Spetchley Park Gardens — Attraction in Wychavon

I visited yesterday with my husband who is in a wheelchair. It was a "challenging" experience, and I really want to make others aware. The parking near the door for disabled users is quite limited, although because of the time of year, we were able to park without any issue. We decided to visit the cafe first. There are tables outside, but the weather wasn't suitable on the day, so we wanted to go inside. There are steps. My husband can stand, and go down a small number of steps, but some may not be able to. Having said that, a member of staff did offer to get a ramp out, and to help which we personally declined. The food and drinks were fine. We then used the disabled toilet, which was very clean and spacious. Getting back up onto the solid path requires significant effort due to the lip of the path being quite deep. When we arrived initially, the lady in the shop did say that some paths had been recently topped up with gravel which hadn't bedded in yet. She wasn't wrong!! That, along with the fact that many paths seemed to be on a slight slope made the process of getting round whilst pushing a 13 stone man quite difficult in places. No need for a trip to the gym today!! We were told to avoid going round the lake as it's a grass path, so we obviously avoided that, although we found part of it was a standard gravel path. The gardens are clearly undergoing major restoration in several areas too. Obviously, at this time of year, you don't expect pristine borders full of stunning blooms, but some areas were very weedy and just looked a little sad. There was some autumn colour in some trees and shrubs, but I think it will improve as autumn tints are a little later this year. In summary, I think as abled bodied visitors in the peak of the summer, it would be a very nice place to visit. It would still be a challenge for a wheelchair user, unless you have one designed for rougher terrain which we don't personally. One very frustrating thing was the fact that when we returned to the shop to leave, we discovered that they have a motorised wheelchair that can be used. I understand that there's only one, and the lady in the shop recommended ringing ahead to arrange the use of it.I just wish we had known before our visit, because it would have made for a more...

A little gem. Well worth visiting. It's website doesn't really do it justice. We spent a fabulous time there today, wandering around the beautiful gardens and enjoying the photography exhibition and more. The staff were warm and friendly from start to finish. The gardens are so big we hardly saw many people at all, yet they were there.

The planting was dense and colourful at this time of year, especially the combinations of colour and form in the melon garden. Wow! Not melons though. 😁 As we arrived Cheryl assured us that the morning Coffee and cake was a must, especially the good sized chunk of plum cake, she was not wrong, it was delicious! Thx. Comparable pricing to any good coffee shop. Large cups too. Lunch sandwiches were chunky and on fresh bread.

There were lots of places to eat outside but not sure if picnics are encouraged or if the benches were more for food bought in the cafe? But it might make a superb place for families to come to. The paths are so good and it's such a huge site with wild natural areas as well as the beautiful formal manicured areas.

The photography exhibition included some of the local wildlife and was very reasonably priced. From £20

Everywhere was spotlessly clean, and accessible. There was a lovely yoga retreat there too in a peaceful courtyard. We didn't visit the church this time. Saved for our next visit. Along with the wider gardens and parkland.

Being keen gardeners, we were content ambling aimlessly round the flora and fauna quite a bit, but when we met the amazing Peter it made our day. He was a wealth of botanical information. We really were treated to a Rolls Royce tour of the more unusual specimens in the garden that might otherwise have gone unnoticed, as well as helping us find the gorgeous Persian Silk Tree. Thank you Peter. We will come and find you again.

We didn't see all the garden/parkland and we were there a good four hours. Well worth...

Pleasant gardens that currently have a great range of quality sculptures from £75 to £6500 displayed around the gardens which do add to the visiting experience. The promotional video for Spetchley Gardens is quite lack lustre and gives little to entice you to want to visit. The same can be said about the reception entrance with the formal and quite indifferent service which feels that it's not customer focused. The sign that says no picnics allowed in the gardens is also off putting as the benches and idyllic spots are ideal for this purpose. This did not however stop people picnicing which enhances their visit. The gardens and general layout are informal in presentation, partially to do with what seems like a lot of weeding and general maintenance work needs doing particularly around the formal and kitchen gardens. The sculpture displays are good and well positioned and labeled. There's a good little play area for children and a pleasant but slightly expensive cafe/restaurant with pleasant outside seating. There's a small area for workshops, history display and living experience area and nature walks.The lakes lovely. Overall it was a pleasant visit but needs work to give the venue a feel good factor. Being asked at reception on the way out if we had a good visit would have helped, but I guess they weren't concerned. We'd have said yes it was better than expected and had a lovely time. Oh... and yes...