This is the best park to see cherry blossom in London (Picture: Getty Images)
Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes the cherry blossoms.
The delicate pale pink petals are typically associated with Japan, where the iconic festival dedicated to them attracts millions of tourists each April.
But in a disappointing turn of events, the festivities have been cancelled this year after authorities said the surge in tourists looking to photograph the cherry blossoms would be unmanageable for locals.
Residents in the town of Fujiyoshida, near Mount Fuji, where the blossoms can be seen with the UNESCO mountain in the background, see about 10,000 tourists daily in in sakura season.
Locals have reported incidents of these tourists littering, trespassing, and even defecating in private gardens, while their presence also creates a lot of traffic.
‘To protect the dignity and living environment of our citizens, we have decided to bring the curtain down on the 10-year-old festival,’ Fujiyoshida mayor Shigeru Horiuchi announced.
Where can I see the cherry blossoms in London?
Don’t despair though, because it’s possible to catch a glimpse of these wonderful flowers across the UK, too.
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The cherry blossoms in Japan are a major draw for tourists (Picture: Getty Images)
Greenwich Park has long been hailed as one of the best places in London to see cherry blossom, so catch a train to South London to take advantage of the beautiful displays along Blackheath Avenue.
Commenters on TripAdvisor have left glowing reviews, with one user sharing: ‘Beautiful skies and sakura tunnel. Great for picnics. Greenwich typically blooms a bit later than other areas like Regent’s Park.’
On TikTok, another said: ‘Spring in London is pure magic and nothing captures the season better than cherry blossoms in full bloom. Greenwich Park – go inside via Charlton Way or just google Ranger’s House to find this cherry blossom lane.’
Be warned though, this area of the park can get extremely busy – one Redditor claimed it was ‘besieged morning, noon and night by Instagrammers’.
Elsewhere in the capital, there are plenty of places to get your cherry blossom fix, with five in particular proving popular with nature lovers:
St Paul’s Cathedral: Find a small number of trees in St Paul’s Churchyard and take a picture of the branches framing the iconic dome.
Kew Gardens: The Rose Garden at the back of Palm House is home to a row of vibrant cherry blossom trees.
Regent’s Park: Avenue Gardens is the perfect spot for a romantic stroll thanks to the pretty cherry blossom trees.
St James’ Park: There’s a smattering of cherry blossom trees spread out throughout the park, making this a great location for a long walk on a sunny day.
Crouch End: Cecile Park is a road lined with cherry blossom trees, and it’s sure to make visitors envious of its lucky residents.
Kew Gardens is another spot worth a visit (Picture: Getty Images)
That’s not all though. Across the UK, a number of parks and neighbourhoods have become renowned for their pretty cherry blossoms.
The trees tend to bloom around April here (a little later than in Japan), so if you’re lucky enough to live nearby to one of these spots, make sure you catch them while you can.
Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire
Explore the gardens at Doddington Hall (Picture: Getty Images)
Thanks to a wide array of varieties, it looks as though the blossoms on this estate just outside Lincoln will last to the Easter holidays.
It’s the perfect spot to keep the kids busy while they’re off, with entry to the Elizabethan manor house gardens priced from £9.50, along with a restaurant and cafes.
The Stray, Yorkshire
The trees were planted over 70 years ago (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
If you love cherry blossoms, head to The Stray in Harrogate, where you’ll find avenues lined with 100 double-flowering cherry blossom trees planted in 1953 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation.
It’s considered one of the best sakura-spotting spots in the country, with an array of varieties planted across its 200 acres of parkland. Even better, they sometimes flower alongside daffodils and crocuses, making for a picture-perfect display.
National Botanic Garden of Wales, Carmarthenshire
You can also spot the red flowers and leaves of the downy Japanese maple (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The Japanese garden here – created in 2001 for the Chelsea Flower Show by Professor Masao Fukuhara – is a real standout, and has been improved over the years with a further 100 cherry trees in an orchard next door.
Adult admission to the Botanic Garden is priced from £16.85, while kids tickets cost from £8.65 and under-twos go free.
Ightham Mote, Kent
There are acres of woodland to explore (Picture: Getty Images)
As well as 14 acres of tranquil garden, pleasure grounds, orchard, water features, lakes and woodland, Ightham Mote features a romantic manor house, cafes, and shops.
The eastern terrace is the best place for cherry blossoms, but you can spot them dotted throughout the estate all for an entry fee of £8 for adults and £4 for children over the age of five.
Dyffryn Gardens, Wales
Be at one with nature (Picture: Getty Images)
There’s plenty to explore here, from the arboretum with its 22 acres of woodland (and sakura) to the themed gardens, reflecting different countries and styles, and glasshouse filled with exotic plants.
Speaking to Country Living, Chris Flynn, head gardener at Dyffryn, said that thanks to the warm, wet weather of this year, ‘the apricots with their soft pink blossom are already out’ – so it’s worth going sooner rather than later.
Dudmaston, Shropshire
There’s loads to do here (Picture: Getty Images)
Cherry trees and Japanese acers are among the beautiful plants on display at Dudmaston’s American Garden.
The terraced garden also boasts outdoor sculptures by artists Anthony Twentyman and Antony Robinson, while the woodland Dingle is a picturesque haven of bridges and stepping stones crossing the brook.
If you do venture indoors, you can see artworks by Hepworth, Moore and Matisse, or grab a bite at the Orchard Tea-room. Admission is priced from £11 for adults.
Keele University, Staffordshire
Take a walk down Cherry Tree Walk at Keele (Picture: Getty Images)
Keele University’s arboretum has over 240 different varieties of flowering cherry tree – a whopping 300 in total – which have been planted since the 1940s.
Designated a National Plant Collection, not only is the arboretum free to visit, it even offers a downloadable map of the different cherry trees and their flowering season.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh
There’s no shortage of blossom (Picture: Getty Images)
The Sakura Brae at the Royal Botanic Gardens is starting to blossom now, with the Yoshino cherry trees proving the star of the show.
The avenue of sakura was created in 2021 as part of the late Queen’s Green Canopy initiative, with students from a local school planting the fragrant variety, which RBGE’s arboriculture supervisor William Hinchliffe said was ‘not only one of the most beautiful Japanese cherries but also one of the most reliably floriferous in Edinburgh.’
Dunham Massey, Cheshire
At the National Trust’s Dunham Massey, Blackthorn blossoms – flowering trees not unlike the cherry – are beginning to emerge.
Better still, the blooms are set against a 300-acre medieval deer park, a 17th century house and mill (both open to visitors from March to October) and gardens galore.
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