About Us

We are open all year round 10am to 5.30pm, except Christmas Day. There are full details to assist visitors on our Visitor Information pages.

And don't forget to visit our Bat Roost with its hi tech viewing room!

Hestercombe welcomes your dogs - on a short lead.

Access for all:
The gardens are largely set in a valley so gradient can be steep in places. The Formal Garden has steps and uneven surfaces. But, having said this, we have marked out a route on our Garden Guide Map for people with restricted mobility, wheelchairs and prams to follow.

We also have four wheelchairs available so please do not hesitate to telephone us to reserve one for your visit - 01823 413923.

Did you know?
Hestercombe has a choice of versatile venues for weddings, conferences and parties; business meetings, exhibitions, celebrations of all kinds - let us take care of you. We have exciting year round events - talks, themed lunches, food and craft fairs, workshops, live music and seasonal delights with lots to do for the whole family.

With so much on offer, we are sure that you will find Hestercombe a welcome oasis of tranquillity,  fabulous for walks for the whole family and a regular destination for a variety of events.

Garden Trust

Sustainable Hestercombe

Hestercombe's Mission Statement

‘The aim of the Hestercombe Trust is to reclaim, restore, preserve, enhance and develop for the education and benefit of the public, the landscape, gardens and buildings of heritage, horticultural or architectural interest associated with Hestercombe’

Referring to our Mission Statement is an important reminder of why we do what we do. The commitment to the care and development of Hestercombe now and for the future takes hard work and dedication. Here are examples of just some of our ongoing work -

Wildlife and habitat management

• Woodland, grassland and wetland habitats are managed to provide maximum wildlife and flora diversity
• We compost all garden & food waste, use no pesticides and limited herbicides are used in the gardens
• We follow the Forestry Commission’s recommended woodland management guidelines which encourage periodic thinning of the woodland to provide the native broadleaf tree species more growing space to fully mature. The sustainably harvested timber is then used to fuel our biomass boiler system to heat our watermill complex. Through following this woodland management practice we are also able to harvest timber for the production of charcoal, which we sell locally.
• As part of our woodland management we have replaced and introduced coniferous species in favour of native broad leaf trees to improve habitat and wildlife diversity.
• Ongoing planting of native shrubs within the woodland to create a wildlife friendly under-story. This will create more habitat diversity, warm the wood and hold more insects – the main food of Hestercombe’s rare Lesser Horseshoe Bats.
• Creation of wildflower meadow, to further improve and broaden our wildlife and habitat diversity at Hestercombe.
• Our significant population of bats are now benefiting from a huge new feeding ground at the West Coombe Dam which has just be reinstated

Protected species management

• Nesting birds: In order to protect any nesting birds and their habitat no forestry work is carried out between the months of March and October. Nest boxes to encourage bird nesting have been installed throughout the estate.
• Badgers: If a badger population establishes itself within our woodland great care is taken not to disturb their sett.
• Bats: By planting a mixture of native shrubs and broadleaf tree species we have created a shrub layer below the tree canopy that increases the amount of cover available to the bats; and by leaving deadwood on the woodland floor we provide a habitat that will also support a high diversity of woodland insects and increase foraging opportunities. A new roost has been created to provide further nesting space for our resident lesser horseshoe, piperstrell and long eared bats.

Facilities management

• Recycling white paper, mixed paper, plastic bottles, bags & packaging, cans, textiles, loose cardboard
• Energy management systems
• Electric car charger in the carpark
• Mechanical and electrical control systems installed to regulate building heating circuits throughout; biomass boiler system installed in the watermill complex, energy efficient lighting systems throughout, under floor heating circuits (watermill complex and Bampfylde Hall), double glazing (watermill complex), water management systems implemented in the visitor loos to control water consumption (throughout), highly insulated buildings with u-values exceeding current building regulations (watermill complex). Electric food handling buggy purchased for the Hospitality Team to improve logistical management for functions across the entire estate
• Solar thermal panels are to be installed to reduce demand from oil fired boilers
• Photovoltaic panels have been installed to provide electricity to the watermill complex,
• Iimpounded rain and natural spring water is used to power our Victorian turbine which is connected to a dynamometer to supply electricity to the watermill complex.

Education - sharing the 'green' message

• The Education Team has developed broad and inclusive education programme with the focus on health, sustainability, conservation and recycling
• The gardening team works closely with Primary Schools to encourage gardening, recycling, vegetable and herb growing
• A short film is shown to demonstrate how the Mill and Barn complex was restored and how historic and modern energy technologies work together
• Events take place throughout the year to further inform and promote the message

Green Tourism

• A bookable Slinky Bus is available from Taunton
• In partnership with the West Somerset Railway we have created a delightful package using the train and coach for a day out at the Gardens

Low food miles

• Our Chef sources ingredients locally wherever possible. Food is made fresh and no frozen food is bought in. Menus are refreshed regularly to reflect the seasons and local availability
• We have our own beautiful herb garden
• Victorian greenhouses have been restored to develop our kitchen garden

Funding Awards