Independent guide to UK gardens
Gardens open to the public, free and paid
94 gardens across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, 23 of them free to walk into. Entry prices, opening times, dog rules and what to see, all checked against each garden's own website.
No gardens match your search. Try a garden name, a county such as Kent, or a feature such as roses.
London
Compare prices in LondonLondon has world class botanic gardens alongside quiet corners of the Royal Parks and city squares. Many of the best are free to walk into, and the big paid gardens are easy to reach by Tube or train.
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Paid entry Chelsea Physic Garden (independent charity)
Chelsea Physic Garden
Chelsea, Greater London
London's oldest botanic garden, founded by the Society of Apothecaries in 1673, with around 5,000 medicinal, edible and useful plants inside sheltering walls by the Thames.
Adults £15 including voluntary donation, or £13.50 without; students and young people 5 to 25 £6.50 (£5 without donation); children under 5 free
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Paid entry English Heritage
Eltham Palace and Gardens
Eltham, Greater London
Nineteen acres of gardens around an Art Deco house and medieval great hall, with a sunken rose garden, rock garden pools and a medieval bridge over the moat.
Paid entry, see website for current prices; booking online by midnight the day before saves up to 15%
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Free entry Horniman Museum and Gardens
Horniman Museum Gardens
Forest Hill, Greater London
Sixteen free acres on a south London hillside, with views across the city, a Victorian conservatory, bandstand, themed gardens and a ticketed Butterfly House.
Free; Butterfly House, Aquarium and some exhibitions are ticketed (Butterfly House adults £9.90, or £11 with Gift Aid)
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Free entry The Royal Parks
Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park
Richmond, Greater London
A free 40 acre woodland garden inside Richmond Park, famous for its evergreen azaleas around ponds and streams in late April and early May, with autumn acers and winter heathers.
Free; parking in Richmond Park is also free
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Free entry Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Kyoto Garden, Holland Park
Kensington, Greater London
A tranquil Japanese garden in Holland Park, given by the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce in 1991, with a tiered waterfall, koi pond, stone lanterns and maples that colour well in autumn.
Free
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Free entry The Royal Parks
Queen Mary's Gardens, The Regent's Park
Marylebone, Greater London
Free gardens in The Regent's Park holding London's largest collection of roses, around 8,000 plants in 85 single-variety beds, with seasonal borders, shrubberies and an ornamental lake.
Free
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Paid entry Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Kew, Greater London
A world-renowned botanic garden on the Thames at Kew, founded in 1759, with the Palm House, the Temperate House, a treetop walkway and one of the largest living plant collections anywhere.
Adults £28 at the gate or £25 online (peak, 2 September to 31 October 2026); from 1 November £20 at the gate or £17 online. Children 4 to 15 £4 (£2 online), under 4s free. Prices exclude the optional donation
South East England
Compare prices in South East EnglandThe South East is often called the garden of England, with famous gardens in Kent and Sussex, the RHS flagship at Wisley, and woodland gardens bright with rhododendrons and azaleas in spring.
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Paid entry Exbury Gardens Ltd (registered charity)
Exbury Gardens
Exbury, Hampshire
Lionel de Rothschild's 200 acre woodland garden on the Beaulieu River, known for rhododendrons and azaleas in spring and strong autumn colour, with a narrow gauge steam railway.
Adults £14.50, children (3 to 15) £6.50, family £39.90 when booked online in advance, 2 September to 31 October 2026; on-the-day tickets cost more. Steam railway extra
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Paid entry Great Dixter Charitable Trust
Great Dixter
Northiam, East Sussex
Christopher Lloyd's famous garden around a medieval house near Rye, known for bold, ever-changing planting in the Long Border, meadows and yew-hedged rooms.
Adults £17.75, children (5 to 15) £5.50 (2026 day tickets, from 1 April)
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Paid entry Leonardslee Ltd (privately owned)
Leonardslee Gardens
Lower Beeding, West Sussex
A 240 acre Grade I listed woodland valley garden in West Sussex, famed for Loderi rhododendrons, seven lakes and a small wallaby colony, reopened in 2019 after a decade of closure.
Adults from £15.50, children (2 to 16) from £8.50 when booked online (2026); family tickets from £31.50. Car parking £4.80
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Paid entry National Trust
Nymans
Handcross, West Sussex
A plant collector's garden near Handcross, made by the Messel family from the 1890s, set around the picturesque ruins of a house partly lost to fire in 1947.
Adults £23.10 with Gift Aid or £21 without; children 5 to 17 £11.60 with Gift Aid or £10.50 without; under 5s free (prices from 1 March 2026)
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Paid entry University of Oxford
Oxford Botanic Garden
Oxford, Oxfordshire
Founded in 1621, the University of Oxford's botanic garden sits by Magdalen Bridge in the city centre, with a historic walled garden, seven glasshouses and more than 5,000 plant species.
