Garden highlights

We take you on a tour of the garden that follows the original route intended by its founder Henry Hoare II.

We start from the Walled Garden, near to the house, and descend into the valley, working our way through trees brought here by intrepid explorers.

We stop at each of the famous vistas that make Stourhead garden such a wonderful living work of art.

Walled Garden

The old Walled Garden is home to the Pelargonium House. It was erected in 1998 to re-establish the pelargonium collection formed by Richard Colt Hoare in the 19th century. Today we have over 60 varieties.

The old Walled Garden once supplied fruit and vegetables to the kitchens of Stourhead House. Vegetables and flowers are still grown here today, and can be purchased at Stourhead Farm Shop.

The Walled Garden at Stourhead
© National Trust / Edward Shorthouse

The House Lawn

The House Lawn is its own tranquil garden. It is bordered by many species of rhododendron and flanked by different species of oak on one side, and giant redwood trees from America on the other.

Walking away from the House towards the garden you are confronted with an unparalleled view of St Peter’s church in the valley below.

Fir Walk

At the end of the Fir Walk, a long grassy walk laid out on a ridge above the garden, is the Obelisk.

This monument was built in 1839 to replace the decaying original erected by Henry Hoare II in 1746. At its base is a memorial tablet dedicated to Henry, added by Richard Colt Hoare in 1815.

The view to the Temple of Apollo from the Shades

The Shades provides a magical route along leafy paths down towards the lake from the House Lawn.

The many mature trees here give the impression of walking along a forest floor, as the ground is carpeted in green with ancient laurel shrubs.

The Shades also offers a first view of the Temple of Apollo, surrounded by trees from around the world including China, Japan and the Americas.

Six Wells Bottom Valley

Crossing the dam at the eastern end of the lake, you can look into an open pastoral valley, known as Six Wells Bottom.

Down this valley flow the streams that feed the lake. On either side are wooded slopes known as Sunny and Shady Hangings. Before the garden was constructed, the valley formed part of an enclosed deer-park.

View from the Grotto

The view from the Grotto of the Lake at Stourhead
© NTPL / Jennie Woodcock

On the other side of the lake, the garden path descends into the Grotto, a circular domed chamber, built from volcanic rock brought over from Italy.

For the Romans, grottoes were shrines to the gods and the home of water nymphs. Following this tradition, two statues reside inside the Grotto: the sleeping 'Nymph of the Grot' and a classical river god.

You can peer through the Grotto's window back out toward the north shore of the lake, to the Temple of Flora.

The Gothic Cottage

This quaint rustic building was first mentioned as the Watch Cottage in 1785, but is likely to have been built much earlier.

In 1806, Richard Colt Hoare added the Gothic seat and porch, hence its name the ‘Gothic Cottage’.

Here, a clearing opens to offer stunning views across the lake, and a sudden close-up view of the Pantheon.

View from the Pantheon to the Palladian Bridge

From the Pantheon you can look out across the lake to the Temple of Flora and the Palladian Bridge.

The bridge was built to create the illusion that the lake is a river, flowing from the village of Stourton down into the valley.

Turner’s Paddock Lake

From the dam on the western shore of the lake another stretch of water is visible far below.

Although natural in appearance, this lake in Turner’s Paddock was artificially created by the dam, built in 1754.

The cascade was added in 1766 as a decorative way of carrying surplus water down from the main lake. It was designed by Copplestone Warre Bampfylde, who had a similar one at his home in Hestercombe.

View from the Temple of Apollo

The circular Temple of Apollo sits high on a hill at the western end of the garden. It was inspired by the temple of Baalbec in Syria and built in 1765 by the architect Henry Flitcroft.

The temple can be reached from either the twisting Rock Arch bridge, built from Italian volcanic lava, or from the dark, concealed Rockwork passageway.

From the temple, the view of the garden panorama below is majestic.

View to the Pantheon from the Bristol Cross

We end with the classic view out over the lake toward the Pantheon, with the Palladian Bridge in the foreground.

The Pantheon is the largest and most important garden building at Stourhead. Built in 1753-4 by Flitcroft, it was directly inspired by the great Pantheon in Rome.

The interior of the Pantheon contains marble statues of classical deities including the celebrated Hercules by Rysbrack.

The golden leaves of the tulip tree at Stourhead, lit up in the autumn sun

The National Trust

Garden highlights