In pictures: Spring in full swing at north Shropshire manor gardens now open to the public

After being closed for the winter, the green-fingererd team behind Hodnet Hall's 63-acre garden had been working hard to prepare for the return of visitors last month.

Now, spring has sprung and visitors are flocking back to the vibrant grounds to marvel at magnolias and revel among the roses.

The gardens, in some form or another, have existed at Hodnet Hall near Market Drayton for many hundreds of years. 

Today the long history weaves throughout the garden, taking visitors on a tour through time from the remains of a Norman castle, past a 17th century tithe barn and a Tudor stable block and around a daisy chain of pools - largely constructed by members of an army regiment in the 1920s. 

Having never been sold, the historic home and the surrounding 63 acres have remained in the Heber-Percy family for centuries.