8 best gardens to visit in Norfolk
April 30, 2025 | Garden goss | 23 minute read
Norfolk is home to many gorgeous gardens, so it’s well worth planning to visit a few, whether you’re here on holiday or are a Norfolk local with a love of horticulture. There are beautiful blooms to see throughout the seasons, be they in spectacular stately home gardens, cottage gardens bursting with colour, peaceful water gardens perfect for relaxing or kitchen gardens to inspire you to grow your own at home. Here, we share eight wonderful gardens that are well worth exploring, whether you live in Norfolk or are visiting on holiday.
Holkham Walled Garden
Amid Holkham’s expansive parkland lies the six-acre Walled Garden, which was originally laid out by Samuel Wyatt in the late 1700s.
The garden’s ‘rooms’ are each themed, with distinct planting plans. You’ll find:
- A vineyard (which, yes, produces wine you can purchase in our gift shop!)
- A stunning ornamental garden
- An exotic garden
- A productive kitchen garden which supplies vegetables and fruit to Holkham Hall and The Victoria restaurant
- A cutting garden full of blooms, framing 19th-century vineries
- A Frame Yard, with the large glasshouse known as the Messenger building, as well as Sunken Pit Houses
You’ll also find the Samuel Wyatt Vinery at the entrance of the garden, which re-opened in 2022 after a successful restoration project and now houses citrus trees and exotic plants thanks to the glasshouse’s microclimate. You can also learn more about the garden’s history and present day in the Walled Garden Stories exhibition, tucked within the Samuel Wyatt Vinery.
The Walled Garden is open daily throughout the visitor season. We’re proud to have partnered with the RHS this year, meaning RHS members can visit the Walled Garden for free (excluding special events). Please note that a parking charge applies if arriving by car. Find out more about visiting the Walled Garden here.
Other beautiful gardens to visit in Norfolk
With a number of gardens well worth spending time exploring, we’ve selected seven more favourites in and around North Norfolk, listed here in alphabetical order.
Blickling Hall Gardens
Blickling is another wonderful garden to visit in Norfolk.
In the grounds of this Jacobean mansion, 55 acres of formal garden have been developed over three centuries of work, offering history and elegance. With formal parterres featuring hedge topiary and sweeping lawns alongside a vibrant walled garden full of colour in spring and summer, Blickling offers ample to enjoy as you wander.
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Take a wander and spot the Temple, the lake and the Orangery, and come springtime, enjoy the carpet of bluebells within the woodland.
Location: Blickling Estate, Aylsham, Norfolk, NR11 6NF
East Ruston Old Vicarage Gardens
Created from scratch in the 1970s, this 32-acre private garden features an array of rooms and areas, including sub-tropical gardens, herbaceous borders, a parterre, a sunken rose garden, a Mediterranean garden, and a large woodland garden. There’s more, too, meaning there’s so much to see and enjoy here.
Image from eastrustonoldvicarage.co.uk
Close to the North Sea and unusually frost-resistant, the garden’s microclimate allows for exotic plants to grow, as well as mature specimens of drought-tolerant plants nolinas in the Desert Wash, resembling parts of Arizona, USA.
With clever designs, bridges, buildings and even a porthole offering a beautiful view, this is a unique and wonderful garden to visit and discover while in Norfolk.
Location: East Ruston, Norwich, Norfolk, NR12 9HN
Felbrigg Hall Gardens
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Like Blickling, Felbrigg is a National Trust property with a beautiful Walled Garden that’s well worth visiting.
It is brimming with heritage fruit trees, herbaceous borders full of colourful blooms, and herb beds providing a beautiful scent as you stroll. You’ll also find a working octagonal dovecote and a collection of old fig trees, both dating back to the 1750s.
In recent years, the south lawn has been developed into the Bacchus Garden, which features climate-resilient borders and a winter-proof path, alongside wildflowers, beautiful bulb varieties and cherry trees, ensuring this is a stunning area come springtime.
Location: Felbrigg Hall, Gardens and Estate, Norfolk, NR11 8PP
Hindringham Hall Gardens
With a brick-and-flint moated Tudor Hall and medieval fishing ponds, Hindringham is full of both history and horticulture.
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A hidden gem, these five-acre gardens offer plenty to take in. Mixed borders ensure a continual show of colour throughout the year, including displays of clematis, roses and geraniums. You’ll also find a parterre garden, a kitchen garden and wildflower meadows.
Enjoy winding along the paths, wandering through the shaded dell and Victorian nut walk, and taking in the tranquility of Hindringham Hall’s gardens.
Location: Hindringham Hall, Blacksmiths Lane, Hindringham, Norfolk, NR21 0QA
Houghton Hall Walled Garden
Houghton’s captivating Walled Garden covers five acres and offers a variety of displays to enjoy. Its geometric layout is separated by neatly clipped hedging into quarters, and these into 23 unique sections. The garden’s themed areas include a striking double-sided herbaceous border, a traditional rose parterre, a Mediterranean Garden, a glasshouse, and a rustic temple.
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Antique statues, contemporary sculptures and water features are nestled into the garden’s rooms adding visual and audible appeal, including Jeppe Hein’s ‘Waterflame’.
Location: Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE31 6TY
Mannington Gardens
Another garden to visit is Mannington. This moated medieval manor is known for its classic roses which fill the Heritage and Modern Rose gardens with wonderful displays and fragrance, while the Sensory Garden features plants selected for their touch, taste, scents, colours and sounds.
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Enjoy woodland walks around the 20 acres, spotting the temple on the South Lawn, and take in the Relaxing Garden with its shaded areas and raised beds. And with wildflowers growing in abundance around the lakes and ruined church, there’s no end to the colour and diversity on offer.
Location: Mannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR11 7BB
Sandringham Gardens
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Part of the royal estate and set over 60 acres, Sandringham’s varied landscapes provide an enjoyable garden experience. With sweeping glades, a summerhouse, two lakes and plenty of herbaceous borders, each beautifully maintained. On hot, sunny days, seek shelter in walkways shaded by rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias.
Since 1862, when King Edward and Queen Alexandra first purchased the estate, each monarch has further developed the gardens, with King Charles III requesting the transformation of the West Lawn into a climate friendly Topiary Garden and the addition of a maze.
Location: Sandringham Estate, Norfolk, PE35 6AB
Norfolk Gardens FAQs
When is Holkham Walled Garden open?
The Walled Garden is usually open daily from late March to late October. Find out more about the garden here and check opening times here.
What is the best time of year to visit Norfolk’s gardens?
The gardens listed above are all carefully designed and tended to, ensuring there is interest and visual appeal throughout the seasons, so base your decision on whether you prefer the popping up of spring bulbs or the beauty of late summer flowers. Please note that most gardens listed are closed during the winter months. Check individual websites for specific details.
Which North Norfolk gardens are RHS Partner Gardens?
Several gardens in North Norfolk are RHS Partners, meaning RHS members get free access at certain times. At the time of writing (Spring 2025), these include Holkham Walled Garden, Sandringham Gardens, Houghton Hall Walled Garden, Natural Surroundings and Mannington Gardens. These are all within 20 miles of us at Holkham.
A little further afield, you can find The Bressingham Gardens near Diss and both Raveningham Gardens and East Ruston Old Vicarage, both near Norwich. View all RHS Partner Gardens here.
When did Holkham Walled Garden become an RHS Partner Garden?
Holkham became an RHS Partner Garden in 2025, and we are looking forward to welcoming both RHS members and other garden lovers to the Walled Garden this season!
Find out more about Holkham Walled Garden or book your visit now.
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