Adults £9, concessions £7.20 (students, alumni, over 65s); under 16s free with a paying family member; disabled visitor and carer £1 (2026 standard prices; £1 booking fee per online transaction)
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Paid entry Painshill Park Trust (independent charity)
Painshill
Cobham, Surrey
An 18th century landscape garden in Cobham created by Charles Hamilton and restored since 1981, with a circuit of follies including the Crystal Grotto, Ruined Abbey and Turkish Tent around a lake.
On the door: adults £15, children (5 to 16) £7.50, under 5s free (£16.50 and £8.25 with Gift Aid). Online: adults £12.50, children £5.50, plus £1 booking fee per transaction (2026)
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Paid entry Royal Horticultural Society
RHS Garden Wisley
Woking, Surrey
The RHS's flagship garden near the M25, with a large Glasshouse, rock garden, rhododendrons on Battleston Hill, plant trials and the Hilltop science gardens.
Adults £20.50 on the day, or from £15.20 booked online in advance; children 5 to 16 £6; under 5s free; car-free adults £14.40
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Paid entry National Trust
Sheffield Park and Garden
Uckfield, East Sussex
A Grade I listed landscape garden near Uckfield, laid out around four lakes in the 18th century and planted with trees for autumn colour in the early 1900s.
Adults £20.90 with Gift Aid or £19 without; children 5 to 17 £10.50 with Gift Aid or £9.50 without; family £52.30 with Gift Aid (prices from 1 March 2026)
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Paid entry Hampshire County Council (as sole trustee, run as a charity)
Sir Harold Hillier Gardens
Romsey, Hampshire
A 180 acre garden and arboretum near Romsey begun by plantsman Sir Harold Hillier in 1953, with a vast tree collection, a large Winter Garden and the 250 metre Centenary Border.
Adults £18.25, concessions £17, children (5 to 16) £5.50, under 5s free (Gift Aid prices, April 2026 to March 2027); standard adult price £16.59
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Paid entry National Trust
Sissinghurst Castle Garden
Cranbrook, Kent
Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson's garden of hedged rooms around a Tudor tower, famous for its White Garden and roses, set in a 450-acre Wealden estate.
Adults £22, children (5 to 17) £11, family £55 (Gift Aid prices; £20, £10 and £50 without Gift Aid); parking £4.50 for non-members
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Paid entry The Crown Estate
The Savill Garden
Englefield Green, Surrey
A 35-acre garden in Windsor Great Park, created from 1932 by Eric Savill for King George V, known for spring magnolias, summer roses and autumn colour.
Adults £18.95 on the day or £14.95 booked online in advance; children 5 to 15 £8.50 on the day or £6.50 in advance; ages 2 to 4 free (2026 peak season prices, from 28 March; off-peak prices before then were lower)
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Free entry The Crown Estate
The Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park
Virginia Water, Surrey
A free, 250-acre woodland garden on the slopes above Virginia Water, begun in the 1940s by Eric Savill and known for its rhododendrons, azaleas and the Punch Bowl.
Free entry; car parks in Windsor Great Park charge from £3.20 for up to an hour to £16 for four hours or more
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Paid entry Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (on National Trust land)
Wakehurst
Ardingly, West Sussex
Kew's wild botanic garden in the High Weald, with woodland valleys, water and walled gardens, nature reserves, an Elizabethan mansion and the Millennium Seed Bank.
Adults £18.50; young people 17 to 25 £9.25; children 16 and under free; late entry from 3.30pm £9.25 (2026)
South West England
Compare prices in South West EnglandMild, wet weather lets subtropical plants thrive in Cornwall and on the Isles of Scilly, while Wiltshire and Gloucestershire are home to some of England's best known landscape and Arts and Crafts gardens.
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Paid entry
Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens
Abbotsbury, Dorset
A sheltered 30 acre garden close to Chesil Beach, begun in 1765 as a walled kitchen garden and now home to over 6,000 plant species, including camellias, magnolias and subtropical exotics.
Adults £15, children (5 to 15) £7.50, under 5s free; disabled visitors and carers half price
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Free entry Bath and North East Somerset Council
Bath Botanical Gardens
Bath, Somerset
A free botanical garden in the corner of Bath's Royal Victoria Park, known for plants grown on limestone, with a rock garden and pool, herbaceous border, old roses and the Great Dell woodland garden.
Free
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Paid entry National Trust
Cotehele
St Dominick, Cornwall
The Edgcumbe family's Tudor house above the River Tamar, with formal terraces, a Valley Garden with a medieval dovecote and stewpond, old orchards and a free estate leading down to a historic quay.
House and garden: adults £19.80, children (5 to 17) £9.90, family £49.50 with Gift Aid; £18, £9 and £45 without (until 1 November 2026). Christmas and garden from 2 November: adults £12.10 with Gift Aid. Estate and quay free; parking from £1.50 for non members
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Paid entry Eden Project
Eden Project
St Austell, Cornwall
Two huge covered Biomes set in a reclaimed Cornish china clay pit, holding rainforest and Mediterranean plants, surrounded by outdoor gardens of crops and temperate planting.
