The National Trust’s dazzling Snowdrop displays

Discover dazzling snowdrop displays with the National Trust

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/north-west

For that first glimpse of spring, there’s nothing better than getting out and seeing drifts of snowdrops across a National Trust landscape. The dainty white flowers transform woodland and garden floors in January and February and are one of the first signs of life after the long winter months.

Stroll along snowdrop-framed pathways on Sizergh’s new winter walk or explore the UK’s largest winter garden at Dunham Massey.

Every visit to enjoy the blooms helps the conservation charity care for these beautiful landscapes for future generations.

Here are the National Trust’s top spots to see snowdrops in the North West:

Hartwell House Hotel, Restaurant and Spa, Buckinghamshire

Dunham Massey, Cheshire
The seven-acre winter garden at Dunham Massey is the largest of its kind in Britain. Since the garden opened in 2009, over 300,000 bulbs have been planted including thousands of snowdrops that now create a shimmering carpet of white from late December to early February. The garden contains almost 700 different plant species, including 20,000 narcissi that will also be in bloom in early spring.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dunham-massey/features/the-winter-garden-at-dunham-massey

Newark Park, Gloucestershire is perched high on a spur of the Cotswolds, overlooking the valley of the river Severn. Originally an Elizabethan hunting lodge built by Sir Nicholas Poyntz in c.1550, alterations were made in the 1790s attributed to James Wyatt.

Quarry Bank, Cheshire
Beyond the mill at Quarry Bank you can explore the upper and lower gardens which are showing the early signs of spring.  Wander beside the meandering river in the ornamental garden created by Robert Hyde Greg in the 1860s, and spot the snowdrops popping up in front of Quarry Bank House where the mill owners lived. You’ll find snowdrops in the orchard beside the Apprentice House too, where the child workers of Quarry Bank lived, ate and slept, which have been lovingly tended to over the years by one of the volunteers. Further snowdrops can also be spotted in the upper garden where you can take in some of the best views of the estate, and there’ll be thousands more being planted in Chapel Woods during January and February.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank/features/exploring-the-gardens-at-quarry-bank

Snowdrops beneath a grove of silver birch trees (Betula utilis var. jacquemontii ‘Doorenbos’) in the Winter Garden at Dunham Massey, Cheshire.