cherry

TRAVEL

‘Stunning’ UK beauty spot with vast cherry blossoms is ‘like walking through Japan’

Mar 16, 2026 Travel Desk

A London beauty spot is being praised as ‘pretty’ and ‘stunning’ while drawing comparisons to Japan thanks to the abundance of cherry blossom trees that are starting to bloom there

Jess Flaherty Senior News Reporter

15:59, 16 Mar 2026Updated 15:59, 16 Mar 2026

A “stunning” beauty spot has been branded “special” and “pretty” for offering visitors a taste of Japan, all without leaving the UK.

With spring now in full swing, countless nature enthusiasts are eager to embrace the kaleidoscope of colours emerging as flora and fauna transform with the changing seasons. The bare branches and dormant plants of winter are quickly changing and bursting into bloom.

Cherry blossoms are a highly sought-after sight, strongly linked with regions of Japan. Referred to as Sakura in the East Asian country, blossom trees are the most widespread tree throughout the country, with many tourists timing their Japanese holidays around the cherry blossom forecast.

However, those unable to jet off across the globe in pursuit of picturesque pink petals are in luck, as one corner of London features an impressive display of cherry blossom trees.

Rita Farhi, a digital content creator who focuses on “noticing quiet magic in everyday life” in “London and beyond”, shared a video on Instagram showcasing a “hidden cherry blossom spot” in leafy northwest London.

In the caption alongside the footage, Rita wrote: “London has a few hidden cherry blossom spots… and this little path near Swiss Cottage is one of the prettiest.

“For a few weeks every spring it turns completely pink and feels like walking through Japan. It’s already starting to bloom this year. If you love cherry blossom walks, this one is worth saving for the next sunny afternoon.”

She added: “Have you seen it yet? Swiss Cottage, London. Spring in London never stays long… which makes these little moments feel even more special.”

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In the comments section, Rita provided further detail about her video and explained: “Filmed a few springs ago. The blossoms often start pink and turn paler as they open.”

Felloe social media users were quick to share their thoughts. One person commented: “So pretty”.

Another wrote: “What a beaut!” A third said: “So beautiful” while a fourth agreed: “Stunning”.

Someone else enquired: “This is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing. Where in Swiss Cottage is this?”

Rita replied: “Very close to the tube station”.

Another Instagram user shared: “I saw it yesterday and it’s so beautiful”. While another added: “How beautiful! Love this area”.

For those hoping to spot cherry blossoms across the UK, the Natural History Museum explains: “Most of the common cherry trees planted in the UK blossom in April. Mild winters can result in the trees flowering earlier, sometimes in March, but in cooler years they might not do so until May.

“In London, and other particularly warm and sheltered locations, cherry trees can sometimes burst into flower as early as February.”

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TRAVEL

10 of the best places to see cherry blossom across the UK for free this spring

Mar 13, 2026 Travel Desk

AS SPRING emerges, your Instagram feed will soon look like a sea of pink as people head off to find cherry trees blossoming – and the UK has some great free spots to see them.

Known as ‘hanami’, the tradition of seeing cherry blossoms is a centuries-old Japanese custom.

There are a number of places you can see blossom trees for free across the UKCredit: AFP

Taking place in the spring, the tradition celebrates the blossoms which symbolise new beginnings, mortality and the beauty of life.

While the UK doesn’t have anywhere near as many blossom trees as Japan does, there are several locations across the UK where you can catch them blooming for free – here’s some of the best.

Battersea Park, London

In South West London, head to Battersea Park and you will find a long run of cherry blossom trees on Cherry Tree Avenue.

If heading to the park, make sure to enjoy a wander next to the River Thames whilst seeing the 40 blossom trees.

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The trees are the pale pink Yoshino variety that are usually found on the hills of Nara – they grow to about 3.6 to 4.2metres tall.

The park is also home to a Peace Pagoda which you can see, as well as a couple of popular cafes.

Keele University

Keele University campus is open year round to visitors, with free parking at the weekends.

Cherry blossoms are scattered across the campus, but you can download a map of where they are from the university’s website.

Flowering cherry trees have been at the university since the 1940s and in total, there are around 300 trees of 240 species and varieties.

This makes it one of the largest blossom collections in Europe.

Cathays Park, Wales

In Cardiff, head to Cathays Park and find the Welsh National War Memorial in Alexandra Gardens.

Here you will find flourishing cherry blossom trees that usually bloom in late March to early April.

The trees surround the war memorial and are pink and white blossoms.

There are also some other flower beds, with tulips, to see.

For example, Greenwich Park in London has a row of blossom trees on either side of a pathCredit: Getty

To make the most of your time in the park, there are several benches nearby ideal for enjoying coffee whilst seeing the blossoms.

Greenwich Park, London

Greenwich Park is a lovely day out anytime of the year, with the Observatory and the Planetarium.

But during the spring months, near the Ranger’s House and Rose Garden, you will find a path of cherry trees.

There are even benches underneath the trees so you can sit and enjoy them.

