Exbury Gardens & Steam Railway

“Spent an absolutely cracking day visiting Exbury. It's an enormous site, 80-ish hectares. You can easily spend the entire day here exploring. Obviously, different things are going to be in bloom at different times so there's always going to be something interesting to see throughout the year. Paths are a mixture of surfaces: e.g., tarmac/pebble so book/hire an all terrain scooter if you or someone with you needs it. Dogs on a lead are welcome. Doggos are even allowed on the choo-choo (£7/per person extra). Loads of space for kids to exhaust themselves plus they have a dedicated play area and log trail. The usual amenities: loads of parking, restaurant, gift shop, plants for sale. Toilets are modern and everything works. Top tip: Gardener's World 2:1 is accepted and provides great VFM. Loads of activities throughout the year so check what's on via their website. All in all, a brilliant place to visit. Would deffo visit again...it must look stunning in the spring.”

“Lovely visit at the end of summer. We were trained in horticulture, many years ago!! So we know our stuff and thought that Exbury was one of the best gardens we had visited. We particularly enjoyed the wide selection of trees. We know less about fungi and enjoyed seeing so many different varieties and were so lucky to have picked this time of year when we could see so many. We also enjoyed the specialist Nerine plant exhibition and bought a few to take home. We would like to add how lovely and dog friendly the gardens are too. A great day out.”

“First time visitors to the gardens and definitely not the last! We booked the Halloween train and it exceeded expectations- the actors were amazing and turned up the scare-factor by jumping out and as my kids are age 10 and 13, so they loved it! They didn’t jump out for the younger children though so mindful of ages. The gardens are beautiful in their autumnal glory and looking forward to re-visiting next year.”

“Had a really great day out in the gardens. Lots of lovely walking trails with fantastic views across the river. The gardens look very good even though it is the end of the summer. Had drinks and a snack in the old tennis courts. The restaurant looks nice as well. Ride on the steam train was very enjoyable. Dogs are welcome in all areas. You can also use the Gardener's World 241 card, what a great place.”