Travel

The best royal grounds to visit away from the crowds on the Jubilee weekend


Take a walk on the wild side for the Platinum Jubilee weekend (Picture: Richard Lea-Hair / Vladislav Zolotov / Getty Images / David Nixon / Alamy Stock Photo)

If you feel like celebrating the Jubilee away from the crowds, then why not head over to some royal grounds for a day?

You can’t get much more regal than chilling in Hampton Court Palace, or more historical than marveling at the flowery moat surrounding the Tower of London.

So here is a round up of the best royal grounds that will allow you to avoid the jubilee crowds, all courtesy of Her Majesty.

The Tower of London’s Superbloom

The moat has never looked so jubilant (Picture: Richard Lea-Hair / leahairphotography@mte.com)

To celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, the Tower of London is transforming its moat into a giant flower bed throughout this summer.

Twenty-nine plant species, from marigolds in June to August’s sunflowers, will bloom around cast-glass forms of national emblems and wicker sculptures.

Younger visitors can enter via the massive, four-lane Superbloom slide, with willow-lined plants then weaving through the greenery. Expect to see many a bee in addition to those ravens.

Make a trip of it: Overnight packages with Superbloom and B&B at a hotel — either the nearby Leonardo Royal or the Strand Palace — start at £89pp.

Hampton Court Palace

A garden like no other (Picture: Vladislav Zolotov / Getty Images)

Summer’s superb at Hampton Court Palace, set within a meander of the Thames on west London’s fringes.

Not only are exotic plants blooming but The Great Vine — Earth’s largest, planted in 1768 — will have its plump black dessert grapes almost ready to be sold in the palace shop. You’ll find descendants of Henry VIII’s deer herd and the world’s oldest-surviving hedge maze.

Commissioned in about 1700, it should technically take 20 minutes to conquer — but you might just want to allow an hour.

Make a trip of it: Next door, the luxurious but informal Mitre has a riverside Whispering Angel rosé bar. Stay from £240 with B&B, including palace tickets and £45pp off dinner.

Hillsborough Castle

Or have an Irish weekend at Hillsborough Castle (Picture: David Nixon / Alamy Stock Photo)

Fifteen miles south of Belfast, the Queen’s Northern Irish residence contains 100 acres of gardens (entry from £10).

Developed in the 1800s alongside the adjacent Georgian country house, these range from waterside woodlands to ornamental shrubberies and afford quiet even on summer Saturdays.

Highlights include a pinetum and lime-tree avenues, while an interactive play trail awaits youngsters. Arrive early, stay quiet and you might spy a kingfisher by the lake.

Make a trip of it: In Belfast’s Theatre District, the Harrison Chambers of Distinction is a boutique hotel fashioned from Victorian residences. Stay from £100, B&B.

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