Surrey is well served for gardens, from great landscape parks to private plots that open for charity. The trick is choosing the right one for the season, and checking opening times on the garden's own website before setting off, because hours change through the year.
The National Garden Scheme
The National Garden Scheme lists 82 private gardens in Surrey for 2026, nine of them in the Guildford area. Visits raise money for charity through admissions, teas and cake, and in most gardens children are welcome. There is also a by-arrangement list, where visits are booked with the owner. One example is Ashleigh Grange in Westhumble, a three-and-a-half-acre sloping chalk garden with views. Dates vary garden by garden, so use the NGS Surrey page to see what is open when you want to go.
RHS Garden Wisley, near Woking
The obvious starting point, and the one that suits a whole day out. Surrey Live describes it as one of the county's most celebrated gardens, with several gardens, woodland, cafés, picnic lawns, a playground and tropical glasshouses. The postcode is GU23 6QB. It is free for RHS members, and online booking is the cheaper route for everyone else. Opening hours differ between sources, so confirm on the RHS site, particularly in hot weather, when Surrey Live has reported Wisley adjusting its opening during a heatwave warning. It suits families and anyone who wants a lot of variety in one place.
The National Trust gardens
The National Trust's Surrey gardens page names four: Polesden Lacey, Hatchlands Park, Claremont Landscape Garden and Winkworth Arboretum.
Polesden Lacey, Great Bookham (RH5 6BD). The National Trust says the garden has something to offer in every season, which makes it the safest choice when you are unsure what will be in flower. Check the current garden, café and car park hours before you go.
Claremont Landscape Garden, Portsmouth Road, Esher (KT10 9JG). A Grade I listed garden showing the evolution of the English landscape garden, with a small lake, an amphitheatre and the Belvedere tower. Wikipedia dates its creation to 1715 to 1727 and gives its size as 49 acres. A good, compact option for a walk rather than a flower hunt.
Winkworth Arboretum, Hascombe Road, near Godalming (GU8 4AD). The National Trust's only arboretum, famed for autumn colour, with well-known bluebells too. It covers 121 acres of woodland in the Surrey Hills with a range of walking routes. Treat it as a spring and autumn place rather than a midsummer one.
Hatchlands Park, East Clandon, near Guildford. Parkland redesigned by Humphrey Repton around 1800, with a garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll in the early 20th century, and bluebell wood walks in spring.
Painshill, Cobham
On Portsmouth Road in Cobham, Painshill is an 18th-century landscape garden designed by Charles Hamilton, who owned it from 1738 to 1773, set in a wooded valley. Its features include a lake, Gothic temple, Chinese bridge and ruin, plus a Crystal Grotto that is open all year on Painshill's seasonal hours. Historic Houses members get in free. Check the Painshill site for current hours and prices.
Loseley Park, Guildford
Loseley's walled garden covers two and a half acres and is known for an award-winning rose garden of more than 1,000 bushes, mainly old-fashioned varieties. There is also a herb garden, a white garden with a fountain and an organic vegetable garden. Visitor reviews on Tripadvisor from spring praise the wisteria and the tea hut in the White Garden, which serves light lunches and cake. Roses make early summer the natural time to go, but check days and hours with the estate first.
Titsey Place and Gardens, Oxted
On Water Lane at Titsey, this is one of Surrey's largest surviving historic estates, held by the Gresham family since 1534. The gardens include a walled kitchen garden, a Golden Jubilee rose garden and an Etruscan summerhouse by lakes. It is still a family home and opens on selected days only: according to Historic Houses, from late May to the end of September, on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Bank Holiday Mondays from 1pm to 5pm, with Sundays for gardens and tea room only. Confirm before travelling.
Choosing by season
Spring: bluebells at Winkworth Arboretum and the woods at Hatchlands Park.
Early summer: roses at Loseley Park and Titsey Place.
Any time: Polesden Lacey, Claremont and RHS Wisley.
Autumn: colour at Winkworth Arboretum.
If you want something less obvious, browse the National Garden Scheme's private gardens, where the owner is often on hand and the tea and cake go to charity.
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