Painswick Rococo Garden

Painswick Rococo Garden is a one-off in English garden history: the only complete surviving Rococo garden in the country. It was created in the 1740s for a Gloucestershire landowner and, because it was largely forgotten for nearly two centuries, it escaped the remodelling that swept away most of its contemporaries. A painting made of the garden in 1748 guided the painstaking restoration that began in the 1970s, and the result is a garden that feels genuinely different from any other.

For families the appeal is in the exploration. The valley site has winding paths that lead past Rococo pavilions, wooden bridges and the Gothic Red House, through woodland to the anniversary maze and a children's play area. The maze and wooded routes make the site feel bigger than it is, and the unusual buildings and long views give young children plenty to talk about. There is also a children's trail aimed at five to ten year olds with facts and challenges along the route.

Snowdrop season in January and February is when the garden is at its most striking, with sheets of white beneath the trees, and it draws visitors from well beyond the county. Spring and summer are good too, for the planting and the pavilions. The main paths are manageable with a pushchair though some routes are steeper.

Good for: outdoors, sensory, history, fairytale. Ages: 0–2, 3–4, 5–7, 8–11, 12+.