Bloom Nation: The Ultimate Spring Gardens Trail Across the UK

Begin in Sussex, where the gardens feel strikingly individual rather than following one recognisable pattern. Visit Wakehurst first for its living, breathing landscape, then move onto the classics. Sheffield Park and Garden is arranged around four lakes, with paths that continually draw you back to the water, so there is always a different view to admire. At Nymans, the mood shifts again: its romantic house and ruins are framed by drifts of daffodils and crocuses, while magnolias burst into glorious shades of pink and yellow.

The hotels should feel like the next page of the same chapter. Gravetye Manor is integral to the story, with 35 acres of gardens shaped by its most notable owner, William Robinson, one of the greatest horticulturists of all time. Ockenden Manor Hotel & Spa is also a natural Sussex stop, with grounds and parkland that make it worth lingering outdoors, rather than simply treating it as somewhere to stay between garden visits. Which is exactly what you want on a March route built around garden hotels across Britain.

After Sussex, Cornwall is the natural next step, as March tends to feel a bit more settled in this region. It is here that you will find some of the most beloved spring gardens in the UK. The Eden Project is an essential stop, with vast biomes filled with fragrant planting that signals the arrival of the new season. The Lost Gardens of Heligan is the counterpoint, an award-winning 200-acre garden that bids farewell to winter in a floral celebration of nature. Trebah Garden offers a softer alternative, a subtropical valley garden that runs down to its own beach.

Cornwall is where your base should keep the story alive after dusk. The Nare earns its place here through its landscaped subtropical gardens above the shoreline, which make the setting feel part of the garden journey rather than separate from it.

Next, head north into Cumbria where the gardens lean into structure and silhouette. Holker Hall & Gardens offers formal and woodland gardens together with ancient parkland. Featuring the world’s oldest topiary garden, dating back to 1694, Levens Hall is a spring standout: ten acres of wonderfully bizarre, meticulously shaped yew and box forms, brightened by seasonal bedding, bulbs and, a little later on, tulips and roses. Dalemain Mansion & Historic Gardens meanwhile is something a little different, with a Tudor knot garden and famously ancient apple trees.

This part of the country proves why it is one of the best places to visit in March, with garden styles that shift as much as the scenery itself. Gilpin Hotel & Lake House earns an honourable mention, with the Lake House set on a private 100-acre estate of woodland and water, so you return to more than just a room. And at Farlam Hall Hotel & Restaurant, the kitchen garden anchors the stay in the land and makes even a short stroll feel purposeful.

Inverness keeps the momentum going. Its Botanic Gardens is an easy, rewarding stop that suits March perfectly, with its spring blooms and seasonal trails. If there’s still a chill in the air, warm up in the Tropical House. Ness Walk is the ideal complement, with its own gardens and riverside grounds allowing that end-of-day wander to remain part of the story.

Then go west for the plot twist at Inverewe, where the conditions suggest one thing, but the garden delivers something quite different. A place of amazing plant diversity, this botanical paradise was established over 100 years ago in the middle of a barren wilderness. Leave this lush tropical oasis and head to The Torridon. Set in 58 acres of parkland at the end of a magnificent sea loch, its two-acre kitchen garden provides much of the fruit, herbs and vegetables used in its dishes. It is the kind of detail that makes garden hotels across Britain feel woven into the route, rather than tacked on at the end.