6 Botanical Gardens to Explore in Oxfordshire

Checkout places to visit in Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a landlocked county in the far west of the government statistical region of South East England. The ceremonial county borders Warwickshire to the north-west, Northamptonshire to the north-east, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, Wiltshire to the south-west and Gloucestershire to the west.

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Botanical Gardens to Explore in Oxfordshire

Abbey Meadows

The Abbey Gardens are a charming stroll with flat, easy paths and wide gates. Amongst the planted flower displays can be found Victoria’s statue and the ruins which have fooled many a visitor into thinking they have seen the remains of Abingdon Abbey. It has won the Green Flag award for parks and open spaces for ten years in a row.

Blenheim Park

A beautiful park of over 2000 acres, beautifully landscaped and well worth a visit in its own right. Gentle hillsides and well-kept lakes are complemented by large pastures with free-roaming sheep. The park was once an Anglo-Saxon chase and then a twelfth-century deer park. It now includes the Pleasure Gardens, Italian Garden and Rose Garden are well worth a visit as is the 'Capability' Brown landscaped Park.

Christ Church Meadow

Christ Church meadow is a rare open space at the heart of Oxford, open to the public all year round. Though seemingly tranquil, the meadow is highly variable, with seasonal flooding and a variety of wildlife that comes and goes. During the Civil War it proved invaluable as a defence against the Parliamentarian forces, but visitors are nowadays more likely to encounter a rare English Longhorn cow than a soldier besieging the city. b

Harcourt Arboretum (University of Oxford)

Harcourt Arboretum, in the village of Nuneham Courtenay, has the best collection of trees in Oxfordshire set within 130 acres of historic picturesque landscape. The arboretum itself is located six miles south of Oxford on the A4074 road, near the village of Nuneham Courtenay in Oxfordshire and comprises some 150 acres. Professor Simon Hiscock is the Horti Praefectus (Director) of the botanic garden and arboretum.

Oxford Botanic Garden

A beautiful classic seventeenth-century walled garden founded in 1621. Established as the Oxford Physic Garden for growing medicinal plants used to teach medical students, the Garden was the birthplace of botanical sciences at Oxford. Today it contains over 5,000 different plant species on 1.8 ha. It is one of the most diverse yet compact collections of plants in the world and includes representatives from over 90% of the higher plant families.

Shotover Country Park

Shotover Park is an 18th-century country house and park near Wheatley, Oxfordshire, England. The house, garden and parkland are Grade I-listed with English Heritage, and 18 additional structures on the property are also listed.Covering 117 hectares on the southern slopes of Shotover Hill there are spectacular views from the top across south Oxfordshire. The woodland itself has well-maintained paths, and is accessible for a rugged off-road pram, and a few paths are suitable for wheelchairs or pus

Map of Botanical Gardens to explore in Oxfordshire