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The finest sequoia avenue in Britain, and a fantastic cafe from where you can see the red squirrels.
The cherry ferry across the Firth of Clyde
The start of the glorious gardens of Argyll and a gateway to the west coast.
www.rbge.org.uk/the-gardens/benmore/seasons-highlights/spring-highlights
If you can be bothered hiking out of Warsaw, this huge botanical gardens is nothing as grand as Kew, but is beautiful all the same. Magnificent magnolia collection in early spring (March/April if I remember rightly), but is well worth the trek at any time between early spring to late autumn.
www.ogrod-powsin.pl/index_a.html
Apparently the 139 goes from the city centre (but annoyingly the website does not say from where exactly!).
If you have a full day free, you can take the southbound metro to Kabaty, get out at the last stop and enter Kabaty Forest (behind the ubiquitous Tesco!). Follow the signs in the forest to Powsin (it is about a 30-45 min walk through the forest), or ask the polite Varsovians if you get lost.
You can get the bus back into town if you are pooped.
The Villa itself is interesting, but oh, the gardens, the fountains and the views are superb! www.villadestetivoli.info/storiae.htm
Tivoli itself is a nice hill town. too.
Tivoli is a short train journey from Rome. You can catch a bus into the centre, or walk; the Villa is signposted.
The Musee des Beaux Arts is highly recommended as it offers a fine collection of both painting and sculpture, and furniture, set in a building of considerable beauty and architectural interest.
Highlights include an outstanding group of Italian, French and Flemish paintings from the later Middle Ages donated by a local benefactor, a group that has been strengthened by the addition of two panels by Mantegna. Other very good pieces come from succeeding centuries and include work by Rubens, Rembrandt, Boucher, Monet and Rodin. Altogether this is a first rate collection. The museum is set in a fine garden, and nearby is a huge 200-year-old Cedar of Lebanon.
Across from this tree and behind glass there is a stuffed elephant, once part of Barnum's Circus. This beast died while the circus visited Tours, just before World War I, and was promptly de-boned, stuffed and mounted. The result on show here is somewhat bizarre and looks like a very large, grey, hot-water bottle with four legs and a trunk. Worth a look, but the museum is the highlight.
Next to the cathedral in Tours city centre, 18 place Francois Sicard 37000 Tours. Note the museum is closed on Tuesdays. www.musee-beauxarts@ville-tours.fr
Excellent place to spend time in Delhi. The place offers designer stores for Indian handicrafts, restaurants, cafes in the outer and middle lane, some of Delhi's oldest bookshops and Lodhi Gardens are right next door!
One of the most charming small museums in Birmingham with a recently added visitor centre and tea room. A real Brummy gem. The house itself is very small, but taken together this is a real treat.
Opening Times:
Open from 31st March to 28th October
Tuesday to Sunday 11.30am - 4pm
Closed Mondays except Bank Holidays
Blakesley Road
Yardley
Birmingham
B25 8RN
Tel: +44 [0]121 464 2193
www.bmag.org.uk/index.php?type=element&maincat=1&subcat=2&subelement=2
The University of Birmingham's own botanical gardens. Much more interesting than the nearby Botanical Gardens.
Several acres of charming gardens and glass houses in the grounds of an old Victorian house. Adjacent to a small lake and woodland in the heart of Edgbaston. Absolutely delightful.
Winterbourne Botanic Garden
University of Birmingham
58 Edgbaston Park Road
Birmingham B15 2RT
0121 414 3832
www.botanic.bham.ac.uk/
Go early in July, when they have the Open Gardens Day festival and you can get free access to some beautiful hidden gardens belonging to private residences and institutions.
Look out for the secret gardens open day, when some of Holland's richest burghers allow a peep into their canal-side back yards.
www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2002/may/12/amsterdam.netherlands.observerescapesection
A ravine garden that snakes down to the coast and a private beach - rated as one of the top gardens in the world. Unique layout and spectacular plants.
Trebah Garden - mawnan smith, nr falmouth (short drive or bus ride), cornwall.
www.trebah-garden.co.uk/
It's a huge maze and an incredibly succulent garden but there is more to it. Not the banter of restaurants, craft and curio shops but it is the real thing to do if you want to discover South African culture. And for garden lovers: one of the English visitors I met said that this garden is, in its own right, far more interesting than the ones of Kirstenbosch or Worcester.
It's a bit weird but Soekershof distinguishes itself from all the others by the absolute passion of owners and staff. These people are really devoted to their plants. But for me it's more; it was a very personal spiritual experience, hard to describe.
Being a black South African I learned something about by own country: the meaning of the handshake I grew up with; the meaning of the 'evil spirit' of the Uthikulose which does not have to be evil and what wonders me most of all: I had to learn it from two very nice Dutch people who joined our country seven years ago.
