gardens to visit near cheltenham

The National Trust owns the world-renowned Hidcote Manor gardens, while the nearby Kiftsgate Court garden is famous world-wide for the Kiftsgate climbing rose. Rodmarton Manor and Barnsley House gardens are both fine examples of traditional English country gardens while Westbury Court garden is the earliest formal Dutch water garden remaining in the country. There are many to explore.

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Cerney House Gardens.

Cerney House Gardens is a romantic, secret place in the Cotswolds, near to Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. They are part of the home of the Angus family. Set around a Victorian walled garden, they are described by Country Living as "what most people aspire to in their gardens – and few achieve". The late Lady Angus and her daughter Barbara developed the garden over the years with a lot of help from nature itself. Barbara had little garden experience when they first arrived but luckily Lady Angus had. When they viewed the property it was the walled garden that they first fell in love with. This was in the summer and they fell in love all over again when the following spring bulbs erupted from all corners.

Opening Times

We open 7 days a week , 364 days a year, rain or shine.

(or daylight hours during the Winter months) 

Including Bank Holidays

There is usually no need to book

unless there is special event on after the normal opening hours.

(Group bookings click here)

You can pay with cash or contactless on arrival.

Admission Price Adults £6 per person Children £1   Self-service refreshments

(click here for details)  

Dogs on leads welcome

Disabled A ccess

We do have disabled parking spaces available, please follow the signs from the main car park. We are a Cotswold location and are inevitably hilly! The walled garden is accessible to electric wheelchairs.

We do not however recommend manual wheelchairs due to the gravel paths and inclines.

Leave the hustle and bustle of today's world and visit Cerney House Gardens, where time seems to stand still. Let old-fashioned scents and colour surround you in this romantic secret garden. Explore the working organic kitchen garden amongst the overflowing herbaceous borders. Discover wildlife and woodland walks through our 40 acres of Cotswold parkland.

Cerney House Gardens, North Cerney, Cirencester, Glos, GL7 7BX

4 Cheltenham Parks and Gardens You Must Visit!

Cheltenham is often known for its architecture and stunning buildings , but did you know that the town also has over 600 acres of parks and gardens for you to explore?

In fact, it’s often called ‘The Garden Town of England’!

With that in mind, here are four Cheltenham parks and gardens you absolutely must visit…

1. Pittville Park

Pittville Park really steals the show when it comes to parks and gardens in Cheltenham.

Open to the public since 1825, it’s (by far) the largest park in the town. There’s lots to see here including a canal, lake, myriad of cafes and tea rooms, as well as Pittville Pump Room , a magnificent example of Regency architecture in Cheltenham and a Grade 1 listed building.

The Pump Room houses the spa waters that really helped to put Cheltenham on the map in the 18th century, and occasionally throughout the year, you’re allowed to venture inside to have a taste. (We’re reliably informed that it’s disgusting and very pungent!)

Interestingly, it’s not just the Pump Room that has a historic status. Pittville Park itself has been given a Grade 2 listed status under the English Heritage Register of historic parks and gardens .

Aside from all the natural and historic beauties to behold, it’s also a great park for those of you visiting with children as it houses a large play park alongside bird aviaries and rabbit pens.

During your visit, we’d highly recommend stopping off at The Boathouse Cafe , a charming riverside cafe, with great views and row boats available to hire.

2. Montpellier Gardens

Montpellier Gardens is less of a grand park to visit than Pittville Park, but its appeal lies with something else that’s just as exciting.

These gardens are often home to Cheltenham’s free festivals that happen throughout the year, so if you’re visiting at the same time as one of these festivals is on, then you’re in for a real treat.

During other times of the year, Montpellier Gardens is much more understated, making it the perfect place to while away a few hours with a picnic and good book.

When visiting, we’d recommend getting some ice cream from The Garden Cafe … it’s delicious and very well priced!

3. Imperial Gardens

Found close by to both the town centre and the famous Promenade, the Imperial Gardens are another excellent park area you must visit when in Cheltenham.

These gardens are really well looked after, which means even if you’re visiting as late as autumn or winter, you’ll still be able to see beautiful flowers in bloom. In fact, around 25,000 flowers are planted every year!

Surrounding the Imperial Gardens are some of Cheltenham’s finest examples of Regency architecture , making for some interesting photos that blend nature with traditional town life.

Similarly to the Montpellier Gardens, the Imperial Gardens also play host to much of Cheltenham’s festival calendar, giving it extra buzz at those times.

While you’re in this area, you should stroll along the street called Board Walk, which is near to the gardens. Keep going right to the end on the Eastern side and you’ll find the Imperial Fountain, which is practically hidden behind a corner and has a very interesting history.

