Ready to be whisked away on a luxurious countryside experience this summer? Board a train from London Paddington to The Newt...

Great Garden Escape: A First Class Adventure From London to Somerset

Planning a weekend getaway? Want to escape London for a day? Look no further as The Newt in Somerset has everything you could...

Editor picks: Things to do at The Newt in Somerset this season

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A British classic! Experience 50 acres of quintessential Somerset gardens, near Taunton. Spanning four centuries of garden design, Hestercombe Gardens offer a unique combination and varied experience of the Georgian Landscape Garden (designed 1750s), the Victorian Shrubbery, and the Edwardian Formal Gardens (early 1900s). A 17th century Water garden is currently being restored. 

Inside the house itself, Hestercombe Gallery brings art and landscape together, blending the heritage of garden design with contemporary works from artists and designers. Coupled with a restaurant offering ‘sparkling afternoon tea’ and a seasonal, garden-sourced lunch menu, Hestercombe is ideal for a few hours or a full day.

RHS Partner Garden: free entry between October and March

Hestercombe Gardens

Three centuries of gardens around a historic house.

Houghton Lodge Gardens has been described by recent visitors as ‘the jewel of the Test Valley’, and ‘A Stately Pleasure-Dome on the most romantic river in England’. 

The gardens are Grade II* listed, and surround the best surviving example in England of a “Cottage Orne, originally built as a fishing lodge with sweeping lawns and views over the River Test.   

There is a traditional kitchen garden with a heritage orchard of fruit trees, themed herb garden, a fragrant peony walk, rose arbour,  vegetable, iris, hosta, cutting flower beds and an orchid house.

The herbaceous borders have year long beauty, bursting with bulbs in spring, a tapestry of colour in summer, and beautiful dahlias to dazzle in autumn.  We have a small formal topiary garden and serpentine walk, and new to 2022  we have started to develop our oriental garden.   There are over 14 acres of meadow walks and parkland next to the river, where you can meet our resident alpacas, the little flock of Hebridean sheep and our Topiary dragon. 

Some people visit Houghton for its architecture, some for its literary connections with Jane Austen,  some for the films that have been made here, some for its gardens and others for the Honesty Tearoom; but everyone leaves with a sense of its ageless tranquillity and special magic.



Houghton Lodge Gardens

One of the finest examples of a Gothic Cottage Ornée situated in The Test Valley's most stunning garden.

Check out Kiftsgate Court Gardens, which has been conjured from the Cotswold hillside by not one, not two, but three generations of female gardeners. 

Set among endless picture-perfect views Kiftsgate Court Gardens contains gardens within gardens and each unfolds with its own distinct character. From the pretty perennial wild garden and many-hued double borders to the sleek lines of the water garden (which was a tennis court in a former life), visitors can’t help but fall for the charm of this place. For most, it’s the rose garden that clinches the deal. Home to the famous Kiftsgate rose, a beautifully scented climbing rose, which looks like a frothy waterfall tumbling down the trees it has smothered. 

If you can tear yourself away from the intoxicating scent of the rose beds, there’s also a tea room, serving up delicious homemade cakes, fresh salads, and traditional afternoon teas. 

Kiftsgate Court Gardens

Cotswolds hillside garden with stunning roses & spectacular views.

An intimate 3 acre award-winning cottage style garden and specialist plant nursery nestled in a secluded hidden valley in Cornwall. There are 26 identified beds and borders that are full of colour from early season to late autumn. It is a wonderfully peaceful place to sit and dream amongst the borders/beds set with herbaceous perennials, shrubs and grasses, and collections of Crocosmia, Agapanthus and Dahlias. There is a pond area with wildlife and bog planting, and a shady Fernery, also Japanese and Mediterranean areas and Iris Bed.

Hidden Valley Gardens

Incredible floral displays in a sheltered Cornish valley.

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An extraordinary space at the heart of the capital. 17th Century apothecaries established Chelsea Physic Garden, and their work is continued today in its living collection of around 5,000 plants that have changed the world. 

