Biddulph Grange Garden is a Grade I listed Victorian garden in Staffordshire created from the 1840s by James Bateman, a plant collector who laid it out as a world tour in miniature for specimens arriving from every continent. Tunnels and rock passages lead from an Italian terrace to a Chinese garden with a red pagoda, bridge and gilded water buffalo, then to an Egyptian Court where a pyramid of clipped yew is guarded by sphinxes carved by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, sculptor of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs. A stumpery, the Dahlia Walk and a Geological Gallery follow. The house is largely private and not part of the visit. Reviewers love the volunteers who walk visitors through the China and Egypt gardens, and children get a quiz trail and an adventure play path. Tips from regulars: the steps are uneven with few handrails, so wear sensible shoes, and download the garden plan first because signposting is patchy and some routes dead-end at private land.