Adults £39.50 on the door or £35.50 online; students £35.50 on the door; children (5 to 15) £15 on the door or £12.50 online; under 5s free (2026)
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Paid entry National Trust
Glendurgan Garden
Mawnan Smith, Cornwall
A sheltered Cornish valley garden made by the Quaker Fox family, famous for its 1833 cherry laurel maze and a path down to the hamlet and beach at Durgan on the Helford River.
Adults £15.40, children (5 to 17) £7.70, family £38.50 with Gift Aid; £14, £7 and £35 without; under 5s free (2026)
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Paid entry National Trust
Hidcote
Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire
An Arts and Crafts garden in the north Cotswolds, made by Lawrence Johnston from 1907 as a series of hedged outdoor rooms, each with its own planting and character.
Adults £22, children (5 to 17) £11, family £55 with Gift Aid; £20, £10 and £50 without (14 March to 1 November 2026). Winter prices are lower: adults £13.20 with Gift Aid from 2 November
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Paid entry Cartwright-Hignett family
Iford Manor Gardens
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Harold Peto's own Italian style garden, made between 1899 and 1933 on a steep slope of the Frome valley, with terraces, colonnades, cypresses, statuary and a cloister. Open April to September.
Paid entry, see website for current prices (2027 prices to be announced in early 2027)
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Free entry Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council
Mount Edgcumbe Formal Gardens
Cremyll, Cornwall
Free 18th and 19th century formal gardens in Italian, French and English styles at the Cremyll end of Mount Edgcumbe Country Park, looking across Plymouth Sound, with later New Zealand and American gardens.
Free entry to the country park and formal gardens; house and Earl's Garden paid (adults £14 in 2026); pay and display parking
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Paid entry Royal Horticultural Society
RHS Garden Rosemoor
Great Torrington, Devon
The Royal Horticultural Society's Devon garden, set in the Torridge valley, with rose gardens, an arboretum, fruit and vegetable gardens and wide woodland surroundings.
Adults £17.40 on the day or from £13.60 booked online; children (5 to 16) £6; under 5s free; car free visitors £12.20
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Paid entry National Trust
Stourhead
Mere, Wiltshire
An 18th century landscape garden where a circuit walk around a lake reveals classical temples, a grotto and a Palladian bridge, set within a large Wiltshire estate.
Adults £25.30, children (5 to 17) £12.70, family £63.30 with Gift Aid; £23, £11.50 and £57.50 without; under 5s free. Parking £4.50 for non members; wider estate free
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Paid entry Heligan (privately run, leased from the Tremayne family)
The Lost Gardens of Heligan
Mevagissey, Cornwall
A Cornish estate garden lost after the First World War and brought back to life in the 1990s, with working kitchen gardens, a subtropical Jungle valley and woodland walks.
Paid entry, see website for current prices; children (5 to 17) £10, students £15.70, under 5s free
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Paid entry Trebah Garden Trust (registered charity)
Trebah Garden
Mawnan Smith, Cornwall
A steep subtropical valley garden near Falmouth that drops 26 acres through gunnera, bamboo and rhododendrons to its own beach on the Helford River. Dogs on leads are welcome.
Adults £19.25, children (5 to 15) £9.65 with Gift Aid; £17.50 and £8.75 without; under 5s free (1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027)
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Paid entry National Trust
Trelissick
Feock, Cornwall
A National Trust house and garden on a peninsula above the River Fal, with lawns, borders, exotic planting, an orchard and miles of dog friendly woodland and parkland walks.
Adults £19.80, children (5 to 17) £9.90, family £49.50 with Gift Aid; £18, £9 and £45 without; under 5s free. Parking £6 for non members
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Paid entry Tresco Estate (Dorrien-Smith family)
Tresco Abbey Garden
Tresco, Isles of Scilly
A walled island garden on Tresco, begun in 1834, where thousands of exotic plants from the southern hemisphere grow outdoors around the ruins of a medieval priory.
Adults £18, concessions £17, under 16s £5, under 5s free, family £40, weekly ticket £25; free for Tresco overnight guests
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Paid entry University of Bristol
University of Bristol Botanic Garden
Bristol, Bristol
The university's botanic garden in Stoke Bishop, with collections on plant evolution, Mediterranean climates, useful plants and rare local natives, plus glasshouses with orchids, cacti and giant water lilies.
Weekends £9 per adult (£9.90 with Gift Aid); weekdays and bank holidays pay what you can in 2026 (from £0); under 18s and students free
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Paid entry Forestry England
Westonbirt, The National Arboretum
Tetbury, Gloucestershire
A Victorian arboretum near Tetbury with around 15,000 trees and shrubs across 600 acres, best known for its autumn colour, Japanese maples and treetop walkway. Dogs are welcome in Silk Wood.