Tucked away beside the Thames in one of London’s smartest boroughs, the Chelsea Physic Garden is a retreat from the buzz of the city. Within its sheltered walls, rare and unusual plants flourish: walkthrough shaded avenues and admire the gardens of edible, herbal and medicinal plants, colourful floral displays from the Atlantic islands and woodland and wilderness areas. Don’t miss the historical collections in the 100-year-old glasshouses. 

The Physic Garden Café serves up breakfast and lunch using British produce that you can enjoy while admiring the gardens. The garden shop is a real treat for horticultural goodies and gifts. And a whole host of events runs all year, from workshops to family activities. 

Chelsea Physic Garden

A peaceful leafy oasis with heritage glasshouses.

Logie Estate is in the beautiful Findhorn Valley near the town of Forres. Like many estates, Logie Estate is a multi-faceted business involving farming, forestry, housing, commercial premises, tourism and recreation. Logie Estate offers opportunities for salmon fishing on the River Findhorn or enjoy a walk by the river or a stroll through Logie House Gardens.

Logie House Gardens

- A riverside woodland garden with its own microclimate.
- Book **[day tickets](/GB/places/6cd9f9c1b9ed8123ff7df4ec3d0069fa/tickets)** or buy an **[annual membership](/GB/places/6cd9f9c1b9ed8123ff7df4ec3d0069fa/tickets)** with Candide.

Dating back to 1759, Helmsley Walled Garden lies within the North York Moors next to Helmsley Castle. It was the Kitchen Garden for Duncombe Park, until World War 1. Many garden staff were killed in the fighting and the world had changed forever for those who came back. The Duncombe family moved away from the estate and the garden became a commercial market garden until the early 1980s.

Restoration began in 1994: Alison Ticehurst, a practice nurse in nearby Ampleforth, aimed to create a beautiful garden for visitors to enjoy alongside providing a therapeutic space for disadvantaged people. Today volunteers who need support are ‘buddied up’ with a trained volunteer who works with them and helps them to gain confidence and develop their skills.

The garden continues to develop and mature; new additions include an Iris border, a Peony Garden and a complete overhaul of the Garden of Nature, showcasing British native plants. The Clematis Garden is flourishing and The Physic Garden is full of the medicinal herbs used by medieval monks to provide remedies for the poor and needy.

The Kitchen Garden provides produce for The Vine House Café and staff work with chef Mollie Chapman to grow to order. Our staff and volunteers are always happy to chat to visitors about what we are doing and the work of the garden in general.

So come and enjoy a day at Helmsley Walled Garden and stroll through beautiful displays of flowers, fruit and vegetables. Enjoy the Clematis Garden or take time out to sit in the Orchard or the Garden of Contemplation. Relax over lunch at The Vine House Café beneath Victorian vines, or browse for gifts and plants in our Garden Shop and Plant Centre. The garden, shop and café are fully accessible and dogs are welcome on leads.

Helmsley Walled Garden

- A wonderfully varied community walled garden.
- Book **[day tickets](/GB/places/4a33aa4448ace3bdde9d0a3b9530eef2/tickets)** or buy **[annual and life memberships](/GB/places/4a33aa4448ace3bdde9d0a3b9530eef2/tickets)** with Candide.

Woods, orchards, and cultivated gardens are nurtured using age-old skills at The Newt in Somerset. Close to artistic Bruton, this large working estate immerses visitors in the tranquillity of nature. 

The world-class gardens at The Newt cleverly evoke different historic eras. Explore the Cottage Garden for a glimpse of Gertrude Jekyll’s famous landscaping style, and see the flowers that scented 19th century gardens in the Victorian area. The Cascade is a contemporary twist on traditional water features, and the Colour Gardens feature hellebores, astrantias and anemones inspired by garden designer Penelope Hobhouse. Her family home was The Newt’s Georgian manor Hadspen House – now a luxurious hotel. 

Once you’ve taken in the gardens and explored the woodland walkways, you can refuel at The Garden Café. Or, at the Cyder Press, sample the cider made from the estate’s 3,000 apple trees, perhaps enjoying a guided tour of the cellar and apple pressing demonstrations. 

