Exbury Gardens & Steam Railway

20 of the worlds greatest Autumn holidays... and we're included! Check out number 2 🍂 @Telegraph #autumnholidays #autumn #fall https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/ best-autumn-breaks/

Fantastic article about Exbury from Experienced Traveller ExperiencedTraveller There's some great insight into the abundance of different plants to see here. http://ow.ly/FQBM30m3WMd

Our ghost train places are filling up fast - be sure to book your place! http://bit.ly/2N5yu0G

We're the number 1 of best things to do with the kids on a family holiday in the New Forest! http://ow.ly/1q7m30m2XRP

We're now taking bookings for our Halloween event. Book your place today! http://bit.ly/2N5yu0G

Thousands of tourists visit the New Forest every year, but why do you visit Exbury specifically?
We'd love to hear your reasons on this World Tourism Day.
Comment below or send us a message through the website: http://bit.ly/2NhiixC
... #WTD2018 #newforest #tourism #hampshiretourism
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All aboard The Monster! Ride our ghost train this half term and get stuck into Halloween-themed craft activities, creepy competitions and gruesome garden trails for a ghostly-grand family day out.
Prices start from £4.50.
For more information and to book tickets visit our website: http://bit.ly/2N5yu0G

Take a brisk stroll through Exbury today and get involved in National Fitness Day 2018. For info on how you can get more active click here: https://www.nationalfitnessday.com/
#fitnessday #fitness2me @FitnessDayUK

We've got a new menu! For the full menu and information on our restaurant visit our website: http://bit.ly/2N7lZ8X

Since 1998, @TheTreeCouncil has been organising Seed Gathering Season, the autumn campaign to inspire everyone to gather seeds, fruits and nuts and grow the trees of the future.
https://www.treecouncil.org.uk/Take-P…/ Seed-Gathering-Season
#seeds #trees #seedgathering #seedsaving #seedstarting #treesofinstagram

Due to severe weather warnings in place we have made the decision to close Exbury Gardens & Steam Railway on Thursday 20th September. We aim to open on Friday as usual and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

ALL ABOARD!! 🚆
Our steam railway is an experience for all the senses - smell the coal, hear the whistle and feel the motion.
Learn more here: http://bit.ly/2N9tLPz
... #steamtrain #train #steam #railway #steamrailway #trainspotting #senses #whistle
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Did you know that the buggies we use to transport visitors around the gardens are electric?
In using a more sustainable energy source (previously diesel) we're hoping to improve our pollutive impact.
#mobility #mixandmove @mobilityweek

Are you an @The_RHS member? Well, all this month you can enjoy #freeentry into our gardens. Click here for more info: http://bit.ly/2NII9ve #garden #horticulture

Discover art by local artists at the Look Twice exhibition currently being displayed in our Five Arrows Gallery. Free to Exbury Gardens visitors.
For more info click here: http://bit.ly/2Cbg7r2
#artexhibition #exhibition #hampshire #art

Dwarf conifers, alpine plants and stone from Pembrokeshire - Exbury's Rock Garden.
The couple pictured here were enjoying a tour by Head Gardener, Tom Clarke. These usually cost £100, however today was one of our Friends of Exbury tours, which are free to members.
Check out our Instagram story to hear Tom's tour. And visit the website for more information on tours and Friends of Exbury memberships.
... #rockgarden #conifer #alpine #garden #horticulture #woodland #woodlandgarden #wildlife #hantsdaysout
http://ow.ly/sCtS30lN95q
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Join award-winning photographer, Cathryn Baldock, for a FREE workshop.
Cathy will guide you through the gardens, picking the best spots for autumn colour, and will pass on hints and tips on how to capture the best photograph.
About Cathy: Winner of the Abstract category in the International Garden Photographer of the Year 2018. Check out her work here: www.cathrynbaldockphotography.com.
... Equipment: Please bring your own camera
Tickets: FREE with an admission ticket. Please email admin@exbury.co.uk to reserve your space.
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What a brilliant day we had with our children exploring the wonderful and stunning grounds of exbury , we took the buggy tour and our guide charlotte was fantastic and very knowledgable the children lapped up all the information given to us , the train was magnificent our little boy was made up and loved every minute of the train ride. All the staff where polite and very cheerful , we will definitely be coming back.

