Explore the garden at Claremont

With so much to explore at Claremont, you’ll want to keep visiting to see it all. We’ve picked out some of our favourite spots - be sure to look out for our guided walks and the fact sheets hidden in our white benches.
Lake and amphitheatre

The amphitheatre at Claremont
Learn about the magnificent turf amphitheatre at Claremont, designed by Charles Bridgeman, a real focal point in the garden.




Thatched Cottage
Inside this small 19th century building you'll find traditional toys, games and dressing up.
The Belvedere Tower
The Belvedere Tower is open on selected weekends throughout the year, offering spectacular panoramas over 15 miles of Surrey landscape.
Play area
Queen Victoria used to play at Claremont when she was a child, and so can you. Our play area offers safe, fun and interactive activities for children, with climbing walls, ladders and slides inspired by the amphitheatre, Belisle and Belvedere Tower.
Nine pins bowling alley
We've re-imagined the Duke of Newcastle's nine-pins bowling alley in miniature for you to enjoy.
Historic highlights
- Camellia Terrace: Once the site of Prince Leopold's large heated greenhouse, our nationally important collection of camellias now blooms in a beautiful display between December and mid-May.
- Grotto: When formal gardens went out of style in the mid-1700s, a cascade was replaced with these three caves, designed to appear natural and precarious.
- Animal statues: Before the island was added, an obelisk and three statues stood at the centre of the lake. Today the obelisk is gone, but the statues can be found on the path up to the Camellia Terrace.
- Ha-ha: Instead of spoiling the view with a fence, landscapers in the eighteenth century had a novel way of stopping livestock getting into the pleasure grounds - a hidden wall in a ditch known as a ha-ha.
- Island: In the middle of the lake opposite the amphitheatre is a small, man-made island. Our gardeners have worked hard to restore the view of the Belisle pavillion in the centre of the island, designed by William Kent and a favoured retreat of the Duke of Newcastle.
White benches

Wildlife
Claremont's lake is home to many resident and visiting water birds, including ducks, geese and a black swan. Look out for rabbits, squirrels and parakeets among the trees. If you're really lucky, you might just catch a glimpse of a roe deer in the woods or a kingfisher diving in the lake.