Top gardens to visit in the South West

An estate with maritime views and woodland walks, near Truro. Explore the meandering paths through the garden and enjoy festive displays on select dates in the winter.

Glorious Cornish garden with valley views and an expansive estate to explore. The garden features terraces, ponds and orchards with 150 local apple varieties.

An ancient and atmospheric estate with a medieval garden rich in archaeology and wildlife. In the walled King's Garden, cloud-like box hedges follow neat paths where you can experience an environment that’s rich in history as well as nature.

The Lanhydrock estate is full of winding paths and stretches of countryside to explore in winter. Park Café is open daily in winter, perfect for a warming drink after a walk or cycle.

Tranquil small but varied garden complete with Elizabethan knot garden, wild meadow and orchard. Open on weekends only.

On the edge of Exmoor there are over 20 miles of footpaths to explore on the estate, plus pleasure grounds and a Victorian garden to discover.

Tranquillity and history meet at this ancient gem in the Tavy Valley landscape, with gardens, meadows, orchards and woodlands to explore.

High above the ancient woodlands of the Teign Gorge stands Castle Drogo. The Lutyens designed garden is colourful in all seasons, and there are miles of pathways to explore through woodland and along the riverside of the Teign Gorge. Open at weekends only.

The deepest river gorge in the South West, with 30m high waterfall, Lydford Gorge gorge is filled with wildlife, plants and trees that enchant the senses.

At Greenway, the walled gardens, river views and romantic woodland combine to make up 'The loveliest place in the world' in the words of Agatha Christie. The relaxed and atmospheric Georgian house is set in the 1950s, when Agatha and her family would spend summers and Christmases here with friends, and is home to their extensive collections. Open on weekends only. If arriving by car, you will need to book in advance to secure a parking space.

A peaceful retreat set within the beautiful Devon countryside near Bovey Tracey, Parke is open with no need to book to visit. Take a short stroll around the garden, or a longer more strenuous walk through the woodlands and along the river to the medieval weir.

A 19th-century garden and parkland near Tiverton, with woodland walks and acres of tenanted farmland where you may even spot Exmoor Horn sheep. The formal and woodland garden is one of the finest and most varied plant collections in the country.

A glorious landscape garden surrounded by parkland, a stone's throw from Exeter, beautiful year-round with rhododendrons, magnolias, champion trees and formal lawns. Explore winding paths, climb an extinct volcano, discover an Iron Age hill fort and take in distant views towards Dartmoor.

At Saltram there's a secret garden to lose yourself and parkland with riverside and woodland walks. Strolling through this precious green space on the outskirts of Plymouth, you can almost forget that the city lies so close.

Situated near Bath, this ancient parkland is full of magnificent trees and view points with extensive vistas that stretch as far as the Welsh mountains. The garden is home to sumptuous planting, formal areas and peaceful wooded terraces.

Open at weekends this Arts and Crafts-inspired garden with intricately designed outdoor spaces in the rolling Cotswold hills. Explore the maze of narrow paved pathways and discover secret gardens, delightful vistas and colourful planting.

Open Friday to Sunday this Tudor hunting lodge is set proudly in an estate on top of the Cotswold escarpment, looking down into the Ozleworth valley and to the Mendips beyond. The quaint gardens and sprawling parkland are filled with colour in autumn.

Dramatically sited on a wooded hill, Dunster Castle is a place of dramatic vistas and subtropical gardens near Minehead in Exmoor. The terraced garden displays varieties of Mediterranean and subtropical plants leading to the tranquil riverside wooded garden below.

A beautiful and intimate 18th-century landscape garden in Bath, undergoing a major restoration on its historic dams. Set in a sweeping valley above Bath, it's a place of magnificent views and wide open lawns, with one of only four Palladian bridges in the world.

One of the few Elizabethan houses in England to have retained its setting within a compartmented garden, Montacute is complete with herbaceous borders, a magnificent fountain, orchard and parkland.

World-famous landscape garden with a magnificent lake reflecting classical temples, mystical grottoes and rare and exotic trees.

At Avebury, the world's largest prehistoric stone circle partially encompasses a pretty village where you'll find Avebury Manor. Why not take a walk through the 'garden rooms' of Avebury Manor garden, each with a different character. From formal lawns to orchards, topiary and kitchen gardens, you can immerse yourself in this delightful, gentle space.

Stroll through the dappled light of woodland to the wide open spaces of a newly restored parkland meadow at this country house, still in touch with its monastic roots after nearly 900 years. From the conceit of an 18th-century 'ruin' to the glass houses that speak of its 19th-century owner’s search for botanical knowledge, Lacock’s grounds are filled with the scents, sounds and colours of nature.