Amazing grounds and building, especially the formal gardens with the views. The trails through the rest of the grounds are relaxing and peaceful.

We were given year passes to the garden as Christmas presents & have been many times, this time we were able to access Hestercombe House which was lovely where inside is still "work in progress". The cafe has lots of very nice food, a little expensive, but on a nice day we usually take a picnic. Every time we visit we find different areas of interest with in the gardens as changing season bring an abundance of colour & scent from a fantastic range of plants,trees & flowering fauna. The waterfalls are wonderful & the sound of running water whilst having some quiet time is very tranquil. We will return again & again & again.

Lovely views, lovely walks through different landscaped gardens, things for children to do ,along with a shop and restaurant.

A wonderful garden restoration which has resulted in some beautiful formal gardens and grounds being restored to their former glories, excellent shop, garden shop, restaurant and large second hand book shop

Well laid out gardens, the parkland part I must say lacked somewhat in colour as the blooms had all gone and there appeared to be no succession to follow. Also the great cascade alas resembled a mere piddle of a waterfall. The formal part triumphs here, great terracing and hoards of colour all softened by small plants growing between the paving and from walls. I liked the water features as well. Moving on to the house, here there is a lot of untapped potential for the site, its early days yet but the house needs to be utilized properly. Liked the cafeteria and enjoyed our soup and rolls. Well worth a visit for formal garden lovers.

We were on our way home from holiday in Devon and stopped off here for tea-and-cake-and-shopping. The cafe offers some very good food to be enjoyed inside or in the courtyard. I particularly liked the apple and walnut crumble cake.
The shop is small but offers some interesting choices - I smiled at the packet of 'Suffolk Herbs' seeds that are being sold in Somerset and are actually produced in Essex!
The shop garden had some interesting and well-cared for plants for sale.
I admit we didn't look at the gardens as it looked a little expensive and we were running short of time. But as a way of breaking a journey then this place is very welcome.

Spent a pleasant August afternoon walking around the nicely set out gardens but the house has little appeal to this visitor.

Lovely gardens, ideal for a stroll but if you have children, play area needs improving. Also food for adults good but the sandwiches provided for children were too chunky.

A lovely quiet garden, easy to spend a lot of time wandering round. The café is nice too, and very friendly.
Note the carpark and paths are NOT really suitable for wheelchairs to get around, as some paths are gravel and fairly steep.

Wonderful secret little gem, the gardens are beautiful and well maintained. The food is fantastic, staff friendly and all in all makes a lovely day out, even the little book shop is great!

Lots to see and good place for a walk. half a day wasn't quite long enough. Good garden centre in shop

Don't go for the house, but do go for the gardens! I enjoyed the various video explanations on the history of the house, the grounds en how this was one of the first places that boasted its own electricity supply. Lovely walks, good food in the cafe. Was not impressed with the service i the posh restaurant, we walked out before ordering anything.

hadn't visited in a while and a lot of work done to improve the gardens a great visit catching up with a friend topped off with a nice coffee and a piece of cake yum

Nice to visit for people who love trees, to me who found the Great Walls boring, this garden is a bit plain. Yes, I like trees, and some of the old trees are really something, but no more, the so called cascade is just a bit of water coming ten feet down and there it is. The few old buildings this and there and a Chinese hut, but the hut is equal to a toilet in the middle of a Hong Kong paddy field…

We always enjoy a good stroll around gardens. Worth having membership if you go more than once. Food at the end of walk is always very tasty 😀

I've visited Hestercombe Gardens on a number of occasions and have always had a great time. I have taken my younger sister when they had an Easter hunt and have also gone with adult friends. The gardens are gorgeous and I recommend going on either a sunny or Autumnal day. There is a great walk you can take and they provide you with a map with all the sites for you to see. I expecially love the waterfall and all the little buildings you come across. There is a sweet little cafe where you can get snacks and drinks. Hestercombe were also kind enough to donate some free tickets to me a few years ago for a charity raffle I was holding. This was very generous and I urge people to support this great attraction. Be aware, it's a little out of the way, so easier to get to by car! It's family friendly in as much as the activites they have but you may struggle with a pushchair or wheelchair, due to the uneven ground in places and some of the hills!

A wonderful combination of natural landscape and small lakes and walkways contrasting with formal gardens. The formal gardens were stunning and anyone who likes plants should visit. The restaurant is lovely.

Perfect place to while away some hours, enjoy the formal gardens and walk around the grounds. Lovely cafe area- make sure you check their serving times for hot food as we unfortunately were caught out and could only have cake!! (which was lovely).

