Lovely day walking in the grounds, loved the peacocks and took loads of pictures. A relaxing... read more
Lovely day walking in the grounds, loved the peacocks and took loads of pictures. A relaxing... read more
A lovely little place, with the peacocks very much the stars of the show, all in beautiful... read more
We visited the gardens on a greyish day but even then it appeared to be a real jewel in the crown. There is a little café where I had the best cheese scone ever which is made at a local bakery. The staff were really friendly and welcoming. They sell traditional picnic lunches which you can take away into the grounds which cost around £12-£13 - may seem a bit pricey but they looked lovely and homemade. The café prices are average for the type of place and the quality of the produce there is first class.
The garden is relatively small but is so full of little nooks and crannies that you can miss something if you are not careful. There is a charming trail for the young at heart where you have to find little 'fairy' doors that have been put into the bottom of the old trees (not as twee as it sounds). We witnessed a young family having great fun trying to locate them all. It would make an incredible venue for a wedding or similar as the photo opportunities are endless.
Entrance fee is £4 - £3 for seniors and I thought it was worth every penny
Interesting and peaceful, but not a great deal to see. It is a nice spot for a wedding and other special events.
Our first visit and we were not disapointed.Such wonderful tranquil gardens with quirky buildings.Not big but enough for us, we enjoyed a lovely lunch in the cafe before setting off again to find the fairy doors.It really is a jewel of a place just more seats on the way round would be good to sit and enjoy the tranquility.
We did not get off to a good start when our £8 was handed over to a young man without any tickets being issued (leaving aside we subsequently realised the concessionary rate for a pensioner and a disabled person in an electric buggy had not been applied). I assume the money was recorded somewhere but we would have been happier to have been given tickets.
Catering was extremely limited and the seating consisted of a few tables and chairs outside the entrance hut.
Having first seen the web site we did not feel the "gardens" lived up to our expectations or description "the jewell of the Cranborne Chase" was deserved.I'm not sure "gardens" is an accurate description of what we expected - "grounds" would,I believe, be more accurate.Plenty of grass,interspersed with some quirky 'old colonial' type buildings.
I have no doubt the "gardens" would make a superb wedding venue (as many of the reviews confirm) but in my view it was too small and with little to interest most 'garden! visitors.
A strange little garden complete with an array of eccentric Victorian follies, including a stage and pavilion. A tranquil place to spend an afternoon.
On the day we visited, there was an antiques market with stalls scattered about the garden and pavillion. We were lucky to have a sunny day to wander around and didn't really do all the gardens as we concentrated on the antiques stalls and outside seating area of the cafe. I would imagine without the antiques stalls, it could have been a bit boring but we enjoyed our 2 hours there and prices were competitive and food and drink good.