Peak autumn (25 September to 15 November 2026): adults £19 weekdays, £22 weekends; children (5 to 18) £5; under 5s free. From 16 November: adults £14 weekdays, £19 weekends
East of England
Compare prices in East of EnglandThe drier East of England is the home of naturalistic and dry gardening, with the gravel garden at Beth Chatto's, RHS Hyde Hall and the botanic garden in Cambridge, alongside historic estate gardens.
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Paid entry National Trust
Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill
Lode, near Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Lord Fairhaven's 20th-century garden near Cambridge, laid out for every season with tree-lined avenues, fine statues, a Winter Garden, snowdrops, dahlias and roses.
Adults £20.90 with Gift Aid or £19 without, children (5 to 17) £10.50 or £9.50, under 5s free; family ticket £52.30 or £47.50 (prices from 1 March 2026)
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Paid entry The Beth Chatto Gardens Ltd (Chatto family)
Beth Chatto's Plants and Gardens
Elmstead Market, near Colchester, Essex
Beth Chatto's influential garden near Colchester, where unwatered gravel planting, damp-loving water gardens and shady woodland show her 'right plant, right place' approach.
Adults £5 on the day or £4 pre-booked, students £4, children (2 to 16) £3.50 (prices shown while pond silt removal work is under way)
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Paid entry University of Cambridge
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
A 40-acre botanic garden founded by John Stevens Henslow, with restored glasshouses, early rock gardens, a winter garden and more than 8,000 plant species.
Adults £9.50 with optional Gift Aid donation or £8.60 standard; children 0 to 16 and essential carers free; 10% off when booked in advance
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Free entry Ipswich Borough Council
Christchurch Park and Mansion, Ipswich
Ipswich, Suffolk
Ipswich's first public park, around the Tudor Christchurch Mansion, with an arboretum, more than 4,000 trees, centuries-old oaks and ponds full of birdlife.
Free; Christchurch Mansion museum is also free to enter
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Paid entry Hatfield Park estate
Hatfield House Gardens
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Historic formal gardens around a Jacobean house and the Tudor Old Palace in Hatfield, with parterres, a knot garden, yew topiary and woodland walks.
Gardens, Park and Woodland Walks: adults £17, children (3 to 15) £8.50, family (2 adults and 4 children) £42; House, Gardens and Park: adults £27; carers free
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Paid entry Royal Horticultural Society
RHS Garden Hyde Hall
Rettendon, near Chelmsford, Essex
The RHS's Essex garden, grown on an exposed, dry, clay-soil hilltop since 1955 and famous for its Dry Garden, hilltop borders and winter planting.
Adults £18.40 on the day or from £13.60 booked online in advance, children (5 to 16) £6, under 5s free (2026)
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Paid entry Sandringham Estate (private estate of the King)
Sandringham Gardens
Sandringham, near King's Lynn, Norfolk
The 60-acre gardens of the royal family's Norfolk retreat, shaped by successive monarchs since 1862, with lakes, a Jellicoe garden, rhododendrons and rare trees.
Gardens only: adults £15 booked online in advance or £17 on the day; House and Gardens £26 online or £28 on the day; children 16 and under free (2026)
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Paid entry English Heritage
Wrest Park
Silsoe, Bedfordshire
English Heritage's restored garden landscape at Silsoe, where an early 18th-century formal woodland garden, Capability Brown's paths and French-style 1830s gardens sit side by side.
Adults £16.30 on the day (£18 with Gift Aid donation), or from £13.85 booked online in advance; children (5 to 17) £8.10 on the day; prices vary by season (October 2026)
The Midlands
Compare prices in The MidlandsFrom the great estate gardens of the Peak District and Staffordshire to Victorian botanic gardens and free town parks, the Midlands offers some of the best value garden visiting in the country.
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Paid entry National Trust
Biddulph Grange Garden
Biddulph, Staffordshire
James Bateman's Victorian garden near Congleton, a series of themed rooms linked by tunnels and hedges, from 'China' and 'Egypt' to a stumpery and pinetum.
Adults £15.40 with Gift Aid or £14 without, children (5 to 17) £7.70 or £7, under 5s free; family £38.50 or £35
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Paid entry Birmingham Botanical and Horticultural Society (registered charity)
Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands
A Grade II* listed botanic garden in Edgbaston, opened in 1832 to J.C. Loudon's design, with four glasshouses, a sunken rose garden, a rock garden and bonsai.
Adults £10, concessions £9, children (5 to 15) £7, family £31 (2026)
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Paid entry Chatsworth House Trust (registered charity)
Chatsworth Garden
Bakewell, Derbyshire
The 105-acre garden of Chatsworth in the Peak District, with its 300-year-old Cascade, Paxton's Emperor Fountain and rock garden, a maze and modern planting.
