Ness Botanic Gardens, Ness, Neston, South Wirral, CH64 4AY

Tel: 0151 353 0123

This important botanical garden is owned by the University of Liverpool and offers something to see all year round, including the borrowed landscape of the Dee estuary, which is visible from the huge rockery garden which boasts a wide range of heathers in addition to many other plants. Rhododendrons and azaleas abound, and there are plants collected from the Himalayas and China, including the first Pieris floribunda to be grown in Britain.

Ness also has an arboretum, a water garden, and a special area dedicated to the history of the rose, showing the parents of our modern garden roses. A conservatory offers shelter, as does a cafe.

Opening times (2008/9):

1st Feb 08 - 31st Oct 08, 10.00-17.00

1st Nov 08 - 31 Jan 09, 10.00-16.30.

Closed: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years' Day

Admission fee (2008):

Adult £5.75; child 5-16: £2.75 (family ticket, 2 + 3, £15.00)