The plaque next to the fountain reads:

“According to tradition, this marble fountain was looted from Italy by the French in 1800. It was captured by the English while on its way to France and later sold to a Cheltenham solicitor, Thomas Henney. In 1826 Henney installed the fountain in a pavilion near the Imperial Spa, now the site of the Queen’s Hotel. In 1834 it was moved to the Montpellier Gardens. It was repaired in 1902 and put on display in the Town Hall until 1926, when it was moved to the public library. It has now been restored and is on loan from Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museums.”

4. Sandford Park

And finally, the last park you must visit, is Sandford Park . This is one of the lesser known parks in Cheltenham, which means it offers a quiet rest area to those who go in search of it.

There are three main sections within the ornamental side of the park hosting summer blooms, plenty of quiet seating areas, a fountain and even edible herbs and plants you’re welcome to pick.

Nearby, there’s the Sandford Parks Lido , which is great for lane swimming during the warmer months. There’s even an adult dog swim during the autumn (just before the lido closes for the winter).

Well, there you have it… the four Cheltenham parks and gardens you absolutely must visit! Which one are you most excited to see first? Let us know in the comments…

Are you looking for more fun things to do in Cheltenham? Take a look at our other blog post!

Did you like this? Pin it now, read it again later!

Justine Jenkins

Justine is one half of the married couple behind the Wanderers of the World travel blog. She lives in Bristol, UK and has travelled extensively within Europe and beyond since 2013. After her trips, she shares detailed travel itineraries, helpful travel guides and inspiring blog posts about the places she's been to. When she's not travelling overseas, you'll find her joining her husband, Scott on various day trips, weekend getaways and walks within the UK, which she also writes about on Wanderers of the World. Aside from travelling and writing, she also loves reading, crafting and learning about nature.

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THE BEST Cheltenham Gardens

Gardens in cheltenham.

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1. Webbs Garden Centres

Colesbourne Gardens

Home » Gardens » Colesbourne Gardens

Colesbourne Gardens is one of the best snowdrop gardens in the Cotswolds.

Discover over 300 snowdrop cultivars including Galanthus plicatus ‘Diggory’, Galanthus elwesii ‘Carolyn Elwes’ and the early flowering Galanthus plicatus ‘Colossus’. The rarer snowdrops are in the Spring Garden.

Sir Henry and Lady Elwes continue to add new varieties of snowdrops to the collection.

Many of the rare trees in the arboretum were collected by Henry John Elwes (1846-1922) on his travels.

The area around the Ice House was once a Japanese Garden but is now grassed over with a variety of trees including a Cryptomeria japonica brought back from Japan by H. J. Elwes.

It is not known when the grotto was built.

The Lake was created in 1922 and has one of the first private hydroelectric dams in the country. The stunning blue colour is probably caused by suspended clay particles and a low concentrations of algae.

The gardens are only open on a few weekends in January and February – check the website for details.

It is not known when the first manor house was built at Colesbourne but by 1672, the house had 11 hearths. It was extended in 1703 by the Sheppard family, clothiers of Minchinhampton who sold it in 1789 to John Elwes, son of John Elwes – more of him later!

By 1850, Elwes had twelve children and he decided to replace the manor house with a large Victorian building designed by the Scottish architect, David Brandon.

Henry John Elwes inherited the estate from his father in 1891. Described as ‘a giant of a man, and a very dominating character’, Elwes travelled widely, collecting many species of plants and trees from abroad. Elwes was also interested in ornithology, lepidoptory, horticulture, dendrology and agriculture. He wrote:

I have, during my life, taken an active part in most outdoor sports and occupations. I have crossed and recrossed the Himalayas and the Andes, explored Siberia and Formosa, and, as I grow older, I find that there is more companionship, consolation and true pleasure in gardening and in plants than in anything I have tried.

While on a trip to Turkey in 1874, Elwes discovered a large snowdrop which was named after him, Galanthus elwesii. Elwes planted numerous snowdrops at Colesbourne and the present collection has been described as ‘England’s greatest snowdrop garden.’

With his interest in bulbs, Elwes published in 1880, the folio edition of The Genus Lilium with assistance from J.G. Baker of Kew. [I saw a copy when I worked at Bernard Quaritch, the antiquarian bookshop in London – it’s a magnificent work.] And between 1907 and 1913, Elwes and the botanist Augustine Henry, recorded every species of tree growing outdoors in the British Isles in the seven volume work The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland.

During the Second World War, Colesbourne House was requisitioned and when Henry Elwes inherited the estate in 1956, the house was half-empty. Elwes kept the dining room but demolished the rest of the building, erecting a smaller house around it.

I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the John Elwes whose son bought Colesbourne and although this John Elwes had no direct influence on the gardens here, his life is extraordinary. Born John Meggot in 1714, his father died when he was four. His mother inherited a considerable fortune – c£100,000 – but it is said she was so miserley that she refused to spend any money on food and died from starvation. John inherited some of his mother’s traits: he would go to bed in darkness rather than light a candle; would sit with the servants to save lighting another fire; walked in the rain rather than get a coach and allegedly ate a rotten moorhen stolen from a rat – it is perhaps not surprising that John is purported to be the model for Charles Dicken’s Scrooge.