Garden ticket: adults £20, children (3 to 16) £12, including an optional 10% donation; off-peak adult price £16 from 1 October to 6 November 2026; car park £10 unless booked online in advance
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Paid entry Pasley-Tyler family
Coton Manor Garden
Coton, near Guilsborough, Northamptonshire
A family-run Northamptonshire garden created in the 1920s and voted the Nation's Favourite Garden in 2019, known for its borders, water garden, bluebell wood and nursery.
Adults £12.50, children (5 to 17) £5, at the gate (2026); season ticket £20
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Paid entry Heber-Percy family
Hodnet Hall Gardens
Hodnet, near Market Drayton, Shropshire
A family-owned Shropshire estate garden of 60 acres, where a chain of pools dug in the 20th century is surrounded by camellias, rhododendrons, water gardens and parkland.
Adults £10, children £1 (2026)
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Free entry Warwick District Council
Jephson Gardens
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
A free, formal Victorian park in the centre of Leamington Spa, with seasonal bedding, a tropical glasshouse, around 140 species of tree and a riverside setting.
Free
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Free entry Nottingham City Council
Nottingham Arboretum
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
Nottingham's oldest public park, opened in 1852 just north of the city centre, with a collection of more than 800 trees, some planted in the 19th century, plus a bandstand and aviary.
Free
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Free entry High Peak Borough Council (operated by Parkwood)
Pavilion Gardens, Buxton
Buxton, Derbyshire
Buxton's free Victorian pleasure gardens, laid out by Edward Milner in 1871 along the River Wye, with lakes, a conservatory of tropical plants, a bandstand and family attractions.
Free entry to the gardens, conservatory and main building; charges for the miniature train, boating lake and events; pay and display car park
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Paid entry Trentham Leisure Limited
Trentham Gardens
Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
A historic Staffordshire estate garden where Charles Barry's Italian terraces, replanted with modern perennials, sit beside Capability Brown's mile-long lake and meadows.
Autumn day ticket (2 September to 1 November 2026): adults £15 on the day or £12.75 booked online early, seniors and students £12.50, children (3 to 15) £10, under 3s free; prices change by season
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Free entry University of Leicester
University of Leicester Botanic Garden
Oadby, Leicester, Leicestershire
A free 16-acre university botanic garden in Oadby, made from four Edwardian gardens, with four glasshouses, rock and water gardens, borders and sculptures.
Free, except on some special event days
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Paid entry University of Birmingham
Winterbourne House and Garden
Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands
An Edwardian Arts and Crafts house and 7-acre garden in Edgbaston, laid out by Margaret Nettlefold under Gertrude Jekyll's influence and now the University of Birmingham's botanic garden.
Adults £11.25 with Gift Aid or £10.20 without, concessions £9.75 or £8.85, children (5 to 16) £8.05 or £7.30, under 5s free; family £34.70 or £31.50
North of England
Compare prices in North of EnglandThe North has two RHS gardens, the grand gardens of Yorkshire's country houses, Victorian parks and glasshouses in its cities and, in Cumbria, some of the oldest garden layouts in England.
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Paid entry Ashbrook family
Arley Hall Gardens
Northwich, Cheshire
A family garden in Cheshire shaped over 270 years, famous for its double herbaceous border, with pleached limes, an ilex avenue, walled and kitchen gardens, a Victorian vinery and a woodland Grove.
Gardens: adults £13, children 4 to 16 £6.50, family £36 (high season 2026); adults £7, children £4, family £20 in low season; parking £4
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Paid entry English Heritage
Brodsworth Hall and Gardens
Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Victorian gardens restored by English Heritage around an 1860s country house near Doncaster, with colourful bedding, clipped topiary, a fern dell and the newly restored Miss Pam's Garden.
Paid entry, see website for current prices; booking online in advance saves up to 15%
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Paid entry Castle Howard Estate (Howard family)
Castle Howard Gardens
Malton, North Yorkshire
Grand 18th-century grounds around Vanbrugh's Baroque house in the Howardian Hills, with the Temple of the Four Winds, Hawksmoor's Mausoleum, lakes, woodland and lead statues.
Paid entry, see website for current prices; gardens-only and house and gardens tickets available, with a saving for booking online
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Paid entry Holker Estate (Cavendish family)
Holker Hall Gardens
Cark-in-Cartmel, Cumbria
A Cavendish family garden on the edge of Morecambe Bay, mixing formal gardens, a cascade and a Mawson sunken garden with meadows, a labyrinth and the ancient Great Holker Lime.
Gardens only: adults £11.95; hall and gardens: adults £15.95; children under 12 free
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Free entry Newcastle City Council
Jesmond Dene
Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
A free wooded dene along the River Ouseburn in Newcastle, landscaped by William Armstrong in the 19th century with waterfalls and exotic trees, with a visitor centre, café and Pets Corner.
Free
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Paid entry Levens Hall
Levens Hall Gardens
Kendal, Cumbria
A 17th-century topiary garden in south Cumbria, laid out by Guillaume Beaumont from 1694, with more than 100 clipped shapes, some over 300 years old, at Levens Hall near Kendal.
