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.

We visited these gardens some years ago, and decided to come back and see what had changed!

The overall gardens are of course still the same - a beautiful series of settings and vistas in a valley, as well as some formal gardens in front of the house. However, the gardens are continually being restored - and this time around we were able to see the WW2 hut, the apple/cider barn and the renovated water wheel.

The paths are a bit steep and uneven in places, so you want to have sensible footwear on when you visit.

We spent a few hours here - and could easily have spent longer if we had made use of the very nice looking cafe. There is also a very nice little nursery where you can buy some lovely plants, and there is a gift shop.

Definitely worth a visit!

Very good landscaped garden which makes for quite a long stroll if you allow for the climbs and stops at various features. The ruins of the WW2 barracks make for interesting reading. The terraced garden was beautiful and a nice contrast with the earlier part - you can certainly see a designer's hand at work. Café rather nondescript and girl on reception quite unhelpful and obviously resented having to do tickets and ice-creams at the same time.

Hestercombe Gardens made a lovely setting for our daughter's wedding in the Orangery in June.

Games on the lawn or strolling around the grounds after the ceremony made for a very relaxed atmosphere. All agreed that they had a magical time.

The food for the reception in Bamfylde Hall was great too!

We chose Hestercombe as the venue for my 80th birthday celebration.
A private room gave an excellent service for our lunch. Our guests enjoyed the spectacular gardens followed by a delicious cream tea.
Julie the organiser and the restaurant staff gave us every attention and cared that we had a really good time.

Beautiful and outstanding gardens with wonderful views across the vale of Taunton deane. A lovely place to spend a few hours following the many different paths .

Hestercombe has a formal garden and a landscape garden, both of great historical importance. A visit is always a pleasure although at some times of the year there are few flowers in bloom. Nevertheless, the structure of the formal gardens is fascinating and an important example of the vision of Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll and can be enjoyed in any season. We always enjoy our visits and this year had the bonus of walking through the bluebell woods and seeing areas we had not previously visited. The large, landscaped gardens are excellent and can be enjoyed in any season. Good footwear is advisable and a reasonable level of fitness if all the sights are to be enjoyed. A marvellous place to spend time and we do so every time we visit Somerset. The cafe facilities are good and well worth sampling! The shop and garden centre offers lots of good things for gardeners and those seeking a special gift. Highly recommended for all! Ann C

This is such a stunning place which attracts young and old. There is a superb restaurant at the end of an amazing walk.

Hestercombe house is a great day out for all ages. Children can run around exploring the trails and make lots of noise. Adults can appreciate Hestercombes beauty while children enjoy themselves. Ideal for everyone young and old. There are themed events I went to the Halloween event and the children loved it.

I was born in Taunton, 50yrs + ago and this was the first time visit. We took our dog with us, it is a lovely place for a quiet stroll, don't hurry as you will miss different waterfalls. We missed out on the formal gardens as it was raining but we shall return for another visit. We would have liked to have let our dog off his lead on the park but they have to stay on leads.
The food was a little expensive but if you share a sandwich it is well worth it.
Every thing's well kept and tidy. Cannot wait for a further visit.

Tranquil and peaceful, Hestercombe is a lovely place to stroll around. There are many paths to follow and you could walk a different route every time you visit. There are formal gardens as well as the less structured walk that follows the stream. The views are amazing. However, a little overpriced entrance fee and the cafe was disappointing. We ordered cream teas and were given two scones each, on both plates one scone was stale and the other wasn't great.