O UT & ABO UT I N TH E U KCraving some culture this season? Whether you’re into flowers or films, antiques or architecture, it’s all on your doorstepWords CHARLOTTE BROOK

FLOWER PICKINGOn any Sunday morning during high summer, pitch up at Manor Garden Flowers and pick your own bouquet. This idyllic Victorian walled garden is located near the River Tees in County Durham and was founded by husband-and-wife duo Clarey and Barney Wrightson as a cutting garden and florist that champions British blooms. ‘Twenty-five years ago, almost all vases were filled with flowers from Britain, whereas shockingly, now over 90 per cent of bouquet flowers are flown in from abroad,’ says Clarey. The blooms – ranging from glamorous peonies to cow parsley or big branches of foliage – are sold by the stem. Tea, tisanes and cakes made by a local charity will also be on offer, with all profits being donated to local refugee mentoring projects (17 July–28 August, free entry; manorgarden.co.uk).

N O R T HDig into the gardens of plenty in the British isles’ cooler counties

SCOTTISH GARDENSWe expect keen horticulturalists (and hardened urbanites in search of peace and quiet) will be forming an orderly queue for a weekend’s stay in the former Head Gardener’s House at Floors Castle (above and below) by the River Tweed, which has been refurbished and is now taking bookings. Take a turn round the 18th century, William Adam-designed castle by day and, when the garden gates close after visiting hours, cottage guests have the exclusive run of the four-acre walled green space for exploring (from £650 per week; crabtreeandcrabtree.com).Use the cottage as your base for the East Lothian Garden Trail, which looks set to live up to its tagline of ‘12 glorious gardens: one wonderful week’. Highlights include the rose garden at Blackdykes, fruit trees and sculpture at Bowerhouse and 18th century manse Fairnielaw House’s contrastingly contemporary landscaping (18 June –2 July; scotlandsgardens.org).

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BREADMAKING CLASSSatisfy the need to knead by booking a masterclass at Bread Ahead in London’s Borough Market, a Slow Food-approved venture run by loaf enthusiasts. This month’s highlights include introductions to French baking on 15 July and making sourdough on 18 July (breadahead.com).

S O U T HFrom breadmaking classes to loafing around an Arts and Crafts house and garden: get a slice of the action down south

NEW FLOWER MARKETThe famous New Covent Garden Flower Market has moved to a shiny new home in south London – 57 acres of floor space houses fruit, vegetables and fresh flowers. Set your alarm early to get there during trading hours (4am–10am) and be hit by the heady scent of thousands of just-picked blooms on the ground floor Flower Hall. It’s chilly – air conditioning is set at 14C to keep foliage fresh – so wear a jacket. Pick up an armful of wholesale-priced anemones or a single sunflower before stopping for breakfast at the smart and decisively cosier new café (newcoventgardenmarket.com).

OPEN ARTISTS’ STUDIOSClusters of craftspeople in town and country throw open their studio doors in the summer. In the city, there’s south London’s Brockley Open Studios – we like artist Carla Pengilly’s prints, made using watercolours and pressed in an old Victorian mangle, and Corinne Tournay’s seascapes (1–3 July; brockleyopenstudios.co.uk). If you don’t fancy the trip into London, hundreds of makers and artists are involved in Hampshire Open Studios this summer, including landscape painter Alison Orchard (Wild and Gentle, above) and the Wessex Sculptors collective (19–28 August; hampshireopenstudios.org.uk).

STAY AT A VINEYARDOn Sussex’s rolling South Downs lies Rathfinny, a vineyard planted in 2012 complete with a state-of-the-art, RIBA Award-nominated winery. Go now for a whistlestop tour of the blossoming vines – including a tasting – and stop for a night in the beautifully converted Flint Barns. Dogs are welcome and Ade, the estate cook, will make up excellent packed lunches for £7.95 per picnicker. Try a glass of Rathfinny’s current wine, ‘Cradle Valley’ – a beautiful home-grown Pinot Gris – accompanied with a view of the English Channel (double rooms from £95 per night; rathfinnyestate.com).

ARTS & CRAFTS REVIVALWhen architect Philip Webb’s Standen House in Sussex was completed in 1894 for the Beale family, he turned to his close friend William Morris (with whom he co-founded fabric and wallpaper brand Morris & Co) to decorate it. Much of this Arts and Crafts interior has been preserved by the National Trust – and now the garden has also been restored to its former glory. See the new rosery and kitchen garden, plus an exhibition telling the full story of the grounds’ revival (‘Standen Revived: Mrs Beale’s Global Garden’ exhibition until 3 September; nationaltrust.org.uk).

