Top five winter days out for garden enthusiasts named

Greenhouse and gardening enthusiasts looking for a day out in beautiful surroundings may be interested to learn that five of Britain’s top winter gardens have been highlighted.

Ness Botanic Gardens in the Wirral has a large conservatory and a superb collection of trees and shrubs, author Tony Russell wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

To the south, the National Botanic Garden of Wales boasts the Norman Foster-designed single-span glasshouse, he continued, which is "the perfect place for a midwinter garden outing".

For January only, entry will be free to the venue, recently named by the Times as the number one winter wonderland in the UK.

Over in Yorkshire, the Sheffield Park and Garden is built around a centrepiece of four lakes, while Marks Hall Gardens & Arboretum in Essex is a "superb garden", the expert added.

Finally, Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens is home to an "astonishing mix" of exotic plants in a sheltered valley setting.