Painswick Rococo Gardens

Painswick Rococo Garden is the country's sole surviving complete rococo garden. Designed in the 1740s as a fanciful pleasure garden for Benjamin Hyett and his guests, this hidden valley offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside and intriguing garden buildings.

A visit to Painswick Rococo Garden will take you back to the elegance and sophistication of the early 1700s.  This was a time when gardens were fashionable theatrical sets, providing a stunning backdrop to decadent garden parties.

Instead of a flower garden, you will happen across a stunning vegetable garden, beautifully-framed views of the surrounding countryside and fanciful garden buildings.  You can lose yourself amongst the lofty trees of our leafy woodland walk and watch friends and family battle to find the centre of our unusual maze. And afterwards, enjoy delicious homemade cakes or a light lunch in our cosy cafe.

Famed for having one of the largest naturalistic plantings of snowdrops in the country, the hidden valley which forms the Rococo Garden is unforgettably carpeted with white for a few weeks at the start of spring.  There are fifteen known varieties of snowdrop in the Garden, including the famous Galanthus 'Atkinsii'.  This distinctively tall, handsome flower was first discovered in Painswick by estate worker James Atkins in the 1800s.  There are daily snowdrops talks by one of our expert gardeners throughout February, 

Our Garden is a fantastic place to explore as a family.  Our visitors say that they love:

•   Our maze - not only does it have three centres... but grown-ups can direct from above because of its position, set into the hillside
•   Our quiz - perfect for 5-10 year olds.  You'll hunt down the clues, learn together - and best of all, it's free of charge and there's a small prize at the end
•   Our rustic play area, complete with seesaw, woodland swing, wobbly bridge, clamber nets and our brand new Panpipe folly
•   Our fanciful beech tree carving, inspired by Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria
•   Our homemade cakes, our "full works" hot chocolate - plus we do half portions of everything on our main menu
•   Our baby changing facilities
•   Being able to run around.  We won't tell you to keep off the grass (except if it's not safe for any reason) and most of our paths are made of deliciously soft bark chippings.
 

We are open:

•   Daily
•   10th January - 31st October
•   10.30am - 5pm (last admission at 4.30pm)

For admission prices, see below.  We recommend you allow at least 2 - 2.5 hours for your visit, plus time for refreshments and shopping.  And yes, we do welcome dogs!