Goddards in York

Lovely gardens and imformative despite only one volunteer. Shame about the parking and that the house is almost never open.

Lovely gardens but no access to the fine looking house.

A very rainy day but umbrellas given to use! Only visited cafe and garden, book shop too. Lovey friendly team, I parked free along the road just off the main traffic light

Beautiful gardens. Place place to have lunch. The site isn't big. The house can not be toured at this time.

Lovely place to visit after the chaos of York city. Beautiful gardens, loved the greenhouse & veg garden too. Dog friendly too.

Small but very pretty garden on the outside of York. The house is closed but the gardens are worth the visit. I also liked the outdoor activities, badminton, ring toss, croquet and thought they really added value to the ticket price which otherwise would have been a little steep for the garden alone.

Such a lovely place to visit! The gardens are beautiful and filled with wildlife, and the guides are all very friendly and informative! :)

Very nice place but no parking on site so I had to park down a side road which might be difficult if busy in town. Gardens were ok but nothing exceptional, with being a National Trust member entry was free but would not have been happy if I had paid to look around.

Lovely hidden gem. Walked passed so many times and never visited. Lovely grounds, easy walk and fab little refreshments kiosk with a great choice of drinks and treats. The freshly made lemonade is especially good. There's a few games to play, tennis, croquet etc. The greenhouse, veg patch and orchard are great.

Really nice visit. Bit of a shame as we drove here Friday and it was shut due to high winds. But Saturdays visit was really lovely. Nice gardens and rockery area. Lovely people that work and volunteer their time.

Only the gardens of this beautiful National Trust owned mansion house, previously home to the Terry family (of Terry's Chocolate), are open to the public. It is a quiet, delightful setting in which to enjoy its numerous herbaceous borders, ponds, sunken garden, greenhouse and bountiful orchard. The on-site tearoom is also popular with visitors.

Lovely gardens and tea on the terrace

Beautiful but not worth the price

It's a shame the house is no longer open, but the gardens are well worth visiting anyway.

Beautiful gardens full of colour and really well maintained. Central garden with water feature framing the lovely house and several feature gardens to explore. There's a kitchen garden, greenhouse and large rock garden along with croquet lawn and tennis court, all of which are lovely. Small bookshop and kiosk with drinks and cakes along with room to sit out.

Welcomed with a little history to the gardens. The 'rooms' were beautiful and bright. Had lunch on the terrace with a lovely talk through of the history and the art and craft building.. drainpipes arty. Fascinating lovely afternoon out... Chocolate oranges mean more to me now! :) Dog friendly too!

Beautiful gardens, house not open as its National Trust northern HQ. Set off busy road but gardens a haven of peace.

Goddard's at Dringhouses in York is a National Trust owned house formerly belonging to the Terry family, chocolatiers, as in Terry's Chocolate Orange. Only the garden is open to visitors, but with the admission charge comes a free 30 minute tour by the handsome Head Gardener. It was built in 1927 at the same time as Terry's Chocolate Factory, the tower of which can be seen from the edge of the garden across the race course. The Factory closed in 2005 when the business was bought by Kraft and the factory building converted to flats, some of which are holiday lets. Using our bus passes we caught the bus to York Railway Station and walked for 35 minutes to the house where we had our picnic lunch on the terrace. There is a kiosk serving light lunches etc. so we had an ice cream before we left. It was great having the beautiful garden explained to us, we then wandered around at our leisure.

Goddard is now an administrative centre for the NT so the house is closed to visitors. Beautiful grounds, very nice cafe and we parked in the grounds as one of us has mobility issues. Otherwise parking isn't easy as itsa very busy part of York. Free to NT members

Lovely little national trust house and garden hidden away in York City. While the house is not open to the public to wander through, the gardens are a lovely little excursion on a warm sunny day. Won’t take you long to walk around but there’s places to sit and enjoy the surroundings.

Not a big place. We visited en route to somewhere else, but beautifully presented. The wisteria at the back of the house was stunning. We also liked the takeaway cafe. Lovely scones and sandwich and china tea service eaten on the terrace in front of the house. What more could you want?

I visited when this lovely historic house was also open to the public. I don't find it acceptable that the house is now closed to the public because it's being used as offices.

Delightful garden close to the centre of York and views of the racecourse. Wisteria is looking good for a few more days. Look for the erigeron, marjoram and toadflax among the paths.

Lovely gardens with a beautiful driveway (or, at least, very lovely in the spring!). Coffee shop is just a small room with seats and tables on the patio, but coffee and scones were delicious. No parking except for blue badge holders. Not too far to walk from nearest on street parking though.

From the warm welcome to the ever changing garden displays, food and drink on the terrace, and games in the summer, this is a great space to while away an hour or two.

Such a beautiful place and such lovely staff 😁 happy to deliever here

1st visit today (01/10/2023). Currently, only the garden is open to the public and only at the weekends now until the end of October, when the property closes until March 2024. Nevertheless, it is well worth the visit. Accessible with plenty to explore or just sit and absorb the tranquility. Because of the mild weather the autumn colours weren't evident yet, so a later visit may be advisable. Certainly a garden to visit throughout the year (opening times permitting).