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EUROPEAN EATERIESThere’s no need to head to the continent for a taste of the Mediterranean. Book dinner at one of these three new brasseries serving creative takes on the well-loved cuisine

3 Dandy, Newington Green Shelves lined with natural wines and spider plants frame convivial long wooden tables at which diners sit to enjoy the seasonal plates – spring greens with salsa verde, oats and sesame or garlicky clams – followed by espresso and amaretti biscuits (dandycafe.co.uk).

2 Sparrow, Lewisham This small but perfectly formed diner is pared back (bright lighting, white walls and chairs rescued from a church refurbishment) but the fare (harissa and pork, ice cream affogato and Spanish wine Hidalgo Pedro Ximenez to finish) sounds heavenly (sparrowlondon.co.uk).

1 Perilla, Stoke Newington The menu, which kicks off with seaweed bread and ends with blood orange and olive oil custard, is offset by the bare plaster walls, handmade tables, fiddle leaf fig trees and original terrazzo flooring, overseen by Red Deer architects (perilladining.co.uk).

AUCTION ROOM SALESLocal auction rooms populate most interior design insiders’ secret address books with good reason – you can pick up iconic pieces for a song and enjoy all the excitement of live bidding. Look online for your local dealer – most have weekly sales, such as Diss Auction Rooms in Norfolk, which this month alone is holding a sale of Architectural Salvage and Statuary (1 July) and Modern Design (8 July; twgaze.co.uk).

EXPLORING BRITAINWant to know what it’s like to pick sea lavender from the salt marshes of East Anglia, or discover the secrets of the world’s longest pleasure pier in Southend-on-Sea? Illustrator Alice Stevenson spent two years straying off the beaten track around Britain to produce Ways to See Great Britain: Curious Places and Surprising Perspectives (September Publishing, £12.99) – a guerilla guide to weird and wonderful UK adventures. It charts unusual ways to travel the country, focusing on a particular element for each place: from the mode of transport to the architecture.

E A S T Secret British hotspots, bargain hunting and watching movies under the summer stars

FILMS AL FRESCOCatch an open air film this summer. The Luna Cinema pops up from June to September in some of the best settings all across the UK. We recommend the sublime Dirty Dancing screening at Jacobean jewel Audley End House (below), made all the more appealing by the architectural splendour of the 17th-century mansion and its beautiful countryside views. If you’re elsewhere in Britain though, there are plenty more venues to choose from – try Jaws at Brockwell Lido or La La Land at Hampton Court Palace (for dates and tickets, visit thelunacinema.com).

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WEST: Sign of the Angel, Lacock Otherwise known as the Babberton Arms in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, this Tudor tavern in the Wiltshire village offers sustenance to walkers following the trail through Snaylesmeade valley (signoftheangel.co.uk).

PIT STOP PUBS Perfect to refuel after a long walk

NORTH: The Fleece, Addingham For a good old fashioned day in the Dales, ramble along the River Wharf to finish in Addingham for a Yorkshire lamb shepherd’s pie or a crab salad at this beautiful and historic watering hole (fleeceinnaddingham.co.uk).

SOUTH: The Crown Inn, Amersham The Chiltern hills are fabulously accessible for a windy walk. Have lunch at The Crown, the Elizabethan coaching inn designed by Ilse Crawford that miraculously fuses Scandi and Tudor styles (thecrownamersham.com).

EAST: Barsham Arms, East Barsham Norfolk’s White Horse Inn has reopened as The Barsham Arms, which makes a perfect pit stop along the River Stiffkey. Its lunch menu includes a hearty roast chicken and handmade pumpkin ravioli (thebarshamarms.co.uk).

W E S TGo west for an exclusive tea trail, a gardening workshop and some one-off pieces at an antique treasure trove

TEA MASTERCLASSWorking tea plantation Tregothnan in Cornwall has been home to the green-fingered Boscawen family since 1334. A masterclass on 4 July (£235) gives you the rare chance to explore this plantation, which has supplied England’s first and only tea since 2005. You can buy the brews – which include Assam and Darjeeling as well as infusions such as Manuka leaf – from its website. Although Tregothnan is a private estate, you can also arrange a personal tour (£65) to see the largest historical garden in the county, or book a one-day gardening workshop (£145; 25 July and 5 September), which includes tips on planting, pruning and growing perennials (tregothnan.co.uk).

SALVAGE FAIRBilling itself as ‘the original architectural salvage fair’, Salvo takes place this month in Henley-on-Thames. A ten-acre treasure trove awaits anyone interested in antiques – you can pick up rare and unique items such as postboxes and church pews. This year, the fair’s theme is Green Living. To celebrate, Salvo is offering a weekend pass that includes a two-course lunch at ethical restaurant Silo, a pop-up styled by vintage furniture house Metroretro (23–25 June, from £9 for a day ticket; salvofair.com). PI

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