Nancy had been thinking for ages about making a trip to Exbury Gardens and we finally made the trip. I had ridden past the place on one occasion, and it had caught me out as I didn’t know exactly where it was at the time. However, with a plan in hand, we headed down. When you visit similar places, you can get caught out. The map will show you all of the areas and it will look like it is huge. Then you find you have walked from one end to the other in fifteen minutes. Exbury is nothing like that!

The grounds are extensive and we spent a good chunk of our day wandering around. There is such a variety in the ways in which it is laid out and the types of planting that they have. We were strolling through one area when a golf cart pulled up and the woman in the cart started asking us whether we were having a good time. Turned out it was her estate. We chatted to her for a while before she continued on her way.

The bottom of the gardens come down to the Beaulieu River. It was surprisingly misty down there and, when the boat traffic was gone, it was a very tranquil spot. A trail went alongside the river for a while which made for a nice part of the visit. Then it was across some meadows and back into the main part of the grounds. There were many steam powered vehicles on site as part of an event, but I shall write about them separately. There is also a steam railway but that will also have its own write up.

We were quite taken with the place. Having this so close and providing such a good variety of walking locations, we decided an annual membership would be worthwhile. On our way out, we stopped by and took care of that. Now we need to make sure to get back there whenever we are free.