Had a lovely walk around the gardens, but shame house is not to public. Apparently, due to staffing problems and the cost of repairs, I think there are some bad management problems within the national trust where money is being wasted with several staff still working from home when what is needed is staff on site to assist and help and advice and maintain these properties same with any business money wasted on those doing the least shame on you National Trust !!

Small grounds compared to other N.T. places. No parking at venue.

Finished off our national trust weekend tour with a visit to Goddards gardens. A beautiful sunny afternoon spent in the quiet gardens. The little woodland walk was serene in the afternoon heat, finished off with ice creams. Compliments to the kitchen staff, our toasties were the best ever, we sat in the picnic area with the Terry's chocolate factory tower in the distance. A quiet oasis away from the bustle of daily life.

Really lovely gardens to enjoy a picnic 🧺

What a lovely quiet corner of York well worth a visit, why has it taken us so long.

A little place to have a look round. Lovely gardens. Staff were so friendly and willing to chat. Thank you.

Lovely garden to walk around. There is also a small coffee takeaway place where they'll give you tea or coffee on a tray to take and sit with on the chairs and tables or anywhere else in the gardens!

Boring, in and out within 25 minutes

Beautiful gardens, very helpful,friendly staff. We got information on various plants, flowers, took photos, and attended the very interesting talk on the house/family.

Surprisingly large gardens considering the location on a main road going into York. Absolutely beautiful gardens with an amazing amount of wildlife to discover.

Oh I'm so sad about the tea rooms here..we went a couple of years ago and could sit in the tea room or outside. Now, since COVID, it's a sandwich and scone option from a small "room" (cupboard) and no table service and sandwiches from cardboard wrappers. Such a shame as it was a great place to go for afternoon tea whilst enjoying the gardens. 😩 We won't return.

Lovley garden. Shame about the house being closed but hopefully will open next year. Friendly staff.

Very boring dull garden for July, could do with some bright bushes and lovely flowers in bloom. Only just managed an hour here!

Absolutely gorgeous gardens, perfectly kept & full of interest. How lovely it would be if you could visit the house too.

Lovely gardens and terrace for a cup of tea. No plans of the gardens though which would be very helpful so we could plan our visit.

Amazing garden. Doesn't feel like it's next to one of the main routes into york at all

Lovely gardens but needs to open the house. So many visitors were disappointed.

It is a beautiful property near the city centre of York. The volunteers were friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The gardens are a beautiful space spread out over 4 acres, and are a peaceful space to walk around. For horticulture enthusiasts, this property is a definite must visit location. Sadly the house house hasn’t opened since covid, I would hope it were to reopen as soon as possible.

We looked at the website and it said open today Friday 26th it was shut when we arrived we checked earlier in the week we should have checked again most disappointed as we were on the way home and wont have the chance to visit again for some time .There was no sign on the road to mark where the house was very badly marked to find it .

Really nice walk around the gardens - and they are lovely gardens!

The most lovely gardens and a gorgeous setting, well worth a visit for a couple of hours.

Delightful gardens. Beautiful "arts & crafts" house which is, sadly, not currently open to the public

Nice little walk around the gardens 😄, it would of been nice if the names were on some of the flowers 🌺🌹

Nice grounds, but no chance of viewing the interior THIS YEAR!! come on national trust get your finger out, such a shame.

Although it’s not yet the peak blossom season, the garden is already displaying its beauty. I can only imagine how spectacular it will be in another month’s time.

This is one of Yorks hidden gems. A national trust property in the city. The gardens are fantastic such a lovely place to visit. It is a must see!

About 5 acres of lovely gardens. I'm looking forward to returning to see the changes. At this time of year you can see the basic structures and gardening. Lots to look forward to.

Lovely gardens and friendly staff. The refreshments were a bit underwhelming though, no chocolate orange themed items as far as I could tell.

Lovely gardens will be even better when the flowers start blooming

Visited these hidden gardens on the last day of the season. Closed now till the Spring. Worth a visit when it's open again

Difficult to park if there is anything going on in the area. But it is worth a visit if you can. Dog friendly. Nice food in café.

This is a little diamond of a place tucked away on Tadcaster Road in york. The gardens are on the scale of Beningbrough but are kept lovely and there's a lovely little area to have refreshments and a peaceful sit with friends family.. there's free equipment for croquet and tennis if you wanted to.. unfortunately it closes in the winter from the 31st Oct to re open in the spring.. this is a hidden gem.

There is no parking space even we were looking for a car park around it and nothing

Ok for a quick visit. Hard to see entrance along the road, probably need better signage. Pleasant gardens for a nice tea and cake.

Rather disappointing. The house was closed, and will be for the foreseeable future apparently. Garden was good though..

