Compton Acres

A throwback to our World Photo Day competition, we want to share some of our favourite entries, that only just missed the shortlist.
Our thanks to Clair Roe, Pauline Guppy and Suzanne McGowan for these lovely submissions.

Check out our latest Gardeners Blog for September! It features useful advice on what you can do in the garden this season and what you can expect from our Plant Centre.
http://www.comptonacres.co.uk/our-gardene rs-blog-for-septe…/

Start the week well with a warm coffee in good company… and by ‘good company’ we mean cake! What’s your favourite accompaniment for coffee? Brownie, Victoria sponge, carrot cake? Let us know in the comments what’s your sweet treat of choice.

An old Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”
With approximately 7 billion trees cut down each year, it is down to each and every one of us to help make the world a greener place. Tag 2 friends below and challenge them to plant a tree. Make sure to post your freshly planted tree on social media using #ComptonAcresTreeChallenge and we will share them.

Compton Acres is, without doubt, one of the most Instagrammable places in Poole! Follow our Instagram page to see more gorgeous images such as the one below of our Italian Garden. (username: @comptonacres) If you have any great pictures taken at Compton Acres, post them in the comments section below and we’ll repost the best ones on our Instagram page.

‘Is Compton Acres dog-friendly?’ is the most frequent question asked on Google. The answer is YES! If you want to bring your four-legged best friend to Compton Acres, have no fear. Well-behaved dogs are welcome in both our gardens and our Café & Tearooms.

Tell us your little one’s favourite dish! Our children’s menu has a wide selection of foodie treats, fit even for the pickiest eaters! Take your kids to our Café and Tea Rooms on your next visit to Compton Acres for a delicious lunch or afternoon meal.

We don’t know about you, but we’re ready for autumn! The crisp morning air, the sound of the leaves crumbling underneath the soles of our shoes, the colourful leaves… Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. We hope you’ll visit us this season too!

September’s a great month to go outside and practice your gardening skills.
If you want to get started, visit our Plant Centre and choose from a wide selection of seeds, tools and pots. You can even ask advice from our horticultural experts! Tag a friend who loves gardening in the comments section below.

Last month, we welcomed the children from Julia's House Children's Hospice to Compton Acres for a wonderful Alice in Wonderland inspired garden adventure. Read all about the wondrous day we spent together in our latest blog post.

Have you visited our Heather Garden? On a sunny day, it’s the perfect place to sit down on a bench and enjoy the vivid colours of thousands of heathers, planted amongst the rocky outcrops.

Exploring our 10 acres of gardens is a great way to work up an appetite! Our Café & Tea Rooms features a great selection of breakfast delicacies, traditional dishes, light bites and delicious Afternoon Tea. Check out our menu and join us for a scrumptious treat.

It’s the last day of August! We’ve had a very long sunny summer this year. If you visited us over the last few months, share your memories taken at Compton Acres in the comments section!

#ThrowbackThursday Then and now: here is our picturesque Japanese Garden under construction in the 1920s, and a snap of how it looks now, almost 100 years later.

During Afternoon Tea Week we were pleased to invite children from Julia's House Children's Hospice and their families to join us in celebrating this great British tradition.
Taking on our Alice in Wonderland Summer Garden Challenge, the children set off in search of the Cheshire Cat into a world of whimsical wonders, recreated in our gardens. We then surprised them with their very own Mad Hatters Tea Party in our Cafe & Tearooms!
We hope you enjoyed your visit.

We are pleased to announce the winners of our World Photo Day competition!
A big thank you goes to everyone who entered; we received over 200 awe-inspiring photos taken both at Compton Acres and around Dorset’s beautiful countryside. Without further ado, the winners are:
1st prize - Kevin Booth... 2nd prize - Vicky Lewis 3rd prize - Anna Taylor
The winning images are featured below, from left (1st prize) to right (3rd prize). If you’re among our winners, check your email to claim your prizes.
The shortlisted entries will also be featured in Dorset Living.
See More

We’re beating the back to work blues with a nice hot coffee and a slice of homemade G & T cake, how are you enjoying your Tuesday? ☕️🍰

The long #BankHoliday Weekend is nearly here! Do you what that means? It's time to pull on your #gardening gloves and spend some time perfecting your home garden. Find out more about some essential late summer gardening jobs in our latest blog.
http://www.comptonacres.co.uk/our-gardene rs-blog-for-augus…/

It's Flower Thursday and to brighten up the day we want you to share with us your favourite flower pictures, taken at home, in the wild or at Compton Acres!
To get you started here are some 'blooming brilliant' examples taken in our gardens.

