Newby Hall, UK

“Go big or go home”, as our American cousins say. Well, there’s nothing diminutive about Newby Hall’s justly famed double herbaceous borders. At over 180 yards long, they deservedly steal the show – helped somewhat by having a house designed by Christopher Wren at one end and the archetypally bucolic River Ure at the other. Bold colours, subtly varied plant groupings, rhythm and drama – the masterful borders are worth the trip alone. But this is no one-trick pony of a garden – it’s home to a National Collection of Cornus, a newly restored rock garden, discrete garden rooms for seasonal interest and exquisitely planted woodland areas. Quite simply, Newby Hall has a garden without equal in this part of the world.