Wakehurst Place
Located in Haywards Heath, Wakehurst is the country estate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. There are 465 acres to explore on a series of delightful footpaths. The walk will take you to beautiful botanic gardens, woodland, lakes, formal gardens, an Elizabethan house and the Kew Millennium Seed Bank - the largest seed conservation project in the world. The aim of the Millennium Seed Bank is to collect seeds from all of the UK's native flora and conserve seeds from 25% of the world's flora by 2020, in the hope that this will save species from extinction in the wild.
Wakehurst was the National Trust's most visited property in 2008-2009 (for which admission was charged), with 439,627 visitors. A visit will soon show you why with so many attractions. Highlights include the Southern Hemisphere Garden with 16 beds exhibiting plants from South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The delightful Water Garden is another major attraction with ponds, streams and a variety of water-based garden features.
There are many super options if you wish to continue your walk. The High Weald Landscape Trail runs past the edge of the estate so can picked up quite easily. Ardingly Reservoir is right next to Wakehurst and has a lovely waterside walking path to follow.