Newark Park

Newark Park began around 1550 as a hunting lodge built by Sir Nicholas Poyntz, an attendant to Henry VIII, on the Cotswold escarpment above the Ozleworth Valley, and later owners reworked it, the Clutterbuck family bringing in James Wyatt for the stained-glass window. After falling into decay in the mid-20th century it was revived by the Texan architect Bob Parsons. The garden drops over three levels from a walled garden to a lakeside garden, and three waymarked walks cross 700 acres of estate; children get a woodland play area and a dressing-up room, and dogs are welcome on a short lead. Reviewers single out the peacocks around the tea pavilion, the volunteers' basement tours and the second-hand bookshop upstairs with views down the valley. Tips from regulars: ignore the sat nav, which sends you up a steep single-track lane, and follow the brown signs from Wotton-under-Edge; the walks are hilly coming back up, so wear proper shoes.