John also decided to change his name from Meggot to Elwes, in order to endear himself to his rich uncle, Sir Harvey Elwes. The plan worked for on Sir Harvey’s death in 1763, John inherited his fortune.

On his death in 1789, Elwes left £500,000 (almost £1 billion today) to his two sons who were both born out of wedlock.

Perhaps surprisingly, Elwes was also a great supporter of Robert Adam and many of the houses in Piccadilly, Baker Street and Marylebone were financed by him. English Heritage has yet to erect a blue plaque in his memory.

INFORMATION

For information on opening times and to buy tickets: Click here

Snowdrops at Colesbourne

Snowdrops at Colesbourne Gardens

Cyclamen at Colesbourne Gardens

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England's Greatest Snowdrop Garden

England’s Greatest Snowdrop Garden

*-22nd FEBRUARY UPDATE -*

We are very sorry to announce that due to the heavy rain we have experienced this week, the gardens will be unable to open this weekend. The carpark and the gardens themselves are very waterlogged and dangerous due to slippery conditions and we have taken the decision to close after much deliberation. This is sadness indeed after a  wonderful Countryfile piece on our snowdrop collection last Sunday – if you have not seen it, it is available on BBC 1 iplayer, and at least you will see a little glimpse into a time when it was not raining!

We hate ending the season on such a note but thank you to all our visitors this year and we look forward to seeing you all next year!

Colesbourne Gardens is the premier place to see snowdrops in bloom. The collection is probably the most varied of any garden on display, with over three hundred varieties of this spectacular harbinger of spring on show during the short season. Over 10 acres of private gardens and woodland walks with a mix of snowdrops, hellebores, cyclamen and a wide variety of early flowering shrubs.

The Gardens include an arboretum of rare trees privately collected over the past 120 years, many of which are Champion trees listed in the Tree Register of the British Isles.

Lovely garden, best snowdrops we have ever seen.

A most beautiful place to see such a wide range of snowdrops in a natural setting.

Home » Travel Guides » United Kingdom » England » 15 Best Things to Do in Cheltenham (Gloucestershire, England)

15 Best Things to Do in Cheltenham (Gloucestershire, England)

The market town of Cheltenham would never be the same again after its mineral springs were discovered in the 1700s.

This triggered a hundred-year wave of development that peaked in the Regency era in the first decades of the 19th century.

With Neoclassical spa facilities, terraces of stuccoed townhouses and opulent gardens, Cheltenham has been described as Britain’s most complete Regency town.

It’s been a long time since the upper crust visited to “take the waters”, but the town has held onto its prosperous air.

In March Cheltenham Racecourse stages the Gold Cup, a landmark in the British horseracing calendar.

The town also rests below the first escarpment of the Cotswolds, and the region’s picture-book villages and charming countryside are all in your grasp.

Let’s explore the best things to do in Cheltenham :

1. Montpellier District

In the southern part of Cheltenham’s town centre, the Montpellier District is the poshest part of a well-to-do town.

The Montpellier District was born in the 1830s and is replete with graceful Regency townhouses and dainty greenery at Imperial Gardens and Montpellier Gardens.

The district is for shopping and dining, but most of the establishments, from design shops to antiques dealers and wine bars, are one-offs, lending the Montpellier District a more personal touch.

On Montpellier Walk the Neoclassical Caryatids add a sense of ceremony and are modelled on the Erechtheion in Athens.

Just around the corner is one of the UK’s oldest shopping galleries, the Montpellier Arcade, completed in 1832.

2. The Promenade and Long Gardens

North of the Montpellier District is one of England’s most treasured shopping streets.

The Promenade was first plotted as a tree-lined avenue in 1818, coinciding with the arrival of the Sherborne Spa.

The way is shaded by horse chestnut, copper beech, plane and lime trees, in front of rows of Regency houses and more modern buildings.

These host cafes, restaurants and a medley of midmarket and upmarket retailers like Waterstones, Karen Millen, House of Fraser and Whittard of Chelsea.

Tracing the walk beside the Municipal Buildings are the Long Gardens, laid with ornamental flowerbeds and enriched by the Neptune Fountain (1893), inspired by the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

3. Pittville Park

Cheltenham’s mineral wells are dispersed over a large area, and in the early 19th century the town grew northwards with the establishment of Pittville, created by lawyer and developer Joseph Pitt.

The park opened in 1825 and is watched by the glorious Pittville Pump Room, on a small eminence to the north.

This 33-hectare space was a place of repose for people taking the waters at the Pump Room.

