Shropshire

Best British Days Out (The Times, June 2007)

SECRET GARDEN @ Hawkstone Park Follies
Striking scenes and terrifick grandeur": that's how Samuel Johnson described Hawkstone Park when he visited in 1774. The gardens remain striking and terrific today, a Dungeons & Dragons fantasia of crags and caves, soaked in woodland and adorned with dark labyrinths, precipitous bridges and creepy tunnels. Mystery and adventure for kids ancient and modern - it's what people did for kicks before joysticks. 10am-4pm daily in summer; £6 (children £4); 01939 200611, www.hawkstone.co.uk