glorious coastline. The South Downs, that ancient chalk ridge, runs from east to west separating the Sussex Weald from the English Channel, eventually arriving dramatically in the towering form of Beachy Head, the highest cliff on the south coast,...read moreEssex Gardens
To experience the real Essex, the visitor has to get away from the main roads. The southwest of the county has been, and is still being, slowly but surely swallowed up by London, and much of the county not yet consumed is nevertheless heavily influenced by the capital. The north bank of the Thames and the southern border of Essex from Tilbury to Southend-on-Sea is a complex array of container ports, oil and gas installations and industry of all descriptions,...read moreGloucestershire Gardens
Few counties can compete with Gloucestershire in scenic beauty and entrancing small towns and villages, but then few counties can claim such attributes as the Cotswold Hills, the Forest of Dean and the Vales of Severn and Berkeley. The rolling grasslands of the Cotswolds, ideal for sheep farming, covers the glorious golden limestone which has been extensively quarried for centuries, providing the building material that has made the landscape so attractive....read moreGreater Manchester Gardens
Manchester has an extensive history as great industrial centres and ports, but with the decline in heavy industry there has been a concerted effort to attract holiday visitors. It boast an impressive cathedral, the Manchester United FC Museum and the canal basin of Castlefield has been redeveloped as an urban heritage park and boasts the popular tourist attraction of Granada Studios. Manchester offer theatres, cinemas and nightlife of the highest...read moreHampshire Gardens
Hampshire is a county of remarkable scenic variations. The best is arguably in the east around Selborne and the far west in the New Forest region. The water meadows with its rivers providing some of the finest fly fishing in Britain and between the rolling chalk downs in the north and the gloriously scenic South Downs lies rich and fertile farm land. The coast is of course dominated by the two great ports, Southampton and Portsmouth. Southampton...read moreHerefordshire Gardens
One of Herefordshire's most impressive features are the dramatic Malvern Hills which lie along the Severn Plain, separating the low plains of Herefordshire from the glorious Vale of Evesham. This jagged ridge was exploited as a defensive site by Iron Age man, who built their ancient forts at Worcestershire Beacon and Herefordshire Beacon from which there are wonderful views to the hills of the Welsh Marches and to the Cotswold escarpment. Hereford,...read moreHertfordshire Gardens
Hertfordshire’s magnificent cathedral of St Albans, which dominates the surrounding countryside, is where England’s first recorded Christian martyr is buried. A fine museum houses one of the best Roman collections in the country. The Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, based here in St Albans is responsible for sterling work in protecting land forms and natural habitats which is threatened by urban development. To the north of Hemel Hempstead...read moreIsle of Wight Gardens
The Isle of Wight, reached by ferry either from Southampton, Portsmouth or Lymington is designed to appeal to the holiday visitor. There is much to see, the green whaleback hills on the south coast offer superb views, and at the western end of Tennyson Down are the spectacular chalk pinnacles known as The Needles. Yarmouth is a pretty port of whitewashed cottages, once an important medieval port and one of the numerous Solent Forts built by HenryVIII....read moreIsles of Scilly Gardens
Located 28 miles off Land's End, the Isles of Scilly are blessed with clean seas and beaches, stunning scenery and a range of excellent accommodation to suit all tastes. Generally, they are also fortunate to be warmer in winter and sunnier in summer than the mainland. The largest island, St Mary's is less than 3 miles across and can be reached by air or sea.Kent Gardens
Kent is without doubt the ‘Garden of England’, the soil is remarkably fertile and the county is crowded with orchards, market gardens, fields of vegetables and some hop fields, although not so many as there used to be. Being the closest part of England to mainland Europe, Kent has been the main route between London and the Continent since Julius Caesar landed here in 55BC, to be followed by St Augustine and his missionaries from Rome in 597AD, and...read moreLancashire Gardens
