Best Places to Visit in Northamptonshire
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in Northamptonshire are Salcey Forest, Coton Manor Gardens, Harper's Brook, Delapre Abbey and Castle Ashby Gardens.
Northamptonshire is quiet middle-England country of old woodland, grand gardens and country houses. The ancient royal hunting forest of Salcey, on the Buckinghamshire border, keeps its huge veteran oaks, some five hundred years old, along with waymarked trails and a treetop walkway.
Two grand gardens draw visitors: the topiary and formal ponds of Castle Ashby, still the home of the Marquess of Northampton, and the bluebell wood and deep borders of Coton Manor. On the edge of Northampton, the former nunnery of Delapre Abbey stands restored in its parkland, and out toward Wadenhoe the little Harper's Brook is used for a wild-swimming dip where it meets the Nene.
This is gentle, unhurried country of green lanes and honey-stone villages, and the grand gardens are at their finest in late spring and summer. Some are grand estates, others quiet corners.
Here are five places to visit across Northamptonshire.
Salcey Forest
Photo: Rosalind Mitchell via Geograph.org.uk
Salcey Forest is a large area of ancient woodland on the border of Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, near Northampton, an old royal hunting forest now looked after by Forestry England. Waymarked trails for walking, cycling and horse riding thread the woods, with an adventure play area, a cafe and a car park at the main entrance.
The forest is known for its veteran oaks, some believed to be five hundred years old, huge, gnarled trees called locally the druid oaks. It is rich in wildlife, from butterflies and dragonflies to woodland birds and deer.
Coton Manor Gardens
Photo: Andy F via Geograph.org.uk
Coton Manor Gardens spread over about ten acres around a seventeenth-century manor in Northamptonshire, laid out on several levels. The gardens are known for a bluebell wood that comes into its own in late spring, deep herbaceous borders and a group of flamingos kept on the water garden.
A specialist nursery next to the garden raises many of the plants on show. A cafe in the old stableyard rounds out a visit.
Harper's Brook
Photo: Michael Garlick via Geograph.org.uk
Harper's Brook is a small stream in Northamptonshire, a tributary of the River Nene, rising in the country near Desborough and winding east through Brigstock and a string of villages. Near its end, where it meets the Nene toward Wadenhoe, it is used as a wild-swimming spot, the narrow brook tumbling through glades before opening into the river.
It is an informal place with no facilities. Quiet farmland and old villages line its course.
Delapre Abbey
Photo: David Hallam-Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Delapre Abbey stands on the edge of Northampton, a former medieval nunnery later rebuilt into a country house. After years of restoration it opened to the public, with the house, a walled garden and formal gardens set in wide parkland with a lake.
It began as a Cluniac nunnery in the twelfth century before passing through many hands. A cafe and grounds walks round out a visit today.
Castle Ashby Gardens
Photo: Robin Stott via Geograph.org.uk
Castle Ashby Gardens surround a grand house in Northamptonshire that is still the home of the Marquess of Northampton. The Italian Gardens, laid out in the 1860s, hold clipped topiary, terracotta urns and a large formal pond, while an arboretum from the same years grows a broad collection of trees.
Capability Brown reshaped the wider parkland from 1761, turning old fishponds into lakes and setting out avenues. An orangery of 1872 and a small menagerie sit within the grounds.
FAQs
Which gardens are worth visiting in Northamptonshire?
Castle Ashby and Coton Manor are the two grand gardens to visit. Castle Ashby, still the home of the Marquess of Northampton, has Italian Gardens of topiary and formal ponds, an arboretum and Capability Brown parkland, while Coton Manor is known for its late-spring bluebell wood, deep borders and flamingos on the water garden, with a specialist nursery and cafe.
What is the best place for a woodland walk in Northamptonshire?
Salcey Forest is the best for a woodland walk, an ancient royal hunting forest on the Buckinghamshire border. It has waymarked trails for walking, cycling and riding, a treetop walkway, and huge veteran oaks up to five hundred years old, with a cafe and adventure play area at the main entrance.
Is Harper's Brook a good place to swim in Northamptonshire?
Harper's Brook is the place to swim, a small tributary of the Nene used as an informal wild-swimming spot near where it meets the river toward Wadenhoe. It tumbles through glades before opening into the Nene. There are no facilities, and quiet farmland and old villages line its course.
Conclusion
Northamptonshire keeps its best places in old woodland, grand gardens and country houses. The ancient royal forest of Salcey shelters its huge veteran oaks and its treetop trails on the Buckinghamshire border, while two grand gardens draw the eye: the topiary and formal ponds of Castle Ashby and the bluebell wood and deep borders of Coton Manor.
On the edge of Northampton, the former nunnery of Delapre Abbey stands restored in its parkland, and out toward Wadenhoe the little Harper's Brook offers a wild-swimming dip where it meets the Nene. From veteran oak to formal garden, these are the places to seek out across Northamptonshire.
