Barnsdale Gardens Tea Room in Rutland

Brabsdale Garden, nestled near Oakham, offers a picturesque setting with various themed gardens, including a captivating Japanese garden and stylish alleys along flowers and plants. Visitors can revel in ample parking space and indulge in a delightful culinary experience at the on-site restaurant, featuring local cuisine and refreshing beer. Designed by Geoff Hamilton, a renowned British gardener and former presenter on BBC 2, the garden showcases his expertise in planting and nurturing plants. For enthusiasts, video records of Geoff's gardening tutorials are available for purchase in the local gift shop. Additionally, the garden provides clean restroom facilities. Making it an ideal destination for families seeking a memorable outdoor adventure. Don't miss the opportunity to explore the nearby Rutland Water Nature Reserve for an additional dose of natural beauty and tranquillity.. Recommended.

Customer service is amazing! I made a mistake with an order and they were so quick and helpful. Thank you again

We always loved Geoff Hamiltons tv programme and eventually went to Barnsdale a couple of years ago. At last, a garden for all of us, sensibly sized, we don't all have acres, and well kept. The plants were good quality and price, and there's a handy place to eat and drink which you must try. We signed up for Nicks emails, which are truly marvelous, sensible, no twaddle, useful and down to earth. BUT what did I find the other day, a book, THE BARNSDALE HANDY GARDENER, by John Pilgrim, Sue and Nick Hamilton. As R is a superfan, I ordered it, and it's great!! Why isn't this on sale, we didn't see it when we visited, why isn't it advertised on line, Nick please talk about it in your email that you send out, it's a must to buy!! It's all about the garden and the gardening here, if you get chance to visit you must!

The afternoon tea was quite poor. Waited 20 mins to be served; even though we had pre-booked. We had booked this for a special occasion and I was left a little embarrassed and ashamed. The price was on a par with afternoon teas in fancier venues, yet the place itself resembled a ‘scouts hut’ or a mobile class room, something along those lines. No choice of teas; I presume was just bog standard English Breakfast. It was clean and the staff friendly. The China was all mismatched and chipped. I booked an experience, yet it was not one to behold. It’s a nice place to have a cup of tea or a light lunch but as an afternoon tea venue, very poor. I do not recommend.

We went to Barnsdale for afternoon tea. Very nice food. Will be going again.

Outstanding displays with many take away ideas you could easily create your self. Good autumn colour when we went though given recent winds it might not be so good! But i would think there is always something of interest. Good value food. Plant nursery had some unusual plants in stock. Not cheap but uf you cant buy them anywhere else.....

A very warm welcome as soon as you step through the door. The choice of cakes was amazing including a gluten free option. I have a gluten intolerance so was delighted to see a large cinnamon gluten free cake, so I ordered a slice. My husband had a slice of their chocolate fudge cake. We enjoyed our cake with a pot of tea. The staff were very friendly. Gluten free options may be a trivial matter to some but for people like me it is very difficult to go out for tea and cake. I was informed that they usually have a gluten free cake for sale. I will definitely be back. Thank you for a delicious cake experience.

This is a magnificent place to visit. The gardens, though not exquisitely manicured, are a delight and give you that sense of "I could do this with my garden" as opposed to "I'd have to pay a contractor a fortune to have my garden looking like this". It was particularly poignant entering the gardens of the late, great Geoff Hamilton and seeing some of the ideas he created on Gardeners' World still very much in evidence (check out some of the [fake] rocks and the trellis with the old toilet cistern float on top painted to blend in; whilst seeing what has been changed to bring Geoff's work into the 21st century. To top the day off, treat yourself to dinner there, the food is delicious. Finally, visit the plant nursery as you'll be sure to pick up something special or be surprised to find Geoff's son, Nick tending the plants, something which I found quite moving. All-in-all, it was worth every penny spent. Oh and the staff are really great too!

It was about 2015 when my wife and i visited. I unlike my wife am not into gardening, but Barnsdale is something else. It's a wonderful display of beautiful plants, I can't pronounce any of them but my wife explained them to me. We went to the cafe and I can explain everything in there. I had a bacon sandwich and I must say I've never had so much bacon on a sandwich ever. It was cooked just how I like it (well done). We keep saying we will go back there from Poulton-le-Fylde Blackpool, so my wife can have another look around the gardens and I can have another bacon sandwich. Fantastic day was had by both.

