Broughton Grange Gardens visit

Although I’ve lived in the area for most of my life, I’ve only recently heard about Broughton Grange Gardens. 

Broughton Grange Gardens are just outside Banbury, set in a valley, and dating back to 1620 as a small cottage linked to the neighbouring Broughton Castle. But over time it became its own estate. Set over 500 acres of parkland, farmland and meadows, the gardens have been transformed over the last 25 years to a really beautiful place.

There’s such a variety amongst the award winning gardens, including meadows, lake, arboretum, walled garden (designed by landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith in the early 2000s), terrraces, stumpery, rose garden and parterre. The arboretum’s tree collection covers around 80 acres and continues to be developed today.

The gardens have been open to the public since 2024 under the National Gardens Scheme. It currently (2025) opens on Wednesdays from May to September. You can also book group visits over the same period.

Visiting Broughton Grange Gardens

The day I was visiting was threatening showers. There were a few but they were short and the sun was back out straight afterwards.  Parking is only a few hundred metres from the entrance, and there’s a nice map to show the gardens and where you are as you walk around. There are also some signs around the place too. 

It was suggested at the entrance that I start at the walled garden.  I love a walled garden, and this one didn’t disappoint.

Flowers and plants galore, a wonderful greenhouse to nosy in, and a carp pond with extra water areas to enjoy.

There are lots of paths and walkways, so you can enjoy at leisure. If you want to find out more about the different plants many of them have signs explaining what they are and more information. So it’s handy if you decide you want to try similar in your own garden.

For me, there was lots to enjoy and photograph.  And it’s great not being super busy, so you can quite happily take photos without always having to worry about people being in them if you prefer.

Moving on through the Yew Terrace, I found the lovely swimming pool and tennis courts. It’d be a pretty amazing place to live and enjoy as a child, or having weekend parties in the country inviting friends over.  There’s an orchard behind this area but I continued towards the Fountain Garden.

There’s an amazing Tree House that is partially hidden amongst the trees, before you reach the formal Fountain Garden.  It’s a lovely peaceful place to sit and enjoy with sculptures dotted around the planted areas.

The Woodland Garden brought some shade from the sun as I wandered through, picking whichever route I fancied.

Out the other end, through the stumpery which is still being developed further it led to the arboretum and over a bridge to the lake.  

I didn’t loiter for long as there was plenty more to see – the long borders which were a little lacking at that point. They felt in transition and definitely not in full bloom, possibly suffering a bit from the dry weather.

The Rose Parterre was lovely, another serene place to wander. The wisteria was interesting to see over the walls, and plenty of flowers and geometric order to enjoy.

Finally towards the house and the Knot Garden. Plus a quick hello to 3 dogs looking out of a private gate watching everyone walking past. Before finishing out of the back of the walled garden to see some lovely archways. Great photo opportunities for those who want some portraits doing. 

I was getting a bit hot by this point, and decided to check out the Tea Lawn and potentially grab a drink.  There was no hot chocolate which was what I fancied, and the cakes were huge. So I decided against getting anything. It felt fairly limiting for what I would like, but they serve tea and coffee, cakes, scones, and ploughman’s lunches.  A few people were sitting at the tables and enjoying their refreshments overlooking the meadow behind.

There’s also a plant nursery, and you don’t need to pay to visit that.

If you’re visiting:

• Just turn up and pay (unless you’re a group then it needs to be by appointment)
• Admission was £14 for adults when I went, children under 16 are free
• Guide dogs only
• Disabled access is difficult in parts of the garden, but there are disabled toilets on site

I really enjoyed my walk around Broughton Grange Gardens.  You can easily spend a couple of hours just mooching around exploring. If you want to enjoy a grown up visit, it’s a good place to visit in term time.