GARDEN lovers living and visiting Worcestershire in May will have a chance to see a beautiful landscaped park usually kept under lock and key.

Hewell Grange, in Tardebigge, is an 18th century park, including a lake, landscaped by Capability Brown and modified in 1812 by Humphrey Repton – considered to be the last of the great English landscape designers.

It is also the home to HMP Hewell and will be opening for two days as part of the National Garden Scheme (NGS).

Visitors can expect to see bluebells, the lake and Repton Bridge, a formal garden, water tower, rock garden and mature woodland.

Hewell Grange is open on May 5 and 6 from 9.30am to 4pm and all visitors must book in advance by emailing roy.jones01@hmps.gsi.gov.uk before arrival.

Anyone who arrives on spec will not be admitted.

Also opening as part of the scheme will be the two-acre garden at White Cottage at Stocks Green, near Inkberrow.

It is opening from 11am to 4.30pm on May 6, 27 and 28.

The garden offers magnificent spring colour courtesy of hundreds of snakes head fritillaries, a scenic woodland and herbaceous borders.

The owners of Oak Tree House, Marlbrook in Bromsgrove - Di and David Morgan (also the Worcestershire NGS county organiser) – will be offering visitors some musical entertainment when they visit on Saturday, May 12.

The garden is open from 5pm to 9pm and the Catshill Methodist Church choir and the Catshill Methodist Men’s choir will be performing in the early part of the evening.

For more information, visit ngs.org.uk.