As Valentine's Day approaches, couples across the UK are seeking unique and romantic ways to celebrate their connection. While summer gardens often steal the spotlight for romance, winter gardens possess a distinct, enchanting charm that provides an ideal backdrop for a memorable date. From early February onwards, visitors can discover dazzling water features, tranquil woodland wanders, and the delicate beauty of frost-kissed borders. Emerging bulbs hint at the promise of spring, whilst warm glasshouses offer a cosy refuge from the winter chill.
Eleven Enchanting Garden Walks for Romance
Here are some carefully selected walks to enjoy on Valentine's Day, or for fostering romance during the final weeks of winter. Each location offers its own unique blend of natural beauty and tranquil settings.
1. RHS Garden Bridgewater, Salford, Greater Manchester
This stunning 154-acre garden has become a popular destination for marriage proposals, thanks to its historic landscape. Visitors can explore the beautiful Worsley Welcome Garden with its golden grasses and neatly clipped hedges, or venture into the eye-catching Middle Wood with its impressive collection of towering trees. Historic vistas, soothing water features, and the renowned Paradise Garden—a favourite spot for proposals—combine to create an undeniably romantic atmosphere.
2. Borde Hill, West Sussex
Imagine a romantic walk through a haven of exquisite magnolias, some boasting saucer-sized flowers, while others display daintier white blooms. Although many varieties reach their peak closer to spring and into early summer, Borde Hill is celebrated as a mecca for magnolia lovers, featuring more than 180 varieties. A self-guided magnolia trail, available from February 15th to mid-April, allows couples to stroll through nature's beauty, showcasing an array of early-spring specimens.
3. Sizergh, Cumbria
The winter highlights of this National Trust garden include the sweet fragrance of winter-flowering honeysuckle along the herbaceous border. This season offers the only opportunity to admire the striking skeletons of the acers and the bare structure of the rock garden. The estate interlinks many different areas, together charting the garden's story developed over nearly 800 years, including the stumpery, orchard, Dutch garden, and kitchen garden. Dramatic views of the Lakeland Fells, the Pennines, and Morecambe Bay add to the scenic appeal.
4. Kibble Palace, Glasgow Botanic Gardens
For couples seeking to escape the elements and snuggle up inside a glorious iconic glasshouse, Kibble Palace at Glasgow Botanic Gardens is a perfect choice. Explore its fantastic plant collection under the impressive circular dome, which measures 150 feet in diameter. Originally opened in 1873 and initially lit by 600 gas lamps, the palace—constructed from curved wrought iron and glass supported by cast iron frames—houses a large collection of tree ferns, orchids, and carnivorous plants.
5. The Argory, County Armagh
Built in the 1820s, this Irish gentry house on a hillside offers magnificent views over the gardens and a chance to stroll through its tranquil 320-acre wooded estate. Marked trails along the River Blackwater provide a peaceful walking experience, where visitors can admire swathes of delicate snowdrops along the picturesque Lime Tree Walk.
6. Serendi, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire
Open on the 15th and 17th of February for the National Garden Scheme, this smaller garden setting features a bulb bonanza of snowdrops, a silver birch grove underplanted with bulbs and perennials, and a dribble of large stones set in gravel, complemented by sculpture. Winter-flowering shrubs will be abundant, accented by topiary, a knot garden, and a gravel area. A glasshouse contains tibouchina, aeoniums, and pelargoniums. The garden retains its romantic feel later in the year with an abundance of roses climbing five pillars, along with grasses and dahlias.
7. RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey
The charity's flagship garden remains well worth a visit, despite potential traffic considerations. During this season, couples will fall in love with the garden's winter walk—a 400-metre trail featuring colourful stems, scented glades, and beautifully cloud-pruned conifers.
8. Mottisfont, Hampshire
Breathe in the heady fragrance of many scented plants in the garden surrounding this romantic house and gallery estate. Enjoy the richly coloured dogwood, bright pink cyclamen, silvery ornamental bramble, and various flowering shrubs. Look out for hellebores, mahonia, sweet-smelling winter honeysuckle and jasmine, witch hazel, viburnum, and daphne. The location is ideal for a riverside walk along the River Test, a perfect example of a chalkstream and one of only around 200 in the world. For those desiring a longer stroll, the 5.7-mile Mottisfont Estate walk traverses ancient woodlands and historic farmland, incorporating sections of the Test Way.
9. Lacock Village, Wiltshire
Film enthusiasts may recognise Lacock Village from Harry Potter films or popular costume dramas over recent decades, as film and TV crews frequently utilise its picturesque setting. The village, with its quaint streets of timber-framed cottages largely unchanged over 300 years, is almost entirely owned by the National Trust. Couples can take a romantic walk around the village and off the beaten track to admire the picturesque scenery, a bridge over the ford, and classic views of the English countryside.
10. Powis Castle and Garden, Welshpool, Powys
Italianate terraces, 300-year-old giant yew stumps, and a more formal woodland area evoke romance on a historical walk through this garden, situated below the 13th-century castle. Walkers can enjoy views across the Severn Valley, admiring many original features including 17th-century Italianate terraces. Winter highlights include carefully clipped yew and box hedges, seasonal colour enhanced by low afternoon sunshine, and the view across the Great Lawn towards the castle.
11. Higher Cherubeer, Winkleigh, Devon
Open on the 6th, 13th, and 21st of February for the National Garden Scheme, this 1¾-acre country garden offers a more intimate setting. Discover pretty nooks and crannies adorned with naturalised cyclamen, snowdrops, and hellebores within its herbaceous borders and woodland beds. Explore the gravelled courtyard, raised beds, alpine house, and an impressive orchard among other hidden treasures.
These eleven garden walks provide a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature and each other, offering romantic backdrops that celebrate love amidst the unique beauty of the UK's winter landscapes.
