Summer is an ideal time to visit some of the many glorious UK gardens on your doorstep or on your travels – and you can take your pick of family-friendly options.
Whether your children like making dens, playing games outdoors or going on bug hunts, our open gardens give parents and children the chance to enjoy days out together.
There are many family-friendly events at National Trust properties through its ‘Summer of Play’ initiatives, and you may also gain inspiration from exploring the many activities staged by the RHS, English Heritage and the National Garden Scheme, which raises money for health charities and other organisations.
Here are just a few of the gardens which will entertain the whole family and help them reconnect with the great outdoors.
Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
A beach-themed ‘Summer of Play’ at Anglesey Abbey will give the kids a chance to let loose in a giant sandpit, take part in some seaside arts and crafts and challenge friends and family to a game of badminton or volleyball. There will be five creative and interactive seaside play zones around the gardens where you can get your creativity flowing and learn more about nature at the seaside.
Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, Northumberland
Lose yourself in the vast 30-acre, Grade I-listed gardens at Belsay, which have been re-invigorated by renowned garden designer Dan Pearson with more than 80,000 new plants.
The star of the gardens is the amazing Quarry Garden, created where stone was quarried for the hall. It has its own microclimate, meaning all sorts of exotic plants grow here. Dramatic ravines and cliff-faces create backdrops for an array of amazing trees and plants, including the stupendous giant rhubarb, nicknamed ‘dinosaurs’ food’.
Look for the trail markers to find out about some of the plants and wildlife at Belsay, then follow in the footsteps of the Wild Man Trail to reach the castle. Belsay also has a fabulous new play area, featuring towering climbing frames, a winding slide, rope nets for climbing and swings. There is also a dedicated play area for toddlers.
Children can wallow in the five play zones across the historic estate’s sprawling parklands, woodland glades and tranquil lakeshore havens. Medieval sports featuring brave knights and maidens can be viewed in the Active Zone, while adventurers battle dragons in the Quest Zone. Young artists can unleash their creativity in the Creative Zone, while explorers dig for fossils in the Nature Zone. For those seeking quiet moments, the Quiet Zone offers a peaceful retreat.
Castle Ward’s garden, renowned for its two distinct landscapes, offers visitors a glimpse into Ireland’s rich horticultural history, with both Victorian and 17th- 18th-century pleasure grounds to explore.
Quex Gardens, Kent (Open for National Garden Scheme, July 20)
Children can lose themselves in the maze of this stunning garden comprising 10 acres of woodland and gardens with fine specimen trees, shrub and herbaceous borders. There are peacocks, a dovecote, chickens, bees, a wildlife pond and a delightful croquet lawn, as well as a picnic grove and Victorian walled garden with cucumber house, long glasshouses and a cactus house.
Chirk Castle and Garden, Wrexham, Wales
Enjoy the sights of summer at Chirk Castle as the garden bursts into colour and fragrance, with beautiful summer borders featuring different varieties of cistus and spectacular foxtail lilies, impressive topiary and the delicious fragrance of the Lime Tree Avenue.
Meanwhile, children can have hours of fun at the castle’s Big Play Adventure, featuring four themed zones: Forest, Meadow, Stream and Kitchen Garden. Each zone is packed with interactive activities designed to spark imagination and encourage active play.
Brodick Castle, Garden & Country Park, Isle of Arran, Scotland
Inspired by Arran’s rich natural heritage, the ‘Isle Be Wild’ adventure playground at Brodick Castle features a wooden playground which blends into the woodland. Children can explore the Squirrel Tower and run through the trees on the high-level walkways, cross rope bridges, then explore the Otter area as they crawl through the glass-bottomed tunnel.
Those who want a more sedate path can explore the formal gardens on the Silver Garden Trail and Plant Hunters’ Walk, or venture further to discover ponds, waterfalls and woodland trails, where you might spot red squirrels.
Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, Yorkshire
A packed summer of activities is in store for visitors to this UNESCO World Heritage Site with one of the largest ruined Cistercian monasteries in England and an elegant 18th-century water garden. Children’s attractions include different activity stations featuring circus tents on the ball games field, soft archery and space-hopper racing.
Charlton Down House, Tetbury, Gloucestershire (open selected Thursdays in summer from July 17 for National Garden Scheme)
Anyone who would like to see rescue ponies and donkeys, plus chickens in a big enclosure, might want to pay a visit to these extensive country house gardens in 180-acre equestrian estate. For those who are more interested in flora and fauna, there are formal terraces, a walled topiary garden, perennial borders and a large glasshouse.
Brodsworth Hall and Gardens, Yorkshire
Over the past 30 years, English Heritage has been restoring Victorian Brodsworth’s extensive gardens with brilliant bedding, formal topiary, a fern-filled dell and quirky garden buildings. Don’t miss the charming 1864 ‘privy’ toilet and the restored Target Range, which is a mosaic of colourful beds and intricate paving, complete with a Classical-style ‘Eyecatcher’ and a picturesque summerhouse.
Let little ones run wild in the gardens, wander over and under the bridges of the fern dell. Families can sniff their way through the wild rose dell, while the playground is based on the history of the family who lived here. There’s a sailing boat for mini sea-captains, climbing frames and slides. In summer there are live brass bands.
Barnards Farm, Essex (open for National Garden Scheme Thursdays throughout summer).
Who doesn’t love a miniature railway? Children will head for the rides in this family friendly 54-acre haven of garden and woodland (which also houses an extensive veteran car collection), with a superb array of surprise sculptures from the grand to the quirky, including the permanent art installation teepees, Follow the signposted routes to discover a huge angel, giant poppy heads, giant cacti and much more.
Pendennis Castle, Cornwall
Experience an exhilarating spectacle as four legendary knights compete for glory in the grand medieval joust (Aug 5-7). See lances shatter, feel the thunder of hooves, and hear the roar of the crowd as reputations are won and lost. Each knight represents a character from myth or legend – The Wyvern, The Wildman, Sir Lancelot and Jason of the Argonauts. In the medieval encampment, you can meet people from the past to dig deeper into daily life in the Middle Ages.
Logan Botanic Garden, nr Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway
Recently voted Family Venue of the Year, visitors can enjoy the almost subtropical climate at Logan, where the Gulf Stream’s influence allows exotic plants from around the world to flourish in an explosion of colour.
On July 31, there’s a Fun with Flax event where children can learn how to weave their own flowers and animals from multicoloured flax leaves grown in the Garden.
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