Gardens only: adults £9, children 5 to 16 £3, family £21.50; house and gardens: adults £15, children £5, family £35.50 (2026)
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Paid entry Leeds City Council (Leeds Museums and Galleries)
Lotherton Hall Gardens
Aberford, West Yorkshire
An Edwardian country house estate east of Leeds, with enclosed gardens laid out by Gwendolen Gascoigne between 1893 and 1914, a walled rose garden under restoration, a heritage orchard and a red deer park.
Estate entry: adults £10.50 online or £11 on the gate; children 3 to 15 £6.25 online or £6.50 on the gate; parking included
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Paid entry University of Liverpool
Ness Botanic Gardens
Neston, Cheshire
The University of Liverpool's botanic garden on the Wirral, begun in 1898 by cotton merchant Arthur Bulley, with plant-hunter collections from China and the Himalaya and views over the Dee to Wales.
Adults £9.25 with Gift Aid or £8.50 without; children 5 to 16 £4.85 (£4.50); under 5s free; concessions £8.15 (£7.50); family £23 (£21.50)
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Paid entry Royal Horticultural Society
RHS Garden Bridgewater
Worsley, Greater Manchester
The newest RHS garden, opened in 2021 on the site of Worsley New Hall in Salford, with a restored walled garden split into Paradise and Kitchen gardens, lakes, woodland and a Chinese garden.
Adults £18.40 on the day, from £13.60 when booked online; children 5 to 16 £6, under 5s free; car-free adults £12.90
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Paid entry Royal Horticultural Society
RHS Garden Harlow Carr
Harrogate, North Yorkshire
The RHS garden for the north, set in a Yorkshire valley near Harrogate, with Streamside planting, woodland, an Alpine House, Kitchen Garden and a branch of Bettys.
Adults £18.40 on the day, from £13.60 when booked online; children 5 to 16 £6, under 5s free; car-free adults £12.90
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Free entry Liverpool City Council; run by the Sefton Park Palm House Preservation Trust (charity)
Sefton Park Palm House
Liverpool, Merseyside
A free Victorian palm house in Liverpool's Sefton Park, opened in 1896, saved by a public campaign and restored in 2001, with plants arranged by continent and statues of famous botanists and explorers.
Free; donations welcome
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Free entry Sheffield City Council, with the Sheffield Botanical Gardens Trust and the Friends of the Botanical Gardens
Sheffield Botanical Gardens
Sheffield, South Yorkshire
A free Victorian botanical garden a mile and a half from Sheffield city centre, with listed glass pavilions, a rare bear pit, a rose garden and naturalistic prairie-style planting.
Free
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Free entry Sheffield City Council
Sheffield Winter Garden
Sheffield, South Yorkshire
A large timber-framed glasshouse in the heart of Sheffield, free to enter and open into the evening, holding thousands of plants from around the world next to the Millennium Gallery.
Free
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Paid entry National Trust
Studley Royal Water Garden at Fountains Abbey
Ripon, North Yorkshire
An 18th-century water garden of moon-shaped ponds, lakes and classical temples, laid out by John and William Aislabie beside the ruins of Fountains Abbey and a deer park.
Adults £21, or £23.10 including Gift Aid; children 5 to 17 £10.50; under 5s free
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Paid entry National Trust, managed by Cheshire East Council
Tatton Park Gardens
Knutsford, Cheshire
Fifty acres of historic gardens on the Egerton family estate near Knutsford, with a Japanese Garden, Victorian fernery and conservatory, Italian and rose gardens, a maze and kitchen gardens.
Gardens: adults £11, children 4 to 15 £9, under 4s free (10% off online); parkland vehicle entry £9 to £11 per car extra
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Paid entry The Alnwick Garden Trust (charity)
The Alnwick Garden
Alnwick, Northumberland
A modern garden beside Alnwick Castle, begun by the Duchess of Northumberland and designed by Wirtz International, with the Grand Cascade, Poison Garden, Rose Garden and Cherry Orchard.
Adults £19.70 with Gift Aid or £17.90 without (online, September to November 2026); up to four children aged 0 to 16 free with a paying adult
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Free entry North Yorkshire Council, with the Friends of Valley Gardens
Valley Gardens, Harrogate
Harrogate, North Yorkshire
A free Grade II listed park in Low Harrogate, laid out on the old spa wells of Bogs Field, with a 1930s Sun Pavilion and Colonnade, a Japanese garden and a woodland walk to RHS Harlow Carr.
Free; small charges for some games such as crazy golf and tennis
Scotland
Compare prices in ScotlandScotland's four national botanic gardens, its free city gardens and west coast gardens warmed by the Gulf Stream make it one of the most varied places in the UK to visit gardens.
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Paid entry Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Benmore Botanic Garden
Dunoon, Argyll and Bute
Mountainside garden on the Cowal Peninsula, run by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, famous for its avenue of giant redwoods, its rhododendrons and views over the Holy Loch.