Make sure to activate your Garden Membership on Candide, and return to The Newt as often as you like over the next 12 months.

Accessibility Information
All gardens areas are accessible to wheelchairs and strollers, though via indirect routes – often up thick lawns, steep gradients, uneven ground and gravelled pathways. For longer distances transport is available for those requiring assistance.


The Newt in Somerset

Magnificent estate with productive gardens, museum and parkland.

A meandering and richly planted open garden on the east coast of Scotland. Cambo Estate offers amazing variety, from the alliums, lilacs and roses in its walled garden to one of the UK’s most impressive collections of snowdrops. 

One of the most interesting features of the Georgian walled garden is the burn – a gently flowing stream - that runs through it down to the sea. Start with a view of the whole garden by the twisted weeping willow, then wander past herbaceous borders packed with late-season naturalistic and prairie-style plants. In the winter, don’t miss the surrounding woodland, home to birch trees and 350 types of snowdrop.

Children will love playing in the Lost Elf Village or spying on each other through the spider hole. And those in need of a good cuppa can drop into the café. There are exciting plans for a contemporary cutting garden, though you can also buy plants in the stables. 

Go on a tour of the gardens with Lady Catherine Erksine, who has lived at Cambo House since 1976. Learn about its history as well as its quirkier features, and which parts of the garden really come to life at different points in the year.  

Cambo Gardens

Richly planted walled garden set in a large estate.

Old Cape gardens situated along the water sources in Stellenbosch were once a common feature in Stellenbosch. These gardens, with bountiful fruit orchards, vegetable patches, and paths, have now mostly been replaced by office and apartment blocks and parking lots, or their gardens modernised. Camido is one of the last remaining Old Cape gardens.

Johnman Music Centre & Garden

Historic Old Cape gardens with charming millstream.

The Gardens are the pride and joy of the Laird’s mother, Clare Russell, and the Head Gardener, Kevin Clarke. Although not blessed with the most ideal of climates to produce reliably horticultural firework displays, the Gardens have been planned to make the most of the soil and the landscape throughout the year!

Today the visitor enters the Gardens by passing the 18th Century Doo’cot (or dovecote) and soon discovers that there are, in fact, three distinct gardens waiting to be explored. Beyond the large lawn extending from the front of the Castle lies the Rockery, climbing up from the lower slopes of the valley of the River Avon, and affording fine views of the Castle itself. Adjacent to, and enclosed on three sides by the Castle, sits the Courtyard Garden, classically formal and hauntingly romantic. North of the Castle a laburnum arch and tree-lined avenue leads to the magnificent Walled Garden, redesigned in 1996 to celebrate the Castle’s 450th anniversary, and a profusion of colour and perfume all year round.

From the riot of daffodils in Spring to the Autumn roses, with the herbaceous border through the summer, there is plenty to see around the Castle all through the year. All three gardens offer a cornucopia of flora and fauna. Red Squirrels darting here and there between the magnificent trees; roe deer grazing along the banks of the River Avon.

Ballindalloch Castle & Gardens

This beautifully eclectic garden is full of hidden surprises, nestled on the banks of the River Avon.

Explore the 16th century house and the classically designed gardens with long borders, trees, and lakes. There's also a diverse range of birdlife including red kites, kingfishers, black swans, and little grebes.

Deene Park

Elegant country manor and estate with tea room.

Fife’s Backhouse Rossie Estate is an RHS partner garden and for good reason. Just seeing the national collection of delicate daffodils housed here, (known as the Narcissus Backhouse cultivars) is worth a visit alone, but visitors are also dazzled by the magnificent scented rose archway, said to be the longest in Scotland.

A garden for all the seasons, the summer months see herbaceous borders and colourful perennials vying for attention while the towering Champion Trees and woodland walk offer up an enticing pallet of autumnal colours. Within the carefully restored walled garden, you’ll also find a medieval-style grass labyrinth decorated with alliums, the serene waters of a formal pond and lovingly renovated orchards. The estate is also packed with a host of small surprises, from a lovely Fern Walk and shade border to a children’s Bear Walk to keep the little ones happy.

