Top Must-See Garden Tours in the South West of England – Summer 2026

Dartmouth sits at the edge of some of the finest garden country in England. Within two hours in any direction you’ll find Cornish estates still being coaxed back from wilderness, National Trust gardens perched above river estuaries, and a subtropical microclimate on the Dorset coast that shouldn’t really exist. If you’re planning a day trip this summer, here are eight destinations worth the drive, all within easy reach of the hotel.

1. The Lost Gardens of Heligan – Cornwall

Location: Pentewan, near Mevagissey, Cornwall

Distance from Dartmouth: ~75 miles | Approx. 2 hours

The story of Heligan is the draw. These 200-acre gardens were abandoned when the estate’s workforce left for the First World War and not rediscovered until 1990, by which point the productive gardens and pleasure grounds had been entirely swallowed by bramble and laurel. The restoration that followed is one of the most significant in British horticultural history. What you’re visiting isn’t just a garden. It’s evidence of what 80 years of neglect and then 30 years of determined work looks like, and the contrast between the wilder Jungle and the painstakingly restored kitchen gardens is part of what makes it so compelling.

Highlights:

• The Jungle: giant gunnera, bamboo tunnels and a Burmese rope bridge over a gorge
• Victorian productive gardens with heritage vegetables and restored pineapple pits (in the 1850s, heating one cost more than keeping a horse)
• The Mud Maid and Giant’s Head land sculptures, made from the earth itself
• An active conservation programme: beavers were successfully reintroduced to the estate and kits were born here in 2025; red squirrels are coming in 2026

2. Eden Project – Cornwall

Location: Bodelva, near St Austell, Cornwall

Distance from Dartmouth: ~72 miles | Approx. 2 hours

Built into a former china clay pit with no soil and no infrastructure, the Eden Project opened in 2001 and remains one of the most ambitious pieces of environmental architecture in the country. The two biomes (a rainforest and a Mediterranean garden housed in geodesic domes) are extraordinary to walk through, but the outdoor gardens and the story behind the site are just as interesting. 2026 is Eden’s 25th anniversary year, making it a particularly good summer to visit.

Highlights:

• The Rainforest Biome, the largest indoor rainforest in the world, with treetop walkways and working waterfalls
• The Mediterranean Biome, with citrus groves, fragrant herbs and sculpture
• Outdoor gardens with Cornish native species and art installations
• The Eden Sessions, a summer concert series held in the natural amphitheatre in front of the biomes. The 2026 lineup includes Snow Patrol, Wolf Alice, Pixies, Bastille, Ben Howard and The Maccabees (June to July). All concert tickets include two-day access to the gardens.

3. Killerton House and Gardens – Devon (National Trust)

Location: Broadclyst, near Exeter

Distance from Dartmouth: ~48 miles | Approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

Killerton’s 18 acres of garden sit within 6,400 acres of parkland and estate. The gardens were originally planted by John Veitch, the founder of the nursery dynasty that introduced hundreds of new species to Britain, and the arboretum still contains some of those original specimens. The house feels lived-in rather than preserved, which is part of its appeal: the Acland family occupied it for generations and it shows.

Highlights:

• The arboretum, with champion trees and rare specimens planted over two centuries
• Formal garden with seasonal colour schemes and heritage plantings
• The Bear’s Hut folly and ice house
• The house’s collection of period costumes and furnishings, including pieces from the Acland family’s long tenure

4. Coleton Fishacre – Devon (National Trust)

Location: Brownstone Road, Kingswear

Distance from Dartmouth: ~5 miles | Approx. 15 minutes (or take the ferry to Kingswear and walk)

Built in the 1920s as a holiday home for Rupert D’Oyly Carte, the man behind the Savoy Hotel and the producer of the original Gilbert and Sullivan operas, Coleton Fishacre has the feel of somewhere that was always meant to be enjoyed rather than shown off. The house is Art Deco throughout, but the garden is the real reason to come. It drops through a sheltered valley to the sea in a series of ‘rooms’, each planted with tender exotics that couldn’t survive anywhere less protected. The microclimate here is genuinely unusual.

Highlights:

• The Rill Garden: a narrow water channel descending through terraced plantings to the valley below
• Tender and southern hemisphere specimens that wouldn’t grow elsewhere in Devon
• Sea views from several points in the garden
• The Art Deco house with its original fittings and interiors
• An exceptional collection of proteas and echiums

5. Hestercombe Gardens – Somerset

Location: Near Taunton, Somerset

Distance from Dartmouth: ~73 miles | Approx. 2 hours

Three entirely different gardens occupy the same estate at Hestercombe: a Georgian landscape, a Victorian terrace and an Edwardian formal garden. The Edwardian section is the most celebrated: a collaboration between Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens at the height of their powers, and one of the most important garden designs in Britain. Jekyll’s planting schemes and Lutyens’ stone channels and pergolas have been meticulously restored, and the effect is as deliberate and satisfying as it was when the garden was first planted in 1906.

