Where to see Daffodilsby bus and train around the UK
Shakespeare’s lost princess Perdita in The Winter’s Tale longs for: “…daffodils,/That come before the swallow dares, and take/The winds of March with beauty.” From March (and often even earlier these days), their yellow trumpets light up the parks and springtime woodland. Here are half a dozen spots – from stately homes to villages to whole bus routes – where seeing dancing daffs doesn’t need to involve a car. These are both garden daffodils and the Wordsworthian wild variety. But they’ll all raise a smile on a windy, grey, wintry day or on a blazing blue one…
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Daffodil Line bus, Herefordshire/Gloucestershire
Past flowering woods and country markets, cider farms and ancient churches, the 232 Daffodil Line bus is great for visitors to the Golden Triangle in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. This fabulous community-led bus service between Ledbury and Ross on Wye helps visitors access the woods and fields around Dymock in Gloucestershire that are famous for their wild daffodils. The buses even run on Sundays and into the evenings on Fridays and Saturdays. You can find a timetable here.
- What can I see from the Daffodil Line bus? There are black-and-white timber-framed cottages and old orchards studded with mistletoe. Stop off in the village of Much Marcle to visit Hellens Manor, an art-filled Tudor manor house with an atmospheric tearoom. In the market town of Newent, don’t miss the Secret Gallery in the cobbled Shambles courtyard. Lots more sights along the way and at either end of this picturesque route.
- Where can I walk from the bus route? The Daffodil Line is ideal for linear rambles and country pubs. Check this book of walks for routes and ideas.
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Hampton Court, Greater London
200,000 flowering bulbs brighten the gardens around Hampton Court. You don’t need to pay to see them – the Water Gardens in Bushy Park are free to wander through.
- There are frequent trains to Hampton Court station from London Waterloo. You can get on at Vauxhall, Wimbledon and other stations. A travelcard or Oyster is valid as Hampton Court is in Zone 6. Follow Good Journey’s directions.
- The station is just five minutes’ walk from the palace. Come out onto the main road and turn right over the Thames. You can enjoy fabulous views from the bridge.
- Alternatively, you could stride out on a six-mile circuit. Simply cross the bridge and turn right along the river. Follow the Thames Path and then the London Loop, through Bushy Park from Hampton Wick, past ponds and deer parks.
- Or, for a shorter stroll through flowering woods, head beyond the palace to the Diana Fountain. Go left across Bushy Park (PDF map) into a springtime paradise.
- Turn left through the blossoming gardens, with the water on your right, or cross the bridge to find the café.
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Thriplow, Cambridgeshire
Every year the Cambridgeshire village of Thriplow has a daffodil weekend and Country Fair. It’s a lovely place for a stroll on quieter days, too.
- Monday to Saturday, you can visit the village via bus 17 from near Shelford station, on the Cambridge – Liverpool Street railway line. Stroll up Shelford’s Hinton Way and turn right on Mingle Lane to find the Limes bus stop. Buses leave a few times per day, so plan ahead.
- Check out the Green Man, Thriplow’s friendly, community-owned pub. It’s a good spot for lunch or drinks (check opening times). It is jam-packed during the festival, but you can enjoy Morris dancing outside and plenty of food outlets dotted around the village.
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Castle Howard, Yorkshire
The gardens at Castle Howard become a carpet of yellow around Easter. Arrive by bus and you’ll get a discount on entry. There is usually a reduced-rate ticket in winter for the gardens only. There’s still plenty to see as the trees and flowers start to bloom again.
- To get to Castle Howard by bus, just follow Good Journey’s directions.
- Spring is a particularly magical time to visit these huge, landscaped grounds. Besides the flowers that brighten every corner of the gardens, there are buzzards wheeling over Ray Wood. Great crested grebes do water dances on the lake. The Castle Howard bus service, a few times per day from York, takes you to the castle gates.
- The Yorkshire Arboretum is nearby too, with plenty to see in spring, from carpets of wood anemones to woodpeckers drumming in the trees.
- For more car-free adventures nearby, see our guide to Malton.
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Caerphilly Castle, South Wales
Within easy walking distance of Caerphilly station, this castle was used as a major location for the hit BBC show Merlin. It’s a great place to see the national flower of Wales reflected in watery moats and lakes.
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Greenbank Garden, Glasgow
Nearly 600 different varieties of daffodil burst into life every spring at the National Trust’s Greenbank Garden in Glasgow. This eighteenth-century merchant’s house has an unusual walled garden surrounded by woods. It is famous for its daffodil collection.
- Scotrail lists Clarkston as the nearest station. But the garden is also half an hour’s walk from Whitecraigs: turn left off the main road down The Loaning and look out for a path on your left, just before house number 15.
- This will lead across Cathcart Castle Golf Course. From near the clubhouse, turn right into Mearns Road and left into Flenders Road to reach the garden.
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Love visiting gardens?
- You might also enjoy our guide to gardens to visit in early spring. This includes Waddeson Manor, where three-quarters-of-a-million daffodil bulbs have been planted across the estate…
- RHS Gardens offer a 30% discount to car-free visitors.
- The National Botanic Garden of Wales offers 50% off for car-free visitors.
- In Scotland’s Attadale Gardens you can find red squirrels, views of Skye and a quirky DIY cafe.
- Discover where to see snowdrops without a car.