The east side flows down to an ornamental pond, and has an aviary with an assortment of birds and rabbits.

Further west, across Evesham Road, is the larger boating lake, fringed by the gorgeous boathouse (hosting a cafe), and renting out pedal boats and rowboats in summer.

Also in the park is a nine-hole golf course, a newly revamped play area for kids, tennis courts and a skatepark.

4. Pittville Pump Room

Cheltenham’s Regency masterwork is the Pittville Pump Room on the north border of Pittville Park.

This Grade I listed building went up in the second half of the 1820s as a place to drink the therapeutic waters in the new town of Pittville.

This dignified building has a colonnade of Ionic columns beneath three statues, representing Hygieia (Greek Goddess of Health), Asclepius (God of Medicine) and Hippocrates.

The Pump Room’s dome is supported by more Ionic columns, in a gallery where musicians would have played for people as they tried their best to drink these pungent waters.

The Regency pump is still intact, and is an impressive, monolithic structure made from marble and scagliola.

The Pump Room is now hired out for functions, but you can take a look around from Wednesday to Sunday.

5. The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum

In a Regency building with a modern extension, the Wilson Art Gallery and Museum is cherished for its Designated Arts and Crafts collection.

There are textiles, ceramics, paintings, leatherwork, pieces of furniture, wood carvings, silverwork and jewellery from the Arts and Crafts movement, which idealised the English countryside and was centred in the Cotswolds from 1890. You can also take in some painting from the Dutch Golden Age, by artists like Gerrit Dou, as well as porcelain from the Far East.

The Edward Wilson Gallery is a space dedicated to the Cheltenham-born explorer who died on Captain Scott’s ill-fated South Pole expedition in 1912. You can also delve into Cheltenham’s human history and find out about its growth as a spa resort from the end of the 18th century.

6. Imperial Gardens

Bordering Cheltenham Town Hall on Imperial Square, Imperial Gardens dates back to 1818. Initially this was reserved for patients at the Sherborne Spa, which is now occupied by the Queens Hotel on the west side of the square.

Framed by terraces of regal townhouses and the imposing Town Hall, these formal gardens are renowned for their floral displays when 25,000 blooms produce a spectacle of colour every spring.

In summer the gardens are a cultivated setting for outdoor events during the Science, Jazz, Literature and Music Festivals.

You can also come to pay homage to the Cheltenham native, Gustav Holst, who has been remembered with a full-size statue over a fountain, unveiled in 2009.

7. Holst Birthplace Museum

Holst was born in Cheltenham in 1874, to a professional musician and the daughter of a respected solicitor from not far away in Cirencester.

This flat-fronted house on Clarence Road was turned into a museum in Holst’s honour in 1975 and is one of only two birthplace museums devoted to composers in the UK. The house offers a snapshot of domestic life in Victorian Cheltenham, with rooms decorated with Holst family furniture and a kitchen containing antique utensils and a fine old range.

The showpiece though is the very piano Gustav Holst used to compose his masterpiece, The Planets.

Recitals are occasionally given on this instrument, known for its soft touch keys.

The Holst Discovery Space is an interactive area where you can browse more than 3,000 Holst-specific items, and listen to the composer’s earliest manuscripts.

8. Everyman Theatre

One of two first-rate performing arts venues in Cheltenham the Everyman Theatre is a grand Frank Matcham-designed building that opened in 1891. It is the oldest surviving auditorium constructed by this feted architect, adorned with elaborate gilded stucco, paintings of cherubs, bespoke wallpaper and carpets, scagliola, marble and paintings of the Angels of Comedy and Tragedy on the spandrels flanking the proscenium arch.

The theatre was restored at great expense at the beginning of the 2010s, and is an apt venue for an edifying night of ballet, opera, dance or theatre, or for some earthier fun at Christmas time for pantomimes.

9. Cheltenham Town Hall

On Imperial Square, Cheltenham’s Town Hall has a misleading name as it’s never been a government building.

Rather, it’s an assembly rooms, which historically were places for member of the upper classes to meet and hold social functions.

This Neoclassical venue replaced Cheltenham’s former Assembly Rooms in 1903 and has a splendid main hall, capable of seating more than 1,000 spectators and enriched with marble Corinthian columns with gilded capitals and a marvellous coffered ceiling.

There’s a busy programme of comedy, music of all descriptions, spoken, dance and children’s shows worth browsing if you’re in town.

Just next to the entrance hall is the Central Spa, dispensing waters from all of Cheltenham spa’s pump rooms, and with a stunning octagonal Doulton stoneware counter and urns that are still in use.

10. Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam Railway

The Great Western Railway’s Honeybourne Line was built in the 1900s and linked Cheltenham with Stratford-upon-Avon and Birmingham.

This line eventually closed in 1976 after decades of neglect, but as early as 1981 preservation work began on a stretch not far from Cheltenham at Toddington.