For those looking for activities beyond the garden, there is a 9-hole putting golf course for families. The Garden Café serves up delicious home-cooked food grown on-site, which goes perfectly with the estate’s freshly-pressed apple juice. If you're looking for a floral momento, just swing by the Backhouse Shop, which sells fresh flowers from the gardens and more. 

Backhouse Rossie Estate

A cleverly curated estate with extensive gardens and cafe.

Moggerhanger Park is a heritage site promoting and celebrating its historic assets created by Humphry Repton and Sir John Soane. Within its walled garden and open grounds, many plant species and veteran trees can be found, enough to enthral any keen horticulturalists or garden enthusiast! The park also offers its very own woodland walk, tea rooms, a museum as well as a plant and book shop located within the grounds. The mansion house is open to the public for guided tours throughout the year and is a popular day destination for conferences, educational seminars, celebrations, boasting its own 21 ensuite bedroom boutique B&B.



Moggerhanger Park

A Grade I listed Georgian house nestled in a Humphry Repton designed garden and woodland.

Upon entering the grounds of Blenheim Palace, it’s easy to see why the likes of Harry Potter, Spectre 007 and many other blockbusters have been filmed here. The lavish UNESCO world heritage site is home to award-winning formal gardens, swoon-worthy vistas and one of Britain’s grandest houses. 

Dubbed 'the finest view in England' by Winston Churchill's father, the showstopper is the vast lake and beautiful Vanburgh Bridge set in 2100 acres of naturalistic parkland designed by ‘Capability’ Brown. With its links to Churchill, history buffs will find plenty here to intrigue. But it’s not just the colourful history that draws people to this idyllic corner of Oxfordshire.

A delight in all seasons, the grounds play host to open-air cinema during the summer months, while the Christmas period sees the palace and gardens lit up for the annual illuminated light trail. Whether you’ve come to marvel at the opulent Baroque architecture, seek out the serenity of the secret garden, bury your nose in the rose garden or enjoy the views from the water terraces, Blenheim Palace is sure to be an unforgettable day out.  

Blenheim Palace

- Magnificent country house and vast estate with formal gardens.
- Book **[Palace, Park & Garden tickets](/GB/places/4a33aa4448ace3bdde9d0a3b950e0b86/tickets)** for a free upgrade to annual membership. 
- Book **[Park & Garden tickets](/GB/places/4a33aa4448ace3bdde9d0a3b950e0b86/tickets) **for a great value single day pass (excl. Palace entry).

Considered one of the finest gardens in East Anglia since the mid 17th century, the gardens at Somerleyton continue to delight.

Set in 12 acres, the garden is gradually being re-imagined as a series of interconnected 'rooms'. The gardens include magnificent trees, Victorian architecture and glasshouses, walled gardens, a rose garden, shrubberies planted with rare and unusual plants, exotica, a working kitchen and cut flower garden. Visitors will also enjoy exploring the Yew Hedge maze, which was planted in 1846.

Somerleyton  Hall Gardens

One of the finest Victorian Stately homes and gardens in the wilds of East Anglia.

The gardens at Belmont include a kitchen garden that was originally designed by Lady Arabella Lennox-Boyd and has Victorian greenhouses, along with figs, hops, soft fruits, and traditional apple and pear varieties. The walled garden contains a pond and is adjacent to the pinetum complete with grotto. Tours of the garden are also available.

Belmont House

A large parkland estate with walled & kitchen gardens.