We stopped off in the cafe for breakfast after leaving our holiday accommodation. To be honest I didn't feel particularly welcomed by the young lady who showed us to a table. Left us with menus but it took her 15 mins to come back and it was a quiet day, in fact hubby went to look for her. Food was ok, some of our drinks order was forgotten but time was getting on by now so didn't bother to go looking for her again. Tables cleared but not cleaned while we were sitting there. I think ok if you're a local and known but no effort made really to welcome strangers. Sorry even when booking holidays again in the area we'll give this one a miss.

A absolutely fantastic place with some absolutely stunning gardens, well worth a visit

The food was fine but it doesn’t admit dogs and nor do the gardens or garden centre. This was disappointing given that we had travelled over 30 miles. Most places admit dogs these days.

Booked afternoon tea for 3. When we were served initially we were only served for 2 people and had to tell them that I had ordered and paid for 3 (given there were 3 of us at the table you would have thought they might have clarified this when serving us). When they checked and then brought the 3rd afternoon tea over there was an item missing and I had to go and find a waitress to get this resolved. The tea was weak, we had to ask for additional tea-bags. The cake was dry and only 1 small pot of cream for 2 people wasn’t enough. Felt it wasn’t really great value for money as the red letter day afternoon for 2 with garden entry was £54.95 plus £18.95 extra for the 3rd person. What was served was not what was indicative in the picture on the website either

My cousin and I had been given a birthday present: afternoon tea at Barnsadale Gardens Tea Rooms. We went as a party of 4 for a Vegan Afternoon Tea. The scones & cakes & sandwiches were delicious. The service was absolutely amazing. All the staff were very friendly & attentive and made sure we had a super experience. Barnsadale Garden Staff were equally wonderful and supportive. I would highly recommend this experience

Hellenium is a pleasant tearoom attached to the gardens here. Quite large occupying two separate rooms but well-organised, friendly and efficient service. Fabulous scones and cakes, plus good tea & coffee. Not too pricey either.

We were staying nearby and my wife fancied a trip to the gardens. I rolled my eyes. While she looked in the shop my son and I went to the Helenium tea rooms. I think it might be named after someone called Helen, rather than anything Hellenic. Very nice but no visible Greekness. We sat and ordered bacon rolls - sadly, too late, they stop at 11ish. Friendly lady suggested bacon in the panini, so we went for that. It was bacon, brie and cranberry, an odd mixture I thought, but nice, plus salad and coleslaw. My wife returned early. Apparently the place belongs to a famous tv gardener, whose name meant nothing to me (I have little interest in either tv or gardening). Geoff something. So she wanted to come back next day and spend hours wandering around looking at vegetation. I left her to it. Garden fans will probably enjoy it more than me

Visited on Saturday 11th June 2022 Convoluted route to get here and the lack of signage on the way and the small car park/shop and cafe made us think there may not be much to see but as there were 38 show gardens it blew us away. Started at the tearoom and it had a 1980's honey glaze pine overload theme going on which made it feel like you were inside a big shed. Service was average and the cooked veggy breakfast wasn't great. No condiments were available on the table which I presume was COVID related but when I asked for salt I was given 1 tiny sachet which was funny tbh. Returned to have more tea and a slice of cake in the garden area and that was lovely. It really is a stunning setting, but don't expect much in terms of quality etc from your dinning experience beyond the setting.

We just had a horrible drive up from London, so popped in for lunch before going around the Gardens. The staff were really nice and friendly, and the service was quick and food and drink really great quality. Exactly what we needed to get our weekend on track after a rubbish journey.

We only popped in for a cup of tea and a cake after visiting the gardens. Staff all friendly and helpful and a nice selection of home made cakes, so overall very good.

We had pre-booked and visited the gardens first. It was a really hot day, so although the staff had reserved us a table inside, they were more than happy for us to sit outside in the shade. The service was really good, confirming our sandwiches preferences and bringing everything to our table. The food was delicious and filling. You had a choice of cakes and we were not disappointed with the victoria sandwich. Each scone had its own pot of jam and cream and they brought us a pot of hot water to top up our teapots.

