Tickets & Opening Hours

Visit Hestercombe with peace of mind

Hestercombe has been accredited as part of Visit Britain’s ‘Good to Go’ scheme: we have followed government and industry COVID-19 guidelines, have a risk assessment in place and a process to maintain

cleanliness and aid social distancing.

Please help us keep Hestercombe safe by wearing your face covering in all areas of the Visitor Centre, including the Visitor Reception, Stables Cafe and Plant Centre.

Please note: you are now only able to visit Hestercombe as one household or support bubble, and can only meet one other person from another household outside as long as you maintain social distancing. Gardens admission will be limited to six per online booking.

Admission

To keep both staff and visitors safe, on arrival you must have your booking reference ready before entering the Visitor Reception in order to keep communication to an absolute minimum.

Opening Times

Hestercombe is currently closed, following the Government’s announcement of the national lockdown. Please see our Coronavirus updates page for more information.

Gardens

10am – 5pm, daily Wednesday to Sunday

The Stables Café & Bampfylde Hall Restaurant

10am - 5pm, daily Wednesday to Sunday

You must pre-book gardens admission in order to visit the Stables Café, which is takeaway only; the Bampfylde Hall Restaurant is closed until further notice. Seating in the Courtyard, Marquee Lawn and Picnic Area has been removed.

Plant Centre

11am – 4pm, daily Wednesday to Sunday

You must pre-book gardens admission in order to visit the Plant Centre (pay for plants in the Café)

Hestercombe House: Gallery, Pop-Up Gift Shop & Secondhand Book Shop

Temporarily closed until further notice.

The Column Room Restaurant

Temporarily closed until further notice.

Accessibility

Tramper Mobility Scooter £6.00 (per 2 hour slot)
Ring or email ahead to book: 01823 413923 (payment required to secure booking). Tramper scheme operated by Countryside Mobility, non members of the scheme will be required to join for a fee of £2.50.

**Please read our accessibility webpage for further information to help you plan your visit.

*Gift Aid

If you're a UK taxpayer and you make a Gift Aid donation when you enter of 10% more than the admission price, the government will give the Hestercombe Gardens Trust an extra 25% of the full admission price. If you do not wish to make the donation, then please advise our ticket staff accordingly. Admission prices without a donation are: Adult £12.00; Child £6.00; Family Savers £18.00 and £30.00.

Dog-friendly

Dogs are very welcome on a lead throughout the gardens, Plant Centre, Stables Café, and parts of Hestercombe House, including the Second-hand Bookshop and pop-up Gift Shop (but not the Gallery).

A complimentary dog treat is provided upon arrival for very good dogs.

Guided Tours

If you’re unable to get to Hestercombe for a visit, or if you’d like a guided tour when you get here, please download the Candide UK app.

Guided audio tours are available for free for both the Landscape Garden (with Chief Executive, Philip White), and the Formal Garden (with Head Gardener, Claire Greenslade).

Help us by shopping

Do you shop online at John Lewis, Amazon, eBay, Argos, Expedia, booking.com, Tesco or Sainsbury’s? By signing up to Give As You Live you can earn us charitable donations at no extra cost to yourself, and help us restore Hestercombe’s estate for the benefit of future generations.

Groups and Tours

Groups and tours enquiries are very welcome – please see our Groups information for further details of what we can offer you.

Have you visited recently?

If you’ve visited Hestercombe recently, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Please take a minute or two to share your feedback in our quick survey and help guide our future.

Important information

For details about how we’re managing visits, please read our Coronavirus information.

• If you wish to visit the gardens, Stables Takeaway Café or Plant Centre at Hestercombe, you must book a ticket online by clicking the 'Book your visit' button above.
• Each Friday we open gardens admission bookings for the following Wednesday to Sunday period.
• Upon arrival, all visitors (including members) must have their booking confirmation email ready (as a print out, or on a phone). Same day bookings are accepted.
• Bookings are non-refundable, and non-transferable.

• If you're booking using a Microsoft (Hotmail, Live, Outlook) email address, you may not receive an email confirmation. In this case, when you have completed your booking, please note down your booking reference number, date and time of visit, and bring this along – a screenshot of your booking confirmation is also acceptable.
• Partner Gardens members and BBC Gardeners’ World offer-holders must bring their membership cards or vouchers with their booking references in order for their tickets to be valid. Our Partner Gardens are The Bishop’s Palace, Wells, Kilver Court, Forde Abbey and Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens.
• Hestercombe is an RHS Partner Garden, and RHS membership cards are valid for entry from October to March. See the RHS website for further information. We no longer participate in the Historic Houses scheme.