Find the old, the haunted, and a host of gardening facts and figures
If you’re looking for the best historic gardens and botanic gardens to visit in the UK, Essential Living has compiled a really useful guide. The UK Garden Index ranked public gardens based on TripAdvisor ratings, local amenities, dog-friendliness, acreage and peacefulness. Essential Living found ghostly gardens and stately homes that hadn’t been significantly changed since the Tudor age.
One of the highest-scoring for historical richness was Doddington Home and Gardens in Peterborough. The Elizabethan building and gardens, designed by Robert Smythson, have box-edged borders surrounding wildflowers and four topiary unicorns representing the Jarvis family crest.
Best historic gardens – Crook Hall and Garden
- Another top scorer for historical interest was Crook Hall and Garden in Durham City. The hall’s ghost, known as ‘The White Lady’, roams the staircases on St. Thomas’ Eve (December 20). The garden even has a maze.
- Arundel Castle and Gardens, in South East England, is one of the oldest on the list, built in the 11th Century by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel. It has been inhabited by King Henry I (1068-1135), King Henry II (1133-89), and the 3rd Duke of Norfolk (1473-1554), uncle of Henry VIII’s ill-fated wives, Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn.
- London’s Eltham Palace, established in 1305, is a blend of Tudor and medieval architecture. It has more than 19 acres of award-winning gardens. The hall has been home to the half-brother of William the Conqueror, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, Edward II, Edward III (1327–77), and John II of France (1319–64).
Best historic gardens and other fascinating facts
- Edinburgh’s Royal Botanical Gardens came in top for zen, with 538 TripAdvisor reviews naming it as peaceful.
- Longleat, in Warminster, won most Instagrammable with over 237,000 posts.
- The most modern botanical garden is Kilcoan Gardens in Northern Ireland, established in 2002.
- The biggest public garden is Grimsthorpe Castle, with 3,000 acres of land.
- The best city to own a private garden in the UK is Liverpool.
The full study contains a host of fascinating information about public and domestic gardens. To view all the results, visit www.essentialliving.co.uk/blog/the-uk-garden-index.
