4 Botanical Gardens to Explore in Hertfordshire

Benington Lordship Gardens is a seven-acre garden surrounding a lovely Georgian manor house. Beside the manor are the ruins of a Norman castle keep, surrounded by a moat. The magnificent neo-norman folly, comprising a gatehouse, summer house and adjoining curtain wall, was completed in 1838 by James Pulham of Broxbourne.

Cheslyn House and Gardens, where you can explore a semi-natural woodland area. Its 3.5 acres of space is imaginatively laid out to provide areas of interest including a pond, fernery, large herbaceous borders and an aviary. The house and gardens were originally owned by Henry and Daisy Colbeck, who created the gardens with a collection of unusual and exotic plants which they collected whilst travelling the world.

Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, just 21 miles north of London, is a fine Jacobean House and Garden in a spectacular countryside setting. It is a prime example of Jacobean architecture. The estate includes extensive grounds and surviving parts of an earlier palace. The house, currently the home of 7th Marquess of Salisbury, is open to the public.

Henry Moore Studios & Gardens is the workplace and family home of 20th-century sculptor Henry Moore: with over 70 acres of sculpture gardens & rolling fields. It has a display of over 20 of Moore's world-famous, monumental sculptures; showcasing his work as he intended, against the landscape he shaped. The Foundation supports innovative sculpture projects through a global grants program, runs exhibitions and research worldwide, and conserves the legacy of Moore himself.