Biddulph Grange Garden

Biddulph Grange is a garden of surprises, built so that each area is screened from the next. James Bateman and his friend, the painter Edward William Cooke, used heaps of rock and thick shrubberies to hide one scene from another, so you step through a tunnel or round a corner and find yourself somewhere completely different. It is one of the most unusual Victorian gardens in Britain and a rare survival from the period between the Capability Brown landscape and the High Victorian style.

Themed areas include the Chinese garden, the Egyptian garden with sphinxes guarding a dark tunnel, Italianate terraces with small flower gardens linked by steps, the Glen, a pinetum and arboretum, the Stumpery and Cheshire Cottage. Long buttressed hedges enclose the Dahlia Walk, and there is a run of parterres, among them the Rose, Verbena and Araucaria parterres, plus the Wellingtonia Avenue and Lime Avenue. Deep inside the Egyptian tunnel waits the Ape of Thoth, lit by a hidden window of red glass, which children tend to love.

Gardeners can take away plenty. The way the whole garden is divided into rooms works on any scale, the Dahlia Walk is a lesson in bold summer colour, and the Stumpery shows how old wood can become a feature in its own right. Rhododendrons and azaleas give a strong show in late spring, while the pinetum and evergreen topiary hold interest through the year. Paths include steps, tunnels and rockeries, so wear sensible shoes.