To many, Lancashire is L.S. Lowry country, a county of vast clattering mills, long lines of millworkers’ terraced houses, dirt, smoke and noise. Certainly Lancashire is now blessed with some of the finest seaside resorts in the country. Blackpool with its 518 feet high imitation of the Eiffel Tower must be the Queen of English holiday resorts. Once the destination for a Victorian day-out for the millworkers of the cotton towns, the resort is now famed...read moreLeicestershire Gardens
Leicestershire, a county at the very heart of England, is endowed with some of the country’s largest and most impressive estates. A largely agricultural county on the eastern side with the industrial East Midlands on the western side. The City of Leicester, situated on the River Soar, is the county town and a major commercial and industrial centre. It has a magnificent museum overlooking the site of the Roman baths and the half-timbered medieval...read moreLincolnshire Gardens
Lincolnshire has something to suit everyone whether its walking, cycling or relaxing on the wide sandy beaches. There are also a vast array of historic sights and buildings to visit particularly in the historic city of Lincoln with its glorious cathedral dominating the surrounding countryside. An abundance of accommodation to suit all tastes from B&Bs to larger hotels.London Gardens
London's two thousand years of history has seen a Roman settlement by the River Thames develop into a capital city of over seven million people. The strategic position of London was recognised by William the Conqueror who built his White Tower here, the hub of the Tower of London. However, the crowded unhygienic housing was a breeding ground of disease and as a consequence London suffered badly from the Black Death in 1348 and the Plague of 1665.The...read moreMerseyside Gardens
Liverpool has a long history as great industrial centre and port, but with the decline in heavy industry there has been a concerted effort to attract holiday visitors. The city boasts a spectacular cathedral, the Liverpool FC Musuem and Liverpool’s Albert Dock waterfront, with its massive warehouses has now become an impressive complex of shops, restaurants and television studios.Norfolk Gardens
The fact that the National Trust owns so much of Norfolk indicates just what an attractive county this is. Of course, the Norwich School of English Landscape Painters appreciated the wide panoramic skies, the wonderful cloud formations and the glorious seascapes many years before the Trust took an interest. However, one of the great advantages of this fine county is that there are still parts relatively unexplored. The north Norfolk coast has so much...read moreNorth Yorkshire Gardens
North Yorkshire is Britain’s largest county with a vast variation in scenery ranging from the pretty and picturesque to the awe-inspiring and majestic. There is open space aplenty with seaside resorts to suit every possible taste, magnificent stately homes, gardens and parkland of incomparable beauty and history, folklore and legend to entrance the most curious of visitor. This is depicted particularly in York, the city which encapsulates the very...read moreNorthamptonshire Gardens
Northamptonshire has always been primarily a farming county, possessing glorious churches and Manor houses of Northamptonshires ‘spires and squires’, but is also an attractive holiday region. Northampton, the county town was largely destroyed by fire in 1675, and fortunately two of its most spectacular churches survived: the Norman church of St Peter and the remarkable round Holy Sepulchre. The town has at its centre, one of England’s largest traditional...read moreNorthumberland Gardens
Northumberland, the most northerly of the English counties, can indeed justifiably claim to have everything that the holiday maker could desire, and certainly no brief visit could possibly give anything but the smallest indication of what is on offer. The coastline is magnificent with its mile upon mile of wide sandy beaches, links and dunes, nature reserves, picturesque rocky offshore islands and sturdy squat spectacular castles. Bamburgh, once the...read moreNottinghamshire Gardens
Nottinghamshire, lying on the low ground of the Trent basin, is known as the county of Robin Hood, the outlaw who roamed this region and lived in Sherwood Forest, a royal hunting forest which once covered over 160 square miles. Sherwood Forest County Park contains the ancient Major Oak, reputedly the home of Robin, while Edwinstowe Church is claimed to be the scene of his marriage to Maid Marion. The historic city of Nottingham is a fine shopping...read moreOxfordshire Gardens
Oxfordshire must be one of England’s most attractive counties, lying midway between the Thames estuary and the River Severn, with the glorious Cotswolds to the north, the chalk hills of the Chilterns in the south and with the basins of the Thames and Cherwell forming the central plain, The Oxfordshire Chilterns is a wonderful area of beechwoods and chalk, here the Ridgeway, a pre-Roman track follows the western escarpment and runs to the Vale...read moreRutland Gardens
