The Gardens of Easton Lodge
The Gardens of Easton Lodge
The Gardens of Easton Lodge
4
About
The Gardens of Easton Lodge is an idyllic (Historic England, Grade II) registered haven which has been partially restored to its former glory by a team of dedicated volunteers. These historic gardens date back over 400 years. Their most renowned owner was the Countess of Warwick, mistress of the Prince of Wales before he acceded to the throne as Edward VII. The Countess commissioned Harold Peto to create stunning formal gardens and a treehouse, in 1902. Abandoned in 1950 after the demolition of the house, the gardens were then forgotten. Today the 23 acres of gardens have a magical atmosphere, as the splendour of a century ago is gently revealed through restoration. The Gardens are open to the public on Thursdays (Mar to end Nov) and (ONLY) 9 open-day Sundays a year. The open days remaining in 2021: 17th October. Specially arranged group visits are also available. Please check our website for more details.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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4.0
62 reviews
Excellent
29
Very good
21
Average
7
Poor
3
Terrible
2
Hoppityskip
Essex, UK17,470 contributions
May 2022
We went having booked. Sad to see the negative reviews as this is a lovely small venue run as a charity and that ought to be recognised not reviewed as a commercial enterprise.
Superb grounds absolutely NOT manicured.
Lovely cakes. The open day is well worth the visit.
Good marshalled parking very basic but clean portaloos.
Not expensive at all.
Superb grounds absolutely NOT manicured.
Lovely cakes. The open day is well worth the visit.
Good marshalled parking very basic but clean portaloos.
Not expensive at all.
Written 22 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hannah
Essex, UK63 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
I’ve been visiting here for many years and love it more each time I go. A little haven away from the real world and a wonderful piece of local history. The cream teas are delicious! Perfect space for families, couples or older people - something for everyone. The hard work the volunteers undertake really shows and it’s nice to see the progress each time I visit.
Written 5 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hillary S
Wigan, UK265 contributions
Sept 2024 • Solo
Run by volunteers, these gardens are very special indeed. They produce vegetables and fruit in the walled garden. As I walked round there were volunteers hard at work in the gardens which also cover a large wooded area. There was a statue of a little elephant and also a tree house as well as an Italian garden. It was a pleasant walk round.
It was cash only.
It was cash only.
Written 17 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ClaudiaJBAK
London, UK6 contributions
Feb 2023 • Family
We booked tickets for us and our two children plus our friends and their children for a snowdrop day- it is shocking that they even charged for entry. The gardens are completely run down and the whole event felt very thrown together. We are local to the area and will not be returning.
Written 12 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kenny
Bishops Stortford, UK530 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
Visited because of The Countess of Warwick Country Show. August Bank holiday Monday, nice weather and the crowds came. There were literally clearly several thousand people here, all at £7 a piece apart from those who could simply walk in without paying. We were expecting something special, but the peripherals were so dreadfully organised. We were hungry but couldn’t see any signage to food outlets. We only found 3 food outlets. The first one was near the lake. There was a huge queue but not moving as no food coming out. I asked when food would be available and was told ‘sorry, I have no idea’. People seemed happy to wait but why wouldn’t they, there’s nowhere else serving food.
Everything here to eat and drink was on the scale of a church hall fete. Totally unequipped to deal with the huge volume of people. There were vans serving coffee operating one small machine and everywhere had issues with payments as everyone wanting to pay by card took so long due to the lack of any reasonable signal. I did not find anywhere selling water! Whilst the exhibits of vintage vehicles etc was good, the organisation was nothing short of a joke.
Everything here to eat and drink was on the scale of a church hall fete. Totally unequipped to deal with the huge volume of people. There were vans serving coffee operating one small machine and everywhere had issues with payments as everyone wanting to pay by card took so long due to the lack of any reasonable signal. I did not find anywhere selling water! Whilst the exhibits of vintage vehicles etc was good, the organisation was nothing short of a joke.
Written 29 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This review is not of the Gardens of Easton Lodge. We have asked Tripadviser to remove incorrectly posted reviews, but they have refused
Written 16 October 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Stu151
Wickford, UK1,883 contributions
Feb 2022
We visited Easton Lodge because of the snowdrop festival.
It's a very big area and while there clearly are vast numbers of snowdrops, they are well spread out. Given it's late winter the rest of the garden is as you would expect, and clearly different in the summer.
My main area of concern isn't the snowdrops, but the shambolic origination of the event and the total disregard to customer safety.
There is a small car park, which is mostly on grass. Given recent rain it was fast disappearing under mud. The “overflow” car park used the old airfield, and also had no separation of people walking to/from their cars and traffic.
The entrance into the event was very muddy and had very minimal metal sheeting provided. It was thus slippery and dangerous.
This is an event in February and it's reasonable for the event managers to expect heavy rain and supply metal sheeting for main walkways etc.
There was a long queue to enter – we had pre purchased tickets with a bar code. The bar code was not used and the member of staff (slowly) entered surnames into his hand held terminal. His colleague stood there watching as the queue grew!