Gardens were lovely 10/10 We visited as were gifted a buy a gift voucher so used it for the gardens and afternoon tea. The afternoon tea was so underwhelming, I’m not sure if we got less as used a voucher instead of paying? 1 small ham and mustard triangle sandwich, 2 small egg (no Cress), 2 cheese and pickle, and 2 bacon, lettuce and tomato. Bread seemed stale and not freshly made. Fillings were not very full. Small pork pie which was lovely. Sandwiches 4/10 Cakes were fresh and nice. 2 lovely big scones and then a small jar of jam and half a tiny filled pot of cream to fill the 2 scones was poor, not even enough for one. 3/10 because not having enough jam and cream made the scones dry and hard work to eat. The drinks were also a massive let down. Got offered tea or coffee which is fine but not enough of it . Small tea pot for one and then the smallest (egg cup size) bone china cup of coffee that was gone in 2 mouthfuls. That was it for drinks, with all that dry food you at least need a drink to wash it down with. Also very bland and weak tea 3/10 We ate inside but the whole place seemed dated and uninviting. It’s like the gardens and the tearooms are a different place. Wouldn’t recommend and wouldn’t return. Tearoom staff were attentive but food and building a let down 3/10

We enjoyed a latte and cake sitting outside in the sun, bordering on the gardens themselves. - nice ambience and a very pleasant and relaxing setting. You can have a snack or meal here without paying to go in the gardens. Toilets nearby could probably do with an upgrade.

Was going to visit the Gardens and decided we'd have something to eat first. There was a queue at the door and a sign saying please wait here to be shown to a table inside or outside. Looking through the window I could see a minimum of 4 tables vacant, mentioning this to others in the queue, one lady said it is always like this, ther was 4 staff milling around the counter but none seemed interested in the queue at the door so we decided to go elsewhere. Very ignorant would not recommend

We visited to have lunch, and arrived just as heavy rain was starting, which had been forecast for days. There was a queue outside the tearoom even thought we could see all the indoor tables were empty and not in use. There were tables in use outside but as far as we could see no shelter from the rain. We waited a good few minutes getting wetter but the queue did not move. Other people in the queue thought that they were only letting people use the outside tables, but no staff available to say what was happening. Surely it would have been simple enough to set a few inside! We gave up and went elsewhere so the restaurant has lost our custom now and for the future.

We decided to have breakfast early before visiting the gardens - the breakfast was very tasty and gluten free option was available. They did not have a gluten free sausage but offered other alternatives including mushrooms. Good outside seating too. Inside seating was good but...

Beautiful! So much to see. Very nice tea rooms.

A tranquil place, lots of interesting garden designs and plants to inspire visitors.

Loved so much we bought an annual pass. Beautiful.

A superb place to get real world garden ideas. Well worth visiting throughout the gardening year. Excellent tearoom.

Excellent place with glorious gardens and efficient nice tea room.

We went on Tuesday what a great place friendly helpful staff from the first moment we arrived to when we left. As for the afternoon tea excellent value one of the best we have had keep up with the good work We will be back

We stopped here around lunchtime for a much needed cuppa and slice of cake, as we had had a large breakfast we didn't want a full meal. The staff were very friendly and the food coming from the kitchen to the tables around us looked...

Our first visit, and were really looking forward to going but we were a little disappointed with it .The entrance fee is rather expensive for what is there . The little cafe was very nice and the food good and reasonably priced .The garden centre for selling the plants were very expensive.

This was my first visit to Barnsdale Gardens, and it wont be my last! Full of beautiful gardens, and heaps of inspiration for my outdoor living spaces at home, this collection of gardens has so many stunning ideas. We also enjoyed having our lunch in the cafe, and I cant wait to visit again!

Beautiful, charming, inspirational. A lovely place for a wander and a cup of tea.

Lovely food and friendly staff

Not much to see in late March and still costs £12.

A lovely place to spend your Sunday…. Such inspiration for our gardens, I particularly love the kitchen garden… and both the Japanese and Mediterranean influences brought into the design of some of the spaces, love it!!!!!! Café is excellent and also the plant shop 👍🏻👍🏻

Lovely place for lunch. Good variety of foods & snacks. Great service and lovely location. Added bonus of garden shop across the car park!

My sister and and I have just visited and thought the food from the tea rooms was lovely. Unfortunately we were stung by the very high entrance fee to get into the gardens which were dormant this time of year. True the snow drops were lovely but at £9.50 per head in winter entrance fee, the price in is very overpriced and as we had travelled a long way we felt obligated to pay it.

Had an amazing walk round and the afternoon tea was so nice thank you will defo go again

Love this place. You could go once a season and it would look different every time.

We only went to the cafe here....it was lovely, warm and clean with a good basic menu, food was delivered in good time and larger than expected portion size left me happy and full.

Really good meal.Excellant service,very clean an smart.We make it a weekly venue to eat.

