Wakehurst is Kew's wild botanic garden in the Sussex High Weald, 500 acres owned by the National Trust and run by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, around a Grade I Elizabethan mansion with exhibitions inside. It is home to the Millennium Seed Bank, where over 2.4 billion seeds are stored underground and you can watch the scientists at work through the glass atrium. The gardens are laid out as journeys through the world's landscapes: temperate woodland with giant redwoods and a Wollemi pine, a North American prairie, water gardens with an Iris Dell of over 60 Japanese iris varieties, a walled garden, wetlands and bluebell woods. Dogs are welcome on a set walking route. Reviewers love the volunteer-led guided walks, the plentiful clean toilets and benches, and the wheelchair-friendly route marked on the map. Tips from visitors: National Trust members get in free but must bring their card and pay for parking, and allow a full day, since the estate takes hours to cover.
