Peter Truman Photography

Hopton Hall is very well known for its marvellous displays of snowdrops and aconites every year - and when the gardens are opened to the public each February to see them. A well marked path snakes its way round the woodland and formal gardens where several different varieties of snowdrop stand to attention as you pass. During February, of course, the gardens are extremely barren and only show hints of what the display will look like later in the year. This year, however, the gardens were opened throughout the summer for visitors to see and enjoy the amazing displays, particularly the roses in the 1 acre walled garden that is the centrepiece of the garden.

Renishaw Hall and Gardens is a regular visit, a short trek from home but always worth the effort and we have never been disappointed as the gardens change throughout the year or different events add an extra reason to visit, as if the gardens alone weren't enough. It's not on the scale of Chatsworth House and Gardens, not is it a historic site like the National Trust properties nearby like Hardwick Hall or Kedleston Hall. However, the scale of the park is impressive at 300 acres, there are 8 acres of wonderful Italianate Gardens, the Hall dates back nearly 400 years and there are many historic, literary and artistic connections that have made their mark. Privately owned by the Sitwell family since it was built, the Hall is opened occasionally for guided tours and the gardens and park are open Thursday to Sunday (plus Bank Holidays) from early April to late September every year. See their website for further information.

Over the weekend of 13th/14th June the Derbyshire village of Bonsall opened up nearly two dozen of its private gardens for charity. Bonsall is situated at the edge of the Peak District, close to Matlock and Cromford, and stretches from a junction with the A5012 Via Gellia road, up a long and sometimes steep hill to Upper Town which tops out at around 900 feet above sea level providing really excellent views back down into the Derwent Valley.

Wirksworth is not the first place you would think of when searching Derbyshire for garden delights. It's a small town just outside the Peak District National Park, close to several large limestone quarries and once the centre of the lead mining industry in Derbyshire (now long deserted). It's also an old town with narrow streets and alleyways (colloquially known as "ginnels") that criss-cross the hillside. Gardens and courtyards are often small and hidden well away from the main streets. You could easily have made a big mistake thinking that the gardens here are not worth looking at, but the Wirksworth and Gorsey Bank Open Courtyards and Gardens event held on Saturday and Sunday 11th and 12th July demonstrates.