SHAKE OFF those winter blues and lift your spirits in a fresh spring garden.

From beds of colourful tulips to buds of delicate blossom, gardens at East Riddlesden Hall and some of our other Yorkshire properties are finally waking up.

The National Trust has selected some of the very best places for you to enjoy the delights of spring, with Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal near Ripon amongst the top 16 in the country.

Explore the ruins of the twelfth-century Fountains Abbey and spot dainty spring flowers breaking through this stunning landscape.

Look out for primroses and wood anemones and catch the scent of wild garlic in the woods around the abbey. Or explore the miles of footpaths and trails around this beautiful landscape.

Studley Royal Water Garden was a breathtaking vision of John Aislabie and his son William.

In the early 18th-century John Aislabie had great plans to impress visitors to his Yorkshire estate and so turned the wild and wooded valley of the river Skell into one of England’s most spectacular Georgian water gardens.

Inspired by the work of the great French landscape gardeners, father and son created the Water Garden with its formal, geometric design and extraordinary vistas; including the much photographed Temple of Piety.

You can also find classical statues, follies and garden buildings carefully positioned within the landscape to discover and enjoy.

In 1767 William Aislabie purchased the Abbey ruins to complete the garden and create the ultimate vista. The climax of the garden is known as “The Surprise View” or “Anne Boleyn’s Seat”.

Amazingly the garden you see today is little changed from the one that would have impressed Aislabie’s visitors 200 years ago.

When you reach the Abbey, you can step back in time and imagine what life would have been like for the monks who first came here all those years ago.

The dramatic abbey ruins at Fountains are the largest monastic ruins in the country. The Abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle.

From paths for buggies and wheelchairs to open parkland - around the massive estate we've got plenty of options for you to enjoy.

One of our favourites is the Boots, Gaiters and Vistas walk. Take in the fresh air and open views on this circular route around the estate and you can look over the valley to St Mary's Church and Ripon in the distance too.

Follow the Seven Bridges Valley route and spot traces of a garden from a lost time as you walk through what was once Aislabie's Chinese garden. It's an easy-going walk that'll take you over rustic bridges and through this secluded valley.

If you fancy a good leg stretch, you can walk to Fountains Abbey from Ripon - something that the very first monks who came here did when they founded the abbey.

You'll see the beautiful vista between St Mary's Church and Ripon Cathedral on a clear day when you reach the deer park at Studley Royal.