The track was relaid, stations were restored and in 2018 the line has been extended between Cheltenham Race Course and Broadway, for a round trip of 28 miles.

You’ll take your seat in a historic carriage pulled by a steam locomotive through some of the Cotswolds’ most idyllic scenery, past hamlets and villages and across elevated terrain with far-ranging views of this range and the neighbouring Malverns.

There are services almost every day from April to October, as well as a schedule in December.

11. The Cotswolds

Cheltenham is in a handy location to get the most out of the Cotswolds and lies just west of the first hills of this much-loved range.

A few things come to mind when you mention the Cotswolds: Bucolic rolling countryside, cosy villages, market towns rich in architecture from an historic wool boom, and houses built from the range’s golden oolitic limestone.

Cheltenham is at the head of two circular driving routes, together known as the Romantic Road.

The northern loop takes you into the highest parts of the range to Cleeve Hill (330 metres) and towns and villages like Chipping Campden, which has a gorgeous 17th-century Town Hall and Perpendicular Gothic Wool Church.

The southern loop heads down to the source of the River Thames and the town of Cirencester, which displays its Roman history at the top-notch Corinium Museum.

12. St Mary’s Minster

Cheltenham’s parish church was upgraded to a minster in 2013 and is the only remaining Medieval monument in the town.

St Mary’s was first raised by the Normans in the 11th century, and has surviving Gothic architecture.

There are elements from the Early English style, but most of the building, notably its window tracery, is Decorated Gothic from the 13th and 14th centuries.

The north porch is a delight, and has kept its lierne vaulting, while the church tower is a little older, going back to the start 13th century, with a peal of 12 bells newly cast in 2018. Look out for the royal coat of arms, commemorating George III’s visit to Cheltenham in 1788 and a memorial to Henry Skillicorne an 18th-century merchant mariner who founded Cheltenham’s first spa.

13. Sudeley Castle

A few short miles into the Cotswolds from Cheltenham is Sudeley Castle, one of the few castles in England that is still a private residence.

Completed in 1442, the castle would have close royal ties after being seized by the crown from its owner because of his Lancastrian connections, and was given to the future Richard III. Henry VIII’s sixth wife Catherine Parr spent the last few months of her life at Sudeley Castle, dying through complications from childbirth in 1548. Her tomb can be found in the castle’s chapel, St Mary’s Church, but had been hidden for almost 250 years, being rediscovered in 1788. The castle has an exhibition about the life of Catherine Parr, including exceptionally rare books that she wrote and love letters to her last husband Thomas Seymour.

Other treasures include Charles I’s own beer jugs, lacework made by Anne Boleyn and Abusson bed hangings produced for Marie Antoinette.

14. Devil’s Chimney

You can go on a quick jaunt into the Cotswolds by making the short trip up the first slope to the local, landmark, the Devil’s Chimney.

Nobody’s too sure how this tall limestone column was formed, but it rises from a disused quarry and was surely carved out by human hands hundreds of years ago instead of being caused by erosion.

Apparently this landform is the chimney for the devil’s underground dwelling, and there was a time when people would throw coins on top to encourage him to stay below.

The other reason to scale the first ridge of the Cotswolds is for the views, over Cheltenham, parts of Gloucester and as far as the Malverns 15 miles to the northwest.

15. Cheltenham Racecourse

A spa resort wouldn’t be complete without a racecourse, and Cheltenham’s is one of the most revered in the country.

A mecca for National Hunt (jump) racing, Cheltenham has 14 Grade I races, in a season that starts in November and culminates with the world-famous Cheltenham Festival in March.

Some of the most hotly contested races in the sport take place in that four-day event, like the Champion Hurdle, the Stayers’ Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and finally the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which has a prize purse of almost £600,000 for just a few minutes of racing.

The course has a capacity of 67,500, bolstered by the new 6,500-seater Princess Royal Stand, and sits in a scenic position, just below the escarpment of the Cotswolds.

15 Best Things to Do in Cheltenham (Gloucestershire, England):

• Montpellier District
• The Promenade and Long Gardens
• Pittville Park
• Pittville Pump Room
• The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum
• Imperial Gardens
• Holst Birthplace Museum
• Everyman Theatre
• Cheltenham Town Hall
• Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam Railway
• The Cotswolds
• St Mary's Minster
• Sudeley Castle
• Devil's Chimney
• Cheltenham Racecourse

Visit European Castles

22 Beautiful Castles & Stately Homes in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in the south west of England. And you can find many beautiful stately homes and castles in Gloucestershire that you can visit. The Gloucestershire county lies close to the city of Oxford, making it a perfect countryside day trip when you visit Oxford.

The county Gloucestershire offers many stately homes. From Prince Charles and Camilla’s private residence (Highgrove House) to historic houses ranging from the Tudor period to the Arts and Crafts movement.

