Top Things to do in Wiltshire
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What to do and see in Wiltshire, England: The Best Gardens
Discover the best top things to do in Wiltshire, United Kingdom including TWIGS Community Gardens, Iford Manor: The Peto Garden, Stourhead House and Garden, Longleat, Larmer Tree Gardens, NT Courts Garden, The Courts Garden, Queen Elizabeth Gardens, Bowood Woodland Gardens, Bowood House & Gardens.
Restaurants in Wiltshire
1. TWIGS Community Gardens
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 7 reviews
2. Iford Manor: The Peto Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 205 reviews
Internationally renowned, Grade 1 listed, Italianate gardens designed by Harold Peto, who made Iford his home from 1899-1933. Characterised by terraces, pools, statuary cloisters and remarkable rural views, the garden is an archetype of its period and a historic design gem. The present owners have restored and today maintain the historic gardens and the ethos of their original designer through modern borders blended with historic plantings, and today welcome visitors to their home five days a week, with coach visits available outside normal hours. A housekeeper's tearoom serves homemade cakes and light refreshments at weekends and there is a cake-of-the-day during weekdays at the entrance desk. The gardens are steeply terraced, partially accessible to disabled visitors, who are recommended to call ahead for assistance. The gardens are not well suited to children because of unfenced ponds and other hazards. The owners are keen to protect a tranquil environment for visitors.
Reviewed By 954gemm - Bath, United Kingdom
It's not by chance we chose to move to Bradford-on-Avon - it's surrounded by beautiful places such as this! Albeit it's not a massive space, the grounds are stunning. We had one of the best experiences ever meeting one of their cats and him showing us around on my birthday. We really enjoyed the variety of the gardens, with an Asian themed area for example, and some quintessentially British parts etc. Visit at different times to enjoy different aspects for sure, and stop for a nice slice of cake and loose leaf teas if you get time.
3. Stourhead House and Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,507 reviews
Stourhead includes a Palladian house and world-famous landscape garden. The garden is perhaps the most beautiful and magical of all the great landscape gardens, Stourhead is an 18th-century view of an Arcadian paradise. On a plateau of high ground Stourhead house was built and became home to generations of the Hoare family.
Reviewed By Jeff1903 - King's Lynn, United Kingdom
There is a mansion in the Palladian style, gardens and extensive grounds. Admission is a touch expensive, but the chances are that you are already a National Trust member, but if you are not, it's worth considering especially as it will also save you £4 parking charges. I thought the house was fascinating, but excessively adorned and it gives the impression that quantity was more important than quality when bringing back stuff from the Grand Tour. However there are some gems like a John Piper painting and a Fredrick Leighton portrait. The grounds are magnificent and you are forever coming across temples or follies among the specimen trees and other plants as you walk round the lake. Picnics seem popular and the ice house is the best preserved I can remember seeing. Add in the gardens, shop, café and gallery and there is enough to do here for a whole day. Bear in mind that there is a good deal of walking, much of it up and down steep paths, so it could be a challenge for some and either wait for good weather or bring your waterproofs.
4. Longleat
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 8,728 reviews
Reviewed By Speckycatlady - Cardiff, United Kingdom
With endless attractions, you need at least one full day to visit Longleat and explore,. The Safari is great fun and the free Safari app provides an informative commentary while viewing the animals - make sure to unscrew your aerial before you visit the monkey enclosure! We spent at least an hour driving around the safari. Enjoy a boat trip to feed the sealions, handle some exotic creatures in the Jungle Kingdom, pet some farm animals in the petting farm, feed nectar to the lorikeets and experience the bat cave. Longleat country house is beautiful to explore, as are the grounds. Round off the day with food at one of the many food establishments on site, and take a train ride around the outskirts of the park before leaving.
5. Larmer Tree Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 110 reviews
Reviewed By jackiehK7703ER - Godshill, United Kingdom
really lovely gardens small and intimate, many beautiful bushes and plants, statues around the pretty pond area, they also have festivals here every year. its a prtty area , and nice drive. the people are friendly, and its reasonably priced too.
