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Please check with garden owners or their website to confirm current dates open
(2010 dates) Castle & gardens: 29th Mar - 30th Sept; Daily except Mon (open BHs); 10.30am - 5pm. Entrance to castle by Guided Tour only at 12 noon and 4pm.
Gardens: As above, but also open during winter; every day; 10.30am - dusk.
Only by appointment
Spring
Rhododendrons (raised by head gardener) Myrtles, Embothrium, Eucryphia.
(2010 prices) Castle, gardens & gallery: Adults £7.45; Child £4; Over 60's £7.25. Gardens & gallery: Adults £4.95; Child £2.50; Over 60's £4.75. Reductions for groups of 20 or more, only if pre-booked. Gardens & gallery season tickets available.
Special Events: Spring & Autumn Plant Sales, Open Air Theatre Evenings and Garden lectures - see website.
Pembrokeshire coast.
The Woodland Gardens contain some of the oldest trees in Wales, interspersed with woodland shrubs from all over the world and sprinkled with wild flowers. Unique to Picton are the rhododendrons raised by their own head gardeners and many rare species of myrtles, embothrium and eucryphia. Other features include a maze, a fern walk and a re-landscaped dew-pond.
In the Walled Garden, the focal point is an elegant fountain , with the rose-strewn arches acting as a counterpoint. There are also beds of medicinal herbs, each labelled with their various remedies. A door leads through to a fernery with less hardy species of ferns.
The castle dates from the 13th century and has been continuously occupied by the Phipps family since the 15th century. It was re-modelled in the 1750's.