Corsham Court

With its manicured grounds, generous herbaceous borders and vast lake, the formal gardens of Corsham Court offer a pleasing introduction to the work of Capability Brown and his successor Humphry Repton, 18th-century landscape gardeners who shaped many of the parks we know and love today.

The lovingly tended Old Rose Garden and restful waters of the Lily Pond garden are a sight to behold but it’s the mature trees that steal the show. As well as a majestic Sequoia, a 150-year-old Black Walnut and a grove of strikingly beautiful magnolias, there’s a sprawling Oriental Plane which was planted in the 1760s and has since grown to be the largest spreading tree in the UK.

Of course, a visit to Corsham Court wouldn’t be complete without a wander around the Elizabethan era stately home and its collection of paintings, though we don’t blame you if you get distracted by those sweeping parkland views.