Highlights:

• The Edwardian formal garden: Jekyll and Lutyens at their best
• The Georgian landscape garden with cascades, lakes and temple structures
• The Victorian terrace with views across the Vale of Taunton
• Contemporary art exhibitions in the estate’s historic buildings
• The Column Room Restaurant, with seasonal menus using local Somerset produce

6. Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens – Dorset

Location: Abbotsbury, near Weymouth, Dorset

Distance from Dartmouth: ~64 miles | Approx. 2 hours

Established in 1765, Abbotsbury sits in a sheltered bowl in the Dorset hills that creates a microclimate warm enough for palms, bananas and tree ferns to grow outdoors year-round on the English coast. It shouldn’t work, and it does. The combination of towering exotic specimens, glimpses of Chesil Beach through the trees, and the age of the original plantings makes this one of the most distinctive gardens in the South West.

Highlights:

• Camellia groves and magnolia collections, spectacular in early summer
• The Colonial Garden, with plants gathered from former British territories
• Views of Chesil Beach and the Jurassic Coast from the higher parts of the garden
• The Victorian Garden with its lily pond and original 1765 plantings
• Rare specimens that genuinely cannot be grown in the open air elsewhere in Britain

7. Greenway – Devon (National Trust)

Location: Greenway Road, Galmpton, near Brixham

Distance from Dartmouth: ~8 miles | Approx. 25 minutes by road, or take the Greenway Ferry directly from Dartmouth Quay

Agatha Christie called Greenway “the loveliest place in the world” and used it as the setting for two of her novels. It’s easy to see why she kept it to herself. The woodland garden runs down to the River Dart through camellias and rare tree specimens, past the boathouse that became the scene of a murder in Dead Man’s Folly, and out to viewpoints over the estuary. The garden wasn’t designed according to any grand scheme. It evolved over generations of the Christie family adding what they liked, and that informality is exactly what makes it feel different from the grander estates on this list.

Highlights:

• The Camellia Garden, with rare and historic specimens in a setting that Christie herself planted
• The Boathouse and Battery overlooking the Dart, the scene of the murder in Dead Man’s Folly
• The Victorian Fernery, restored in a quarry garden
• Walled gardens with heritage fruit trees and a restored peach house
• The ferry connection from Dartmouth, Dittisham and Totnes (running March to October)
• Spring 2026: Festival of Blossom (21 March to 4 April) and Easter trail (27 March to 19 April). Summer: Summer of Play programme runs 19 July to 3 September.

8. Trelissick Garden – Cornwall (National Trust)

Location: Near Truro, Cornwall

Distance from Dartmouth: ~80 miles | Approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

Trelissick sits at the head of the Fal Estuary, high enough that the water, always visible through the planting, feels like part of the garden itself. The hydrangea collections are among the best in Britain, and the champion trees create a canopy that’s as much about atmosphere as horticulture. There’s a particular quality of light here on summer afternoons, when the estuary is still and the salt air gets into everything, that you won’t find ten miles inland.

Highlights:

• Hydrangea displays and champion trees, at their best through July and August
• The Water Garden with pools that reflect the estuary beyond
• Lawns that run directly to the Fal, with sailing vessels visible below
• Rare rhododendrons and South American specimens
• The house gallery with rotating art and craft exhibitions
• Walking trails along the estuary foreshore

Tips for Your Garden Tour

• Timing: For Heligan and Trelissick, early morning visits are worth it: the light is better and the crowds aren’t yet.
• Seasonal: Early summer brings rhododendrons and magnolias across most of these gardens. July and August are best for herbaceous borders and hydrangeas (Trelissick in particular).
• Combining visits: Eden and Heligan are 20 minutes apart, making them a natural two-for-one on a Cornwall day trip. Coleton Fishacre and Greenway can both be done in a day from Dartmouth, with the ferry connecting them via the river.
• Dining: Hestercombe’s Column Room and Eden’s Mediterranean Biome restaurant are both worth booking in advance if you want lunch on site.
• Staying longer: Most of these gardens are at their best over two or three visits across the season. Dart Marina makes a good base: most are within two hours, and none require a motorway.
• Bringing a dog: while our Dartmouth hotel rooms are dog friendly, we recommend checking each property’s website specifically for dog guidance.

Whether you’re after Victorian restoration, subtropical oddities or an Agatha Christie pilgrimage with a ferry ride attached, the South West has more serious gardens per square mile than almost anywhere else in Britain, all within a scenic drive from Dartmouth, where, aside from beautiful gardens, there is fantastic range of things to do.

For the perfect, luxury South West base, take a look at our availability for Dart Marina Hotel in Devon.