Kathy Brown’s Manor House Gardens at Stevington, just north of Bedford provides a garden destination with a very personal touch. Designed and cared for by Kathy and her husband Simon, over the last 30 years, this is a modern country 4.5 acre garden. Blossoms and bulbs are a treat in spring with white tree peonies and later beds of intersectional peonies a special delight. The wisteria and laburnum arches in mid May are beautifully underplanted with a sea of alliums, spires of foxgloves and generous groups of poppies. Roses clothe the house walls from May to July with many others covering the pergolas and romping through the trees. By then the wild meadows are rich with pollinators supping the scabious, knapweeds etc. The late flowering clematis begin to take centre stage with dreamy naturalistic gardens combining dainty grasses and colourful echinacea. This is a special time with art gardens based on Monet, Rothko, Matisse, Hepworth and Hokusai. The main borders exude colour with a raft of dahlias. Through August and September the orchard becomes rich with plums, apples and pears. Elsewhere topiary scenes provide special interest and there are major container displays including succulents and mossy kokedamas.
This is a wonderful destination for all afternoon tea lovers. Depending on the timing, Kathy’s cakes are flavoured with rose petals or elderflower or marigolds or lavender all growing in the surrounding flower borders. Tea is normally taken on the lawn, but if weather is windy or wet, then tea is served in her beautiful dining room and conservatory.
A small shop offers Stevington Garden cards, and Kathy’s cake recipe cards, china mugs, and her gardening books including ‘Edible Flower’£7 and ‘Painting with Nature’, a fantastic guide regarding the Manor House Garden £5.
Voted as the Regional Winner in the East among the Nation’s Favourite Top Gardens in a competition involving the National Garden Scheme and The English Garden Magazine.

Kathy Brown's Garden

A colourful and textured garden crafted with devotion.

The largest rainforest in captivity – and much more. Soaring biomes housing enormous collections of tropical and Mediterranean plants are surrounded by contemporary gardens. The Eden Project in Cornwall is an educational charity that connects people with each other and the living world, exploring how we can all work towards a better future - it's truly an inspiring day out.

From clay pit to paradise, the Eden Project is a world-famous feat of ambition, ingenuity and engineering. Explore rare and exotic tropical plants as you wander along canopy walkways in the steamy Rainforest biome, aka the largest greenhouse in the world. Embark on a journey through the landscapes of the world’s temperate regions – from South Africa to California to Australia – in the Mediterranean Biome. And there are plenty of activities for kids too including outdoor play spaces and trails.

Bear in mind that while dogs are welcome in the grounds, they are not allowed into the Biomes. Beyond the plant life, you can tuck into organic seasonal and/or local dishes at the cafés. 

Eden Project

A magical and unique experience - one of the best gardens in the world.

Our tranquil Walled Garden dates back to 1717 and is one of the earliest examples of Heated Walls in the Country. The Georgian bed design is planted full of flowers loved by pollinators over the summer months. Within the walls is also our herb garden, dedicated to our two famous naturalists John Ray and Francis Willughby and our working Smithy. Our gardens also contain a heritage orchard and a short lakeside walk through seasonal displays of snowdrops, daffodils, and bluebells.

Visitors are also welcome to explore our Historic Hall, lovingly restored by Volunteers with the oldest building dating back to 1285 and hidden behind our beautiful Tudor Barn can relax in The Courtyard with a popular coffee shop and a selection of small independent retailers and businesses. Throughout the year we hold a whole host of events, from history and Garden tours to family activities.  

Middleton Hall & Gardens

With a history spanning almost 1000 years, this Grade ll* listed hidden gem is set within 42 acres of the peaceful North Warwickshire countryside.

Pentillie Castle was built by Sir James Tillie in 1698, sitting beautifully in a 1,500 private family estate on the Cornish banks of the River Tamar. The garden walls are said to be some of the oldest in the UK, featuring landscape by the renowned Humphrey Repton and influence by Lewis Kennedy in the American Gardens. 

Sheltering a huge variety of shrubs, trees (including a collection from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh), the gardens stretch over the 55 acres surrounding the historic Castle. From snowdrops in February to berries that adorn the woodland trees throughout the winter, the gardens have a show of colour almost all year round. They are not heavily manicured, by contrast, the woodland flowers are left to go to seed and the undergrowth left wild for the resident hedgehogs, and birds to live in harmony. Trainers or boots are recommended for these garden paths. You will be tempted to explore the many wandering paths past old ruins, ponds, up and down huge stone staircases, and via the remains of old summer houses.

