{"id":11627,"date":"2026-04-11T10:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T10:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/11627\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T10:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T10:21:14","slug":"this-spectacular-ancient-garden-just-90-minutes-from-london-is-an-explosion-of-colour-and-scent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/11627\/","title":{"rendered":"This spectacular ancient garden just 90 minutes from London is an &#8216;explosion of colour and scent&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Springpathway-leonardslee-lakes-and-gardens-1024x683.webp\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\" alt=\"A walkway surrounded by colourful spring flowers of different varieties\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Leonardslee Gardens\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a data-force-follow=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/author\/katie-forge\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/profile-pic-3-scaled-e1681828629697-150x150.jpg\"  class=\"avatar avatar-40 photo\" height=\"40\" width=\"40\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tStaff Writer\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<br \/>\n\t\t\t11 April, 2026<\/p>\n<p>Gawping at gorgeous <a href=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/london-flower-guide\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" target=\"_self\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/london-flower-guide\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_0\" data-category=\"click_internal\">flowers<\/a> and bragging about my step count are two of my favourite things to do. And so discovering a scenic spot in which I can partake in both of those activities in spades is pretty darn exciting for me. Leonardslee Gardens is picture-perfectly perched in Horsham, just 90 minutes from our hustly bustly capital city. Hailed \u2018the finest woodland gardens in England\u2019; the gasp-inducingly stunning spot spans 240 acres and dates back over 200 years, having been first planted in 1801. Filled to the brim with history and horticulture; a visit to Leonardslee Gardens should be immediately catapulted to the very top of your to-do list tis spring.<\/p>\n<p>Leonardslee Gardens<\/p>\n<p>The ancient gardens are pretty spectacular all year round, but \u2013 much like myself \u2013 Leonardslee Gardens really starts to thrive in the sunny seasons. And is particularly breathtaking in spring. Each year, a world-famous Rhododendron Celebration takes place within the grounds. It features over 300 species and hybrids of the beautiful bloom, and it begins this very weekend (April 11). The \u2018explosion of colour and scent\u2019 tends to reach its peak in late May\/early June, and features some incredibly impressive displays.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"749\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/RockGardenSpring.webp\" alt=\"a birds eye view of the rock garden at Leonardslee Gardens\" class=\"wp-image-381930\"  \/>Credit: Leonardslee Gardens<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s plenty to keep you busy and entertained during a visit to Leonardslee Gardens. There\u2019s winding woodland paths to wander through, 7 lovely lakes to admire, a beautiful \u2018Rock Garden\u2019, and one of the largest sculpture parks in Europe. The gardens are also home to a diverse array of wildlife. There\u2019s over 70 Champion trees, a large variety of birdlife, over 100 free-roaming deer, and \u2013 perhaps most excitingly \u2013 a colony of free-roaming wallabies. If you\u2019re lucky, you might even get the chance to see the joeys being fed in their enclosure.<\/p>\n<p>If all that wandering and wildlife-watching has got you feeling a tad peckish, fear not. Because there\u2019s a delicious restaurant on-site \u2013 and it just so happens to be the proud owner of a shiny <a href=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/london-michelin-guide-restaurants-guide\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" target=\"_self\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/london-michelin-guide-restaurants-guide\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_1\" data-category=\"click_internal\">Michelin-star<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1023\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WallabyLeonardsleeEasterTrail.webp\" alt=\"Two wallabies in a field of grass\" class=\"wp-image-381929\"  \/>Credit: Leonardslee Gardens<\/p>\n<p>Getting to Leonardslee Gardens from London<\/p>\n<p>Leonardslee Gardens is just a 90 minute drive from London, and there is on-site parking available. Non-drivers can hop on a 45-minute train from Clapham Junction to Horsham and take an onwards local bus or taxi from there.<\/p>\n<p>Leonardslee Gardens is open daily from 9am-5pm. You can find out more and plan your visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leonardsleegardens.co.uk\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/www.leonardsleegardens.co.uk\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_2\" data-tracked=\"1\" data-category=\"click_sales\" data-cp_smn_source=\"secretldn\" data-cp_smn_content=\"leonardslee-gardens-near-london\" data-cp_smn_term=\"text_cta_2\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Leonardslee Gardens \u00a0\u2013\u00a0 Staff Writer \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0 11 April, 2026 Gawping at gorgeous flowers and bragging about my&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[5505,3230,27,4594],"class_list":{"0":"post-11627","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-flowers","9":"tag-garden","10":"tag-london","11":"tag-spring"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116385577897484903","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}