I

f you've got the feeling that time is racing by a little too quickly, then an afternoon in Hidcote Manor Garden should do the trick.

Tucked away at the end of a lane on the edge of the Cotswold hills, the Arts and Crafts-style garden is divided up into little 'rooms' surrounding a cute manor house, where you can shut yourself away with a book and forget about the outside world for a few hours.

It was built by the American horticulturist Major Lawrence Johnston, with the help of no less than 12 full-time gardeners, and it's pretty easy to see why he needed the extra pairs of hands.

The great thing about this place is that you can pick whichever little 'compartment' of the garden matches your mood; there are ponds and fountains, brightly-coloured flowerbeds, views across rolling, sheep-filled meadows and elaborately-sculpted hedgerows.

Whatever takes your fancy really...