6. NT Courts Garden
7. The Courts Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 293 reviews
Reviewed By Mobile35942195053 - Bristol, United Kingdom
Fabulous well planned and fruitful gardens where at this time of year is flourishing with so much beauty. Parking available across the road, friendly welcome all under the N national Trust umbrella. Beautiful gardens and features only memories and the photos that accompany this review can do justice. A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon in the sunshine.
8. Queen Elizabeth Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 32 reviews
Reviewed By KuldipS109 - Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Beautiful stunning place. Great that it has a very shallow stream rubbing through the middle making it perfect for a paddle.
9. Bowood Woodland Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 31 reviews
Reviewed By Remotelyworking - Calne, United Kingdom
Just moved to the area and took my dog for wander round the woods and the glorious Rhododendrons. A relaxing calm and very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. Nice little mobile coffee & tea shop as you go in with seating. Ice creams were good too - shared one with my dog. Also if you are a RHS member there are concessions on entry.
10. Bowood House & Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 774 reviews
Reviewed By YunziesTravels - London, United Kingdom
Stroll, sip, dance or marvel at its array of curiosities, the Bowood Estate has a flourish of touches to welcome guests from far and wide this summer. Set amid parkland designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, the rolling country estate has evolved into a first-class resort with a spa that has mastered the art of relaxation. Robert Adam, CR Cockerell and Sir Charles Barry have also left their marks on the manor and grounds, which began with the main house being built more than 250 years ago. Fruits of such labours form a harmonious medley on the 4,000-acre estate, which has been home to the Lansdowne family since 1754 and is as busy as ever, with the 43-bedroom county house hotel marking its 10th anniversary this year. A stroll in the landscaped grounds reveals gems such as Lord and Lady Lansdowne’s award-winning private walled garden, Bowood’s Arboretum with more than 700 species of trees, an adventure playground and a cascading rock waterfall. Idyllic it may be, but there’s also a running festival, an Ibiza party and an Instagram workshop in the calendar at the ancestral house and grounds in Calne, Wiltshire. The unimposing but stately Georgian House, set in 100 acres of Capability Brown parkland, is home to the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne, but is open to the public, private groups and film crews alike. Elegant rooms and marble-floored walkways house treasured family heirlooms, including art and antiques, dating back nearly 300 years. The present Marquis, who took on management of the estate in 1972, has continued to diversify and enhance what has become a four-star leisure resort. The Marquis commissioned architect Dave Thomas to design an 18-hole golf course which has its own academy and the distinction of being the PGA’s official green for the South West. Relaxation without 7 irons can be found at the luxury spa, where my partner and I lapped up an infinity pool, gym and a newly-opened relaxation room where time stands still by a chic indoor fire and tinted windows looking out to the academy golf course. In the spa’s inner sanctum, health therapies include signature treatments from Eminence Organic Skin Care, Ytsara and Jennifer Young Defiant Beauty. Trips to a state of glowing calm include the Tranquil Journey, a 90-minute, full-body massage enhanced with a herbal poultice, and the Garden of Deep Calm, which combines Thai and western massage techniques with Malabar grass, sweet orange and vetiver with oils of rice bran, sweet almond, soy and wheat germ. My partner drifted away as she underwent the Pink Himalayan Salt Scrub, expertly delivered by spa manager Angela Covey in the scented room. For those that want to make a longer break of it, spa mini-breaks combine pampering heaven with a stay in the four-star hotel. Brunch, afternoon tea and a light supper in a twilight setting can also be indulged away from the whirl of everyday life. On the day we visited, a classic car and motorcycle show was underway on the vast lawn under the main house and terraced gardens. A suave and rather playful white Rolls-Royce 20/25 – 1932 Park Ward Saloon seemed to be calling for a jolly day out. Wrapping up our visit, we just about managed to prise ourselves from the expansive lawns and weathered stone in the gardens and headed back to the real world.
