Parks and Gardens

Parks and Gardens

What are they and what do they involve?

As a type of outdoor activity, parks and gardens are organised areas that usually feature a grassy open space with extras such as mazes, outdoor sculpture and adventure playgrounds. They are different to wildlife/nature venues in that the contents of a park or a garden have been designed for a specific purpose, and

What are the benefits?

Parks and gardens are excellent for ensuring students don’t spend all their time indoors, are great ways to get them interested in nature and the outdoors in a relatively safe environment.

What students is it suitable for?

Although generally suitable for all ages, younger students will probably enjoy the novelty and excitement of parks and gardens more than older teens; however, if there are activities aimed for all ages everyone can have fun!

Costs?

Parks and gardens are usually public areas and therefore free to access, but some privately owned venues may charge a small entry fee.

Safety Implications?

As with all outdoor venues, younger groups should be carefully supervised to ensure they don’t run off!

National Organisations?

Parks and Gardens UK

Venues for this Category

Delightful garden renowned for its herbs and fruit orchards

Best known for its comprehensive herb collection and traditional fruit orchards, Acorn Bank is a tranquil haven with a fascinating industrial past. Indulge yourself at the tea-room, where culinary herbs and fruit from the garden are used daily in soups, salads and puddings.

Delightful formal garden

The garden, complete with working kitchen garden and orchard, lies in the charming village of Tintinhull, Somerset. Glittering pools, secluded lawns, colourful borders and clipped hedges provide the perfect spot to relax and unwind away from the hustle and bustle.

Delightful English country garden

Full of variety, this charming garden shows the English country style at its best.

Peaceful water gardens and herbaceous borders, with organically shaped topiary, demonstrate an imaginative use of colour and planting, creating unexpected vistas.

Stroll through the arboretum with its wonderful species of trees and naturally planted spring bulbs.

A monumental day out

A normally sedate trip made grand with their free children's activity packs, full of ideas to discover wildlife and nature in the gardens.

Stowe Landscape Gardens offer great children's activity packs, full of ideas to discover wildlife and nature in the gardens and help keep their interest going.

Beautiful stretch of coastline with sandy beaches, wooded valleys and lily ponds

Stackpole is both a listed designed landscape and an internationally important nature reserve. Footpaths radiate from the site of Stackpole Court, a grand mansion demolished before the National Trust owned this area. Exotic plantings in Lodge Park give way to mixed woodland further upstream.

A great and ancient Downland estate

Slindon Estate is 1,400 hectares of woodland, downland, farmland, and parkland. With countless historic landscape features and its unspoilt Sussex village, there is something for every visitor.

Kiftsgate Court Gardens was created in the 1920s and is a beautiful place to take the family with a lot of plants to see and enjoy - perfect for garden lovers with lots of space for the kids to run around.

Landscape park and woodland garden with miles of stunning coastal views

Wander through Sheringham Park and you'll discover why it became the personal favourite of its designer, Humphry Repton. Visit the Repton exhibition to see the story of his 1812 design during a turbulent period of history.

Discover the magnificent beech woods and flower-filled meadows that inspired Gilbert White

We protect 267 acres of countryside around Selborne. The largest area, Selborne Common, lies on the hill to the west of the village, while the valley meadows and woodlands of the Lythes lie beyond St Marys Church to the east.

Come and enjoy Spetchley, one of Britain's best kept secrets! Just three miles east of the beautiful cathedral city of Worcester and surrounded by glorious countryside, is the beautiful and romantic garden of Spetchley Park.

This peaceful ten acre garden occupies a hillside position extending down from the 17th century manor house, constructed of mellow Northamptonshire stone.

Landscaped on different levels, it comprises a series of distinctive smaller gardens, providing variety and interest throughout the season, and enhanced by flowing streams, fountains and ponds.

This former Northampton to Market Harborough Railway is now a car free ‘linear’ park surrounded by beautiful scenery and rich in natural and historical heritage. It provides a 14 mile long walking, cycling and in parts horse riding route. The stone surfaced path follows the old railway track bed and is suitable for both hybrid style and mountain bikes.

Come to Kew and explore the world’s most famous botanic garden. Just 30 minutes from central London, Kew Gardens boasts breathtaking landscapes, iconic glasshouses, historic buildings and rare and beautiful plants. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Whatever the season there's always something new to see....

Let your imagination run riot among the unusual plants, colours, sculptures and magical features in one of the most beautiful gardens in Northern Ireland.

Since the decline of the gardens from the 1940s onward; various restoration phases have been undertaken, including the many heritage structures.

Visitors to the park can enjoy a variety of attractions:

The park is located half a mile from Bilston Town Centre. The park opened in 1911 as a memorial to Sir Alfred Hickman, a local industrialist and former MP.

Bantock Park is one of Wolverhampton's district parks and has a rich history. Bequeathed to its present day custodians in 1938 on the death of Alderman Albert Bantock, this former farm has undergone restoration works, partly funded by the Herotage Lottery Fund.

In the heart of Rob Hood country, take a walk to the mighty Major Oak, pick up a fun family nature trail, try the playground or just stand and admire the weird and wonderful shapes of the ancient oak trees, twisted by age and weathered into living sculptures.

Boasting boating lake, miniature railway, huge adventure playground, cricket facilities and plenty of open space for traditional family games.

 

Just the place for active kids

A variety of activities available to burn off some energy!

A great venue for open water swimming, off road cycling and running, plus a number of watersports with courses just for kids and beginners.

If you and the kids like to walk, run or cycle, there is a 5km course to follow.

Carsington Water is a popular visitor attraction located a short distance from the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire.

Popular with families this park has plenty of space and a large play area with traditional equipment plus an enclosed sand pit area, table tennis table, crazy golf and an internet cafe

Play area and frame suited for under 8s, plus sand play, sit on toys, and it's very popular with squirrels so an excellent place to wildlife spot.

Adventure playground plus BMX, football and cricket facilities. And a great new interactive water play area with loads of fun features now runs May through September.

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British schoolgirl assaulted on school trip to Iceland

hotel corridor

A viral video shows a black girl being assaulted by a white woman in a corridor.

Police in Iceland are investigating after a British schoolgirl was slapped and chased by a tour guide in a hotel corridor.

The schoolgirl, 13, who attended Harris Girls’ Academy, was assaulted whilst on a school trip to Iceland to see the Northern Lights. The incident occurred at Hotel Örk, Hveragerdi on 13th October.