As Valentine's Day approaches, couples across the United Kingdom are seeking unique and intimate ways to celebrate their love. While summer gardens often brim with romance, winter offers a distinct and captivating charm. From 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, while warm glasshouses provide a cozy refuge from the chill. Here are eleven romantic garden walks to enjoy on Valentine's Day or during the final weeks of winter.
RHS Garden Bridgewater, Salford, Greater Manchester
This stunning garden has become a popular destination for marriage proposals, thanks to its 154 acres of historic landscape. Explore the breathtaking Worsley Welcome Garden with its golden grasses and clipped hedges, or venture into the eye-catching Middle Wood with its towering collection of trees. Historic vistas, soothing water features, and the renowned Paradise Garden—a favoured site for proposals—create an undeniably romantic setting.
Borde Hill, West Sussex
What could be more romantic than a walk through a haven of exquisite magnolias? Some boast saucer-sized flowers, while others bear daintier white blooms, with many reaching their peak closer to spring and into early summer. With over 180 varieties, Borde Hill is hailed as a mecca for magnolia lovers, celebrating the vast diversity and beauty of these much-loved trees. A self-guided magnolia trail, available from February 15 to mid-April, allows visitors to stroll through nature's beauty, showcasing an array of early-spring specimens.
Sizergh, Cumbria
Winter highlights of this National Trust garden include the sweet scent of winter-flowering honeysuckle along the herbaceous border. This is the only time of year to admire the skeletons of the acers and the bare bones of the rock garden. The estate features many interlinked areas that together chart the garden's story, developed over nearly 800 years. Explore the stumpery and orchard, home to four collections of hardy ferns, plus the Dutch garden and kitchen garden. The estate also offers dramatic views of the Lakeland Fells, the Pennines, and Morecambe Bay.
Kibble Palace, Glasgow Botanic Gardens
For those seeking to escape the elements and snuggle up inside a glorious iconic glasshouse, Kibble Palace at Glasgow Botanic Gardens is an ideal choice. Explore its fantastic plant collection under an impressive circular dome measuring 150 feet in diameter. The palace, constructed from curved wrought iron and glass supported by cast iron frames, opened in 1873 and was initially lit by 600 gas lamps. It houses a large collection of tree ferns, orchids, and carnivorous plants.
The Argory, County Armagh
Built in the 1820s, this Irish gentry house on a hillside offers magnificent views over the gardens. Visitors can stroll through its tranquil 320-acre wooded estate and marked trails along the River Blackwater. Admire the swathes of delicate snowdrops along Lime Tree Walk, adding a touch of winter magic to the romantic ambiance.
Serendi, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire
Open on 15 and 17 February for the National Garden Scheme, this smaller 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 in abundance, accented by topiary, a knot garden, and a gravel area. A glasshouse houses tibouchina, aeoniums, and pelargoniums. The garden retains its romantic feel later in the year, with an abundance of roses climbing five pillars, grasses, and dahlias.
RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey
The charity's flagship garden is well worth a visit, despite potential traffic concerns. At this time of year, you'll fall in love with the garden's winter walk—a 400-meter trail featuring colourful stems, scented glades, and cloud-pruned conifers, creating a serene and romantic atmosphere.
Mottisfont, Hampshire
Breathe in the heady fragrance of many scented plants in the garden surrounding this romantic house and gallery. Enjoy the richly coloured dogwood, bright pink cyclamen, silvery ornamental bramble, and flowering shrubs. Look out for hellebores, mahonia, sweet-smelling winter honeysuckle, jasmine, witch hazel, viburnum, and daphne. It's 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 a longer stroll, tackle the 5.7-mile Mottisfont Estate walk through ancient woodlands and historic farmland, taking in parts of the Test Way.
Lacock Village, Wiltshire
Film buffs may recognise Lacock Village from Harry Potter films or popular costume dramas, as film and TV crews frequently visit. The village, with its quaint streets of timber-framed cottages largely unchanged over 300 years, is almost entirely owned by the National Trust. Take a romantic walk around the village and off the beaten track to admire the picturesque setting, a bridge over the ford, and views of the English countryside.
Powis Castle and Garden, Welshpool, Powys
Italianate terraces, 300-year-old giant yew stumps, and a more formal woodland area spell 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 in the low afternoon sunshine, and the view across the Great Lawn to the castle.
Higher Cherubeer, Winkleigh, Devon
Open on 6, 13, and 21 February for the National Garden Scheme, this intimate 1¾-acre country garden offers 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, making it a perfect spot for a quiet, romantic escape.
