Ham House and Garden Review, National Trust

Ham House and Garden located in Ham, Richmond, is a 17^th century Stuart house located on the River Thames, and is reputed to be one of the most haunted houses in Britain.

We’ve visited this National Trust property a few times, and one of our favourite things about it are the different types of gardens that you can explore.

If you’re interested in visiting Ham House and Garden but would like some more information before you go, then I hope this Ham House and Garden review helps you to decide if it’s a family day out you’d like to do.

In this review I’ll cover:

I hope you find this Ham House and Garden review helpful.

If there’s anything you think is missing from this review, or anything you’d like more information on, then I’d love to hear from you.

Ham House and Garden’s location

Ham House and Garden is located at:

Ham Street, Ham
Richmond, Surrey
TW10 7RS

Things to do

Here’s what there is to do at Ham House and Garden:

House tour

Ham House is filled with paintings, furniture, and textiles, and even has the original front door that you enter to step into the Great Hall, where you can walk on the original 1610 marble floor.

After entering, you can go upstairs to see the North Drawing Room and Long Gallery, which contains family portraits and furniture from the 1670s.

Upstairs also has the Green Closet, Queen’s Apartments, Library, and private living areas, which are all stunning.

There’s a lot of information within these rooms, as well as volunteers to answer any questions you have.

Once you’ve finished exploring upstairs, you can go downstairs and look at the Beer Cellar, Duchess’ Bathroom, and Kitchen.

Activities for kids

There are many activities for kids in the gardens to keep them entertained, and active.

There’s an outdoor mud kitchen, and very often when we’ve visited there’s been games in The Plats, the first garden you see from the rear of the house, where kids can throw bean bags through holes, skip with ropes, build towers, and kick balls.

My two boys love the kids activities here, and we always do some of them when we visit.

Gardens

There are many gardens that you can explore, including:

The Wilderness

This is the furthest garden from the rear of Ham House. It’s made up of 16 compartments, or cabinets, containing open spaces, paths, hedges, summerhouses, and picnic areas.

Whenever we visit my boys love running around this garden, as well as kicking a football, bird watching, and playing hide and seek.

My favourite thing about this garden are the chairs you can sit on to enjoy the views.

The Plats

The Plats is the first garden you see from the rear of the house, and is where the above-mentioned kid’s activities are located.

It’s a great garden to run around in, or have a picnic.

Cherry Garden

Located next to The Plats is my favourite garden, the Cherry Garden, which contains clipped-box hedged compartments filled with lavender and original 17^th century statues.

It’s perfectly manicured, and there are seats inside to enjoy the surroundings and bird song.

Kitchen Garden

Located at the Orangery Café, this garden is one of London’s most productive walled kitchen gardens, growing produce that changes over the seasons, and that’s used in the food sold within the Orangery Café.

This is another garden my boys love exploring, and learning about the different types of produce growing within it.

Shop and second hand bookstore

The shop at Ham House is housed within a 17^th century outbuilding that used to be the bakehouse and laundry, and that now sells gifts, souvenirs, homewares, toys, plants, food and drink.

There’s also a second hand bookstore that has many kid’s books in it.

Events

There are many events at Ham House throughout the year including outdoor shows, school holiday activities, educational tours, and garden tours.

For further information please visit What’s On at Ham House and Garden.

Food options

Food options at Ham House and Garden are:

Orangery Café

The Orangery Café sells hot and cold food and drinks using produce grown in the Kitchen Garden.

There is indoor and outdoor seating available here.

Ice Cream Shed

On hot days there’s an ice cream shed near the second hand bookshop.

Picnic areas

There are many picnic areas in The Wilderness and The Plats for picnics.

Family friendly facilities at Ham House and Garden

Family friendly facilities at Ham House and Garden include: 

• Baby changing facilities in the toilets opposite the shop
• Highchairs in the Orangery Café
• Buggy storage at the house entrance
• Hip carriers available for use at the house entrance
• Buggy friendly flat gardens
• Level access guide available at reception highlighting step free areas

Opening times

Ham House and Garden is open at various times throughout the year.

For up to date opening times please visit Ham House and Garden opening times.

Ticket prices

Ticket prices for Ham House and Garden are free for National Trust members.

For non National Trust members, ticket prices are from:

• £14 adults
• £7 children
• Free under 5s
• £35 family
• £21 1 adult, 2 children

For up to date ticket prices please visit Ham House and Garden ticket prices.

Parking

There is a large free car park roughly five minutes walk from Ham House and Garden’s front gates.

How long you’ll need for your visit

You can easily spend a few hours at Ham House and Garden.

We normally spend about 30 minutes walking through the house, about one hour exploring the gardens, and then another hour having lunch.

My thoughts on Ham House and Garden

I really like Ham House and Garden, the highlights for me are definitely the gardens because they’re large, flat, and the boys can run around them without fear that they’ll step on something they shouldn’t.

Due to the size of the gardens, it’s a great way to get outdoors and enjoy some different surroundings, as well as look at flowers and plants you wouldn’t normally.

It’s also located near Richmond’s many shops and restaurants, so it can easily be part of a full day out.

I hope you’ve found this Ham House and Garden review helpful, and that it’s helped you to decide if it’s somewhere you’d like to explore.

What’s your favourite day out?