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Spring is in the air and what better way to see in the new season than with a walk alongside flowers cheerfully springing to life?
From the delightful daffodils to beautiful bluebells, candyfloss blossoms, and vibrant rhododendrons, these flower-filled walks are sure to put a spring in your step.
A daffodil stroll in Chawton: March
Jane Austen’s House in the pretty village of Chawton is gorgeous anytime of the year and in March the yellow daffodils in front of the house add an extra level of yellow-hued joy.
From Jane Austen’s House it’s a short stroll to Chawton House where her brother lived. The daffodils are so resplendent here that Chawton House has dedicated daffodil days (17 and 24 March 2024) when the gardening team give guided daffodil talks and walks and children can enjoy the spring flowers garden trail.
In the garden, visitors can follow the Jane Austen Garden Trail featuring Jane Austen quotations and in the 275 acres of Chawton House parkland beyond there are two further walks – purple (approx 20 mins) or orange (approx 45 mins). The Tea Shed outside the Chawton House grounds is a great place for a refreshment stop.
For a longer walk, try the 4.5mile Jane Austen Circular Walk across fields and through the neighbouring village of Farringdon.
Find out more about Jane Austen’s House
Find out more about Chawton House
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A magnolia meander at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens: April
The magnificent magnolia avenue at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens blooms with beautiful blossoms in full flower each April.
The Himalayan pink tulip tree magnolias were planted in the 1960s to create a breathtaking avenue running from the front of Jermyn's House within the gardens.
Beyond the magnolias, the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens arboretum has over 180 acres of stunning gardens to walk around and enjoy with seasonal trails for children including the The Biggest Garden Explorer trail on until 30 June 2024 and An Egg-cellent Spring Easter trail from 16 March to 14 April 2024.
Find out more about Sir Harold Hillier Gardens
A blossoming wander at The Vyne, Hinton Ampner, and Mottisfont: March to May
A wonderful place to partake in a spot of Hanami – the Japanese custom of enjoying the beauty of blossoming flowers – is The Vyne near Basingstoke where the apple, pear, and plum trees growing in its traditional orchard bud candyfloss-like blossoms in March and April, framed beautifully by the historic brickwork of its walled garden. The pink cherry blossom joins the party in the wild garden a little later, in May. Enjoy the wider estate at The Vyne with a walk along some of the trails in its surrounding woodland.
Hinton Ampner near Winchester, another Hampshire National Trust property, is also a wonderful place to see blossom with pretty pink flowers of Japanese blossom blooming in the little cherry orchard from late March. The Hinton Ampner Beautiful Views Walk is a four-mile circular walk that meanders through the country estate.
And at the National Trust’s Mottisfont near Romsey the orchard’s Mount Fuji cherry trees are laden with white flowers in early April, while pink apple and white pear blossom fill the walled garden with fragrant cheer.
Find out more about Hinton Ampner
Find out more about Mottisfont
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A bluebell amble in Micheldever Woods: April and May
Micheldever Woods near Winchester is one of the best places to see bluebells not just in Hampshire but in the whole of the UK.
Every April, a deep-blue carpet of flowers covers the ancient woodland floor
Be sure to protect the delicate flowers and stick to the pathways that meander through the beech woodland, there are two waymarked trails – the Archaeological Trail and the Family Trail.
The woods are also home to a diverse range of birds, insects, and wildlife including Muntjac deer.
A rhododendrons roam at Exbury Gardens: April and May
So exceptional are the blooms at Exbury that it is famed for its collection of rhododendrons and azaleas bursting into life with vibrant spring colour in late April and throughout May.
Wander around Exbury Gardens’ 200 acres in the spring and take in the camellia walk, the river walk beside the Beaulieu River, thousands of rhododendrons, and the stunning Azalea Bowl.
Find out more about Exbury Gardens
10 Glorious gardens to visit in Hampshire
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Related
Jane Austen’s House in the picturesque Hampshire village of Chawton is one of the most important literary sites in the world. It was in this inspiring cottage that Jane Austen’s genius flourished and where she wrote, revised, and had published all six of her globally beloved novels.
Chawton House was owned by Jane Austen’s brother Edward, and known to her as ‘the Great House’. Jane lived in a cottage on his estate and would stroll up to ‘dawdle away’ many an hour in the grand Elizabethan manor and its picturesque gardens.
The magnificent Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is world famous for its arboretum and gardens – set over 180 acres of rolling Hampshire countryside; this garden is stunning whatever the season.
The Vyne is a warm red-bricked Tudor mansion built in the 16th century for Lord Sandys, Henry VIII's Lord Chamberlain, which later passed into the hands of the Chute family, who cared for the house and estate for over 300 years. It was remodelled to its present configuration in the mid-17th century.
Best known for its fine garden, Hinton Ampner is an elegant country house with an outstanding collection of furniture, paintings and objets d'art.
Ancient trees, babbling brooks and rolling lawns frame Mottisfont's 18th-century house with a medieval priory at its heart. There’s space to run, jump and play, and always something for families to do, with activity trails in school holidays and a special family exhibition every summer.
More than 100 years in the making, Exbury Gardens & Steam Railway is a spectacular collection of landscaped woodland, herbaceous, contemporary and formal gardens, in a unique riverside location. Exbury also boasts a narrow-gauge steam railway that travels through the gardens, plus a play area, fantastic restaurant and much more!