Beautiful garden, path easy to follow and to walk on. Suitable for people with mobility problems. Nice terrace to sit at whilst eating and drinking items from the tea room which sells light bites, hot and cold drinks. The lady at reception was very welcoming and knowledgeable about the Terry family who were the only family to live in the house which was built in the 1920’s and was given to the National Trust on the deaths of Mr & Mrs Terry as their offspring did not want to take on the responsibility of this beautiful house. The gentleman at the gate house was a bit stern and not very welcoming. Unfortunately there is only one toilet for everyone. For some reason there were day glow orange construction fence barriers closing off steps and other odd places, stood out like sore thumbs and took away some lovely photo opportunities. I would have thought the National Trust would have found a more ‘in keeping’ way to block things off. Definitely worth a visit. Too small for a full day, would say give it 2-3 hours.

A wonderful experience, lovely house and beautiful gardens, staff very friendly and informative.

Peaceful and beautiful gardens.

Beautiful garden lovely in the light rain. Shame house wasn't open due to lack of volunteers.

Lovely friendly staff (and/or volunteers?), beautiful well kept gardens with a variety of different sections. Very peaceful. Admittance is £6 but if this is your sort of thing then I'd say it's worth it! Shame the inside of the house isn't open for viewing atm but the gardens are great on their own

Lovely place, tranquil gardens. Hopefully the house will be back open soon, so we can enjoy that also. As closed due to National trust staffing shortages.

Lovely gardens, ran out of cake

An absolute gem of a find, this property should be much better known. Sadly, they have not been able to re-open the house post-covid; a real shame as, from the outside it looks to be a beautiful Arts and Crafts building. However, the gardens are stunning. There is a series of "rooms", spread over four acres and becoming less formal the further away from the house you go. The scent garden and the orchard were the highlights for me, but it was all beautiful. Surprisingly quiet, considering it's just off the main road. As always with NT properties, the volunteers were friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Well worth a visit.

Nice place small cafe outlet have to drink outside no where inside to sit not very colourful dosnt take long to.walk around it quite a few benches to sit on

A hidden gem. Lovely house, friendly staff and wonderful volunteers. Worth visiting.

No parking, cafe very limited at the moment. Gardens were lovely and worth the visit. House shut.

Was a shame the house not open to viewing 😒 The gardens are beautiful.

The house is not open due to pandamic, but the garden is beautiful. Only disable car park on site, but there are nearby off road parking for free. Very friendly staff.

Called in to one of my fav small national trust places today. I was disappointed, first off car park out of use, needed to find a space on the street. Couldn't see why it was out of use, we were told by volunteers at the gate it was. House not open and restaurant facilities are now a takeaway. What a shame however having got over my disappointed the gardens were at their best and I told the volunteers what a great job they were doing. And the Reason for all this disappointed 'covid'. Please support this little gem by going it would be a crying shame for the trust to lose it.

A lovely National Trust property a stone throw from York city centre - but you won't realise it. Its gardens are a beautiful, peaceful haven full of paths to explore and lovely views of York race course

Good place, nice and tidy, good for a walk..

Little oasis of calm, gardens beginning to 'wake up', wheelchair paths round garden. Previously I've had tasty afternoon tea in tea room(check opening times). Lots of different areas of interest in a smallish space, good parking, welcome from friendly helpers.

Great story of the Terry family and loved the garden, shame the house is still not open to the public yet.

Lovey garden and take away cakes. Shame the house isn't open.

Love this place. The gardens are lovely. For a small place there's lots of character & when the house is open it's interesting to read the history of the family

Terry's chocolate orange... lovely house and gardens with very helpful staff and very knowledgable to

House interesting with knowledgable staff. Cafe experience not the best

Lovely welcome from friendly staff

Great venue for a quiet coffee, amble in the gardens and interesting insight into Terrys. Make sure you tell the waiters you're on the terrace if you go al fresco.

Hidden gem with nice bit of history and an excellent tea room with a view.

Cosy place, lovely staff. You can really make yourself at home here, have a drink by the fire, have a game and in summer a game of tennis outside. Good insight into the lives of the Terry's

Very interesting and lovely grounds.

Very good attraction in York, worth a visit or two

Lovely house and garden. Well worth a visit.

Great bit of history, lovely building and grounds that you're able to explore.

Stylish and interesting place for a Christmas lunch.

Me and my friend went for Christmas Lunch and it was lovely couldn't fault it at,all. The food was piping hot and well presented. The service was good and the staff were pleasant. Would highly recommend it.

A cosy family house and lovely garden.

Lovely place to eat and very interesting house too .

A real gem. Warm welcoming house that really feels like home Staff knowledgeable and friendly We went when the house was beautifully decorated for Christmas . We particularly liked the games room where we played on the bagatelle.So refreshing to be able to "touch" things. We will return in Summer and explore the gardens. Parking is a bit of a problem as there is only accessible parking on site, however the Cross Keys almost opposite is very nice ( excellent choice of bar snacks and drinks) and pub customers can park there .

Although I've visited the House on several occasions, this was an opportunity to see the Christmas decorations and have lunch.We chose from a limited but varied menu; the meals were stylishly presented and very tasty. Although the dining room was busy, unlike another reviewer, we found the service both efficient and friendly.Highly recommended !!

The history of Terry's is great with lots of personal information. The garden is small but well worth while exploring.

Friendly knowledgeable staff. Interesting and poignant property