The best places to see snowdrops in the UK | House & Garden

Galanthus x hybridus ‘Robin Hood’ at Thenford Arboretum

Nothing heralds the end of winter – perhaps ironically, given its name – quite like the snowdrop. Bursting from the muddy soil, they have an almost otherworldly delicacy that has inspired generations of galanthophiles to obsess over them. Often found in graveyards and abbey ruins, they were once planted by Norman monks as a symbol of purity and the cleansing of the earth. It is best practice to buy them ‘in the green’, when they are in leaf, not when the bulbs are dormant.

Come February, our island is liberally scattered with their pearl-like blooms, so we’ve scoured the length of the country for the very best places to see them and buy them, from Enfield to Fife via the Midlands, Gloucestershire and further afield.

The Cambo Estate in Fife, Scotland holds the National Collection of snowdrops, boasting over 350 different varieties. You can visit the gardens by booking tickets in advance: tickets for the 2024 SnowDrop Festival cost £7.60 for adults (free for children), and the gardens are open daily. They also sell snowdrops in the green, either in single pots or in bulk. If snowdrops alone are not enough to tempt you, Cambo also has a trusty team of pigs who rootle up the ivy which would otherwise threaten the snowdrops. Their piglets are born to coincide with snowdrop days!

cambogardens.org.uk

Each year when this beautiful garden reopens, they put on a week of ‘Heralding Spring events’, this year running from Sunday 21 — Sunday 28 January. Follow a trail around the site to discover many unusual varieties of snowdrops and other early spring flowers, as well as a plant sale where you can pick up hellebores, irises and of course, snowdrops. Tickets cost £10.50 per adult.

c