Adults £12, concessions £10 (Gift Aid prices; £10.80 and £9 without donation); children 15 and under free
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Paid entry National Trust for Scotland
Crarae Garden
Inveraray, Argyll and Bute
Woodland garden in a Himalayan-style glen above Loch Fyne, begun in 1912, with over 600 rhododendrons and azaleas, champion trees and paths and bridges along the Crarae Burn.
Adults £10, concessions £7.50, children £5, family £25 (2026); honesty box in winter
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Paid entry Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Dawyck Botanic Garden
Peebles, Scottish Borders
Woodland arboretum near Stobo in the Scottish Borders, run by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, with some of Scotland's earliest introduced trees, burnside walks and seasonal displays.
Adults £12, concessions £10 (Gift Aid prices; £10.80 and £9 without donation); children 15 and under free
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Paid entry Drummond Gardens (registered charity)
Drummond Castle Gardens
Crieff, Perth and Kinross
Formal terraced garden below Drummond Castle near Crieff, with an Italianate parterre of clipped hedges and stone statuary, seen in Rob Roy and Outlander. Open from May to October.
Adults £12.50, children 5 to 16 £5, family (2 adults and 3 children) £30 (2026)
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Paid entry University of Dundee
Dundee University Botanic Garden
Dundee, Dundee
University-run botanic garden on a south-facing slope above the River Tay, with tropical and temperate glasshouses, native British plants and trees and shrubs from around the world.
Adults £5, concessions (over 60) £4.50, children under 16 and carers free
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Free entry Glasgow City Council
Glasgow Botanic Gardens
Glasgow, City of Glasgow
Free botanic garden on Great Western Road in Glasgow's West End, best known for the domed Kibble Palace with its tree ferns and the Main Range glasshouses of orchids and begonias.
Free, including the Kibble Palace and Main Range glasshouses
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Paid entry National Trust for Scotland
Inverewe Garden
Poolewe, Highland
Lochside garden at Poolewe in Wester Ross, made from bare coastal ground from 1862 by Osgood Mackenzie, with rhododendrons, towering redwoods and plants from around the world.
Adults £16, children £9.50, family £43 (2026 standard prices; £17.60 adult with Gift Aid donation)
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Paid entry Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Logan Botanic Garden
Port Logan, Dumfries and Galloway
Regional garden of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on the Rhins of Galloway, where a mild Gulf Stream climate supports palms, tree ferns, eucalyptus and tender southern hemisphere plants.
Adults £12, concessions £10 (2026 Gift Aid prices; £10.80 and £9 without donation); children 15 and under free
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Free entry City of Edinburgh Council
Princes Street Gardens
Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh
Free public gardens in the heart of Edinburgh, laid out where the Nor Loch once lay below the castle, with the 1903 floral clock, the cast-iron Ross Fountain and the Scott Monument.
Free
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Free entry Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh
Free-to-enter botanic garden a mile north of Edinburgh city centre, with a famous Rock Garden, city skyline views and the restored Victorian Palm Houses, reopened in October 2026.
Free entry to the garden; Palm Houses adults £4.95 (£5.50 with voluntary donation), concessions 65+ £4.20, children 5 to 15 free with a ticket
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Paid entry National Trust for Scotland
Threave Garden
Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway
Training garden of the National Trust for Scotland near Castle Douglas, laid out as a series of garden rooms around Threave House, with a wetland nature reserve, osprey platform and bat reserve.
Garden: adults £10, concessions £8, children £5, family £25 (2026; £11 adult with Gift Aid donation). House and garden: adults £13. Nature reserve free
Wales
Compare prices in WalesWales combines dramatic settings with fine plant collections, from terraced castle gardens and Victorian estates to the National Botanic Garden of Wales and free parkland in the heart of Cardiff.
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Paid entry Aberglasney Restoration Trust (charity)
Aberglasney Gardens
Llangathen, Carmarthenshire
Restored historic garden in Carmarthenshire's Tywi Valley, with a rare Elizabethan Cloister Garden, a yew tree walk, the subtropical Ninfarium in the old mansion ruins and planting for every season.
Paid entry, see website for current prices
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Paid entry National Trust
Bodnant Garden
Tal-y-Cafn, Conwy
Eighty-acre National Trust garden above the River Conwy, begun in 1874, with formal terraces, the famous Laburnum Arch, rhododendrons and champion trees in the wooded Dell.
Adults £20.90, children 5 to 17 £10.50, family £52.30 (2026 Gift Aid prices; £19, £9.50 and £47.50 without Gift Aid); under 5s free
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Free entry Cardiff Council
Bute Park
Cardiff, Cardiff
Free historic park behind Cardiff Castle, once the Bute family's private grounds, with an arboretum of more than 3,000 catalogued trees, champion trees, herbaceous borders and walks beside the River Taff.
