Chipping Campden

High Street

Grevel House

Market Hall

St James' Church

Hidcote Garden is a perfect example of the "Arts and Crafts" style of the early 20th century. Hedges, paths and doorways divide everything up into "rooms", like a giant, living bungalow. Each has a different theme, from the winter flowers of the Alpine Terrace to the carefully clipped shapes of the Topiary Garden. There are plenty of surprises. A row of hornbeams have their lower branches stripped, so they look like green, stilt-walking animals. Smoothly-trimmed hedges in the Pillar Garden resemble huge, varnished chess pieces. In the west, plants are allowed to swell into a lawless, natural wilderness. You can find the garden a couple of miles north of Chipping Campden.

Kiftsgate is the achievement of three generations of female gardeners. The first, Heather Muir, was inspired by her neighbour, Lawrence Johnson, the designer of the gardens at nearby Hidcote Manor. Her designs, though, were more improvised than the rigid lines employed there. For example, in Bluebell Wood, flowers carpet the ground. The White Sunk Garden lets colourful plants bloom freely on a background of pale shrubs. Kiftsgate gained popularity in the 50s, when other gardeners praised both the arrangement of its colours and the sheer size of its roses. These classic English flowers are Kiftsgate's pride and joy. July, when hundreds of flowers erupt into bright white bloom, is the best time to visit.