East Ruston Old Vicarage Garden

The garden here sprawls across four acres of what was once a fairly ordinary Victorian vicarage plot near Norwich. What makes it remarkable is how the owners have layered it - walled gardens, a Mediterranean section, Japanese influences, and wild areas all flowing into each other rather than feeling jarring. You'll spend a good two hours wandering, discovering something different in each turn: a productive kitchen garden, then suddenly a gravel garden with architectural plants that wouldn't look out of place in Chelsea, then a woodland walk.

It's genuinely one for the gardeners, particularly those interested in design and how different styles can coexist. Non-gardeners might find an hour enough - the bones are there, but you'll miss half the point if you're not reading the plant labels and thinking about composition. Children will tolerate it if there's space to run about, which there is, but they won't be riveted.

Stay based at Manor Caravan Park or Tonnage Bridge, both within a couple of miles, and you've got easy access to the north Norfolk coast as well. The garden typically opens April through September, though best to check ahead. Entry charges vary, but it's usually modest. It pairs well with other gardens in the region if you're doing a horticultural tour - this one's the architectural thinker's choice rather than the "pretty flowers" destination.