The Stray in Harrogate has around 200 blossoming cherry treesCredit: Getty

The Stray, Harrogate

In Harrogate, make sure to visit the Stray – 200 acres of parkland near the town centre.

Long lines of pink cherry blossom bloom in late March to early April, often with daffodils underneath them.

Around 200 cherry trees were planted back in 1953 in the park to commemorate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

People even have wedding celebrations under the blossom…

Windsor Great Park

In Windsor, head to The Savill and Valley Gardens to see a collection of Japanese cherry trees.

The gardens sprawl over 250 acres and you will also be able to spot magnolia trees in full bloom.

Whilst in Windsor Great Park, make sure to stroll past the Heather Gardens as well.

If you are in central London, you can see several blossoming trees at St Paul’s CathedralCredit: AFP

St Paul’s Cathedral, London

Working in the city? Well, during your lunch break head down to St Paul’s Cathedral, where you will see a number of cherry trees.

They are scattered throughout the churchyard and make the ideal scenic foreground for a shot of the iconic London landmark.

If you haven’t visited St Paul’s before, you could tie in seeing the blossom with a day trip to the cathedral.

Sun Travel Reporter recently visited and has shared a full rundown of what it is like.

The Meadows, Scotland

The Meadows is a large public park south of Edinburgh‘s UNESCO World Heritage Old Town.

The park is even protected by an Act of Parliament, that was created in 1827.

During the spring, there are avenues of cherry trees.

They are known to bloom a little later than other places, usually starting to bloom in April.

In Edinburgh, The Meadows has an avenue of cherry treesCredit: Getty

Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline

Up in Dunfermline, Scotland, head to Pittencrieff Park and walk along the path near the main entrance to enjoy a row of cherry trees that line the path.

The cherry trees usually blossom here in late April and whilst you are exploring the park, make sure to look out for its resident peacocks and the Andrew Carnegie statue.

Nearby, you can also visit Dunfermline Abbey and Palace.

Castle Park, Bristol

Castle Park in Bristol is an open space between the city’s Shopping Quarter and the Floating Harbour.

In addition to ruins in the park, visitors will be able to find different cherry trees.

One spot is the cherry avenue, with 21 trees.

And the other spot is a singular, white Japanese Cherry Tree that was planted in 2014 to mark the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima.

This type of cherry tree had actually died out completely in Japan, but was saved when a single specimen of the tree was found in England in 1923.

Paid-for spots to see cherry blossom in the UK

  • Kew Gardens, London – has a dedicated cherry walk and Sounds of Blossom festival
  • Alnwick Garden, Northumberland – home to the world’s largest orchard of Taihaku (Great White) cherry trees
  • Batsford Arboretum, Cotswolds – over 120 Japanese flowering cherry trees
  • RHS Wisley Garden, Surrey – an avenue of 140 Yoshino cherry trees

For more things to do this spring, here’s a huge list of 100 free family days out in the UK – from concerts to kids festivals.

Plus, free things to do across the UK this month including huge parades, story festivals and rugby screenings.

There are a number of paid-for places you can opt to visit as wellCredit: AFP

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TRAVEL

Spain’s very own sakura: cherry blossom season in the Jerte valley | Spain holidays

Feb 28, 2026 Travel Desk

It’s late March and the villagers of the Jerte valley in Extremadura, Spain’s wild west, are twitchy – as if they’re hosting a party and wondering if all the guests will show up. The event they’re waiting for is the flowering of the valley’s cherry trees, which number about two million. So far, only a handful – a variety called Royal Tioga – have dared to don their frilly spring frocks. The rest are still clutching their drab grey winter garb.

Predicting the arrival of blossom is always tricky, but thanks to an unseasonably wet March the trees are three weeks late when I visit. With snow still cloaking the surrounding sierras, the tourist office in Cabezuela del Valle, halfway up the valley, is hastily finding alternative activities for the coachloads of blossom-seekers from Madrid. As with any nature-reliant activity, such as whale watching or aurora hunting, timing is challenging. But unlike hit-and-miss spectacles involving wild animals, at least I know the blossoming will happen eventually. (Sadly wildfires later affected parts of the Jerte valley last summer, but thankfully few cherry trees were affected.)

Cherry trees growing on terraces in the Jerte valley. Photograph: M Ramirez/Alamy

The nation most associated with cherry blossom is, of course, Japan. There, the sakura, or ornamental cherry blossom tree, has for centuries symbolised the transient nature of life, and for a few weeks in springtime, its delicate pink confetti blossom sprinkles streets and temple gardens. Millions join hanami, or flower viewings across the country.

Spain’s display is different. This is a rural spectacle rather than a mostly urban one – and has the big advantage, for me at least, of being a lot closer to the UK. I’ve travelled by train from my Devon village and I’m also hoping the journey might be as fun as the destination.