Rutland became a part of Leicestershire with the 1974 reorganisation, and not without considerable opposition. A mere fifteen miles in length and eleven in width, it was England’s smallest county, and with a history going back to before the twelfth century. A large part of the county now lies beneath Rutland Water, one of the largest man-made lakes in Europe, providing major recreational facilities, including fishing, sailing and pleasure cruises,...read moreShropshire Gardens
Strangely enough, this rich agricultural county was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, but then Shropshire is a county of intriguing contrasts. Only fifty miles in length and forty miles wide the county is virtually cut in two by the River Severn which flows across the county from the Welsh border in the west to Shrewsbury. The Shropshire Plain, which stretches from Whitchurch in the north to Church Stretton in the southwest is dominated bythe...read moreSomerset Gardens
There is no doubt that Somerset is a holiday county; there is so much to enjoy here that one visit could never suffice. The diversity of scenery to the northwest is the high heather-clad moorland plateau of Exmoor bordering the Bristol Channel, giving England’s highest sea cliffs. This was once wild and windswept hunting country, changed somewhat during the nineteenth century by a rich ironmaster who converted some 15,000 acres of the moor into farmland...read moreSouth Yorkshire Gardens
South Yorkshire has four main towns - Doncaster, Rotherham, Barnsley and Sheffield - all of which are places to explore the history and innovations of the past, particularly Sheffield with its world famous steel works. Visit the many museums, art galleries and historic houses or walk through Derbyshire's Peak District National Park with some of the most magnificent landscape in the country.Staffordshire Gardens
Staffordshire contains a remarkable mix of industrial and pastoral scenery, including a share of the impressive Peak District. Staffordshire is renown for its Potteries. The five pottery towns immortalised in Arnold Bennett’s novels became amalgamated to form Stoke-on-Trent in 1910. The presence of all the essential raw materials for pottery manufacture in the region encouraged the development of the industry, but it was the entrepreneurial skills...read moreSuffolk Gardens
Suffolk is a delightful county of softly undulating rural land-scape, of slow-flowing streams, picturesque villages and the open heath country of the Breckland. The coastline, under constant attack from the eroding sea, nevertheless offers lovely shingle shores, sandy beaches and low cliffs. Dunwich Heath, one of Suffolk’s most important conservation areas covers over 200 acres of Sandlings heathland with sandy cliffs and a mile of lovely beach. The...read moreSurrey Gardens
Surrey still remains Britain’s most wooded county and is crossed from east to west by the North Downs, whose chalk slopes are broken by the lovely Rivers Wey, Mole and Darent. Guildford, Surrey’s ancient capital, is beautifully sited at the ford where the River Wey cuts through the North Downs. Guildford is a university town, with excellent shopping and a fine venue for the holiday visitor. To the east near Dorking where the River Mole cuts through...read moreTyne & Wear Gardens
The Tyne and Wear area encompasses many towns and cities including Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and Sunderland, offering a large diversity of attractions from art galleries to museums, historic houses and gardens. Sunderland in particular is renowned for its large selection of art and cultural attractions.Warwickshire Gardens
Warwickshire is the quintessential England, one of the country’s smallest counties, it is a region rich in history and blessed with some of the country’s loveliest scenery. Stratford upon Avon is of course a magnet to the thousands of pilgrims who flock to see the birth and death place of William Shakespeare. The town with its many half-timbered buildings is a shrine to The Bard with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust maintaining five buildings associated...read moreWest Midlands Gardens
The West Midlands region was once the centre of a vast and complicated canal system, but is now the hub of an equally complicated motorway network. This is one of the most important industrial and manufacturing regions and despite Charles Dickens’ description of ‘an industrialised realisation of hell’, the so called Black Country, Birmingham and Coventry have much to offer the holiday visitor. The towns and cities of the West Midlands provide excellent...read moreWest Sussex Gardens
