Bennetts Water Gardens — Attraction in Chickerell

An incredibly breathtaking and picturesque garden which is an absolutely amazing hidden gem in the heart of the Seaside Resort of Weymouth. The attraction houses the National Collection of Water Lilies and these are displayed beautifully in the gardens and that are a variety of Water Lilies to see and the array of colour from the different Water Lily Flowers is spectacular and amazing to see and they blend in beautifully with the landscape. All of the Water Lily plants are in all of the ponds and add to the pleasant walk around. The visit to the attraction starts off in The Tropical House where you can see some spectacular Cacti and a pond with some carp and other friendly fish before you move into the gardens where you can enjoy the beautiful and lovely views across all of the ponds with the water lilies. There is also a number of interesting features within the gardens such as The Imperial Gazebo, Japanese Bridge,The Gazebo, Monet Bridge, Willow Arch & Giant Checkers and all of these features blend in well with the wonderful and spectacular scenery and also even add to it making it even more pleasant. The best of these features has to be The Monet Bridge due to the fact that you can imagine it being part of a breathtaking and spectacular painting. The Japanese Bridge also deserves a mention due to the fact that it adds a lovely oriental touch to the garden. The walk around is fairly easy going and you get the time to take in the beautiful scenery. There are a number of Palm Trees dotted around the site, which again blend in very well with the Water Lilies. The visit finishes off in the Museum where there is an informative & fascinating exhibition about the Brickworks which had the site before it became a gardens and also the use of the site during WWI and also the exhibition discusses the history of the gardens where there are some interesring items to see and for some people to take in some Nostalgia. There is The Cafe Monet which sells a variety of food and drink at affordable prices and also there is a small gift shop selling some nice and lovely souvenirs at affordable prices and there some water lily plants for sale in the Plant Nursery. Overall this a beautiful and fantastic place to visit and see of the most picturesque gardens in the South West of England and makes for an extremely enjoyable day out.. Definitely a place to visit whilst...

The gardens are lovely, almost of the lilies were flowering when we visited in mid-June. Plenty of dragon and damsel flies, plus a range of different birds. So - why only 3 stars? The cafe service was terrible and, when we queried the very long wait (bearing in mind that others had arrived later and been served before us) the response was that our food would now be even later as they were having to take time speaking with us. Very rude and unacceptable. Avoid. Take a picnic.

Following the owner's comments, all I can add is that recollections vary. We neither shouted at or were abusive to a 16 year old waitress. There were several tables free when we arrived, (we had booked ahead) so not so busy at that point. The staff member we approached appeared to be the person in charge, so not the waitress, who did come out to us and apologised for the till error some 30 minutes after we had given our order and we waited at least another 15 minutes before one of our party of four went to enquire as to where our food order was, since, as an insulin dependent diabetic, he was concerned for my health. He returned quite shocked at the reaction. Naturally, the business will be slanted to the staff version and I get that. However, when a table of four is clearly not getting their food order when others were who had arrived after us, and despite the eventual offer of a free round of drinks, the service remained...

We are getting to the end of the season and Bennetts will close at the end of September, reopening in April 2024. Entrance is £11.50 for an adult. Today {13th Sept) they were giving £5 reductions as the 2 largest ponds were closed for tree cutting work. We have bought season tickets so can go when we please. It has a reasonable parking area, but if you live in West Dorset you can come by bus X53 from Axminster/Bridport or Weymouth and the 8 from Weymouth stops on the main road by Chickerel camp, then it's only a few minutes walk from there. There is a small cafe with a limited menu and it's quite pricey. Numerous walks around several lakes and through woodland, though not all are open to wheelchairs or mobility scooters. Still quite a few Lillie's out now but will be better in the main season next year. Picturesque bridge similar to Monets looks wonderful. There are public loos on site along with a small museum and gift shop. There are numerous benches to sit and admire the views and you can take your own food, though it's not allowed to consume food and drink in the gazebos. Altogether a lovely gentle place to while away a...