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Beth Chatto Gardens
About 15 miles from park
Address
The Beth Chatto Gardens, Elmstead Market, Clacton Road, Elmstead, Colchester
About Beth Chatto Gardens
Award-winning plantswoman, author and lecturer Beth Chatto began working on her gardens back in 1960, transforming an overgrown boggy wasteland into an inspirational natural space which continues to thrive all these years later. The gardens are made up of five main areas, including the peaceful Beth Chatto Woodland Garden, the Water Garden and the Scree Garden, which is full of plants which grow on stony, mountainous slopes. The Gravel Garden is famous for never being irrigated, while the Reservoir Garden is a lovely open place to explore on a sunny day. If you’re inspired to create your own horticultural masterpiece by the Beth Chatto Dry Garden book, you can visit the plant nursery where you could even pick up a range of flora named by or after the gardens and their founder. From Beth Chatto garden centre services like design assistance and courses to relaxing walks through the different gardens, this is a lovely, serene place to visit.
How to get to Beth Chatto Gardens
The Beth Chatto Gardens are in the Elmstead Market area less than six miles east of Colchester town centre, just off Clacton Road and not far from the A120. Junction 29 of the A12 is only a 10-minute drive away, giving you easy access to places like Ipswich, Chelmsford and London. Trains from the capital’s Liverpool Street station to Colchester take just 45 minutes, while a number of bus routes connect the town centre to Elmstead Market and the gardens, including the number 76, 77, 78D and 97.