I have listed 22 gorgeous stately homes in Gloucestershire, many of which you can visit or even stay at. At the end of this post you will also find a map of Gloucestershire with all these stately homes listed. Very handy for a road trip.

See also: the best stately homes around Oxford

Badminton Estate

The large country house has been owned by the Dukes of Beaufort since the 17th century. During the Second World War, Queen Mary lived at Badminton Estate. Today the house is an event venue. But occasionally the house is opened for groups (15-30 people) to get a private tour of the estate.

Visit the website →

Berkeley Castle

The 11th century castle has been owned by the Berkeley family since its construction and is one of the March castles (to keep out the Welsh). Unique about this castle is that the building, the family, the archives (dating back to the 12th century), contents and town have all survived.

The castle is also believed to be the place where King Edward II was murdered in 1327.

Today you can visit the castle and gardens on Sunday-Wednesday from Spring to Autumn.

Chavenage House

Made of Cotswolds stone, Chavenage House was built in 1576 in Elizabethan style. Chavenage House is often used as filming location. And it’s perhaps best known for appearing as Trenwith in the BBC series Poldark.

Chavenage is still a family home, but you can visit the 400-year-old Cotswolds manor on specified days.

Clearwell Castle

In The Forest of Dean stands the first 18th century Gothic revival castle built in England. In the 20th century, the castle was almost destroyed. But luckily it has been carefully restored. The castle is perhaps best known as a recording studio for bands like Lep Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Queen. Currently Clearwell Castle is a wedding venue.

Dyrham Park

This Baroque country house was built for William Blathwayt in the 17th and 18th century. The house has an extensive furniture and art collection. Including a collection of Dutch masters.

Dyrham Park is now part of the National Trust and the house, gardens and tea room can be visited.

Ellenborough Park

A country house with 500 year history can be found in Southam, Gloucestershire. In 1485 the built of a manor house started on an elevated spot in the countryside. The Great Hall was first built and over the years the manor house extended to the impressive country house that you see today.

Today Ellenborrough Park is a luxury hotel. Read more about luxury country house hotels in the Cotswolds →

Elmore Court

For almost 800 years Elmore Court has been owned by the Guise Baronets. The current house dates back to the 16th century with alterations being made in the 18th and 19th century.

Today the house is an exclusive event venue and guest accomondation.

Frampton Court

On the Frampton Court estate stands a Palladian style country house with a Gothic garden house. The estate has been owned by the Clifford family since the 11th century. But the current house was built in the 18th century.

The estate – on the banks of the river Severn on the edge of the Cotswolds – is currently and event venue and holiday accomondation.

Highgrove House

Highgrove is the family residence of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The 18th century house was bought by the Duchy of Cornwall in 1980 and Prince Charles added neo-classical elements to the Georgian house.

The Prince has also created a wild garden, formal garden and walled kitchen garden. These gardens are open for visitors.

Highnam Court

This 17th century stately home is one of the few houss built in the Commonwealth period (1649-1660). In 1838 Thomas Gambier Parry bought the estate. He was an artist, musician and art collector. And in Highnam Church you can see frescoes painted by Parry.

Thomas Gambier Parry also layed out the gardens at Highnam Court. In the 20th century these gardens were completely overgrown. But in the last 20 years these have been lovingly restored to its former glory.

The Highnam Court Gardens are part of the National Garden Scheme. And thereby open for visitors on selected dates.

Horton Court

Horton Court is a stone 16th century manor house in Horton. The building includes a 12th century Norman hall and early Renaissance decorative motifs.

The manor house has also bee used as a filming location for Wolf Hall and Poldark. Today it is owned by the National Trust and you can rent the manor house as a holiday accomondation.

Lodge Park and Sherborne Estate

Lodge Park is England’s only surviving 17th century grandstand and deer course. In the 19th century the building was transformed into a house and since 1982 it is owned by the National Trust.

The manor house stands on the Sherborne Estate full of wildlife. Several footpaths run through the estate and include a sculpture trail. The estate is open for visitors daily (from dawn to dusk), Lodge Park is only open by pre-booked tour.

Newark Park

Newark Park was built as a Tudor hunting lodge for Sir Nicholas Poyntz. In 1672 the hunting lodge was considerably extended with a new four-story wing. And architect James Wyatt turned it into a four-square house in 1790.

In the 20th century Newark Park was used as a nursing home, and the house fell into disrepair. American architect Bob Parsons renovated and conserved the manor house and thanks to him Newark Park is now an important architectural building.

Newark Park and garden is open for visitors through the National Trust.

Owlpen Manor

The manor house has Medieval origins, but the majority of the house was built in the Tudor period by the Daunt family between 1464 and 1616. The manor was an important icon in the Arts and Crafts movement. And writers such as Henry Avray Tipping and Christopher Hussey wrote about Owlpen Manor.

