Some of the United Kingdom’s most scenic gardens are available to visit free-of-charge or at bargain entry prices during the spring and early summer of 2026, thanks to the National Gardens Scheme (NGS), representing great deals on some lovely, family-friendly days out.
The programme, which has been running for nearly a century since 1927, brings together “over 3,300 exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands,” opening them to the public thanks to the participation of the garden owners.
The scheme supports nursing and health charities through the funds raised by admissions and sales of that most British refreshment, tea and cake. In 2025 alone, the NGS donated nearly £3.9 million (around €4.5 million) to worthy causes including the Carers’ Trust, Hospice UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Parkinson’s UK, and The Queen’s Nursing Institute.
The NGS website and app allows lovers of the great outdoors to choose which gardens to visit, not only by location around the country, but by other criteria too. What type of garden are they? Are dogs permitted? Are refreshments available? Is there wheelchair access? Will there be plants for sale?
As well as giving access to beautiful, private spaces that are not usually possible to explore, the scheme also makes certain well-known gardens more affordable on selected dates. For example, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough, will welcome visitors at less than a third of the usual entry price on 10 May 2026, with adult admission at £10 (around €11.5) instead of £31 (nearly €36). Tickets for children between the ages of three and 16 years, go less than half price too, at £7 (around €8.10) instead of £15 (over €17). The garden features the extraordinary Marlborough Maze, one of the world’s largest formal mazes, covering 1.8-acres and comprising more than 3,000 yew trees.
Consumer champion Which? also notes that Rydal Mount, the Lake District home of poets William and Dorothy Wordsworth, a sprawling cottage dating back to the 16th century, where purple wisteria cascade down white walls in the late spring, can also be visited on NGS open days for nearly half price. That’s £6.50 instead of £12.50 (around €7.50 instead of €14.50) on 30 and 31 March, 1 April, and 1, 2 and 3 June.
In Scotland, there is also a bespoke national garden scheme, and in the capital, the London Gardens Trust is offering its own open days on 6-7 June 2026. Members of the public will need to enter a ballot to win tickets for some of them, like the Battersea Roof Gardens— a massive, 300-metre-long, normally private roofscape, featuring 23,000 plants and a sunset bar atop a residential building designed by Foster + Partners, as part of the Battersea Power Station masterplan.
In addition to the scheme’s various pop-ups and special occasions, English Heritage will be hosting a series of events to support the NGS in some of the UK’s most spectacular country piles, including castles, priories, and stately homes, some of which were landscaped by famous names such as Capability Brown.