As a woodland shrub garden, Pentillie’s gardens are usually open to the public on specific days in spring, when the flowers are at their finest. However, access to the garden’s year round is available through our 'Friends of Pentillie' membership scheme and forms part of any stay, afternoon tea visit or event booking. You can see how you would like to explore and enjoy Pentillie, and details of our garden open days by visiting www.pentillie.co.uk/whats-on.

Pentillie Castle & Estate

This 5-star estate is considered one of the jewels of the River Tamar 

Got a thing for walled gardens? Nestled between the glistening River Spey and the rugged Moray Coast, Gordon Castle Walled Garden is one of the oldest, largest and arguably one of the loveliest kitchen gardens in Britain.

Thanks to a sensitive restoration back in 2012, this vast space bustles with the sight of gardeners digging, sowing and harvesting – much like they did in 1803 when the garden’s present form was created. Not that you’d ever be able to tell the place had fallen into disrepair from the abundance of carefully trained produce and flourishing borders. Everything grown here is put to good use, whether it’s essential oils from the herb garden, cafe veggies from the supersized allotment or the fragrant cut flowers that decorate the cafe, holiday cottages and castle. 

The seamless transition from 19th-century private kitchen garden to the gem of an attraction it is today is down to renowned designers Arne Maynard and Craig Hamilton and head plantsmith Ed Bollom. The great thing about the grid-like layout – aside from being pleasing on the eye – is that it’s easy to loop around and make sure you haven’t missed anything. Very important when there’s this much horticultural flair on display. 

Gordon Castle Walled Garden

- A historic walled garden - the perfect Kitchen Garden inspiration.
- Book **[day tickets](/GB/places/4a33aa4448ace3bdde9d0a3b952f9f9b/tickets)** or buy an **[annual membership](/GB/places/4a33aa4448ace3bdde9d0a3b952f9f9b/tickets)** with Candide.

Historic house and charming English estate with beautiful gardens.

Chawton House

Large traditional English estate with beautiful gardens.

A three acre garden surrounding a family home; a former Northamptonshire Rectory.  With nods to its ecclesiastical past, the garden intertwines the historical perspective of a Georgian garden with a modern aesthetic, creating a space that is peaceful and inspiring in equal measure.  

Formal and informal areas combine through a series of garden rooms that seamlessly blend, with areas dedicated to supporting wildlife, creating a hub for outdoor family living, for reflection and contemplation and growing organic produce.  The garden was designed in 2014 by Anoushka Feiler, who won Homes & Gardens magazine "Best Design" award for her design of the garden.

The garden opens two days per year under the National Garden Scheme and on selected afternoons over the summer months.  Additionally, the garden hosts various cultural and wellbeing events on a regular basis.

Quinton Old Rectory Garden

A tranquil and thoughtfully-designed private garden.

On a sheltered plot near Leominster in Herefordshire, you’ll find Stockton Bury Gardens, a quintessential English country garden, which regularly graces the ‘must visit UK garden’ lists compiled by papers. And for good reason. 

A beautiful old building cloaked in wisteria greets visitors, who can stroll (or skip) under archways made of flowers and down hedge-lined pathways leading to beautifully planted borders. 

The four-acre garden is also home to a medieval pigeon house, tranquil water gardens and an original Victorian Garden Kitchen, which supplies the cafe with fresh, zero air-mile fruit and veggies. Children are sure to be mesmerised by the Monkey Puzzle Tree, while the dappled shade of the orchard provides welcome relief on sunnier days.

Created by keen plantsmen Raymond Treasure and Gordon Fenn, Stockton Bury has been in the Treasure family for five generations and much of the garden was pasture until the pair transformed it into this well-acclaimed garden that is now about 35 years old. 

If you’re curious about the history of the garden, feel free to stop by the museum before you leave. Though we’d make sure to steal our last glimpses of the garden from the Pavilion, a tranquil spot to take in picturesque views of the rolling countryside. 

Stockton Bury Gardens

Critically-acclaimed quintessential English garden.

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