Hever Castle & Gardens

Hever Castle is best known as the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, but for many visitors the 125 acres of gardens are the real reason to come. Most of what you see was created after 1903, when the American millionaire William Waldorf Astor bought and restored the castle and laid out the Italian Garden to display his collection of statuary and ornaments.

The Italian Garden is the centrepiece, with Astor's statuary and a Fernery, and the Loggia on the lake is another landmark. Elsewhere you will find rose gardens, a herb garden and topiary, and a yew hedge maze planted in 1904. Families should head for the water maze, opened in 1999, where the aim is to reach the folly in the middle without getting wet, and for the play areas. A lake walk takes you further out into the grounds, and Church Gill, featured on Gardeners' World, is another area worth finding.

For gardeners, Hever is a lesson in Edwardian garden-making on a grand scale, showing how statuary, clipped yew and water can be combined. The Gardens Only ticket covers the gardens, mazes, play areas, Miniature Model Houses and the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry museum, and you can add the castle with its Tudor portraits and Anne Boleyn's prayer books. There are two restaurants in the gardens, takeaway food and picnic benches. Wheelchair and mobility scooter users are advised to keep to the hard and shingle paths, and registered assistance dogs are welcome.