The current owners (Sir Nicholas and Lady Mander) have re-created the Stuart gardens. The house is open for visitors and the estate also offers holiday cottages.

Rodmarton Manor

Rodmarton is an Arts & Crafts manor house, bult in the early 20th century for the Biddulph family. The house, including all its furniture, is made according Arts & Crafts ideals. It is also one of the last houses that is built in traditional style, where everything is made by hand with local materials.

The house and gardens are open on Wednesday and Saturday; May-September. The gardens are also open during snowdrop season.

Sezincote House is an early 19th century manor house designed by Samuel Pepys Cockerell. It is one of the most notable Neo-Mughal architecture in England. The Neo-Mughal architecture was a 19th century architecture movement, inspired by 16th and 17th century architecture from the Mughal empire.

This little India in the Cotswolds is open for visitors. The garden is open all year round (except December); Wednesday-Friday. The house is open May-September; Wednesday-Friday.

Sezincote House is also a wedding venue.

Stanway House

The Jacobean manor house was built in the 16th and 17th century for the Tracy family. The house is famous for its 300 feet single-jet fountain, which is the highest in Britain.

Peter Pan writer J.M. Barrie was a frequent visitor to the house in the 1920s and 30s.

The house and gardens are open for visitors. And is available as a wedding venue

Sudeley Castle

The castle was built in the 15th century but the history of this place spans 1000 years. Sudeley Castle has 10 notable gardens sovering 15 acres.

The was built for te Lord High Treasurer of England. Later it was seized by the crown and became property of King Edward IV and King Richard III. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn also visited the castle. And it is the last resting place of Henry VIII’s 6th wife Catherine Parr.

The castle and gardens are open for visitors.

Tortworth Court

Tortworth Court is a Victorian manor house in Tortworth designed in Gothic style by Samuel Sanders Teulon. The country house was built between 1848 and 1853 for the 2nd Earl of Ducie.

A multi-milion pound restoration turned Tortworth Court into a luxurious country house hotel in the Cotswolds. The manor house combines the historic Gothic architecture with 21st century style and comfort.

Read more about luxury country house hotels in the Cotswolds →

Wallsworth Hall

An 18th century manor house that was built by Samuel Hayward for his wife Catherine. Wallsworth Hall still has many original features including the grand staircase.

Today, the hall is used as the Nature in Art museum

Westonbirt House

The estate belonged to the Holford family from 1665 to 1926. The current Elizabethan-style house was built in the 19th century designed by Lewis Vulliamy.

The estate includes garden with exotic tree species and the Westonbirt Arboretum. Country Life Magazine called Westobirt “The finest ensemble of Victorian architecture, landscape and gardens in the Cotswolds”.

The house and gardens are open on selected days by pre-booking.

Woodchester Mansion

Woodchester Mansion is an unfinished Gothic Revivial mansion house. The building of the house started in 1857 but stopped mid-1860s. Floors and ceilings are missing. The walls are not plastered and the windows are unglazed.

It is a unique view into Victorian architecture, with the structure of the house open to see for all visitors.

The house is open for visitors in the Spring and Summer months.

Google Map with the stately homes in Gloucestershire

You can also click here to see the map

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Cheltenham surely boasts some of the most fantastic culture and heritage in England, and you will certainly need more than a day to capture it. It has been listed as the UK's most complete Regency Town , and visitors are awed by the breadth and variety of our Regency Architecture . Here we have tried to highlight some of the top cultural sites and events that are a must-see if you are spending a few days in Cheltenham.

Pittville Pump Room  is a beautiful, historic Grade One listed property described by Visit Britain as ”the jewel in Cheltenham’s regency architecture”. Set in parkland at Pittville and used for cultural, commercial and community events, The Pump Room is located in  Pittville Park . Pitville Park is the largest ornamental park in Cheltenham, opened in 1825 and was given a Grade Two listing under the English Heritage register of parks and gardens. It is here you can sample the mineral-rich spa waters.

Neptune’s Fountain  is one of Cheltenham’s most iconic landmarks and is a popular photographic spot with locals and tourists alike. It can be found at the southern end of the Long Garden and was made from Portland stone in 1893 by a local sculptor R. L. Boulton.

Another popular statue is that of the  Hare and Minotaur , a large bronze sculpture created by Gloucestershire-based artist Sophie Ryder in 1995 that can be found on The Promenade.

In  Imperial Gardens  you will find a statue of Gustav Holst, composer of The Planets, as the centrepiece of the hexagonal fountain. The  Holst Birthplace Museum  is open all year and is located in Clarence Road.  It is a fantastic day out that also gives an insight into family life of that period, as well as holding various events. The Museum is located in the house in which Holst was born in 1874 and also features a preserved Regency period room for you to look at.