My son took me here for afternoon tea and I wasn't disappointed, we were greeted by very friendly staff who couldn't do enough for us. Food was of good quality and very delicious, more than enough for two people, also offered a doggy bag for left overs, which wasn't much ! All served in bone china cups etc. We had walk round the gardens which was pleasant even for this time of year, I will go back in summer as I can imagine it will look beautiful. Definitely recommend this place.

Beautiful gardens. Such rich variety and diversity has been skilfully packed into them. Give yourself time to appreciate each area and to sit and enjoy the tranquility. Barnsdale Gardens is the perfect place to enjoy the seasons and watch them change. Quite simply one of my favourite places.

Wanted to visit fir so long Geoff Hamilton was, and still is, my gardening hero. He inspired me to make a water feature of a stream in our garden and to see the original today meant everything to me

Very informative,great tea room too

We would have loved an outside table, but the weather was so lovely it was fully booked, however we had a table by the window, covid process was clearly in place with clean and widely spaced out tables. Our waitress was extremely friendly and was...

Only stopped to use cafe while out cycling. The staff were friendly and helpful, the tea and the bacon sandwich was very nice

Brilliant had a wonderful time Cafe open & great cakes.

Took my elderly parents and son for lunch. Couldn't fault, lovely food, reasonably priced. Hardworking and friendly staff. Will definitely visit again.

Very well laid out with practical ideas for plots. Interesting plots throughout and all are manageable sizes. Food very good in the tea rooms with very reasonable prices and pleasant staff.

Had breakfast before our tour of the wonderful gardens. Both the meat and vegan breakfasts were excellent. Healthy portions. Well cooked and presented. Very tasty and great value for money. Eating in the outside area was a real bonus Very enjoyable and a good start...

It was amazing I didn't know this please until one afternoon we went for a drive and saw this beautiful garden we have to pay for the entrance pay but it was worth it. I fully recommended.

Just a brilliantly inspiring place.

Planned to have lunch at the cafe before viewing the gardens. After an hours drive the welcome on arrival was initially friendly & we were sat at our table following a clean. Menu was basic but adequate & the food looked reasonable as the price....

Beautiful gardens and a very tasty afternoon tea. Something new for beginners and experienced gardeners alike

We drove a long way and arrived for breakfast, we both had the full English and it was absolutely amazing. Nice and hot and very tasty with excellent service. Sadly for us the breakfast was that huge that we couldn't eat lunch, but we did...

This is a wonderful day out. Plenty of seating in each individually designed garden, even a few seats which are covered to shelter from the rain. The gardens give you lots of ideas for your own gardens. What an inspiration! Lovely tea garden with outdoor seating. Very helpful service. Not Covid safe indoors in the café as none of the windows were open, rather oddly. Be aware that if you order the chicken and bacon jacket potato it comes smothered in a sickly honey and mustard sauce. OK for those who like this but not mentioned on the menu. No loos in the gardens themselves, they are located outside, near the car park and nursery. They are quite small but more or less adequate. Small shop with some local food, 3D greetings cards. The nursery has a wide variety of rose bushes on sale and there are some beautifully scented ones. Overall a wonderful day out. Can't wait to visit again next year

Great food, the breakfast here is the best we have ever had. Fresh and local produce all cooked perfectly. Good service from friendly staff.

Very interesting group of gardens

Just needs tidying. The detail makes a garden The little thing have been forgotten by the look of it.

What a fabulous place for a meander around the garden rooms and fill your photo gallery with lots of ideas for your garden

Very nice, well worth a visit and the cream tea was lovely. Would recommend a visit

Lovely food served in beautiful surroundings. Absolutely first class.

Lovely gardens...fresh air....cafe friendly with good food also do vegetarian and vegan breakfast till 12. Enough room not to feel overcrowded even though quite a lot of people...clean loos...can eat outside...relaxing...quiet...friendly staff.

Very good. Many small gardens, each one different.

Well kept and beautiful gardens. Tea room very good too.

Beautiful place for an afternoon out

Fantastic day out. Great value restaurant.

We decided to have a drink before going round the gardens. You can access the tea room without paying to go round the garden and if you want to sit outside, you check in via the tea room and are taken to a garden table....

The most beautiful gardens we have visited.So well planned and presented.Hot day on visit,but plenty of shade from the trees and lots of benches along the way.Ample car park,Fantastic Tea room.Inside and courtyard setting.All staff really friendly.Shall be back.

Beautiful varied gardens, amazing, well worth a visit.

