Exbury Gardens & Steam Railway
  Description
Exbury Gardens is 200 acre woodland garden, world-famous for its collection of rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias, rare trees and plants.

Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942) was the man whose inspiration created Exbury Gardens, he once described himself as ‘a banker by hobby, a gardener by profession’. After the war Edmund de Rothschild restored the gardens to their former glory and continued his father’s work by cultivating new parts of the garden and raising new Exbury hybrids; sons Nicholas and Lionel also share in the family passion for gardening.

The steam railway follows a one and a quarter mile circular route around the gardens with a journey time of about twenty minutes.
 
  Open
13 March - 7 November 2010
Daily
10am - 5pm
 
  Prices
Adult £8.50, Concession £8, Child (3-15) £1.50, Family (2 Adults & 3 Children 3-15) £19, Child (under 3) Free
Railway Fare £3.50, Rover (all day) £4.50
Chauffeur driven Buggy Tours (30 or 45 minutes with commentary £3.50/£4.00 per person plus Gardens admission.
 
  Contact
The Estate Office, Exbury, Hampshire SO45 1AZ
Tel:023 8089 1203 Website
 
  Directions
Turn south off the B3054
Streetmap
 
  Parking
Large car park on site
 
  Refreshments
Restaurant
 
  Accessibility
Toilets and parking for the disabled.
Exbury provides a limited number of wheelchairs (non motorised) free of charge, available from the admission gate. Wheelchair access maps identify routes suitable for wheelchairs and are also obtainable at the admission gate. Motorised scooters are welcomed in the Gardens as long as users keep to the recommended pathways.
 
  More info
Shop
Plant sales
 
  Events 2009
The Exbury 10k
14th March 10 - 14th March 10
The Exbury 10k starts and finishes in Exbury Gardens, with the return route twisting through Inchmery Lane following a course down to Lepe Country Park.

Mothering Sunday
14th March 10 - 14th March 10
The Gardens are looking wonderful with seasonal displays of magnolias, early flowering rhododendrons, camellias, primroses and a fabulous show of daffodils on Exbury’s renowned Daffodil Meadow, overlooking the Beaulieu River.

Primrose and Camellia Walks
20th March 10 - 21st March 10
The floor of Exbury's woodland garden is covered with a beautiful primrose carpet during late March and early April. Major concentrations are found in the Home Wood running alongside the Cascades, and also in the Yard Wood Cascades near Jubilee Pond.

Primrose and Camellia Walks
27th March 10 - 28th March 10
The floor of Exbury's woodland garden is covered with a beautiful primrose carpet during April. Major concentrations are found in the Home Wood running alongside the Cascades, and also in the Yard Wood Cascades near Jubilee Pond.

Lachenalia Exhibition
13th March 10 - 31st March 10
Exbury has a fine Lachenalia collection, which grows alongside our famous collection of of Nerine sarniensis, traditionally displayed during October. This year the collection will be on show in the Gardens Five Arrows Gallery until Wed 31 March.

Primrose and Camellia Walks
3rd April 10 - 4th April 10
The floor of Exbury's woodland garden is covered with a beautiful primrose carpet during April. Major concentrations are found in the Home Wood running alongside the Cascades, and also in the Yard Wood Cascades near Jubilee Pond.

Easter at Exbury
3rd April 10 - 5th April 10
Easter is a wonderful time at Exbury, with a beautiful ‘cloth of gold’ Daffodil Meadow leading down to the Beaulieu River. There are surprises in store on the Railway – who will spot the Easter Bunnies hiding in the woods?

Plant Hunter Tours for Families
6th April 10 - 9th April 10
Join our storyteller playing the role of ‘George Forrest’, legendary plant explorer of the early 20th century. Hear hair-raising tales of uprisings, death and glory in the Yunnan as Forrest quests to bring back new plants and seedlings to England and Exbury.

Primrose and Camellia Walks
10th April 10 - 11th April 10
The floor of Exbury's woodland garden is covered with a beautiful primrose carpet during April. Major concentrations are found in the Home Wood running alongside the Cascades, and also in the Yard Wood Cascades near Jubilee Pond.

PhotoTrek at Exbury Gardens
29th April 10 - 29th April 10
Come and learn photographic techniques in the delightful setting of an Exbury spring with two professional photographers, Ian Badley and Barry Whitcher. Bring your own camera – suitable for beginners and those learning the art of photography.

The Glory of the Garden
19th April 10 - 31st May 10
Exbury Gardens are world-famous for the Rothschild Collection of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, rare trees and plants.

Four Seasons Art Exhibition
2nd April 10 - 6th June 10
Art for all seasons at Exbury Distinguished artists concerned with all aspects of the natural world are mounting a major show at Exbury Gardens during early spring.

New Forest Breakfast Walks
15th May 10 - 16th May 10
Enjoy a wonderful early morning tour of the Gardens with our knowledgeable and very entertaining Head Gardener John Anderson. Mid-May is the very best time to see the Rothschild Collection of rhododendrons and azaleas.

The Glory of the Garden
19th April 10 - 31st May 10
Exbury Gardens are world-famous for the Rothschild Collection of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, rare trees and plants.

Four Seasons Art Exhibition
2nd April 10 - 6th June 10
Art for all seasons at Exbury Distinguished artists concerned with all aspects of the natural world are mounting a major show at Exbury Gardens during early spring.



Check Exbury Gardens
Website to make sure changes haven't been made during the year.
 
 
 
 
Exbury Gardens
 
Golden gift as Exbury opens

Exbury Gardens in the New Forest have bunches of golden daffodils to give away to its lady visitors on Mothering Sunday, the day after they open for the new season.
Spring is in the air in the award-winning 200 acre woodland Gardens with magnolias, primroses and camellias in bloom and colourful rhododendrons and azaleas just beginning to open.
And 400 runners will line up at Exbury on Mothering Sunday to take part in the annual Exbury 10k race, organised by Hardley Runners.
“After a hard winter, Exbury is a breath of spring,” said Nick de Rothschild whose family manages Exbury. “So much is bursting into flower, the birds are singing non-stop and the Gardens are fresh and colourful.”
Inside the Five Arrows Gallery, visitors may see the rare and delicate ‘Leopard Lilies’, tender Lachenalias, displayed to show their subtle colours and lovely flowers.
The last two weekends in March see primrose and camellia walks, leading to parts of the Garden where the ground is carpeted with flower and the camellias line winding pathways.
Visitors who walk down to the shores of the Beaulieu River will be rewarded with the sight of thousands of daffodils fluttering in the meadow that slopes down to the banks of the water.
“My grandfather planted daffodils by the ton, when he made the Gardens nearly a century ago and we add to them every year,” said Nick. “The sheet of gold they create is a wonderful sight.”


Exbury Gardens opens on Saturday March 13 and remain open daily 10am-5pm until November 7.
 
  More pictures
 
March 2010 - Theo Herselman with a selection of Exbury Lachenalias