Enchanting gardens set in a sheltered valley and surrounded by rolling downland
Our Easter adventure in nature trails have been extended into May. Discover your local family-friendly trail at Mottistone Gardens with fun activities to do along the way. Complete the trail and earn your chocolate reward at the end.
The gardens
Set in a sheltered valley these magical gardens are full of surprises, with shrub-filled banks, hidden pathways and colourful herbaceous borders.
Created from an abandoned farmyard and surrounding an attractive Elizabethan manor house, these 20th-century gardens are experimenting with a Mediterranean-style planting scheme to take advantage of the warm, southerly location. Here the tall leaves of exotic plants fill the borders whilst a young olive grove is establishing itself on the high banks.
From late spring to early autumn, the borders burst with bright reds, purples and oranges and a small organic kitchen garden is stocked with seasonal fruit and veg.
The estate
Stretching from the chalk downs through rolling hedge-lined farmland and down to the sea, the wider Mottistone Estate is a landscape shaped over thousands of years. Follow the network of footpaths that criss-cross the area and you’ll travel back in time past Bonze Age barrows and the Neolithic Longstone.
Today the land is still cared for in a nature-sensitive way. Walk along any of the paths and you might spy butterflies gathering nectar from wild flowers, or rare birds in the wide skies overhead. In the summer, the elusive Nightjar even makes its home here on the common.
Next to Mottistone Gardens you’ll find the car park and bus stop, which are good places to start your visit. There are many well marked paths to choose from and large expanses of open downland to wander freely over.
| Gift Aid | Standard | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | N/A | £5.00 |
| Child | N/A | £2.50 |
| Family | N/A | £12.50 |
| One adult family | N/A | £7.50 |
Most of our places run the Gift Aid on Entry scheme at their admission points.
Under this scheme, if you're not a member you have the choice of two entry tickets:
If the place runs Gift Aid on Entry, we'll offer you a clear choice between the Gift Aid Admission prices and the Standard Admission prices at the admission point. It's entirely up to you which ticket you choose.
Gift Aid Admission includes a 10 per cent or more voluntary donation. Gift Aid Admissions let us reclaim tax on the whole amount paid - an extra 25 per cent - potentially a very significant boost to our places' funds.
An extra £1 paid under the scheme can be worth over £3 to the National Trust as shown below:
| Gift Aid | Standard | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount paid by visitor | £11.00 | £10.00 |
| Tax refund from Government* | £2.75 | £0.00 |
| Total received by the National Trust | £13.75 | £10.00 |
*Gift Aid Admissions let us reclaim tax on the whole amount paid - an extra 25 per cent - potentially a very significant boost to our places' funds.
Access to the wider countryside is free.
Free entry to Mottistone Gardens for National Trust members. However please note pre-booking is required for everyone.
You'll need to book your visit. Go to What's On for more information.
