Exbury Gardens
nr Beaulieu, Hampshire
|
Featured Location Guide |
Exbury Gardens and Steam Railway are based in
the New Forest National Park. It is a 200 acre woodland garden with 22 miles of
pathways, world famous for the Rothschild collection of rhododendrons, azaleas,
camellias, rare trees and plants. It is full of colour in the spring and plenty
of colour autumn colours to photograph.
|
A little bit of
History
In 1919 the Exbury Estate
was bought by Lionel de Rothschild. It had a temperate climate, moderate
rainfall and an acidic soil ideal for growing rhododendrons. Using a large team
he gradually cleared the woodland and laid out the garden putting in ornamental
ponds, paths were set out and two acres of greenhouses and the basis of what you
see today. The onset of WWII brought the development to a standstill and Lionel
died in 1942, when later that year Exbury House was requisitioned by the Royal
Navy. After the war the house returned to the family, and Lionel's' wife and son
began restoring the site and cultivating new parts of the garden and raising new
Exbury hybrids.
What can you see on
your visit.
Amongst the 200 acres
there are many gardens and features as well as woodland and of course the
Rothschild Rhododendrons to see. There is also a small narrow gauge steam
railway, buggy rides, and from the end of July a Maize maze.
|
Herbaceous borders
near Exbury House
 |
The following lists the
main gardens and features of the site.
| Gardens |
Features |
| Azalea Bowl |
View point & Arromanches
Plaque |
| The glade |
Top pond |
| Herbaceous & grasses garden |
Lower pond |
| Burmese bell |
Wiggly tree |
| Sundial garden |
Lionel de Rothschild
memorial |
| Hydrangea walk |
Gilbury bridge |
| Daffodil meadow |
Jubillee Pond |
|
Lovers Lane |
Japanese bridge |
| Bog garden |
Five Arrows Gallery |
| Rock garden |
Exbury House |
|
Azalea drive |
|
| Camellia walk |
|
| Summer Lane Garden |
|
| American Garden |
|
| Winter garden |
|
Exbury Garden
Railway
A 20min, one and a
quarter mile circular journey around the northeast corner of the Gardens on a
steam train. Features include a bridge, tunnel, viaduct, Exbury Central Station
& Exbury North Halt, plus lots of woodland characters to spot! Trains are
scheduled to depart at 11AM, 11.45AM, 12.30PM, 1.30PM, 2.15PM, 3PM and 4PM (and
at more regular intervals during May). An additional 4.30pm train will run
during the Hampshire summer holidays.
Buggy Tours
Chauffeur driven buggy tours operate throughout
the season for an additional fee. The buggies accommodate up to 7 passengers and
tours last 30/45 minutes.
Website Features
They have a number of regularly updated features on their website including:
-
A picture gallery which shows the current
flowering conditions around the garden.
-
Interactive Tours, some 3D and Video tours of some of the garden areas.
-
Head
Gardner's Notice Board - which keeps you up to date with what work is going on
in the gardens, plus regular updates of what you can see in the garden on your
visit.
Further information Grid
|
Location: |
Exbury Gardens, nr Beaulieu, Hampshire |
|
Ceremonial County: |
Hampshire |
|
Grid Reference: |
SU426001 |
|
Map Link: |
StreetMap
 |
|
Aerial photo: |
Google Aerial
|
|
Route(s):
|
|
|
Best Times to Visit: |
May for Rhododendron and Azalea blooms
Camellias peak in April/May
Autumn for the Woodland |
|
E-mail: |
nigel.philpott@exbury.co.uk |
|
Website: |
www.exbury.co.uk
|
|
Other useful
websites: |
|
|
Nearby Locations: |
|
|
Other Relevant pages: |
|
.
Planning Grid
|
Location: |
Exbury Gardens, nr Beaulieu, Hampshire |
|
Grid Reference: |
SU426001 |
|
Getting there: |
From M27 junction 2 onto A326 to Fawley.
Continue over a series of roundabouts at the 7th one take the B3054 to
Exbury and Beaulieu. Turn right be side of The Royal Oak put to Exbury after
2.5 miles entrance to gardens is on right. |
|
Access: |
Via 22 miles of paths |
|
Parking: |
Ample Free parking |
|
Facilities: |
Designated picnic areas in gardens. Gift shop,
plant centre, Buggy Tours, steam Railway |
|
Things To Do,
See and Photograph: |
Flowers, woodlands, ponds and vistas |
|
What to take: |
macro lens for close ups, polarizer,
reflectors |
|
Nature highlights: |
Rhododendrons and Bluebells in May |
|
Address: |
Exbury Gardens
The Estate Office
Exbury, Southampton
Hampshire |
|
Postcode: |
SO45 1AZ |
|
Telephone: |
02380 891203
(office hours)
02380 899422 (24 hour info line) |
|
Opening times: |
Daily 19th Mar-6th Nov 10am to 5pm or dusk if
earlier. |
|
Charges: |
Adult £9; Concessions & Seniors £8.50; Child
(3-15) £2; Child (under 3) FREE; Family (2+3) £21
RHS Members FREE; Historic Houses Association members FREE
For all visitors
Railway Extra Fare £3.50; Family (2+3) £13.50
Daily rover ticket for
£4.50 (unlimited travel when train running)
Buggy Tours Extra £3.50/£4 per person. |
|
Photo Restrictions: |
|
|
Other Restrictions: |
|
|
Special Needs Access: |
Fairly level site and paths are suitable for
wheelchairs. Carers are admitted free. Limited number of free wheelchairs
available. 4 of the railway carriages have been adapted to take wheelchairs. |
|
Special Needs Facilities: |
Toilets are at main entrance, herbaceous and
grasses garden, tennis court tea garden and the railway station. |
|
Children Facilities: |
Steam Railway and plenty of gardens to run
about in, be aware there are ponds dotted around the site. |
|
Dogs Allowed: |
Kept on short leads |
|
|
Please let us know any other information that we
can add to the Further information and Planning Grids or page and any errors that you discover. Before making a long trip to any location it is always
wise to double check the current information, websites like magazines may be
correct at the time the information is written, but things change and it is of
course impossible to double check all entries on a regular basis. If you have
any good photographs that you feel would improve the illustration of this page
then please let us have copies. In referring to this page it is helpful if you
quote both the Page Ref and Topic or Section references from the Grid below. To print the
planning grid select it then right click and print the selected area.
Please submit information on locations you discover so
that this system continues to grow.
|