This was an organised trip as a day out for 30 people. Most went on a prearranged guided tour and everyone agreed the tour guide was terrific. Those less able did what parts of the garden they could and enjoyed the wonderful lay out and the flowers still in bloom and some of the historic interests. As we arrived early everyone had coffee or a drink in the café before setting off round the 48acre garden and although we were a large party the café dealt with us quite quickly. Heavy rain had been forecast but amazingly did not arrive so we were all in good spirits for the excellent food served at lunchtime something for all price ranges. We did not partake in the wonderful afternoon teas served from 12noon in the upmarket dining area, but had a quick look, these ranged from £8.50 to about £21.00! Try it for a real treat but the café is fine and has indoor and outdoor seating. Toilets placed in strategic places and a nice shop that included plants. Plenty of parking and picnic areas and you can take the dog.

Allow 3-4 hours to properly explore the formal gardens, more naturalistic landscape, and the dozen or so follies therein. The courtyard cafe is reasonably priced (allow £20 for lunch for four) whilst the adjoining shop and plant nursery is compact but with a diverse stock range - visit there last, as it stocks many of the plants you'll have seen in the formal gardens. Book online in advance for a useful discount.

Hestercombe Gardens had been open for only about one year when we visited in August 2015 and there was clearly "still work to be done". The house and grounds are managed by a charitable trust.
The several formal gardens are very nice indeed: Well managed, colourful and nicely laid out.
There is also a longer walk around the valley to one side of the house, with various ponds, "temples" & "monuments" strategically placed for effect; and there are excellent views across the distant hills from several points. Some paths are not suitable for wheelchairs, but there is still plenty to see for those who are less mobile.
The ponds at the top of the walk are still in need of attention, and the lower ponds need a bit of aeration to get the water brighter, but you can see that the trustees have put a lot of work in to restoring these areas.
Quite attractive: However "not quite "Stour Head" " as one of our party remarked.
On the other hand, Hestercombe gardens welcome well behaved dogs on leads... which Stour Head does not... and there are places where children can "play with the water", so this place is far more "family friendly" than Stour Head ...and for that matter many other similar estates.
It is a good place for a family to visit and picnic for the day...but you need to visit for the full day to get value for the relatively high entrance fee.
We "took tea" in the cafe area. It was reasonable value for money, comparing well with similar sorts of outlets, and everything was clean. The outside covered eating area is OK, but the cafe serving area is in need of an "upgrade".
The house itself was, until only a few years ago, the HQ of the local Fire Service, and the scars of its use as an office block are still visible inside. The House has been built on the site of a much earlier one, though very little of the original building exists, and you will need to ask if you want to see it.
There were a couple of free exhibitions going on when we visited. We liked them, although they were probably a bit boring for children.
On the whole, well worth a visit.

Gardens are a real find, surprisingly quiet for a sunny day in August. Under 7s play ground was ideal. Cafe clean and great food - worth going for this alone! Stunning location. Please go!

We went here on one of their school holiday Monday events. There were craft activities on and the kids had fun doing that but not as much fun as they did pretending to be animals and swinging in trees, playing on rocks etc. The walks through the parkland are lovely but it is hilly so people with mobility issues be aware. We had coffee and cake at the cafe and it was very nice. It is very similar to a National Trust property (but it is NOT National Trust owned).

We stopped off at Hestercombe to break our journey from the south west to the midlands. It really is a great place to stop. The cafe does an amazing Sunday roast, one of the best we've had and the 40 acres of grounds including the Jeckyl and Lutyens formal gardens are well worth the visit. Staff were really polite and efficient in the cafe. They are members of the HHA too so we got in for free! We will definitely be returning to explore the gardens further.

My friend and I chose Hestercombe to spend an afternoon out and sadly we were both a little disappointed. Firstly it is vastly overpriced for what is offered. I am 60 something but was very surprised to find there was no Seniors discount, and £10.50 out of a pension is steep especially when all you get is a couple of hours stroll around the garden. On the plus side the gardens were beautiful and the views stunning and fortunately the weather was lovely, but not sure how we could have done the walk if we were less able bodied or if the weather had not been good. Having enjoyed the walk we were looking forward to visiting the house and art display....this is where the visit went horribly downhill! The two open rooms on the ground floor were empty barring a large table in what we assumed to be a conference room (for corporate use). We would have loved a little period furniture to get the feel of the history of the house. Instead we were given an A4 sheet for us to read 'the history of the house' - not quite what we expected!! The first floor took us to the gallery with photographic display by a renowned artist who we had never heard of, and I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but a few photo's of allotments and dead leaves did nothing for us !! It was so bad my friend and I sadly found it very amusing. (not very becoming for a couple of mature ladies) Anyway, finally we thought a nice cuppa would end the afternoon on a more positive note but all we found was overpriced tea and cakes, so sadly we left to make our way home for afternoon tea. Our overall impression was that its a lovely stroll in beautiful surroundings if you are fit, but massively overpriced and the house visit is a complete waste of time. My advice would be to half the price for the walk and do something with the house to make it worth walking through the front door.