We had a lovely afternoon at Exbury. Started with a pleasant lunch outside at the Tea Room, served by friendly staff, and then into the gardens, which were beautiful, as ever. We really enjoyed the extended train ride and it was great to see new sculptures among the old friends. My husband and daughter then went on to the Art Gallery, which they were impressed with, to the extent that they bought some prints. We finished the afternoon back at the Tea room, then on to the Garden Centre, where we were again tempted by some plants, which are now enhancing our area round the pond. All in all, a really lovely afternoon.

The gardens are really stunning and full of colour in May, with the azaleas in bloom. We could see that the daffodil meadow would have been beautiful earlier in the year when the flowers were blooming. This is possibly the best time of year for colour, but we will be back to check it out in other seasons.

The gardens are beautiful and so colourful. I visited yesterday with my son, daughter in-law and their two girls. We caught the first steam train due to leave at 11.00 and enjoyed the banter of staff with some late comers and others we waited for! A short walk and we stopped for our picnic lunch before following the path down to the river bank. Lots of trees and bushes to hide behind on the way back to the tea rooms for a welcome cuppa and ice cream. A splendid day blessed with warm sunshine.

Such a pleasurable day for 9 adults and 2 children. So much to do and see. We bought tickets in advance and saved a little. I did phone and ask if there would be room to seat 11 of us in the restaurant for lunch. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble for them and when we went for lunch tables were reserved for us in the overflow restaurant seating area. Good food all round including for our coeliac granddaughter. A lovely day spent here for my wife's birthday. Thank you so much Exbury. We will be returning.

My 3 year old son and I were lucky enough to be given a membership to Exbury last Christmas. The gardens and railway have given us so much pleasure and fun times together. We have just done the Christmas train as his present and made a little boy v happy . The staff are always friendly and chat to him and we have also met lots of lovely other visitors and my son announced he would like to live there! I really hope they review their membership deals as as a single mum I don't need and can't afford a family membership but would love to still come regularly.

I had a lovely visit here the flowers are stunning. I didn't take the steam train, or the buggy ride, I just walked and walked taking photographs along the way. The car park was busy, but actually Exbury is so spacious you do not feel crowded in.

My only disappointment was that at 3pm the cafeteria had run out of cream teas 🙁

I would like to return and spend longer here, perhaps incorporating the buggy ride and the steam train next time but all in all a fabulous day and luckily beautiful weather

Had a throughly lovely afternoon at Exbury. The extended train ride was great and the perfect start to our afternoon. As it was Fathers Day they had a special exhibition on - Model Railways, in the railway shed; great! I enjoyed my sandwich in the cafe, it was busy and very hot but the staff remained professional and polite. I thought the prices for food were a little steep, but within the gardens if families wish to bring a picnic then there are areas to use. Beautiful walks and wonderful gardens. We will be back!

Great food in the refurbished restaurant; good portions, beautifully done. Also, it's always wonderful to have decent-sized teapots - definitely a winner!



Thank you all, site wide, for brilliant, helpful and thoughtful customer service. What an ace day :)

Even though it was a grey day and drizzling , it didn't stop us going round the whole garden. On top of that I manager to push my father in a wheel chair too! Most of the flowers had past their prime but we were impressed with the massive trees and shrubs.

Thumbs up from my son for the steam train.

Beautiful gardens, so peaceful and scenic views of the river Beaulieu. I did feel that the tea rooms by the entrance could have opened half an hour before the gardens and offer a small selection of breakfast food. We travelled about am hour to get there and a bite to eat and drink would have been appreciated.

Always love our visits to Exbury no matter what the season is. Lovely and peaceful, well kept gardens, plenty of places to get a drink or something to eat, and of course there is the railway. One of the best days out of this type in the south.

The gardens themselves are beautiful. We spent most of the day there and had a lovely time. The only thing that let it down was Mr Eddy's restaurant. We had coffee, which was ok. But lunch was very disappointing. We expected there to be more choice of hot meals considering how busy it was. There were three options - something with chicken, ham with chips and piccalilli or hog's sausage roll with new potatoes. The new potatoes needed butter, the sausage roll had herbs in it which spoilt it and hubby didn't like the chips which weren't cooked. So we left most of it. Next time we go we will take our own picnic.

Lovely day spent at Exbury with two 4yr olds and a dog. Been many times but every visit we seem to find something new to enjoy. Only marred by an admin issue as we left - upon entrance when indicating we wanted to sign up to be a Friend of Exbury we were told we would be refunded if we joined on the way out at the end of the day so didn’t matter if we did it as we left. What we weren’t told was that the railway ticket wouldn’t be refunded. So seems to be better value if you are thinking of becoming a Friend of Exbury to join at the start of the day (which would have included unlimited train rides). But felt the queue of people behind us at the till meant they wanted us through quicker �

Great place to visit, peaceful environment. Mr Eddy's Restaurant was a thorough disappointment with very limited menu, poor choices, under cooked chips and strange mixtures of foods. Next time I will take a packed lunch.

