Thousands of heritage sites, historic houses and gardens are welcoming visitors free of charge during the festival, which aims to bring people together to celebrate their heritage, community and history. Many of the venues aren\u2019t usually open to the public so this is a rare opportunity to explore some unique hidden gems, including a secret garden in Beverley Minster and a listed Bath House in Cheshire.<\/p>\n
The theme of this year\u2019s festival is \u2018Astounding Inventions\u2019, for which organisers will be celebrating England\u2019s history of invention and innovation. One of the hosts embracing this theme is the British Lawnmower Museum<\/a> in Southport, which will be putting on free tours and talks exploring Edwin Budding\u2019s invention that created the great British lawn<\/a>.<\/p>\n HODs is taking place from 9 to 18 September. Using the search tool on their website<\/a> you can find a venue that\u2019s taking part near you.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s our pick of the best gardens that are taking part in Heritage Open Days this year.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Visit The Firs to discover the humble cottage where Edward Elgar was born and explore the beautiful cottage garden filled with seasonal colour. There\u2019s also a sound garden with outdoor instruments to make your own music, and you can hear talks by author and Elgar specialist Richard Westwood-Brookes. Explore the beautiful \u201cCapability\u201d Brown-designed landscape, the Edwardian gardens including the Japanese Garden, and the newly restored Pulhamite Pond in the rock garden. Tours must be pre-booked. Beverley Minster\u2019s quiet garden off Highgate is usually open to visitors but the secret garden never is \u2013 even its location is shrouded in mystery. The secret sanctuary garden is a haven for wildlife and visitors are welcome to bring a picnic and enjoy the tranquil surroundings. There won\u2019t be guided tours this year but volunteers will be on hand to answer questions about the plants and trees. The listed buildings at Congleton include a late-Georgian neoclassical garden shelter and a Bath House \u2013 a rare survivor of the 18th and 19th-century passion for cold-water bathing. The Physic Garden contains numerous herbs and shrubs familiar to medieval medical practitioners, plus many others bringing medicinal herbalism right up to date. The Herb Society\u2019s Barbara Wilkinson will lead garden tours and there will be plants and other items for sale. It may not be a garden but this museum is hosting special tours and talks focusing on this most British of gardening obsessions \u2013 the lawnmower! You can see a replica of Edwin Budding\u2019s invention at the museum, along with the hundreds of different machines that followed. Pre-booking for the tours and talks is required. By Abigail Whyte Published: Monday, 05 September 2022 at 12:00 am England\u2019s largest festival of history and culture, Heritage Open Days (HODs), is back this September, offering free access to heritage events and activities across England. Thousands of heritage sites, historic houses and gardens are welcoming visitors free of charge during the festival, which aims […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":14779,"template":"","categories":[1,48],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/visit-a-garden-for-free-during-heritage-open-days-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/visit-a-garden-for-free-during-heritage-open-days-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/visit-a-garden-for-free-during-heritage-open-days-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/visit-a-garden-for-free-during-heritage-open-days-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/visit-a-garden-for-free-during-heritage-open-days-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/visit-a-garden-for-free-during-heritage-open-days-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/visit-a-garden-for-free-during-heritage-open-days-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Abigail Whyte Published: Monday, 05 September 2022 at 12:00 am England\u2019s largest festival of history and culture, Heritage Open Days (HODs), is back this September, offering free access to heritage events and activities across England. Thousands of heritage sites, historic houses and gardens are welcoming visitors free of charge during the festival, which aims…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/14778"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2022\/09\/GothicTempleatStowecreditHeritageOpenDaysChrisLacey-fcc8522.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Top 5 HODs gardens to visit for free<\/h2>\n
The Firs, Elgar\u2019s Birthplace, Worcestershire<\/a><\/h3>\n
Gatton Park, Surrey<\/a><\/h3>\n
Beverley Minster Secret Garden, East Riding of Yorkshire<\/a><\/h3>\n
Congleton Bath House & Physic Garden, Cheshire<\/a><\/h3>\n
British Lawnmower Museum, Southport, Merseyside<\/a><\/h3>\n
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