A place to relax in, one in which you can forget the stress of modern life and immerse yourself in the beauty of nature. From the walks around both the beautiful formal gardens and the woodland trails there stunning views of the Vale of Taunton. I though however it was rather expensive and put me off from visiting very often.

A beautiful and well maintained park with play areas, flower beds and fountain. It would be lovely to have an area for dogs to run off the lead.

A lovely calm place to explore at your own pace. There are flat formal gardens and steep woodland paths, and various other terrains. Very little intrusive 'corporate' stuff, just an enchanting outdoor experience - with a very nice cafe. Seasonal events are laid on, with plenty for children, so get on the mailing list for details. Other visitors always seem more friendly than at similar places!

Really nice and peaceful,well laid out walks within the gardens.

Very nice catering area.

Perhaps,in my opinion,rather expensive compared with other gardenwalks
but well worth a visit

We go to Hestercombe quite often to take part in various activities either for children or in the hall where craft fairs sometimes take place, as well as enjoy the changing gardens which are still being restored. Apart from the formal gardens, which have 'rooms' with delightful arbours and arches and water features there is a good walk uphill, with a dramatic waterfall, duckpond, various follies and features and you can sometimes catch a performance of a Shakespeare play in the summer. The café in the stables and in the open is worth a visit as is the well-stocked shop. The only downside is it is quite expensive.

Lovely gardens with historical interest. Beautiful estate to walk in, trees, water, follies. Good food - the largest yorkshire puddings I have ever seen! We took part in a mushroom walk and even in the rain it was enjoyable. Plenty to see and a knowledgeable guide.

Hestercombe gardens is a beautiful place to visit, it's real beauty is the design of the gardens, but during the summer is enhanced by the floral displays. A lovely place to visit in the heart of Somerset, but it really only needs a half day visit.

We went to Hestercombe this evening to take part in one of their terror tours. It is not often something like this exceeds my expectations but we all had a fabulous time. There were 3 generations of family members with the younger ones in fancy dress. On arrival the house was lit up and ghostly noises were emitted. A scary butler opened the door where we were treated by a ghoul. From there, the children were entertained by traditional games - Apple bobbing etc until the time of our tour. The guide took us through a tour of the house with various 'scary' events as we progressed. It was scary enough to send shivers down the spine of the adults without completely freaking out the children (ages 6-8). Well recommended and not overpriced. Probably the best halloween event we have been to and we have done a few.

Fabulous gardens only a short drive from Taunton with some splendid and easily manageable walks around the estate and cracking views across the Quantock Hills. I understand that funds are being built up so that the magnificent house may be restored and eventually opened to the public.

A really great venue. We had the high tea option and it was amazing especially the cheese scones and home made chutney. However the other scones were also very deliciious.

Great gardens for walks, nice cafe, if a little limite, fabric of buildings and facilities getting a bit tired now

Really worth the visit. We had been before but many years ago. As we had friends visiting I thought it would be nice. I'm sure it's become more impressive since my last visit! Even the tea rooms are still good.
A very pleasant day was had by all.

Loved it! The kids had a fabulous time exploring in the dark and were mesmerised by the lights - especially the music display on the lawn. We were there for 2 hours and had a wonderful time! Thank you Hestercombe.

We arrived too late to visit the gardens so went straight to the cafe which was situated in a stunning courtyard and had home-made scones and tea which were absolutely delicious. There was also a gift shop selling plants from the estate.

I am biased in my love of this place because I grew up playing in the gardens so I have seen the before & after. But oh my goodness the after is so peaceful & astoundingly beautiful that I think I can be forgiven. This garden has been restored carefully & lovingly & the layers gently peeled back to slowly reveal it's history. Each visit opens up new areas that have been discovered & gives more insight into the past of the Hestercombe Estate. It is peaceful, tranquil & quite magical.
The formal gardens are a wonderful blaze of colour & scent & a great contrast to the pleasure gardens. As a place to spend a peaceful few hours it is beautiful, but that is the kind of thing I love doing & as a member it is cheaper for me to visit over the year. The shop is lovely but my one complaint is that since the old original restaurant went & they opened their current restaurant it is too expensive for us to eat there & we do not enjoy the menu, so tend to take a picnic or eat elsewhere, which is a shame. On the whole though that is a small matter compared to the overall pleasure we have there & many attractions are let down by their catering so not uncommon.

Thoroughly enjoyed my visit to this historic garden made by Edwin Lutyens. We were lucky with the weather. Check the forecast before you go. Wandering around in the rain wold spoil the experience. It's run by a charitable trust so it really needs support to keep this jewel open.
Well worth half a day if your in the area.

Hestercombe Gardens are really lovely with a gentle stroll all along by the lakes. there is a waterfall hidden small buildings and a lovely cafe and shop. they have themed events at Christmas Halloween and Easter. The flowers and shrubs are mature and plentiful. there are swans and ducks on the lakes and plenty of little seats to enjoy the views.

