Claremont Landscape Garden, National Trust |

I love Claremont Landscape Garden, a National Trust garden that we’ve been to a few times, and each time we go I love it just as much as the time before.

Claremont Landscape Garden is around 49 acres in size, and over 300 years old.

Historically, it was a playground for the rich and influential, and has undergone a lot of work, the most notable occurring in 1722 where a 3 acre amphitheatre was carved into the grounds, providing outstanding views of the lake and surrounding countryside.

This amphitheatre is believed to be the largest of its type left in Europe.

Today Claremont Landscape Garden is a grade 1 listed garden, where visitors can enjoy the natural beauty, and formal gardens.

The first thing you do when you get here is walk through the visitor centre, once done there are two paths that you can take.

One of these paths takes you around the lake, where you see an Island Pavilion, a grotto that looks like caves, and once you walk around the lake there’s a children’s play area and café as well as a hill with steps, which leads to the Badger’s Basecamp den building area, a woodland area for older children with tunnels, and hidey holes.

The children’s play area towards the end of the path is perfect for kids of any age, and consists of mini wooden versions of some of the garden’s attractions, including the Island Pavilion and Belvedere Tower.

The second path leading out from the visitor centre takes you into the formal gardens, which consist of many areas for kids to explore, sculptures to find, and natural beauty to admire.

On our recent visit to Claremont Landscape Garden, Ryan really got into exploring, he lost himself in shrubbery, searched for rocks and sticks, and told stories about things that may happen in the woods.

There are some statues to find amongst the trees which are a boar, bear, and a peacock. The peacock statue is a copy of one that used to be on top of an obelisk in the middle of the lake, which was moved to Powis Castle in 1922.

At the top of the hill where the animal statues are located is the Camellia Terrace, which was dedicated to former resident Princess Charlotte of Augusta and her Prince, Prince Leopold, which used to house cows, goats, antelopes, an African bull, zebra, and foal until around 1816 when Prince Leopold built a hot house here for camellias, orange trees, acacias, and magnolias.

The hot house was demolished in 1959, but the over 200 year old camellias still continue to thrive.

Next to the Terrace is a large stretch of lawn called the Bowling Green, which is perfect for picnics, and offers spectacular views of Belvedere Tower, a Grade 2 listed building, which is over 250 years old.

It was built in 1715 for the Duke of Newcastle to host dinner parties, dancing, billiards, and card games.

The Belvedere Tower, and a mansion that once sat on the grounds of Claremont Landscape Garden, are now owned by Claremont Fan Court School, along with 30 acres of parkland, and is open to the public during certain times of the year.

Throughout the garden are many seats, some facing the lake, others placed in peaceful locations for you to enjoy the surroundings, and there are many areas for picnics, and for kids to run or crawl around.

Claremont Landscape Garden is a garden that we’ll continue to visit throughout the seasons, and enjoy as the boys get older.

Claremont Landscape Garden is located on Portsmouth Road, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9JG.
For more information on Claremont Landscape Garden please visit their website.

What are some of your favourite day out locations?
I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.

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