It is. There’s the sunrise over a milky River Teign as we glide through Teignmouth, and by teatime I’m in Paris, eating a glossy coffee religieuse – doubledecker eclairs that look like nuns in habits – on a sunlit boulevard. A dawn start the next day takes me, via TGV, along the French Riviera, past palm-fringed resorts, onwards to Barcelona and finally to Plasencia, in Extremadura. It’s 11pm, yet the Plaza Mayor in its historic walled heart still echoes to the chatter of animated locals digging into raciones of Iberian ham and paprika-flecked grilled octopus.

Next morning, I ascend the valley to the peaceful village of Jerte and its hospedería – one of Extremadura’s network of hotels which, like the national paradores network, are all housed in restored historic buildings. The squat white-washed building was once a leather-tanning factory, but later became an oil press. My room looks out on the vocal River Jerte, and beyond to hillsides crisscrossed with terraces planted with cherry trees. At least I have a ringside seat as their buds strain to unfurl.

A mural at one of the growers’ co‑operatives. Photograph: Clare Hargreaves

I join the collective waiting game, passing the hours by roaming Jerte’s cobbled streets beneath the geranium-draped balconies of its half-timbered houses. One afternoon I tackle the rugged mountain trail taken by Holy Roman emperor and King of Spain Carlos V to reach the monastery he chose for his retirement in 1556. The poor emperor was so riddled with gout he had to be carried on a sedan chair over the mountains and across a vigorous river at a point now marked by a stone bridge known as the Puente Nuevo. My circuit culminates in the high drama of Los Pilones, a jumble of granite boulders that have been eroded and bleached by the river to form crystalline bowl-shaped pools.

Back in Jerte there are cherry products to sample – from liqueurs to jams and bottled fruit. In the hospedería, a knockout cherry and pistachio dessert rounds off the regional tasting menu – remarkable value at €45. In summer, local people marry cherries with tomatoes to make a variation on gazpacho. Edible cherries, of course, are the big difference between the Jerte and Japan: Japan’s trees are ornamental, whereas the Jerte’s are fruiters, and the main source of income for the valley’s inhabitants. Had I time to linger another couple of months, I could witness the area’s second annual spectacle – trees laden with the lipstick-red fruit. That calls for more festivities so, from a tourism point of view, Jerte has two bites at the cherry.

At the processing factory down the valley towards Plasencia, I see white-coated workers cleaning the machinery, ready to wash, grade and pack Jerte’s cherries from late May to late July. “This is family agriculture,” says Mónica Tierno Díaz, who directs a collective of 15 local cherry farming cooperatives. “Cherries are our way of life. Picking them is how I learned to count as a kid. Most growers in the valley have just a few hectares and pick the cherries by hand into chestnut wooden baskets. But marketing and selling their fruit is difficult. So we do that for them, our key markets being Britain and Germany.”

Alongside commercial varieties, such as Lapins and Van, Jerte produces a small stalkless one called Picota, which is unique to the region and has protected designation of origin certification. Pop into your local supermarket in June and you may well spot these tiny, slightly crunchy jewels. “Many people got used to black gobstopper cherries, so getting them to buy these smaller, paler cherries was a challenge,” says Mónica. “But once people taste them and realise how sweet they are, they’re hooked.”

The River Jerte runs through Cabezuela del Valle. Photograph: Maria Galan/Alamy

Next morning, I drive down the valley to the hillside village of El Torno and witness a Jerte transformed; it’s as if snow has silently fallen during the night. The trees have finally put on their floral finery, the party has begun. I explore the orchards on foot – the best way to experience them – following one of the valley’s many well-marked footpaths, and settle beneath the blossom-laden trees for a hanami picnic, Spanish-style. I’m grateful for my early start, for I’m soon joined by a boisterous crowd of blossom-baggers who have followed one of the tourist office’s cherry-viewing driving routes and are now posing for the ultimate floral selfie. As well as El Torno, the 50km motoring circuit takes in neighbouring Rebollar and villages such as Valdastillas, Piornal and Cabrero on the other side of the valley, while the equally spectacular 30km linear route traces the main road down the valley.

With each passing day, the blossom edges up the valley like a frothy white wave, finally reaching the village of Tornavacas at the top. Donning my walking boots again, I head there from Jerte along the Ruta Cerezo en Flor (the cherry blossom trail), and from its mirador (viewpoint), I gaze at the sea of blossom below. (Incidentally, if you tire of blossom-gaping, the tourist office runs a two-week Cherry Blossom festival – part of a six-week spring festival – with an ambitious lineup of events across the valley’s villages, from folk dancing to concerts and exhibitions; 27 March-11 April.) Returning to my hotel in Jerte, I notice the streets and bars are buzzing. Time, I think, for a celebratory tot of the local cherry liqueur.

I’m sad to leave this magical valley. But as I journey home, I console myself that in a few months I’ll hopefully be savouring Jerte’s Picotas at home, a sweet, equally fleeting reminder of Spain’s very own sakura.

The trip was provided by the Extremadura tourist board and the Spanish tourist office in London. The Hospedería Valle del Jerte has doubles from around €135 B&B. Travel was provided by Rail Europe; an Interrail Global pass starts from €318 for five days travel over a month for adults

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