I have been a member of Hestercombe gardens for a few months now.
It's a lovely place for a walk but I constantly feel ripped off.
The cafe is very over priced and with exception of 1 cake offer no food for people with dietary requirements.
We went to the Illuminata last night. Very disappointed. £27 for a family of 3. It took us 30 minutes to walk around and with exception of the floating 3D fish we were very underwhelmed. If it has been marketed as Hestercombe at night and the ticket fee was £2 each that would have been reasonable.
I have contacted Hestercombe requesting a refund.

My partner and I went here and although I'm not a huge fan of gardens, this one sure takes your breath away.
We have chosen this location as our wedding venue for next year as there is so much space and the garden is stunning giving lots of amazing photo opportunities.
The thought of going down the steps into the beautiful organgery to get married brought a tear to my eye.
I can't wait to come back with various family members and bridesmaid to share my excitement with them. This is definitely worth a visit!

We visited Hestercome in August having been made aware of it through our RHS membership. Unfortunately we did not qualify for any discount at this time of year and thought the entry fee quite expensive at £8.80 each - we did not gift aid. Although we appreciate that the entry fee helps to finance restoration work if was more expensive than our visit to the RHS gardens at Rosemoor.
The garden was interesting with it's formal parts and then the walk through the grounds with some steep inclines and funny little buildings some hidden away. It felt like a journey of discovery.
Very good tea shop with wonderful looking cakes.

Absolutely stunning. It is a shame there are some negative reviews on here. It is true they are doing some conservation work here, however this is only allowing people to continue enjoying the beautiful spot. There was a wedding on, and the girl at the reception let me know when I got there, so I could plan my visit. I'm glad she did. I spent over an hour in the formal gardens alone.

I highly recommend a visit. Its like being transported to another world.

Been looking forward to this visit all week but not as expected. The lady on the till tried exceptionally hard to have us "gift aid", the previous couple paying had already had an argument regarding this. The waterfall which is a feature was not running due to a lack of water (just the weather) but not mention was made at the pay point. The bulk of the garden looked worn out with only the Dutch Garden, Great Plat & Victorian Terrace having any quality displays. It was not possible to visit the Orangery or Woodland Barn due to a wedding taking place. We were asked to vacate the Victorian Terrace by an female with clipboard as the Bride & Groom etc were due through. I pointed out that we were paying guests and was appalled at being asked to move on. The pushy female probably the wedding organiser persevered and eventually we left. I believe that had someone placed a discreet sign advised that a wedding was in progress then a confrontation would not have occurred. Also if parts of the garden are out of bounds then a corresponding reduction from the already heavy (in value for money terms) entrance fee should be made. We won't be back.

Is good? Very

This is an garden with footpaths leading to areas of different planting and interest. Some is formal, some is woodland and in some there are distant views over the Vale of Taunton Deane. There are places of interest along the way which can offer shelter. I took the dog on a lead and that was fine.

This was our first visit, my wife and I, together with a three year old grandson. In all we spent about three and a half hours on site and thoroughly exhausted both grandson and grandad.

On arrival Sue had a good coffee in the restaurant, whilst Jonas and I enjoyed very small and expensive tubs of ice-cream. The seating in the courtyard was excellent and the service was also good. We were glad we had brought a picnic though, once we'd looked at the food prices.

The provision of a picnic area outside the main entrance is a good idea, particularly as it is possible to re-enter after using it. We would however suggest picnics should be allowed in the landscaped gardens, even if only at designated spots. The picnic tables near the mill pond would seem to be the ideal spot, particularly as the tea shed would benefit from the availability of hot drinks. What a shame it wasn't open when we were there.

After our refreshments we took a stroll around the landscaped valley. Jonas enjoyed exploring the various shelters and small garden buildings and was enthralled by the ducks on the various ponds. This from a boy who is a regular visitor to Chew Valley Lake to feed the ducks. I would suggest small bags of appropriate food should be available for children to feed the ducks, though they didn't look hungry. Surprised there were no signs warning against inappropriate feeding.

Back to the entrance, more coffee and ice cream after our picnic, then into the formal gardens. An exhausted Jonas fell twice in here and prompted us to return to the car. It was time to get home for the dog anyway. We would dearly love to return to spend more time in this part of the gardens.

Given we were deep into school holiday season, it was a relief to have so few children around. The peace and tranquility was not impaired at all.

The ongoing restoration works do detract from the overall beauty, but are in themselves an interesting sideshow.

The toilet facilities were clean and in good order.

Parking was as needed, though does suggest you are never going to find yourself walking round shoulder to shoulder. That's a relief.

The sandals? All the paths are grit and gravel. If you can walk on such a surface without regular stops to shake out small stones, you'll be fine. Me, I was stopping every couple of yards. OK, I exaggerate a little, but you get the point.

Note to self: must come back when the rhododendrons are in bloom.