Shepton Snowdrop Festival has launched the new Great Snowdrop Gardens Trail of Somerset, linking the town with some of the most iconic snowdrop gardens in the county.

The Festival has grown in popularity in recent years, attracting visitors from across the UK and overseas. With regular requests for the best snowdrop spots, organisers have created a trail that highlights Somerset's most spectacular early spring gardens.

Abigail Willis, author of Secret Gardens of Somerset, has backed the trail. "February is often such a bleak time of year so thank goodness for galanthus! How fabulous to be able to get out into some of Somerset's most iconic gardens and celebrate the magical charm of snowdrops," she said.

Festival organisers hope visitors from further afield will explore the trail, stay longer in the area, and enjoy all that Somerset has to offer. The team has also partnered with Classic Cottages, which provides holiday accommodation across the county.

Gardens featured on the trail include:

• Yeo Valley Organic Garden, which opens specially for the Festival with thousands of snowdrops across six acres of bold contemporary planting.
• The Bishops Palace in Wells, where the Snowdrop Walk leads visitors through landscaped grounds alongside the moat and arboretum.
• Hestercombe Gardens, where 50,000 snowdrops in Rook Wood now create a vast seasonal display.
• East Lambrook Manor, the Grade I listed garden created by plantswoman and snowdrop lover Margery Fish, famed for its green-marked and double snowdrops.
• Forde Abbey, with drifts of snowdrops growing under lime trees in a setting that also features camelias, fountains and topiary-lined walks.
• Dunster Castle's riverside gardens, where snowdrops emerge early in the wooded valley.
• Snowdrop Valley near Weddon Cross in Exmoor National Park, a hidden woodland now carpeted with wild snowdrops.

Kilver Court in Shepton Mallet, a sponsor of the Festival, also opens its historic winter garden to visitors during the event.

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