Things to see and do at Claremont Landscape Garden

The Belvedere Tower at Claremont Landscape garden, Surrey — See for miles in every direction from the top of the Belvedere Tower

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 factsheets hidden in our white benches.

Lake and amphitheatre

Claremont's serpentine, man-made lake is the perfect spot for whatever mood you're in - rest, relaxation, or a fun family picnic. It rests below an eye-catching turf amphitheatre, the only surviving example of its kind in Europe, and likely the largest too. There's a wonderful view across the garden and lake from the top.

Playing outside the Thatched Cottage at Claremont Landscape Garden, Surrey

Visitors in the play area at Claremont Landscape Garden, Surrey

The nine-pins bowling alley at Claremont Landscape Garden in Surrey

Thatched Cottage

Inside this small 19th century building you'll find traditional toys, games and dressing up.

The Belvedere Tower

This majestic building rewards anyone who climbs to the top with spectacular panoramas over 15 miles of Surrey and London landscape. It now sits within the grounds of Claremont Fan Court School, who kindly allow us to open the tower for you to explore on one weekend a month between April and October.

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

Claremont was a playground for wealthy and influential owners over centuries of changing fashions, and you'll still find plenty of features from the garden's many different faces today:

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.

" - the happiest days of my otherwise dull childhood"

White benches

Do you want to learn more about Claremont's past? Look out for our white benches, based on those seen in the famous Master of the Tumbled Chairs painting of Claremont. Any bench with a quote from a historical figure will have a fascinating factsheet in the pocket at its side.

Visitors on a bench at Claremont Landscape Garden in Surrey — Take the weight off your feet and enjoy the beauty of your surroundings

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.

Winter walkies

We welcome dogs on short leads between 1 October and 30 April, but restrict access over the spring and summer to protect our breeding waterfowl. To avoid disappointment, please check with us before you travel.

Feed the birds

Pick up a bag or two of bird seed from our kiosk and you'll be guaranteed a warm welcome from our waterfowl when you enter the garden. All we ask for is a small donation.