Beautiful gardens, very well cared for. Excellent choice in the cafeteria.

Fabulous collection of 38 individual small gardens. An Oasis of peace and Quiet and great tea shop. Staff were very knowledgable.

Over 35 different garden "rooms" to view and stroll through. Colour and interest at any time of year but spring and summer are exceptional. Benches and chairs around the garden so you can sit and admire your surroundings. If you don't live too far away become a "friend" and visit as often as you like with discounts in the cafe and nursery. Great cafe with inside and outside seating. Good food and cakes. We tried the afternoon tea and it had plenty of different treats but this has to be pre-booked.

We'd been given a visit to the garden plus afternoon tea as a gift. Checked the weather forecast and booked it for a nice sunny day and we had a lovely afternoon. Fantastic setting, naturally, the only downside being a wedding party with live music...

Recommends you allow between two to three hours for visit. We arrived at ten and left at four enjoying the gardens with a couple of visits into the tea rooms for drinks and then food. Visited the nursery and bought some plants. A great day out as part of our ruby wedding celebrations visiting the Barnsdale Gardens of Geoff Hamilton, the man who inspired us to start gardening early in our married life. A great day out and fully recommended. Thank you!

Fabulous day out, really good lunch and lots of inspiration. Great to be able to buy many of the plants that feature in the gardens.

Very interesting gardens. Hugh variety as one would expect. I thought on this visit the gardens were a little untidy, deadheading etc, possibly due to awful weather. However a return is assured. Recommended.

Every season is absolutely lovely in these gardens. Well worth more than one visit. The annual subscription is value for money. Nice tearoom with tables in the garden.

Nice teashop staff, lovely gardens but a bit pricey entrance. Bit spoilt by seeing 2 rats running around teashop garden tables..appeared to run under 'pay kiosk'..badly need rat traps.

Excellent! Delicious cake, service was excellent very friendly and efficient. Will be visiting again soon

We visited as we were bought this on a Buyagift voucher. All I can say is thank goodness we didn’t pay for it! Absolutely horrendous from start to finish. The ‘tearoom’ is more like a truckers cafe and absolutely filthy; sticky tables and flies everywhere....

1st class visit. Staff 1st class. Afternoon tea 1st class and did food that I could eat as I have swallowing problems. Will recommend it to others. Gardens very peaceful , could have stayed sitting in all of them. You are not rushed. Thank you to all the staff.

One of the best places in the UK I've visited! It's just beautiful! Such variety of garden designs, winding paths, so many different trees, flowers and shrubs...just lovely! Ample parking, great tearoom with a sweat outside seating area for sunny days..... definitely recommend especially for those who enjoy outdoor spaces and nature!

Just such a beautiful place to walk round. The Nursery has a really good choice of plants

Excellent, a lovely place to visit at the tea shop was very very busy

Lived in the area all my life never been before very impressed with the qualities of the gardens and all perfectly maintained

Truly magnificent and unique. So delightfully different from most other gardens

Beautiful and wide variety of roses. Great food at a reasonable price. Great choice of unusual plants. Visited late June.

Beautiful gardens and a great tea room

Wonderfully cared for gardens and excellent tearooms with very friendly & helpful staff.

I would highly recommend a trip to spend a morning or afternoon in these wonderful gardens. Lots of inspiration for those looking to improve or adapt their own plots, or simply a relaxing potter about through a wide variety of different small gardens. Good value and hearty breakfasts in the cafe if you're there in time for brunch.

Very nice and well presented gardens with a very good cafe and friendly staff 👍

My mother loved it, we've been there last 2019.

Lovely place to visit. Gardens are very nice, plenty of seating around to have a rest. The tea room is good and the staff are very friendly 😁👍

More than 30 themed gardens all absolutely wonderful, a real gardeners, plantsmans and plantswoman mans garden. Probably the best garden apart from Bressingham that I have visited. Great doable ideas for your own garden from small cottage gardens to Japanese gardens to Mediterranean gardens, rock gardens and dry gardens it has everything, also a great tearoom. Just be careful if you sit on the the black metal chairs in the outdoor seating area of the tearoom on a hot sunny day, make sure your wearing some clothing on your bum. Otherwise it can be painful. 🤪

Lovely gardens, lots of small themed gardens originally created for Gardener’s World by the late Geoff Hamilton and now mature and well kept, lots of seats to admire views too. Finish with tea and cake, great tea rooms, recommended for enjoyable trip out for gardeners and non gardeners alike!