Norfolk Gardens

 Norfolk has a huge collection of gardens. Even if you know nothing about serious gardening (like us…) you can’t help but be impressed when you visit one of the heritage gardens in Norfolk including the most famous of all, Sandringham House (10 minute drive) Lizzie’s country residence, with its sixty acres of glorious gardens, lawns and lakes, dells and glades. This is not forgetting Blickling Hall near Aylsham (40 minute drive) with its 55 acres of topiary, sweeping lawns, herbaceous borders, temple and lake. The choice really seems endless especially when you add Houghton’s walled gardens and deer park (10 minute drive) or further a field Oxburgh Hall near Downham Market (35 minute drive) with a famous French parterre or the chance to enjoy the wildlife at Mannington’s medieval moated manor house at Saxthorpe near Aylsham (30 minute drive) with its country walks, arboretum, observation hide and wild flowers.

 Pensthorpe near Fakenham (20 minute drive) is very special and home to two delightful gardens both designed by Chelsea Flower Show gold medallists including, The Millennium Garden, a spectacular summer garden filled with drifts of perennials and grasses and the Wave Garden, a late winter and spring garden which enhances the resident trees with meandering Luzula flitting through crests of yew hedging. Don’t forget the fragrant Norfolk Lavender just round the corner at Heacham (5 minute drive) which for many years has been famous the whole world over.