Stourhead — Attraction in Stourton with Gasper

On a sunny day in April we decided that it would be a good day to pick up the National trust book and find a nice local adventure.

Skipping through the pages, we came across Stourhead. I almost ruled it out over other national trust places as the pictures in the book didn't do it justice at all.

Fully loaded with a picnic and the children we set off hoping it would be a good one.

On arrival at Stourhead there was ample parking and disabled spaces close to the main entrance. First impressions were that it was going to be a good adventure as it was really clean, well presented and lots of people had come along for a nice day out. Opposite the main entrance was a restaurant and flower shop, although we didn't go in, it looked well kept and pleasant.

On arriving at the main entrance we were greated by a lovely member of staff who was quick to offer advice and details about the grounds. She was keen to tell us about the sites history and recommended things to do.

Map in hand, we were off to see what Stourhead had to offer. We opted to save the manor house and grounds for another visit as we only had 4 hrs and the lake/Gardens looked huge. Walking down the path to the left of the main entrance, you could immediately tell it was a place of great peace and tranquility.

We came across some out outbuildings that had been converted to a lovely little book store, a lovely little pub and an icecream shop. A nice square in the middle made it very pleasant to sit in the sun on one of the many tables and chairs. Beyond the outbuildings, we came across a church and grave yard on the left hand side and a few lovely cottages on the right hand side. Two of the cottages were available to rent out as a holiday home. To be honest, the perfect place for a peaceful unwind.

Heading anti clockwise around the gardens and lake, we were amazed just how beautiful the ground are. Many times we stopped and admired the view only to walk round the corner to another great view! On the way around the lake, there are lots of amazing places to check out. To be honest, totally unexpected aswell as the national trust book hasn't done Stourhead justice at all. We were fascinated by the caves to walk through with statues in them, beautifully restored buildings the best being one you could easily walk past as an old run down ruin but inside amazing architecture, plasterworks and statues.... Totally unexpected aswell!

Heading further around the lake, beautiful views are plentiful. luckily were were able to see the last of the daffodils and the magnifient magnolias aswell. They really did add to the ambience of the grounds.

So to sum up Stourhead, well the gardens and lake at least.... I would rate the site as a true gem! It was Totally unexpected that the grounds would be so beautiful and yet peaceful. Lots of people were there, but the site is huge so it didn't feel overcrowded at all.

If you have excitable children like myself, this is the perfect place to let them explore and run around. Not only that, round every corner there is another spectacular view!

Top marks to the National Trust, a very well kept site, no litter anywhere, good staff and a fantastic place to unwind.

I will look forward to a return visit to explore the manor house and...

We started our journey from Portsmouth, expecting it to take around 90 minutes, but due to delays, we arrived after 2 hours. Our visit was on a Sunday in June.

The main car park was full, but the overflow car park had plenty of free spaces. As it’s a National Trust site, my friends with memberships parked for free. I, however, couldn’t manage to pay via the machine or app, but after asking at the visitor centre, they kindly charged me £4.50 for the day.

Entry for non-members to the gardens, mansion, and lake is £22 per person, although there are some discounts available for families. The staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful – one of them even lent us an umbrella 🌂 when it started to rain lightly as we entered, which added to the charm of the day.

Stourhead is well-equipped for older visitors. I noticed electric wheelchairs and shuttle-style transport cars that help people cover the longer distances. We were accompanied by two elderly guests, and they found the walk enjoyable and manageable.

Our visit began by walking down a hill, crossing a small bridge, and exploring the gardening area. We then made our way to the mansion, which took about 15 minutes – taking a relaxed pace due to our group. The mansion itself was fascinating, especially for the older members of our group, and architecturally, it was quite striking.

We stopped for lunch at the Spread Eagle Inn, just outside the gardens. It was fantastic – we paid about £150 for six people. Alternatively, there’s a sandwich stall near the garden area with a private seating space of benches and tables. There are also a few small shops in that area.

The highlight of our trip was undoubtedly the lake. It’s a hidden gem – with breathtaking views, a variety of beautiful trees, and several charming classical-style buildings dotted around, it felt like a painting come to life. In my opinion, it’s the most beautiful garden in the UK. It took us less than an hour to walk the full circuit around the lake.

I strongly recommend visiting Stourhead – the views are stunning, the facilities are excellent, and the photos you’ll take there might be among the best you’ll...

Visited the Christmas lights and had a mixed experience. The lights themselves are beautiful and it did feel very magical to walk around. The staff were also all very friendly and helpful.

But ... The website says it takes about an hour and a half to walk around, so we were expecting a lot more to see. It's more like half an hour plus ten minutes to get to the start of the trail. It doesn't say this anywhere and you aren't told on arrival, so we almost missed last entry, having arrived ten minutes before our entry slot, taking ten minutes to get drinks and then finding what we thought was the entrance was not in fact the entrance.

We weren't asked for our tickets until we had wandered around for quite some time heading for the actual trail. We stopped after 5 minutes or so to actually eat and drink the stuff we had bought, without worrying about needing to get phones out for tickets with our hands full and were advised we might not be let in if we stopped because it was almost cut off time for entry. We appreciated the advice as we obviously didn't want to not be let in but we then felt a bit rushed and our quite expensive purchases went cold.

I'm pretty sure the website also said no food or drinks were available during the trail but there actually were several places during the trail once we got in there so we could have bought something later which would have been better and avoided all of the above issues.

Having been to Longleat the previous week for around the same price, value for money wise this felt quite poor. Nowhere near as much to see as Longleat lanterns/lights and quite misleading when it says it takes an hour and a half. We weren't walking that fast and stopped plenty of times to take photos and enjoy the view.

It was a lovely experience but I'm not sure if I...