Woodland Garden, Compton Acres

Fantastic place, lovely views & great café easy to get to on the bus.

Great to visit all year round.

Beautiful Italian garden. Vast woodland with hidden treasures everywhere you looked … sculptures. water features. Japanese garden. Absolute joy.

We love everything about Compton Acres. The garden is beautiful, staff amazing and the food second to none. Not forgetting that it's a wonderful location for weddings in the Italianate Villa. You can also rent the summer house with great views of the sea. Highly recommended in every aspect.

I visited these gardens many years ago now too long to mention. So I thought it time to try another visit in August 2018. On entering the gardens Italian style buildings have appeared around the car park and entrance. I must say it gives it a really beautiful appearance. I personally think the gardens should be signposted better to actually find them. I parked the car and went into the shop to pay for my entrance tickets. I must say though the price seemed a little on the high side as I feel the gardens looked a little tired and neglected. Apart from the Italian gardens which were outstanding. I guess due to the wedding venues held there. The rest of the gardens was not as I remembered from my first visit. The Koi carp were of poor colour also and not as many as my last visit, in the Japanese garden that is.The Italian Garden. The Grand Italian Garden design has a grandeur brought alive by the sound and movement of water and enhanced by the structure of the Italian Villa within the grounds, making this a spectacular wedding venue. Original statuary remains including Bacchus in his Domed Temple, the Wrestlers of Herculaneum and the old Venetian bronze lanterns also provide a taste of Italian history and culture. The planting features formal clipped yews and clematis between the stone columns and colourful seasonal bedding. A small Roman Garden, and the stately Chusan and Dwarf Fan palms of the Palm Court, complete the series of Italian gardens.The Wooded Valley Garden. This tranquil area supports a wide range of trees and shrubs protected by a canopy of mature Scot’s pines.Rock and Water Gardens. This outstanding example of the Arts and Crafts style of landscape design uses a combination of rock-work and water to create a realistic landform giving views from and above and under the bridges.The Heather Garden. The Heather Garden was once the home of Mr Simpson’s fine cactus and succulent collection, until the war years saw its demise.The Japanaese Garden. My favourite Garden ~ The Japanese Garden encompasses Thomas Simpson’s love for the unique elegance and incomparable beauty of Japanese horticulture and sculptures. He imported genuine stone and bronze artefacts to enhance the garden. The Tea House is draped with Japanese wisteria and plants native to Japan have been used including the spectacular Kurume Hybrid azaleas, Japanese cherries and maples together with hostas, Hakon grass and a Ginkgo. The pool is home to large Koi carp best viewed when crossing the water on the stepping stones. The Japanese garden is still regarded as one of the finest in the country. I would add was many of the items around this garden have seemingly seen better days.

Please note,Compton Acres will be closed 19th September 2022

I hadn't visited these gardens for 40 years and we finally returned for my wife's birthday. We arrived early and parked in the on site car park before having breakfast in the cafe. This was a good start to the day and very pleasant.The staff in the ticket office were fabulous, friendly and chatty and really helpful. We walked around the gardens in the rain (bad because it was dull and wet, good because almost no one else was there!) and spent nearly two hours outside. There was a clear route and a great variety of plants on display as well as an adventure playground and several seating areas. The gardens were clean and well tended.For me the star was the heathers garden, a real burst of colour in April. The Japanese garden bought back fond memories of people falling off the stepping stones but sadly not today!We were going to finish with a coffee but the cafe was full so we did a quick bit of shopping in the other onsite shops and then left. A lovely morning out and certainly somewhere we will be back to sooner than 40 years.

It's lovely garden but the entry price is expensive. Two adults and child 19.99£