National Trust - Overbeck's Garden

The garden tumbles down a steep Devon hillside towards Salcombe, all subtropical plants and hidden corners that shouldn't really work this far south but somehow do. Overbeck's is a National Trust property where a former eccentric inventor called Otto Overbeck spent decades nurturing tender specimens - agapanthus, tender fuchsias, even New Zealand tree ferns - in what feels like a Victorian gentleman's fever dream.

You'll spend a good two hours wandering around, especially if you're the type who reads every label and pokes about in the summer house. The house itself is modest but tells the story of someone genuinely unusual - collections of curiosities, medical gadgets, enough oddness to keep you entertained between the garden sections. Family groups with children aged eight and up will manage the paths fine, though buggies are a non-starter on the steeper bits.

It's best visited in late spring or early summer when everything's in flower, though the evergreen structure keeps it tidy enough year-round. Allow half a day minimum. There's a small cafe near the car park, which is handy because you'll need a sit-down afterwards - those hills catch you out.

If you're based at Karrageen Caravan & Camping Park or Wilton Farm just down the road, this makes a proper afternoon outing. It's five minutes from Kingsbridge, close enough that you could combine it with a wander through town or a coastal detour to Salcombe. Not cheap for National Trust entry, but the garden's genuinely different.