Cakes/food was on sale. I'm guessing these were home made. No allergy information was on display. Home made food can contain any number of ingredients which are dangerous to some people – and beyond doubt allergy information should have been clearly displayed.
I believe the garden is run mostly by volunteers. Never the less there is still a legal duty of care on the event manager – it is totally unacceptable to say “well it's run by volunteers, they do their best” (Especially if someone is injured, or worse, by their lack of knowledge of acceptable practices in running a big event open to the public)
It's a very big area and while there clearly are vast numbers of snowdrops, they are well spread out. Given it's late winter the rest of the garden is as you would expect, and clearly different in the summer.
My main area of concern isn't the snowdrops, but the shambolic origination of the event and the total disregard to customer safety.
There is a small car park, which is mostly on grass. Given recent rain it was fast disappearing under mud. The “overflow” car park used the old airfield, and also had no separation of people walking to/from their cars and traffic.
The entrance into the event was very muddy and had very minimal metal sheeting provided. It was thus slippery and dangerous.
This is an event in February and it's reasonable for the event managers to expect heavy rain and supply metal sheeting for main walkways etc.
There was a long queue to enter – we had pre purchased tickets with a bar code. The bar code was not used and the member of staff (slowly) entered surnames into his hand held terminal. His colleague stood there watching as the queue grew!
Cakes/food was on sale. I'm guessing these were home made. No allergy information was on display. Home made food can contain any number of ingredients which are dangerous to some people – and beyond doubt allergy information should have been clearly displayed.
I believe the garden is run mostly by volunteers. Never the less there is still a legal duty of care on the event manager – it is totally unacceptable to say “well it's run by volunteers, they do their best” (Especially if someone is injured, or worse, by their lack of knowledge of acceptable practices in running a big event open to the public)
Written 18 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mike J
Colchester, UK10 contributions
Aug 2022
Kew Gardens it isn't, and why should it be. A fantastic rustic experience surrounded by fabulous countryside. We visited on a sunny August day and strolled lazily around the grounds, climbed up into the summer house, patted the elephant, had tea and cake sat on the wall overlooking the sunken Italian garden and bought some freshly picked mulberries.
To a person, all the volunteers were cheery, welcoming and had time for a chat.
it is an enormous task for the volunteers to look after the grounds and they do a great job. The gardens are not manicured, they are lived in and don't make you feel so bad about your own little patch.
Please pay them a visit, support the work they are doing and have a glorious relaxing few hours. You can even take your own picnic and dog.
I am now like a dog with 2 tails!
To a person, all the volunteers were cheery, welcoming and had time for a chat.
it is an enormous task for the volunteers to look after the grounds and they do a great job. The gardens are not manicured, they are lived in and don't make you feel so bad about your own little patch.
Please pay them a visit, support the work they are doing and have a glorious relaxing few hours. You can even take your own picnic and dog.
I am now like a dog with 2 tails!
Written 18 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Janie121
Rayleigh, UK44 contributions
Aug 2023 • Business
I organised a group trip to the gardens. Our coach was met on arrival. We enjoyed a guided tour in small groups the had tea/coffee and cake (dietary requirements notified in advance). The staff are all charming and very entrant knowledgable about the gardens and history of the Countess of Warwick. Work is very much ongoing to restore the gardens but it is a charming place to visit. There are only portaloos on site as no mains drainage but these were kept clean. The tea room does a limited range of cakes and snacks again the volunteers make the best of the facilities. Very pleasant sitting under the shade on a hot day. Well worth a visit.
Written 28 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
StarsForEyes
Cambridge, UK98 contributions
Oct 2022 • Friends
We really enjoyed our visit to the gardens on a sunny autumn afternoon. Liked the informal vibe, in contrast with places like those managed by the National Trust (nothing against their style, just preferred this!) and the volunteers are doing a great job. Interesting archive (34,000 army vehicles were parked on the site during the war!) and very reasonably priced little cafe, we had tea and cake looking out over the lawn. There was also produce from the lovingly restored walled garden for sale. Will come again.
Written 27 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cathy W
3 contributions
Sept 2023 • Family
Absolutely loved the Gardens. So be well worth visiting. Quite a treasure to have come upon them. Staff volunteering they’re very very friendly. We had a very interesting chat with one of the gardeners about the history of the gardens.
Written 7 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Do you take debit cards ?
Written 15 February 2019
Daisy W
Takeley, United Kingdom
Hi
Yes we are able to take debit card on entry to the gardens, however the tea hut doesn't have a card machine but we are able to give you cash back if you ask on entry.
Thanks
Written 16 February 2019
Can you take a picnic and will there be any refreshments available on the 16th September?
Written 10 September 2018
Hello,
Yes picnics are allowed and there is a small tea room selling hot drinks, cakes and bacon/cheese sandwiches.
Further details can be found on the website under 'open days' - sorry it won't let me post the link.
Hope that helps.
Jane
Written 11 September 2018
Daisy W
Takeley, United Kingdom
The snowdrop open days are the 18th February and the 25th February 11.30am - 4pm (last entry 3pm) we do have a website which has more detail on as to when our open days are and entertainment that will be on. Many Thanks
Written 17 February 2018
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