You can visit this historic castle dating back to the 15th century with six different gardens and over 8,000 plant species.
Located near Eynsford in Kent, Lullingstone Castle is famously known as one of England’s “oldest estates”, dating back to 1497 when it was first built and has been home to the Hart Dyke family ever since.
The castle is just a short 30-minute car ride from south east London or accessible by the nearby train station of Eynsford.
Although the castle isn’t open to visitors, one of the castle's main features other than its medieval architecture is it’s 2-acre World Garden, with 80 percent of its plants not native to the British Isles.
First opening in 2005, The World Garden is home to over 8,000 plant species and hybrids, with both indoor hot houses and several outdoor gardens displaying plants across various continents.
The gardens were created in the early 2000s by Tom – a modern day plant hunter who was kidnapped in Columbia in 2000 during a plant hunting mission for orchids.
During his time spent in captivity Tom began to sketch a map of the gardens, which would “pay tribute” to the 19th century plant hunters who explored the globe, often in life-threatening situations, to bring back rare species of plants to the UK.
Offering one of the largest varieties of flowers out of the gardens is The Cloud Garden, which is home to 250 plant varieties ranging from the Canary Islands and Australia to Africa and Asia.
This garden with its jungle aesthetic features species like the "Tree Dandelion" from the Canary Islands and the "Crested Orchid Iris" from China
The largest undercover structure in the garden – Australis - is home to plants from the Southern Hemisphere, ranging from South America to South Africa and Australia, and contains some of the garden's rarest plants including a collection of Puya known for its distinctive thin spines.
Inspired by the world-famous Majorelle Gardens of Marrakesh, the Moroccan Blue Room has touches inspired by the region, from raised brick beds to blue paintwork, along with a mix of Mediterranean plants and bulbs ranging from Bougainvillea to Palms.
The garden also features two hot houses including a cactus house with over 1,000 varieties of Cacti, Succulents & Bromeliads from all over the world, ranging from South America, Africa, Mexico, South West USA and Macaronesia.
For orchid lovers, the garden also features a hot house with over 100 rare varieties of orchids, including the world’s deadliest plant “The Stinger”, which is kept behind a wire cage.
Alongside The World Garden, visitors to the castle can also see Lullingstone's National Collection of Eucalyptus housed in the Eucalyptus Arboretum.
Visitors can also take a walk towards the River Darent, where you can spot a bulb island, an orchid meadow and a 1703s bathhouse and icehouse to explore.
During the month of June the front of the castle is a hotspot for Instagrammers on account of its vibrant red poppy field, offering stunning photo opportunities in front of the castle.
Visitors can also visit the 15th century manor house, which is open to the public on event days as well as bank holiday weekends between 11am and 5pm.
Entry to Lullingstone Castle’s World Garden costs £9 for adults and £4.50 for children, and is open from 11am until 5pm up until October 27.
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