Lovely formal gardens with different garden levels and different planting. Nice woodland walk around the estate up to the Georgian landscape garden lots of different buildings to see there are some steep slopes up there.
There is a lovely cafe back by reception to have something to eat, the scones were delicious but the cream tea with 2 scones come with tea for 1 not 2 people
Spent over four hours walking through the gardens and paths. Map does tell you which paths are easy or steep. On the steeper routes you get some really good view points. Seats dotted around to take a break.The scent from the roses was lovely. We had been advised that a wedding was taking place in the Orangery so it would be off limits for a while. Not a lot in the house . Staff friendly in the cafe. Enjoyed our pasties. Would recommend it to anyone who likes gardens formal and informal.
lovely gardens, both formal and woodland, with lots of meandering paths and a choice of sun and shade.
Very dog friendly with plenty of water bowls.
Excellent restaurant and food, equally good cafe.
A really great full day out.
Such a beautiful place, worth every penny to visit. Lovely walks within gardens. Great customer service. Totally recommend!
It was wet and windy. Still we had a lovely time. Afternoon tea was a bit cake heavy, scones we're really nice. Would have preferred a bit more savory but that's personal choice. We also went for a walk. Got the last 16 minutes in the bee education centre which was fun. Even for us adults. Event in the wet and the rain it was a lovely walk. Even fed the ducks up close and personal
Lovely gardens and walks around the estate. Dogs welcome on short leads. You can buy food to feed the fish and ducks (20p per bag). However, the swan likes the food too, so just be aware of their presence.
Terrain is hilly in places but it's all on a gravel /woodland path, however, not all paths are wheelchair/pushchair friendly.
Plenty of options to eat and prices are reasonable. We didn't go into the house so can't comment on that.
Adequate parking but from what I could see there were no charging points. There is a place to buy plants conveniently located by the car park.
I attended a wedding there, it is a lovely venue with beautiful grounds.
Catering was excellent.
We had a very enjoyable day.
The Victorian gardens are lovely.
Review- Garden only: There are two parts to Hestercombe, a woodland walk to the North and the formal gardens attached to the house. The woodland walk follows the stream and the 4 lakes and is just over a mile round trip. There is plenty to see, a waterfall and numerous temples and monuments etc. I noticed on the way around that with the ducks and swans children seemed to really enjoy this walk.
Attached to the house there are Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian gardens. From the South side you look down onto the main garden which has a great sense of scale. This garden is flanked by two water gardens and a beautiful pergola at the bottom. The Dutch garden is an absolute gem, super soft cool colours. All staff and gardeners are wonderfully polite and welcoming, the service at the Stables restaurant is impeccable and they serve the best lamb burger I have ever tasted.
Put Hestercombe on your list of visits, these gardens really are lovely, easily five stars.
Lovely place to visit, beautiful gardens and a lovely calming way to relax amongst the wonderful trees and many shrubs . It is dog friendly and we had a lovely coffee and cake in the café.
This venue is a bit of a gem! Hidden in the countryside and not well signposted (thanks to Google maps, we navigated to it!) Large grounds (50 acres) easily explored by gravel paths set in beautiful woodlands. With numerous covered seating points to allow visitors to rest and enjoy a view at different vantage points. It felt all a bit like Stourhead but smaller and less cultivated (no bad thing). Very nice café and exceedingly welcoming staff. A very pleasant day out. (Dog friendly too)
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