The Savill Garden

The Savill Garden is a 35-acre garden of linked spaces, woodland and seasonal displays in the south-east corner of Windsor Great Park, near Englefield Green. It was commissioned by George V and made by Eric Savill in the 1930s and 1940s, and it holds a wide range of flowers and trees from around the world. Unlike the rest of the Great Park, which is free to enter, the Savill Garden has an entry charge that helps pay for conservation across the Windsor Estate.

Most visits start at the Savill Garden Visitor Centre, which houses a restaurant, coffee shop, gift shop and a plant shop selling many of the plants found in the garden. From there paths lead into the woodland and the more open, planted areas. Look out for the long wall for climbing and creeping plants, built in 1951 from bricks salvaged from bombed buildings in London, a reminder of how the garden was replanted after it ran wild during the war. The wider estate holds National Collections of plants and champion trees, and the Valley Gardens and Virginia Water Lake are close by.

For home gardeners, the plant shop is a practical bonus, because you can buy plants you have just seen growing. The woodland areas are full of ideas for shady gardens, and the wall is a useful example of how much can be grown against brick. Picnics are not allowed inside the Savill Garden, but there are picnic benches outside the Visitor Centre.