There are a series of Heritage Open Days each year, allowing access into venues such as Cheltenham Ladies’ College and St Mary’s Minster. 

If you are strolling through Montpellier, spot The Caryatids . These 'armless ladies' are a type of column which support the architectural facades of the chic boutiques in Montpellier Walk. Dating from 1840 they are loosely based on classical models on the Acropolis in Athens and are a form of decoration used extensively in 19th century France. There are 32 Caryatids in total, two were originally sculpted in terracotta by a London artist called Rossi and the remainder were copied by a local Cheltenham man.

The Wilson  – Gloucestershire’s premier museum and art gallery, holds many events and exhibitions throughout the year that embrace culture, art and heritage; as well as  The Everyman Theatre  and  Cheltenham Town Hall .

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Berkeley Castle

Berkeley Castle is a beautiful and historic Castle, begun in 1117 and still remains the home of the…

Kilkenny Viewpoint and Nature Reserve

Parking and picnic area 900ft high on Cotswold escarpment with extensive views.

Hidcote (National Trust)

One of England's great gardens, famous for its rare trees and shrubs, outstanding herbaceous…

Painswick Rococo Garden

This unique Garden restoration, situated in a hidden valley, dates from a period when 18th century…

• 1 Berkeley Castle
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Anne Bartlett Blue Badge Tour Guide

Discover the history and heritage of this attractive Regency Spa Town. Anne is an experienced, locally based professional tourist guide, providing a relaxed and friendly service for people visiting Gloucestershire for leisure, for their holiday or…

Montpellier Caryatids

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Don't miss Cheltenham's most iconic Regency feature; The Caryatids in Montpellier.

The Romantic Road - Classic Car Hire or Luxury Chauffeur Tour

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Route C: Exiting Cheltenham to the west, Route D: The Wye Valley & Forest of Dean,

Featured in The Telegraph as one of the Great British Drives, The Romantic Road takes you on a drive through quintessentially English countryside,starting in Cheltenham. It can be taken as a one-day or two-day driving tour, and if you really want to…

Cleeve Hill

Cleeve Hill is located on Cheltenham’s North-Eastern edge, on the way to Winchcombe, affording breath-taking views of Cheltenham and the surrounding area...

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Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park

Animal Collection

Sitting in the heart of the Cotswolds, Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park has a long-standing reputation for a fun-filled day out. Visitors of all ages can interact closely with the animals and learn about farming, past and present.

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A fantastic blend of living history, open spaces, children's activities and of course a boating lake! The perfect place to spend a day...

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We provide informative and entertaining Tour Guides for coach & walking tours of North Wiltshire and the Cotswolds. There’s so much to see - medieval villages, magnificent abbeys & churches, ancient monuments, attractive gardens

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Offering a variety of bookable services, visitors to John Lewis Cheltenham can book a Personal Styling appointment, Nursery Advice service or a Home Design consultation. Since opening in 2018, John Lewis Cheltenham has always been a hive of eventing…

Montpellier Gardens

Montpellier Gardens lie close to the town centre and are an important part of Cheltenham's regency landscape. The gardens can be split into two recreational zones. Most of the park facilities are in the southern section and includes tennis courts, a…

The Wilson - Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum

The Wilson Art Gallery & Museum has an outstanding museum and art gallery with a programme of exciting temporary exhibitions and permanent galleries.

St Mary's Minster

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Cheltenham’s oldest building

The Boathouse Activities (Boat Hire, Tennis, Pitch & Putt), Pittville Park

The Boathouse is the place to hire rowing boats plus book pitch & putt golf and tennis courts. You can also plus purchase fishing licenses from here. The Boathouse organise their own events for children and families including Welly Walks and nature…

The Hare and the Minotaur

The Hare and the Minotaur Statue in Cheltenham can be found on The Promenade, outside House of Fraser. It is a truly remarkable statue, and although not everyone loves it, it is worth a stop on your visit to Cheltenham.

The Story of Pittville Pump Room - Heritage Trail

Historic Site

A free immersive heritage trail bringing the history of the iconic Grade I listed Regency building to life.

Voi - Electric Scooter Hire Cheltenham

Enjoy exploring Cheltenham on an electric scooter. The Voi. scooters are available to rent from various locations across Cheltenham, including the Promenade and Pittville Park.

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway

Steam Railway

Winchcombe, Cheltenham

The friendly line in the Cotswolds offers a unique opportunity to sample train travel from 50 years ago...

Cotswold Discovery Trail

Treasure trails to explore the beauty, history and heritage of the Cotswolds. Have fun exploring the Cotswolds by car following trail directions and answering questions and clues.

Cox's Meadow

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With such a large range of activities available at Leisure At Cheltenham there really is something for everyone from swimming to racket sports, soft play and even trampolining.

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