Wakehurst Place

Occupying a country estate that’s large enough to lose yourself in, this rural outpost of Kew Gardens is a heady global tour of plants gathered from foreign parts and includes national collections of skimmia, hypericum, betula and nothofagus. Volunteer guides lead ever-changing daily guided walks pointing out plants of special interest, and around the year are numerous events such as photography courses and fungus forays. It's an astonishingly varied site, and a hefty walk to see it all. Sandstone crags mark the Himalayan Glade, which looks down across the valley. To the north, the Loder Valley Nature Reserve is variously a woodland, wetland and meadowland haven for Wealden wildlife; entry is by free permit (restricted to 50 permits a day). Hides make ideal spots for badger watches, held at various times during the year. At the top, the sleekly contemporary Millennium Seed Bank houses one of the great conservation projects of our times. Against predictions that half of the species on the planet could disappear in a century worldwide, the plot was hatched to store seeds both here and in the countries of origins from thousands of plants. The seeds safeguard for posterity most native flowering species from the UK and many from abroad.