Free
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Paid entry National Trust (on a lease from the Vale of Glamorgan Council)
Dyffryn Gardens
St Nicholas, Vale of Glamorgan
Edwardian garden near Cardiff laid out by Thomas Mawson for the Cory family, with a series of themed garden rooms, a large arboretum and plants raised from early plant-hunting expeditions.
Adults £15.40, children £7.70, family £38.50 (2026 Gift Aid prices; £14, £7 and £35 without Gift Aid); under 5s free
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Paid entry National Botanic Garden of Wales (charity)
National Botanic Garden of Wales
Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire botanic garden opened in 2000 on a Regency estate, home to the Great Glasshouse designed by Foster and Partners, a double walled garden, a nature reserve and a bird of prey centre.
Adults £21, children 2 to 17 £11, family £59 (2026 Gift Aid prices; £18.85, £9.65 and £53.50 without); under 2s free; 10% off when booked online
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Paid entry Portmeirion
Portmeirion
Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd
Colourful Italianate village built by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis on the Dwyryd estuary, surrounded by the 70-acre Gwyllt woodland with hidden gardens, a lake and views over the estuary.
Adults £20, concessions (60+ and students) £18, children 5 to 15 £14, under 5s free (2026 main season); family tickets from £39
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Paid entry National Trust
Powis Castle and Garden
Welshpool, Powys
National Trust garden below a medieval castle near Welshpool, with late 17th-century terraces cut into the rock, huge clipped yews and an Edwardian formal garden.
Off-peak while the castle is closed: adults £14.30, children £7.20, family £35.80 (2026 Gift Aid prices; £13, £6.50 and £32.50 without). Castle and garden when open: adults £19.80 with Gift Aid
Northern Ireland
Compare prices in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland's mild climate suits exotic plants, especially around Strangford Lough, and Belfast has two fine free gardens with a Victorian palm house and an international rose garden.
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Free entry Belfast City Council
Botanic Gardens Belfast
Belfast, County Antrim
Free public park in Belfast, founded in 1828, with the Palm House begun in 1839, the Tropical Ravine of 1889, a rose garden, alpine garden and mature trees.
Free, including the Palm House and Tropical Ravine
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Paid entry National Trust
Mount Stewart
Newtownards, County Down
National Trust house and gardens near Newtownards, where a mild microclimate supports unusual plants and Edith, Lady Londonderry's themed gardens are filled with topiary, statuary and family stories.
Adults £17.60, children £8.80, family £44 (2026 Gift Aid prices; £16, £8 and £40 without); off-peak prices from £14.30 adult at quieter times
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Paid entry National Trust
Rowallane Garden
Saintfield, County Down
National Trust garden on the edge of Saintfield in County Down, begun in the 1860s, known for rhododendrons and azaleas, with a walled garden, rock garden, woodland and meadows.
Adults £13.20, children £6.60, family £33 (2026 Gift Aid prices; £12, £6 and £30 without); under 5s free
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Free entry Belfast City Council
Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park
Belfast, County Antrim
Free 128-acre park on Belfast's Upper Malone Road, home to the City of Belfast International Rose Garden and its July Rose Week, a Japanese-style garden, a walled garden and woodland trails.
Free
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Planning a garden visit
Check before you go. Opening times change with the seasons, and some gardens close in winter or need a timed ticket at busy times. Every listing links to the garden's own website.
Save with membership. If you visit often, membership of the National Trust, the RHS, the National Trust for Scotland, Cadw or English Heritage can quickly pay for itself. Booking online is sometimes cheaper than paying on the day.
Go for the season. Woodland gardens peak in spring, roses and borders in June and July, and arboretums in October. Free city gardens are worth a visit at any time of year.
Every listing is researched from the garden's own pages and shows the date it was last checked. Read more about this guide.
Frequently asked questions
Which gardens in the UK are free to visit?
Many fine gardens charge nothing to walk in, including the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Glasgow Botanic Gardens, the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, Sheffield Botanical Gardens and the gardens in London's Royal Parks. Some charge for parking, glasshouses or events. See the full list of free gardens on this site.
Are gardens free for members?
Often, yes. National Trust gardens are free for National Trust members, RHS gardens are free for RHS members (usually with a free guest at set times), and National Trust for Scotland, Cadw and English Heritage members get free entry to their own properties. Each garden page says which membership applies.
When is the best time of year to visit a garden?
Spring brings bulbs, magnolias, rhododendrons and azaleas, especially in woodland gardens. Early summer is the peak for roses and herbaceous borders, and autumn is best for arboretums and leaf colour. Many garden pages on this site suggest the best time to visit.
Can I take my dog to a garden?
It depends on the garden. Public parks and many estate grounds welcome dogs on leads, while some formal and botanic gardens only allow assistance dogs. The dog policy is shown on each garden page where the garden publishes it.
Is gardens.org.uk connected to the gardens listed?
No. gardens.org.uk is an independent guide and is not connected to any garden, charity or organisation listed. Always check the garden's own website for current prices and opening times before you travel.