Shugborough's stunning gardens feature in the guide

Awe-inspiring gardens feature in guide

Five awe-inspiring Staffordshire gardens are among 12 to feature in an entirely new variety of visitor guide focussing on the region's horticultural landscape.

Staffordshire County Council's tourism team has been at the cutting edge of producing the pocket-sized publication, which highlights a dozen hand-picked gardens. And at the same time the guide offers green-fingered visitors an enticing 'gift voucher' for each one, redeemable at the time of a visit.

The 12 gardens involved are:

·        Shugborough, near Stafford, managed by Staffordshire County Council;

·        Biddulph Grange, in North Staffordshire

·        Trentham, near Stoke-on-Trent

·        Weston Park, Staffordshire

·        Dorothy Clive Gardens, in North Staffordshire

·        Arley Hall in Northwich, Cheshire

·        Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston

·        Chatsworth, Derbyshire

·        David Austin Roses, Shropshire

·        Hawkstone Park, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire

·        Witley Court, in Worcestershire

·        Wollerton Old Hall Garden, North Shropshire.

The scheme is being described both in the newly published booklet, and a soon-to-be-launched website www.greatgardensuk.co.uk, as: "An odyssey of the finest gardens around the Heart of England, 2006".  An odyssey which will lead green fingered tourists to some of England's most renowned gardens, as well as some of its best-kept secrets.

Together, they reflect the horticultural wealth of an area which provides such a stunning backdrop for a variety of garden design - from the formal and grand, to the contemporary and intimate.

What binds them all together is a shared passion to show off their gardens to the public.  And as an added incentive, each one of them has contributed a gift voucher for members of the public who use the new booklet. Visitors to Trentham, for example, will be able to gain free entry for two children with two paying adults in peak season, and two-for-one entry in the off-peak season."

Copies of the Great Gardens booklet are now available free of charge, from Staffordshire Tourism at Riverway, Stafford, ST16 3TJ.  (Telephone 01785 277397.  E-mail tourism@staffordshire.gov.uk

Page Last Modified: 30/01/2007 16:03:35

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