Two gorgeous Welsh gardens have been crowned the 4th and 10th best botanical gardens in the UK. Bodnant Garden in Conwy and Clyne Gardens in Swansea have been praised for their beautiful views, decent amenities, the space they offer to run around in, dog-friendly areas and, most importantly, accessibility for disabled people - and have now been ranked in the top 10 gardens in the UK Garden Index, beating stiff competition from more well-known gardens like Longleat Gardens and Queen Elizabeth II's Balmoral Castle.
The Index, published by Essential Living property developers, ranked the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew in first place - with a total score of 72.6 out of 100 - and the Royal Botanical Garden in Edinburgh in second place, with a score of 71.3 out of 100.
In third place was Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire with 71.2 points - and Wales' own Bodnant Garden in Tal-y-cafn, Colwyn Bay placed fourth, less than a point behind, with a total of 70.6 points out of 100.
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Bodnant Garden achieved a full 10 out of 10 points for its TripAdvisor score and dog-friendly score and a 9.1 and 8.9 for its "instagrammable" score and "peaceful" score. It was also rated 8.7 out of 10 for its Instagram followers score, 7.5 for its "walking" score and 7.0 points for its cafe. But it scored much lower for its pub and accessibility.
In fifth place on the Index was Cholmondeley Castle Gardens in Cheshire, sixth place was awarded to Glasgow Botanic Gardens in Glasgow, seventh place went to Scone Palace in Perth, eighth place went to Stourhead House and Gardens in Wiltshire, with ninth place going to Princess Street Gardens in Edinburgh.
Clyne Gardens in Mayals, Swansea rounded up the top 10 gardens in the UK. It scored 63.5 out of 100 and was particularly praised for its accessibility and dog-friendliness, scoring 10 out of 10 in both categories. Its TripAdvisor score seemed to let it down, however, with a score of just 0.7. You can get more Swansea stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
Interestingly, both Bodnant Garden and Clyne Gardens surpassed Royal estate Balmoral Castle and well-known Longleat gardens in the rankings. Longleat gardens, located at Longleat Safari and Adventure Park in Wiltshire, placed 17th in the Index with 57.7 points, whilst Queen Elizabeth II's very own Balmoral Castle placed 12th with 61.6 points.
A statement from Essential Living, who published the Index, said: "Our findings highlighted that London was top of the list when it came to scenic gardens, with an impressive score of 72.6/100. This was down to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew scoring a whopping 10/10 when it came to social media engagement, thanks to 520,000 Instagram followers.
"The Royal Botanical Gardens also ranked 10/10 in the accessibility score, thanks to an extensive number of steps taken to be as diverse and inclusive as possible – such as free entry for carers and instructions on how to get around in a wheelchair."
While Bodnant Garden in Conwy had a high ranking overall, it only managed to receive 2.7/10 when it came to accessibility, suggesting that some work needs to be done in that area.
"As no details were provided online in regards to wheelchair access, this score was difficult to determine. However, they scored 7/10 due to having a reasonable 139 local cafes in the area, as well as receiving 10/10 for dog-friendliness – and what’s more beautiful than a dog-friendly garden?" added the statement.
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