With two national parks, numerous country parks and even more open spaces, the South East and Anglia are brimming with places to help you escape the daily grind and find some inner calm With so much natural coastland here, there’s also ample opportunity to go for a clifftop walk on the White Cliffs or Samphire Hoe in Dover, for instance. Or maybe run amok amid the ruins of an ancient castle, such as the medieval Scotney Castle in Kent, which may be past its best structurally but is still a beautiful building in stunning grounds.
Parks with extra punch
Don’t be fooled into thinking a city park is nothing more than flower beds and a disused bandstand – there’s much more going on than you might think. Mote Park in Maidstone, formed in a medieval deer park, is a 450-acre site that has loads to offer, including a miniature railway, leisure centre and water sports. While Forbury Gardens in Reading gives you a wonderful view of the abbey as well as ornamental gardens to walk through, and the chance to take a selfie with the famous Maiwand Lion war memorial.
Rievaulx Terrace and Sculpture Garden in Chichester is definitely not your typical urban park. It’s a landscaped garden with 18th century sculptures, ornamental temples and viewpoints deliberately designed for visual drama. And Southsea Rock Gardens in Portsmouth is a coastal rock garden with terraced stone paths, exotic plants and cliff-style landscaping. What is particularly unusual about this one is it was designed in the 1920s to mimic alpine terrain, and planted with greenery that thrives in salty air and sea winds.
Take it up to the sky
Of course, not everything needs to be at ground level. The RHS Hilltop Roof Gardens in Woking is part of the science and learning centre at RHS Wisley, which features a two-tier sky terrace with 360° views over the 240-acre garden. Three gardens are themed around wellbeing, world food and wildlife. These gardens have been designed as living laboratories, seamlessly blending education with landscape. Meanwhile, on the roof of Guildford’s House of Fraser department store, there’s the extremely unusual Jellicoe Gardens. Designed in the 1950s by landscape architect Geoffrey Jellicoe, the garden blends water features with planted terraces to unite heaven and earth with planet-inspired circular features.
Going green in the South East
There’s an abundance of wildlife in the area if you know where to look. Find out what’s going on and how to get involved.
The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has protected the wildlife and wild places of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight for more than 60 years. From forest schools to campaign groups, the team here are working hard to ensure that nature knows humans are on its side. They are always looking for volunteers to assist with public engagement, livestock checks and practical conservation. They also run a variety of events for members, including training courses for Forest School and Wild Beach leaders.
The Green Wellbeing Alliance is a network of organisations providing therapeutic outdoor activities for vulnerable groups of people across Sussex, including those with mental health difficulties, dementia, at risk young people, survivors of abuse, and people living with physical health conditions. Opportunities include therapeutic gardening groups, organic food growing, bushcraft and guided mindful walks.
Hollingbourne Meadows Trust is a community group fighting to preserve the local countryside by planting and maintaining meadows, hedges and trees to encourage biodiversity of plants and animals, and offer a rich landscape for humans to enjoy spending time in. The group has planted 900 trees and more than 1,400 hedging plants since 2004. They also run social activities for members, donors and friends.
