Chippenham Park

Chippenham Park is a private estate rather than a garden open every day, so it suits people who plan ahead and enjoy seeing a working country house setting on its special open days. Its reputation rests on spring bulbs: the estate has run snowdrop weekends, followed by daffodils as the season moves on, which makes it a cheering trip at the start of the gardening year.

Expect parkland, a lake and gardens around a house that dates back to the late seventeenth century. On open days the walk is mainly about broad drifts of bulbs under trees and across grass, the kind of planting that takes years to build up and is hard to copy in a small plot, but very easy to admire. The estate is listed as an RHS partner garden and is a member of Historic Houses, and it is also a wedding venue, so parts of the grounds may be busy or closed for private events at times.

Gardeners can take away ideas about naturalising bulbs in grass and under deciduous trees, and about how a few well-chosen bulbs, left to spread, can turn into a sheet of flowers over time. Go on a dry day if you can, wear boots for wet grass, and bring a camera for the early spring light. Booking ahead, if offered, saves a wasted trip.