Do you have a list of places you’d love to visit, but which are just too far away and which aren’t in an area you’re planning a holiday in? This was my problem with Stourhead, which had been high on my list since studying Capability Brown’s landscapes at university, but which is about a five and a half hour drive from our house (and Wiltshire wasn’t really high on my list of holiday destinations). However, on our drive back from Exmoor last year we stopped off in Mere for a few days while Sam did a small job, and this presented me with the opportunity I’d been waiting for to finally visit Stourhead. (As an aside, Wiltshire is now also on the holiday list after our brief taster!).
As Sam was working, Stourhead was a solo visit for me with Merry tagging along. We’d driven up from Somerset that morning and after dropping Sam and our bags off where we were staying I jumped straight back into the car – only stopping to think after I’d set off that it was lunchtime on a Friday, on an August bank holiday weekend. Happily, there is plenty of parking at Stourhead and I got parked with no issues, and although there were plenty of other cars there it didn’t feel as oppressively busy as other popular National Trust sites can feel on a bank holiday weekend.
Entry was quick and easy as I had my National Trust card out ready to be scanned – I also love checking the entry prices at this point to see how eye watering they are, so I can feel smug about getting free entry. At £24.50 with Gift Aid I felt rather pleased indeed, and this coupled with multiple trips to our local National Trust sites (plus parking in the Lake District) means that I’ve probably saved more than double what our joint membership cost. At the entrance a lovely lady handed me a map (which you can return at the end to save paper and recycling), which for once I actually could make sense of (a rarity for me with National Trust maps, which usually just resemble some artistically squiggly lines and pretty drawings).
The map showed that I could get around most of the gardens and follies on a circular walk of about 2 miles, so I set off in the direction of the walled garden as indicated on the map. I hadn’t been expecting a walled garden, being rather fixated on Capability Brown, but it was a nice little spot with plenty of colourful flowers. A short walk from here took me alongside the house, a rather grand Palladian mansion, but having the dog with me I couldn’t go in and so I carried on into the gardens: don’t throw your tickets away, as you’ll need them to get in here!
While there were quite a few people knocking about, the gardens didn’t feel busy. It was very pleasant wandering along the paths, with the trees providing plenty of shade, then strategically clearing to open up a view to a folly perched across the lake on the opposite hillside. I hadn’t been expecting the walk to take the full 90 minutes that the National Trust map suggested, but it probably actually took me a bit longer than this as I lingered here and there to admire a view or snap a photo. The map definitely helped keep me on track and I think I would have missed lots of the follies if I didn’t have it guiding the way!
The path is very good all the way around, with a few short hilly sections or flights of stairs. The gardens at Stourhead are Capability Brown at his finest, with so many lovely views, calming waters and clumps of trees. I’d definitely put Stourhead up there as one of the nicest National Trust properties I’ve ever visited – and I feel like I barely scratched the surfaces, with plenty of other trails available around the estate.
Dog friendly rating: 4/5. Stourhead is a ‘Two pawprint rated place’, which means that you can take your dog into some places but not everywhere. The cafe was super busy so I didn’t even bother looking to see if I could go in, but I was chuffed that we could explore the landscaped gardens together, and appreciated the water bowls at the entrance and exit of the gardens. Dogs have to be kept on leads in this area, which having been accosted one too many times by the ‘don’t worry, he’s friendly!’ brigade I am more and more grateful for – even visiting with our non-reactive dog. Despite this I was glad I’d brought Merry and not Coal: while the paths weren’t ‘busy’, I think he would have struggled with the number of people and dogs, especially as the paths are quite twisty and you can turn a corner and be face to face with someone.
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