Gardens to Visit Near Wild Meadow
We’re very lucky to have some wonderful gardens within easy reach of Wild Meadow. Whether you love beautifully planted borders, historic walled gardens, woodland walks or simply a lovely place to spend a sunny afternoon, there’s plenty to explore in the Welsh Borders and Herefordshire.
Here are some of our favourite gardens to visit from Wild Meadow, all within an easy drive of the cottage.
Hergest Croft Gardens — 15 minutes
Stocktonbury Gardens — 30 minutes
Croft Castle — 20 minutes
Powis Castle — 50 minutes
Hampton Court Castle — 40 minutes
Mill Gardens — 20 minutes
Hergest Croft Gardens
Kington – around 15 minutes by car
Set beneath the dramatic Hergest Ridge, with wonderful views towards the Black Mountains, the 70-acre estate has been developed by five generations of the Banks family.
There’s something different around every corner: an azalea garden, maple grove, extensive kitchen garden, more than 130 Champion trees and a secluded valley filled with huge rhododendrons. It also has a plant nursery with a wide selection of wonderful plants you can purchase.
You can stop for lunch or tea at Maple’s Tearoom, and if you still have some energy afterwards, walk up onto Hergest Ridge for the views and the famous wild ponies.
Stocktonbury Gardens
Kimbolton, near Leominster – around 30 minutes by car
Stocktonbury is a lovely four-acre family-run garden set within a working farm, surrounded by Herefordshire countryside and cider orchards.
The gardens include a kitchen garden, water gardens, beautiful borders and a medieval pigeon house. They also have a fabulous shop and run a programme of interesting gardening courses through spring and summer. They have a great café serving delicious homemade food.
It’s a particularly nice choice if you enjoy smaller, more personal gardens rather than grand formal estates.
Croft Castle and Gardens
Yarpole, near Leominster – around 20 minutes by car
Croft Castle sits in the middle of 1,500 acres of Herefordshire countryside, with woodland, farmland, parkland, lakes and wonderful walking. It’s a great choice if you want to combine a garden visit with a longer walk.
My favourite part is the walled garden, with its historic orchards, vineyard and beautiful 1908 glasshouse. There’s also a medieval castle, an Iron Age hillfort and plenty of space to explore.
You can easily make a day of it, with a café and shop on site as well as walks through the wider estate.
Find out more about Croft Castle and Gardens
Powis Castle and Garden
Welshpool – around 50 minutes by car
If you’re happy to travel a little further, Powis Castle and Garden is well worth the drive. This National Trust garden is famous for its dramatic Italian terraces, enormous clipped yew hedges and richly planted borders.
There are also woodland walks, a maze, terraces with far-reaching views and plenty of places to stop for tea. The garden has something to offer throughout the year and is open during the winter too.
Hampton Court Castle and Gardens
Hope under Dinmore, near Leominster – around 40 minutes by car
Hampton Court is somewhere you could easily spend most of the day. The gardens have plenty to discover, including water canals, island pavilions, a hedge maze, a Gothic tower, secret tunnels and a hidden waterfall. The castle is not open to the public.
The ornamental kitchen garden is particularly lovely, enclosed by its original Victorian walls, and you can enjoy produce from the garden in the Orangery Restaurant.
Beyond the formal gardens, the wider estate has riverside walks, ancient oaks, little wooden bridges and peaceful lakes.
Mill Gardens
Leominster – around 20 minutes by car
Mill Gardens is one of those gardens where you never quite know what you're going to find around the next corner. Set among lakes, meadows and Herefordshire countryside, it combines planting with some wonderfully eccentric features.
Look out for fantastic follies, gargoyles that shoot water and a dome made from around 5,000 coloured bottles. There’s plenty here to keep children interested too.
It has a tearoom from which the world’s largest water-powered cuckoo clock can be heard singing on the hour!