Parks & Gardens

At Beaumont-le-Hareng, near Bellencombre, you will find Les Jardins de Bellevue, a 6 hectare park facing La Forêt d'Eawy. This park possesses several gardens featuring hardy plants based on the theme of an arboretum, and holds the national collection of Himalayan blue poppies (flowering May to July), and the national collection of oriental Christmas roses (flowering January to April). There is also a beautiful collection of hydrangeas (flowering August to October).

At Grigneuseville are les Jardins Agapanthe; agapanthus is also known as the "awakening of the senses". An original creation combining mineral and vegetable takes you on a botanical journey of appealing contrasts. Guided tours are available.

Near Neufchâtel-en-Bray, at Massy, is the Parc de Sculptures et Labyrinthe Végétal Artmazia-Massy, which contains the world's longest planted maze - in excess of 3 kilometres - plus 3,700 beech trees covering 2 hectares of parkland dotted with ponds. There is a magnificent view over "the Buttonhole" of the Pays de Bray. Also to be seen are an orchard of traditional Norman high-stemmed apple trees, an antique cider press, and various agricultural items. A Garden of Art contains contemporary sculptures by Geoff Troll and other European artists and craftsmen.

Not far from Saint Saëns, near the village of Ventes-Saint-Rémy in the National Forêt d'Eawy, is Le Jardin du Roi de Rome, with its arboretum containing 27 species of trees (with explanatory signs).

Also near Saint Saëns, at Montérolier, is Le Jardin du Mesnil, a colourful garden with rhododendrons, Japanese maples and hydrangeas bringing the place alive with the colours of the changing seasons.

Near Gournay-en Bray and La Feuillie, at the hamlet of La Hallotière is Parc Paysager, a place for quiet reflection and rest, with sweet perfumes in the air, you will be able to admire almost 40 varieties of holly from America, Asia and Europe as well as a newly-set up arboretum. Here you will also find picnic tables, table tennis and a pétanque pitch to detain you before your walk around the park.

Also near Gournay-en Bray and La Feuillie, at Bosc Lyons, is Les Jardins des Artistes. Dedicated to artists, these gardens were designed to promote Brayon knowledge. It is here, at the heart of the region, that the owners have created a Japanese garden in a shimmering green and colourful environment , which includes 200 varieties of rose, the most rare as well as the latest creations.

Not far away from the region are Les Jardins de Bois-Guilbert , a 7 hectare park which is in a state of perpetual evolution and can best be described as a hymn to nature. In this vast, poetic space, art, history and nature mix and mingle. As you walk around you will encounter in their green spaces many monumental bronze sculptures, as well as others fashioned in cement, resin, etc. Educational demonstrations on the themes of art, history and nature frequently take place. Guided tours are available.