What a stunning beautiful place we are in Poole on holiday and I am so glad we came to see the wonderful gardens highly recommend this place �

We had a lovely day, it was our first visit and i would recommend it to anyone! The grounds and walks are beautiful and interesting for all ages and abilities. The cafe over looking poole harbour served delicious light snacks and we enjoyed a refreshing glass of processco

Visited here for the first time yesterday. What a stunning place. The gardens are just so beautiful, and have such a very serene quality. Lots of lovely pathways and walks, with beautiful surprises around every corner. We enjoyed a sandwich lunch in one of the cafes, and looked at so many beautiful, and unusual items, in the gift shop. Staff were helpful and welcoming. Definitely worth a visit, and would happily go back to visit again.

This is a lovely place with fantastic gardens and is a very pleasant walk,really enjoyed it here.

Thanks for another lovely vegan afternoon tea in the cafe. The coconut cream is lovely with the scones. Friendly staff, will be back

Spent the Day at Compton Acres yesterday with my parents and my husband, my father is in a wheelchair. We had a fabulous day, the gardens are beautiful particularly the Japanese gardens. My father had no trouble getting round in his electric scooter! Would recommend a visit to all you gardeners and non gardeners out there (there's a lovely cafe too)

So many beautiful gardens to walk through and things to see. Stunning views and would love to go back again for sure. Really nice if you love going for walks and seeing pretty sights.

My favourite place in Dorset. I call it my happy place. Love it there xx

Lovely gardens, nice tea room and well worth a visit.

Liver pate with toasted seeded bread what a lovely lunch. Very busy though so you need to get there early.

It was a very hot day but the beautoful gardens had plenty of sunshine and shady places. Wonderful colours and different varieties everywhere. The Italian and Japanese gardens were particularly outstanding. A refreshing cup of tea overlooking Poole Harbour was a delight.

Lovely day ���

I haven't been here in 30 years or so. Still an amazing and beautiful place. Loved the walk and the nice lunch at the end xx

I have been living in Parkstone since 2013

and have never been in this beautiful garden before! Yesterday I visited this amazing place with my family and can`t wait to go back ASAP!!!

High quality cafe, the gift shop has a good range and the plant centre has a wide range of plants for sale with knowledgable staff on hand. Beyond that, you pay to go into the gardens, but it's worth every penny.

There is also a wedding and event venue which includes a beautiful italianate garden

Had a lovely fish & chip lunch-delicious! Quite expensive but presentation quantity & quality surroundings & service excellent. Also have gorgeous shop but if you are going to compare it with the Pound Shop-don’t even bother to drive down Canford Cliffs Road!

Lovely place for a treat & dog friendly

Fantastic place! We had a great day. �

Beautiful well-kept gardens with a wealth of plants. We loved the formal Italianate garden. The furthest cafe overlooking the coast was a delightful place for a snack. Plants to buy were rather expensive. Well-worth a visit.

A beautiful tranqull place to visit ...we really enjoyed everything about it from the beautiful plants trees statues shrubs waterfalls and gift shop.... and we had a lovely lunch and coffee...its well worth a visit ...excellent value

I have been to Compton Acres many times since I was a child & still love going! It was my husbands first time as he used to live in London but he enjoyed it too. The only thing I was a bit disappointed in was no longer being able to walk across the stepping stones right up to the red house in the Japanese garden but I suppose it needs to be preserved as must be quite old now! The Japanese has always been my favourite garden as I have always had a fascination with all things Japanese, I still hope to go there one day. Canford Cliffs was always my favourite beach too as my Grandparents lived in the main high street back in the '60's.

We take our Green Cheek Conure Parrot to most places & she gets many looks & comments & it was no different this time! I think she enjoyed the gardens too!