Winning tip: Mount Stewart House, County Down
You can’t beat a garden and tearoom combo to blow away the cobwebs at any time of year, and Mount Stewart House at Newtownards delivers. There are Spanish and Italianate gardens, a funky shamrock garden, 80 acres of woodland and the chance to see seals on Strangford Lough. And the tearoom? It makes its own ice-cream – a treat after all that healthy fresh air.
028-4278 8387, nationaltrust.org.uk/mount-stewart, adult £6.36, child £3.18
Arstar123
Kent
Sissinghurst Castle
There are 10 gardens here created in the 1930s on derelict land by two writers, Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson, around romantic, mellow pink brick Tudor buildings high on the Weald of Kent. What she called “rooms open to the sky” are intimate gardens, each with its own character, enclosed by old walls and hedges, each planted differently by colour or theme.
01580 710701, nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst-castle, £10.40/£5
terryphilpot
London
Photograph: Richard Bryant/Bolton Quinn
Chiswick House Gardens
In the 1990s I used to walk Yogi, a joyful Bouvier des Flandres, in these gardens. Yogi is long gone, but the gardens are in better shape than ever after a £12.1m facelift courtesy of National Lottery funding. An artificial lake, classic bridge, cascade of waterfalls and even an Inigo Jones gateway are just some of the treasures hidden among the specimen trees and latticework of pathways in this early example of English landscape gardening.
Chiswick W4, 020-8742 3905, chgt.org.uk, gardens free, Chiswick House, £5.70/£3.40
Lizcleere
Cumbria
Brantwood Gardens, Coniston
The house was the home of John Ruskin for the last 20 years of his life. The gardens are set into the hillside, and give an insight into the mind of this great Victorian polymath. There are eight themed gardens, some radical (Dante’s Purgatorial Mount), some medicinal, others dedicated to ferns (more than 250). Having spent a few hours wandering around the gardens, (and house) you’ll get an appreciation of the troubled mind of Ruskin.
015394 41396, brantwood.org.uk, £6.30/£1.35
Moleycule
Northumberland
Photograph: Murdo MacLeod
Howick Hall Gardens, Alnwick
Read all the historic family gossip on the menu in the Earl Grey Tea House after you have seen the herbaceous borders, formal gardens, bog garden and woodland garden. Leave time for the Long Walk through woodland to the sea where, in the 1830s, Earl Grey sent each of his 15 children on the first full moon in the July after their 10th birthday. It is quite the most idyllic combination of formal and natural planting, wild sea and land, divine tea and scones.
01665 577285, howickhallgardens.org, £6.60/free
rojo23
Wiltshire
The Courts Garden, Holt, near Bradford-on-Avon
Take a stroll around the kitchen gardens, wildlife areas and arboretums all planted with stunning flowers and shrubs. I have been to most National Trust gardens and this classic early-20th-century one is my favourite. After a perfect meal in the lovely tearoom take a short signposted walk across nearby scenic fields to Great Chalfield Manor, another gem.
01225 782875, nationaltrust.org.uk/courts-garden, £6.10/£3.05
Chrisbocci
Gloucestershire
Photograph: Alamy
Westbury Court Garden, Westbury-on-Severn
This unique and exquisite 17th-century Dutch water garden, with canals and ponds full of water lilies and lawns bordered by attractive topiary, is best seen from the first floor of the summer house at the far end. A walk takes you to herb and vegetable plots and a stunning display of very old espaliers. There are no cafe facilities but picnics on the lawns are encouraged.
01452 760461, nationaltrust.org.uk/westbury-court-garden, £4.85/£2.35
Jenandbrian
Aberdeenshire
Pitmedden Garden, Ellon
The garden was created in the 17th century by Sir Alexander Seton. A weather vane commemorates an incident near Aberdeen, where his father was killed by a cannonball. Now, all is peaceful. Be soothed by formal parterres and rows of clipped yews. Stand by the sundial and listen to oystercatchers. Stroll past pleached limes and the herb garden to find the Museum of Farming Life.
0844 493 2177, nts.org.uk/property/pitmedden-garden, £6/free
busylizzie51
Carmarthenshire
Aberglasney Gardens, Llangathen
Tucked away in the hills, these gardens took seed some 500 years ago. Much history and several lost fortunes later the gardens (they were derelict in 1995), have been restored to their original design. With an ancient yew tunnel, areas including a cloister garden and a walled garden, plus lovely walks, time passes all too quickly. The licensed tearoom serves excellent light lunches and teas. There are plants for sale, too, so you can take home a living memento of your visit.
01558 668998, aberglasney.org, £7.27/£3.63
robynmary
Monmouthshire
Dewstow House and hidden gardens, Caldicot
Begin by watching the eight-minute film screened in the bright cafe at the entrance. You learn that these Grade I-listed Edwardian gardens, filled in in the 1940s, remained lost, even in local memory, until 2000, when a new owner began excavating. Then wander through the gardens, finding lakes, fountains, a bog garden, horticultural surprises at every turn, even a croquet lawn. Most amazing are the subterranean grottoes, ferny and mossy, with tiny streams and little niches. The plant sale is good, parking is free, and the welcome is great.
01291 431020, dewstowgardens.co.uk, £6.50/£4
jenandbrian
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