West Sussex not only boasts a beautiful coastline but also the ancient city of Chichester - holiday visitors may find it extremely difficult to drag themselves away from the attractions of this fair city! Chichester was a Roman town and there is still evidence of its Roman grid plan, the interesting early sixteenth century market cross indicates the crossing of four of the city’s main streets. The Cathedral, early Norman with early English additions,...read moreWest Yorkshire Gardens
West Yorkshire is dominated by The South Pennines where you will find the “Last of the Summer Wine” country and the northern part of the Peak District National Park. There are numerous attractions including Worth Valley Railway (setting for the Railway Children) and Haworth (Bronte Country) and interesting canal waterways. Marsden boasts the longest and highest canal tunnel in the country. The Pennine Experience is a new centre for boat trips in the...read moreWiltshire Gardens
Wiltshire’s landscape is predominantly undulating, with Salisbury Plain in the centre and higher downland in the south and north-east. The chief lowlands are around Salisbury. Following a dispute between the occupants of the royal castle and the cathedral, or more probably because of its bleak, windy and waterless location, the monks of Old Sarum vacated their ancient cathedral, and in the early thirteenth century moved down the valley and built their...read moreWorcestershire Gardens
At the heart of Worcestershire is Great Malvern, which is an ideal base for the holidaymaker. The town developed as a spa during the nineteenth century and is renowned for its crystal clear water, its Victorian character and the fine fifteenth century priory tower which dominates the district. Sir Edward Elgar, whose ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ marches were inspired by the Malverns, was born at Lower Broadheath in 1857 and his works are annually performed...read more
Gardens in Scotland
Aberdeenshire Gardens
Aberdeenshire, home to Balmoral Castle, residence of the Queen and the Royal Family, Braemar home to the Highland Games, a couple of the many attractions well worth a visit. Aberdeen the award-winning Britain in Bloom city has an array of things to do and see from its public gardens and parks to the many famous distilleries including Glen, Grant, Cardhu, Glenfiddich and Glenfarclas. Probably best to leave the car at home!Angus Gardens
Angus, a truly unique Scottish destination, with its rich history, culture and tradition. Explore the rugged coastlines or the lowlands and Highland Glens. Breathtaking scenery, wonderful beaches and an abundance of historic sites and buildings to discover. From modern, cosmopolitan city life to two thousand years of magic and mystery, this all meets in a land of kings, queens, inventors and adventurers.Argyll & Bute Gardens
Argyll & Bute are in a region known as The Scottish Heartlands. With glen's and long stretches of scenic coastline, this is a popular holiday destination benefitting from the warm Gulf Stream. The Argyll region is also famous for its Malt Whiskey and is home to numerous Lochs, most well known one being Loch Lomond. An abundance of historic sites and buildings are waiting to be discovered, so plenty of time should be allowedAyrshire Gardens
Ayrshire is a holiday region with two parts, North Ayrshire with its rugged coastlines and South Ayrshire with its rolling pastures and small villages. However, Ayrshire is most known for being the birthplace of Robert Burns in 1759 at Alloway. Thanks to the Burns National Heritage Park visitors to this area are able to almost walk in his very footsteps with many buildings which were associated with him now turned into museums. Nearby is Culzean Castle,...read moreCity of Edinburgh Gardens
Edinburgh is a stunning city renowned for its castle, which represents the origin of the city where from the battlements the whole city can be seen. Greyfriars historic church stands not far from the castle, with the most famous memorial of a canine, Greyfriars Bobby, who when his owner died in 1858 followed his master to his grave where he then refused to leave for the next 14 years, becoming a popular tourist attraction. Edinburgh is also renowned...read moreDumfries & Galloway Gardens
The Southern Uplands consist of the wild western hills of Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders, a region that has experienced turmoil and conflict since Roman times and is now a glorious place of rolling hills, bracing moors and fine border towns.Gardens in Dumfries & Galloway