Thank you for being so dog friendly, made our day much more enjoyable being able to take our very well behaved 4 legged friend everywhere!

Such a fantastic place to have afternoon tea!!!

Nice place to visit. The house is interesting especially the ground floor with soecial woodwork and furniture. The first floor was hardly decorated at the time, but offers great views of the ornamental gardens. The have also an interesting old bath on the first floor.

The gardens self are nice to walk through. It must have been great at the time when the house was still occupied by the families owning the property. Unfortunately at the time of our vist, the water kevels were quite low in the lake, and therefire hardly any water was streaming though the garden trenches.

Beautiful gardens despite the very dry weather. Good food available in the cafe and gluten free catered for.

Our first visit to Hestercombe. It's been on our list to visit for ages. Very lovely staff at the entrance. Explained everything we needed to know. The gardens were lovely. Unfortunately it's been so dry that they are looking a bit parched. It didn't spoil our enjoyment though. Map is easy to read. Be aware that a lot of the trails are quite hilly and rough under foot so not suitable if you have mobility issues. There are however trails that are suitable for wheelchairs, pushchairs etc.
We didnt use the café as we brought our own food. The café is independently run.
All in all a lovely few hours wander.

Great space, wonderful views. Man and dog content in unison.

Wonderful experience

Shame about administration. Let's hope they survive intact. A piece of our heritage.

As part of a coach trip, I and several others from the Midlands visited Hestercombe Gardens for the morning during the August heatwave. I'd never heard of this place before but we'd been given a little background info on the coach that Hestercombe was previously used as the headquarters and control room for the Devon & Somerset Fire Service. Currently the house is 'in between' functions - we'd just missed an exhibition there - so the main attraction is the garden.

You're still allowed to walk around the property, which I did. There's a little bit on the history of Hestercombe on the ground floor but the most interesting parts were (funnily enough) the disused rooms above, as it's so rare you can walk around a grand residence in such a state of emptiness. Of course, I hope Hestercombe takes advantage of their great USPs in the months and years to come, but the transience of it all felt like an extravagant house viewing.

After leaving the house, I wandered around the grounds for a while. The recent heat has been harsh on gardens across the country, and as a result Hestercombe sadly did look a little dried out (as you can see from my photos). That being said, it was still a very peaceful walk - not many visitors around at all - and the views of the unspoilt Somerset countryside are top notch.

As it was so warm, I stopped by the restaurant for some refreshments before checking out the second-hand bookshop. There's a surprisingly extensive menu including brunches and light-bites, so I plumped for a savoury scone with cream cheese and a pot of tea. It's a shame the pancakes are brunch-only as they sounded delicious! Prices are similar to National Trust and it's all table service - professional with a smile - so as a lone diner I could sit back and relax for a while. The restaurant has a beautiful fountain in its centre and is covered just enough to not have direct sun overhead, so it felt much cooler than sitting outside.

I'd personally rather funding go into the house and gardens rather than generating trinkets so it hasn't affected my overall blob-rating, but the 'gift shop' was a tiny makeshift shelter hidden around the back with (mostly) plastic kids' toys that you could pay for in the bookshop. The bookshop is definitely worth a browse though, there's some excellent finds in there - I only went in for a browse and came out with an armful! The shop was kept at a lovely cool temperature too which was a bonus. The volunteer manning the tills was friendly and best of all, you can tell she loves books!

All in all - not sure if I'd have paid £17 to visit had I been alone, but as I was here due to a pre-planned holiday itinerary it was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. I look forward to hearing/seeing what Hestercombe do in future.

Ran out of time and energy to do the full gardens.
House needs conservation, must have been wonderful in it's day.
It was a great afternoon on our way home.

What a lovely place which has been rescued by the trust over a number of years . I read that it is no longer viable and is going into administration. Such a pity. I hope the NT or historic England steps in to save this place otherwise it'll probably become another hotel and spa

Just had a lovely lunch in the stables at Hestercombe . Absolutely delicious and good service. Beautiful place ❤

Hestercombe House and Gardens is a beautiful place to visit. The gardens are stunning, with small houses, lakes, and hidden paths through the woods. It was lovely to wander with friends before heading to the café for delicious food. The staff were very friendly, and I would highly recommend visiting.

This RHS partner garden and Historic house members had a lot going for it in the blurb. But it was a little bit of a let down. The house is currently not really worth looking at , there are plans for development but the last owners were the fire brigade and there is very little to see. The Gardens by Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jeykll should be mind blowing , and although there are good points they are looking a little sorry for themselves in parts. Wether this is down to the weather or neglect im not sure. There is a cafe and book shop on site and some lovely walks (somewhat hilly) but all in all it was a little bit of alot down

Grounds are nice to walk round. Cafe was disappointing.

Have been there previously and it was very good. But this time we were very disappointed. Apart from the landscaped garden everywhere else was in poor condition. I know the weather hasn't helped and the gardeners are on catch up but even so when you're paying £17 each for entry you'd expect a little bit more. The cafe was ok but unfortunately the cakes all had flies around them so we didn't bother. Shan't bother going again for a while. ☹️

Lovely place to visit,very interesting history. The house it's self has little furniture in but a lot of
very nice ceilings,floors,wood carvings & paintings. The garden are the creme de la creme of the place stunning like an enchanted garden beautiful. We did stay for Sunday lunch 2 adults 1 teenager & 1 10year old, the roast beef in a giant Yorkshire pudding was beautiful & the other meals were nice so would recommend to eat there,service was good too. All in all a really nice few hours out.

Nice place

A wonderful day out combining a hilly walk and stunning views

I love Hestercombe and now you can look in house. The gardens are glorious but simple, it's small enough for kids to explore all of it including all the beautiful follies dotted around the garden. The weather was too dry to see the cascade but the views from the Gothic Alcove and the Temple Arbour (pictured) are worth the hill!

We last visited here about 7 years ago and really enjoyed our visit. As we were staying in the area we decided to visit again but this time with our daughter. We had a lovely walk round & visited both the house, saw the jacuzzi, and the book shop. It was a shame the waterfall wasn’t flowing but I found a previous photo on my phone to remind us! A good days visit.

Hosted son's wedding here. Really lovely setting, food really good. Highly recommend.

A beautiful garden we'll worth a visit. The restaurant was excellent.

Lovely house and great gardens for a stroll! The views are excellent over the valley. The shaded woods walk is perfect for a hot summer day. There is an on site restaurant and book shop. There are also places to picnic in the shade.

Great place to visit