Open Garden Squares Week-end

Water lily at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

This week-end there's a great opportunity to visit many of the garden squares around London which are normally closed to the public. Open Garden Squares Week-end is the one time each year when many of these private gardens can be seen and it allows access to some fascinating places. It's not free but for £10 (or £7.50 if you booked in advance) you can spend the whole of Saturday and Sunday visiting dozens of squares and gardens, many of which are also laying on special activities such as live music and wine tasting. The gardens involved come in all shapes and sizes ranging from large Georgian Squares to small community and roof gardens and also include a few wildlife gardens and nature reserves (including the one at Devonshire Road where I took this photo). There are even opportunities to visit the gardens tended by inmates at Holloway and Wormwood Scrubs prisons although you need to book guided tours in advance for those.

There are 213 gardens participating this year and you couldn't possibly visit them all. Here's my suggestions for getting the most out of Open Gardens Squares Week-end, based on my experience in previous years:

• Focus on one or two areas where there are lots of gardens - Bloomsbury is a good bet as there are 19 gardens within close proximity. The website lists all the gardens participating and you can sort them by sector, borough, postcode etc.
• About half the gardens (e.g. Gordon Square) are open to the public at other times anyway so to get the best value from your ticket it is best to concentrate on those which are not normally open. There are large numbers of these in Marylebone, South Kensington and Notting Hill.
• The best way to get around quickly between the squares is by bike. The London Cycling Campaign is organising two rides visiting gardens in Westminster and Camden on Saturday and gardens in South London on Sunday. The Open Gardens Squares Week-end website also has details of two self-guided cycle routes taking in some of the open squares in East London.
• Take advantage of some of the special activities on offer such as exhibitions, guided tours, activities for children and live music. Full details of what's on where are on the website which also provides details of free guided walks around some of the squares (you have to book for some of these).
• Not all gardens are open at all times over both days so it's worth spending a little time in advance planning what to visit when. There is a host of information on the website including details of public transport and how close other nearby gardens are.
• Finally, have fun and enjoy the experience! If you don't get to see everything you want to this year, there will almost certainly be another opportunity this time next year.