Dartington, Devon
The gardening team at this estate near Totnes take the first few months of the year seriously: spider-like yellow witch hazel flowers and snowdrops are the precursor to daffodils and bluebells. Trails allow anyone to explore the 800 acres (Tramper mobility scooters can be arranged). Accommodation options are also available at different price levels, including hostel rooms and those in the original 14th-century building. Dartington does things a little differently. While most gardens put on light shows in winter, Dartington’s Alice in WonderlandIt will run from March 8 to April 3. Food options range from pub grub to bagels baked on site.
B&B doubles from £129; dartington.org
Chippenham Park, Cambridgeshire
Spring is in full bloom at Chippenham Park, near Newmarket, as well as a handful of gardens in East Anglia, and the 40-acre gardens are open until March 29. It all finishes with an Easter egg hunt, starting with snowdrops and aconites, before hellebores and daffodils take over a series of landscapes that include lakes, canals and woodland walks. The former potting sheds have now become quite nice accommodation, while when the gardens are open there is also a tearoom with soups, cakes and – if the weather gets warm – chilled rosé wine.
Double rooms only start from £150; chippenhamparkgardens.info
Wallington, Northumberland
Over the past two years, hundreds of volunteers, including Northumbrians, have planted snowdrops in Wallington. sandersii snowdrops with yellow markings instead of green. This National Trust land near Morpeth currently has a sea of nearly 900,000 snowdrops covering woodland, while later in spring the ground will be transformed by crocuses and daffodils. The Beresford Arms in nearby Whalton is a lovely pub with rooms, also close to Bolam Lake Country Park.
B&B doubles from £110; theberesfordarmswhalton.co.uk; And nationaltrust.org.uk
Cambo Manor, Fife
The Erskine family have planted snowdrops here, just outside St Andrews, for generations. The annual show runs until March, and some walking trails are suitable for those with mobility impairments. Some evenings there is live music, as well as night walks and hot food. Include a visit walking along the coastal path from St Andrews or Crail; Other spring flowers can be seen on the way. Located in the nearby village, the Inn at Kingsbarns has five bedrooms and a restaurant serving delicious home-cooked meals in Scranhoose.
B&B doubles from £120; theinnatkingsbarns.co.uk and cambogardens.org.uk
Lang Craigs, DuNbartonshire
Located in the Kilpatrick Hills, 12 miles from Glasgow, Lang Craigs offers purists light bulb pleasure with no cafes or shops to distract you (although there are a few benches where you can sit and pull out your thermos of tea). There are four walks and the snowdrops and bluebells (if you are lucky enough to spot them) are enriched by otters, cuckoos and woodpeckers, and tawny owls as dusk falls. The food-focused, urban charm of Hotel du Vin in Glasgow’s West End is a 30-minute drive away.
Double rooms only start from £116; hotelduvin.com; And woodlandtrust.org.uk
Castle Ward, County Down
Along with Game of Thrones fans on a quest to find Winterfell, bulb watchers also come to see how spring is coming in the woodland, on the terraces and around this National Trust property. Part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, daffodils have colonized the area around the mansion, but wait a bit and there are nearly five miles of bluebell trails to enjoy here. The recently refurbished Cuan is a gastropub with nine comfortable rooms at the mouth of Strangford Lough.
B&B doubles from £119, thecuan.com; And nationaltrust.org.uk
Caldbeck, Lake District
Every pretty village in the Lake District – especially those associated with Wordsworth – has a healthy display of daffodils in spring, but Caldbeck, at the top of Cumbria, near Hadrian’s Wall, doesn’t get crowded and has a good tearoom and pub scene, including Oddfellows. Run by the Whitesmith family, it has 12 rooms and an all-day bar serving local Jennings beer. All of this will power you for a walk through the valleys and the ruins of a coil mill at Howk; Watersmeet is generally the best place for bluebells in March and April.
B&B doubles from £125; oddfellows-caldbeck.co.uk
Bodnant Garden, Conwy
One of the National Trust’s most important gardens in Wales, the daffodils here are usually in full bloom until St David’s Day on 1 March. They have been cultivated here for over 100 years; a process that still continues today, with both fully developed and dwarf varieties. Daffodil season here lasts from February to April, when bluebells and magnolia trees herald the next advance of spring. Located just across the river from Conwy, Groes Inn allows you to explore Bodnant and other nearby walks.
&B doubles from £105, groesinn.com; And nationaltrust.org.uk
Chawton, Hampshire
Jane Austen did not write about daffodils, but she would see them at her home in Hampshire. Near the cottage where he lives and Chawton House, where his brother and family are located, lie some of England’s slowest-developing spring walks; these include a walk interspersed with quotes from Austen’s work. Chawton House has a tearoom (which may have been met with the author’s approval) and a new tea shack for takeaways (which may not have been). Located 10 minutes’ drive away in Lower Froyle, on the edge of the South Downs, the weatherproof Anchor Inn offers board games, Bloody Marys and endless views of meadows and farmland.
B&B doubles £110, butcombe.com/the-anchor-inn-hampshire; And chawtonhouse.org
Kew Gardens, London
When the rest of Kew’s gardens go dormant, snowdrops pop their heads above the ground and start dashing into spring. On Kew’s 300 acres you’ll find them clustered around trees and lawns; Daffodils cluster around the Great Broad Walk and the Temple of Aeolus, and bluebells bloom on the woodland floors. Another bonus of Kew: there are plenty of conservatories and cafes to pop into when you need to warm up. Kew needs at least a day, preferably two, to fully understand all this. The Orange Tree is a stately pub with rooms a short walk from the entrance to Kew.
B&B doubles from £139; orangetreerichmond.co.uk; And kew.org