It's in Klaas Voogds West along Route62 between Robertson and Ashton; 2 hrs easy drive from Cape Town. I discovered 3 own URLs. The general one: www.soekershof.com The 'weird but passionate' one with the latest developments in and around Soekershof: soekershofwalkabout.blogspot.com and the one they regard themselves as a 'service tool for their nursery customers and other succulent lovers': soekershof.wordpress.com
Get out of Shanghai for a change of scene. Suzhou is a breath of fresh air from the high-energy city. An overnight stay is best as it gives you time to see parts of the old city as Marco Polo saw it... such as Ping Jiang Lu (parallel and east of the main North-South Lin Dun Lu) and at least one of the famous gardens (one garden is enough).
From the Railway Station, take a taxi from the taxi rank to the Kai Lai Da Ju Dian (Chinese for Gloria Hotel) on Gan Jiang Lu near Lin Dun Lu (10 yuan), which is a good base to catch your breath. The south end of Ping Jiang Lu is almost directly opposite the west side of the hotel; cross Gan Jiang Lu and walk north up Ping Jiang Lu alongside the canal to the second bridge where you will see the Ping Jiang Lodge, a very nicely preserved local-style inn where you can stay in historic surroundings for less than US$100 (I know - not so cheap). If you continue north on Ping Jiang Lu to the 5th bridge and turn right for 20m, you will see an equally ancient and interesting Tea House that’s well worth the visit.
If you want a cheap clean room, go over to Lin Dun Lu and walk north 500m to the China Mobile 'M-Zone' store - you will find a small hotel on the other side of the street in the small east-west side street (next to the hair salon on the corner) where you can get a room for US$30. Near here you can find Harry's Bar (150m south on Lin Dun - West side) where English speaking staff can help you! Also a great place to return to in the evening for music and good bar conversation with local expats.
Fast trains (train number beginning with 'T') run from Shanghai railway Station to Suzhou frequently and take from 40 to 50 minutes;
www.bootsnall.com/hotels/last-minute/cy/China/Suzhou;
www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g297442-Suzhou_Jiangsu-Vacations.html
At more than 300ft long and 100ft wide, the centrepiece of the Royal Botanic Gardens is no ordinary greenhouse. You can imagine a T Rex stalking its prey among the prehistoric cycads, or close your eyes and let the warmth and perfumes transport you to a tropical isle. Underneath is the equally primordial Marine Display.
Kew Gardens, tube Kew Gardens, Richmond
A beautiful Victorian garden in the middle of Streatham Common. Queen Victoria visited for the now gone spa waters (is there a way they can be brought back?). Tranquil even at the height of summer, an oasis in the middle of south London. Plus, there is a lovely old-fashioned cafe run by quirky Italian old women.
Streatham Common - the nearest train station is Streatham.
www.lambeth.gov.uk/AboutLambeth/TownCentresStreatham.htm
Forget Cannes. Get on a train and head beyond Monte Carlo to Menton. It's where the old people go to live! Very sensible. Decent beach, pleasant atmosphere. Fabulous old town, which can be explored in an hour or so. Well worth a day trip.
If you get fed up, come back to Monte Carlo, forget all the usual rubbish about the Casino and Royal Palace and visit the Botanical Gardens. A brilliant collection of cacti and other succulents (far better than it sounds!). It costs an entrance fee but it is well worth it. Also, a superb cave system which you can go down. Very strange; the temperature underground is warm, not cold.
The view from the Gardens over Monaco and out to the Mediterranean is excellent.
Walk along Long Street to the Comany's Gardens - as good a range of cityscapes as you'll find anywhere and the gardens, while not too big, are very pleasant, and the mountain makes an impressive backdrop. Visit City Hall and see the balcony from which Nelson Mandela addressed the crowds after his release from Robben Island - another must-see. Cross the car park and sample the interesting street snacks. Move on and look round the Castle.
The Temperate House is the largest of the glasshouses at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; in fact it's the largest, extant Victorian glasshouse in the world. Despite this fact, many visitors never reach it because it's a fair way from the main gate and it's hidden from view until you're almost upon it.
This is a shame because the Temperate House contains some fabulous specimens, including the world's rarest plant - a cycad called Encephalartos woodii - and the world's largest indoor plant, the 52-foot high Chilean Wine Palm.
Wonderful oasis of green with palm trees, orchids and bromeliads.
Rua Jardim Botanico 920; many buses from Copacabana and Ipanema Website www.jbrj.gov.br/ (portuguese)
A bit further out of Cardiff in the north, Cefn Onn is a 200-acre park where you can get lost among the rhododendron bushes.
A lovely park with a huge lake to feed the ducks or hire a boat. There’s a great playground for children, lovely rose gardens and an impressive greenhouse. Also in the park is a memorial lighthouse dedicated to Captain Scott, the South Pole explorer, who set sail on his final, ill-fated voyage from Cardiff.
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