The UK's best kitchen gardens worth planning a foodie trip around

Times

3 days ago

There's something rather thrilling about seeing a perfectly plump strawberry on top of a pile of meringues and cream at dinner, knowing it was plucked just outside. Especially when you bite into it and it's sweet as can be. And then there are wonderful homegrown broad beans, asparagus, courgettes and more. The UK's kitchen gardens are a fabulous bunch, and now is the best time to see them — when the days are longer, the weather is better and there's a bounty of beautiful fresh produce. Here are seven of the best, all with a great place to stay.
William Robinson was one of the most progressive Victorian gardeners and is responsible for the classic English country garden. In 1885 he bought Gravetye Manor, which became the greatest example of his work with his trademark naturalistic aesthetic. Today it's a grand country house hotel with 17 elegant rooms and a Michelin-starred restaurant. The ecliptic kitchen garden is designed to get the best growth from the site, and gardeners focus on less common crops, such as unusual tomato varieties, heritage carrots and baby beetroots (three courses from £128pp). Garden tours run three times a week from April to October for hotel and restaurant guests (from £25pp). Stay overnight for a breakfast that includes juice squeezed from the orchard's apples and the chance to explore some of the other beautiful gardens nearby, including Sissinghurst, Borde Hill and pretty Perch Hill farm. Details B&B doubles from £400 (gravetyemanor.co.uk)
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The details are what elevate the tasting menus at the chef Tommy Banks's Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms. Strawberries are picked right before service so they retain the warmth of the day's sun and corn is removed from the cob just before plating, to retain sweetness. Book a garden tour to learn about what's grown in the two-acre kitchen garden, including red Russian kale, chives and beetroot, much of which is preserved so it can be used year-round (lunch tasting menu with a tour from £135). You're on the fringes of the North York Moors, so you can enjoy a good walk before retiring to one of the cosy rooms with a rolltop bath.Details Half-boarddoubles from £545 (blackswanoldstead.co.uk)
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Every dish at Pythouse includes at least one ingredient from the three-acre garden year-round, thanks to smart fermenting and preserving techniques. For lunch, this could be chalkstream trout with purple sprouting broccoli and parsnip hash browns; for dessert it could be almond cake with poached rhubarb (mains from £22). Make a long weekend of it and you can kick back in the wood-fired sauna or opt for one of many workshops; 'Fill Your Boots' includes the chance to create a bug hotel and harvest plants for the kitchen and botanicals for home remedies (£105, including a two-course lunch). Don't miss the large pick-your-own flower area either, where guests can grab a bucket and a pair of secateurs after lunch to take a bunch of blooms home. A shabby-chic shepherd's hut with a cosy wood-burner and fairy lights is perfect for two. Nearby is Messums West, a brilliant modern arts centre in a 13th-century tithe barn with a sculpture garden (free; messums.org).Details B&B from £130 in a shepherd's hut for two (pythousekitchengarden.co.uk)
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This may be one of the smaller kitchen gardens on our list (at just one third of an acre) but we love it because it shows how much you can do in a small space, even in an urban setting. There are multiple tasting menus to choose from, allowing for hyper-seasonal dishes that show off the garden's character. Take for instance the pelargonium leaves that are used to make a delicious ice cream, served with a honey gel made from the restaurant's beehives. There are eight stylish rooms, and you're just five minutes from the beautiful Nottingham University campus where you can go boating on the lake (£7pp; highfieldsboatinglake.co.uk).Details B&B doubles from £540, including a ten-course tasting menu for two (restaurantsatbains.com)
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Dine at the Farm Caff and you'll receive a map with your menu so you can take a stroll around the farm after you've eaten (mains from £19, tours from £4). There are 50 acres to explore, with views out to Glastonbury Tor, fruit and nut orchards, agriwilding ecosystems (also known as 'food forests', which create abundant food and regenerate the environment), a four-acre market garden and a lake for wild swimming. The ethos here is focused on bringing the farm to the table, which means salads, herbs, greens and more are harvested just a few minutes' walk away and wild ingredients are foraged from the surrounding hedgerows. Our favourite? Crumpets made from the farm's wheat and served with seasonal soup. Make a weekend of it with a stay in one of two boho glamping cabins; the charming market town of Bruton is a five-minute drive away. Details Room-only doubles from £130 (higher-farm.co.uk)
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If bigger is better, Gordon Castle's walled kitchen garden close to the River Spey and Moray coast has to be one of the best. At close to eight acres in size, it's one of Britain's largest and was built more than 200 years ago for the Duke of Gordon, who lived here. Visit today to find more than 200 varieties of vegetables grown from seed every year (carrots, pumpkins, kale, peas), many of which you can buy in the brilliant on-site shop. There's also a relaxed café with fresh salad leaves picked every morning and a play area for kids (mains from £16). Cottages that sleep between 2 and 14 are spread through the estate and always feature fresh flowers from the garden. Stalking, shooting and salmon fishing trips can be arranged and each May the castle hosts its annual Highland Games.Details Room-only doubles from £555, three-night minimum stay (gordoncastle.co.uk)
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This working family farm, situated in a south-facing valley near Truro, has been rearing cattle and sheep for nearly 250 years and is now in the hands of the ninth generation. Come for one of the regular ticketed feast and supper events, with set three and four-course menus that showcase organic meat alongside seasonal produce grown on site (four-course feast from £50, three-course supper from £45). The feasts are communal events where you mingle with other guests over long tables, the suppers are best for those who prefer to dine à deux. Get there early to take a wildlife walk, where you might spot deer or hares and peek in the kitchen gardens before you dine. Later, you'll want to stay in one of the converted farm buildings, which include a grade II listed mill house and a former piggery. The following morning you can clear your head with a walk along the golden sands of Perranporth beach, which is a 15-minute drive away.Details B&B doubles from £155 (nancarrowfarm.co.uk)
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