Beautiful gardens . Very well kept together and colourful. Lad loved the train ride.



Recommend a nature trail or something so kids could go around gardens collecting clues or something. Even adults would enjoy this.

We came to the Halloween train 2 years ago with our children and we all loved it! Lots of spooky characters and decorations. 5* effort.

Sadly this year not so spooky. We all felt like the budget had been cut! Train story seemed a bit silly. Fun for little toddlers...

Still we had a laugh and love the gardens. We would come back but for the price this year we were a little disappointed

Exbury gardens itself was lovely as always.

This was our third year attending the Halloween event and I must say I was very disappointed. Previous years lots of effort was put in and children and adults both, really enjoyed the day. The Halloween train was lacking, less effort on the story, tunnel and entertainment value. There was no people dressed up and the kids (8 and 5) were not impressed. Judging by the look on everyone else’s faces they weren’t impressed either.

Really a shame as previous years were excellent and we were really looking forward to it.

Hopefully back to normal standards next year?

Exbury Gardens are lovely, and so enjoyed the long walk around the grounds, the Restaurant was not that clean. And an Elderly couple had fish and chips that sat near us the fish looked burnt and the chips very dry looking, If it had been for us i would have sent it back also some of the cakes did not have any covers on them.

What a brilliant day we had with our children exploring the wonderful and stunning grounds of exbury , we took the buggy tour and our guide charlotte was fantastic and very knowledgable the children lapped up all the information given to us , the train was magnificent our little boy was made up and loved every minute of the train ride. All the staff where polite and very cheerful , we will definitely be coming back.

We had a lovely afternoon at Exbury. Started with a pleasant lunch outside at the Tea Room, served by friendly staff, and then into the gardens, which were beautiful, as ever. We really enjoyed the extended train ride and it was great to see new sculptures among the old friends. My husband and daughter then went on to the Art Gallery, which they were impressed with, to the extent that they bought some prints. We finished the afternoon back at the Tea room, then on to the Garden Centre, where we were again tempted by some plants, which are now enhancing our area round the pond. All in all, a really lovely afternoon.

The gardens are really stunning and full of colour in May, with the azaleas in bloom. We could see that the daffodil meadow would have been beautiful earlier in the year when the flowers were blooming. This is possibly the best time of year for colour, but we will be back to check it out in other seasons.

The gardens are beautiful and so colourful. I visited yesterday with my son, daughter in-law and their two girls. We caught the first steam train due to leave at 11.00 and enjoyed the banter of staff with some late comers and others we waited for! A short walk and we stopped for our picnic lunch before following the path down to the river bank. Lots of trees and bushes to hide behind on the way back to the tea rooms for a welcome cuppa and ice cream. A splendid day blessed with warm sunshine.

Such a pleasurable day for 9 adults and 2 children. So much to do and see. We bought tickets in advance and saved a little. I did phone and ask if there would be room to seat 11 of us in the restaurant for lunch. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble for them and when we went for lunch tables were reserved for us in the overflow restaurant seating area. Good food all round including for our coeliac granddaughter. A lovely day spent here for my wife's birthday. Thank you so much Exbury. We will be returning.

My 3 year old son and I were lucky enough to be given a membership to Exbury last Christmas. The gardens and railway have given us so much pleasure and fun times together. We have just done the Christmas train as his present and made a little boy v happy . The staff are always friendly and chat to him and we have also met lots of lovely other visitors and my son announced he would like to live there! I really hope they review their membership deals as as a single mum I don't need and can't afford a family membership but would love to still come regularly.

I had a lovely visit here the flowers are stunning. I didn't take the steam train, or the buggy ride, I just walked and walked taking photographs along the way. The car park was busy, but actually Exbury is so spacious you do not feel crowded in.

My only disappointment was that at 3pm the cafeteria had run out of cream teas 🙁

I would like to return and spend longer here, perhaps incorporating the buggy ride and the steam train next time but all in all a fabulous day and luckily beautiful weather

Had a throughly lovely afternoon at Exbury. The extended train ride was great and the perfect start to our afternoon. As it was Fathers Day they had a special exhibition on - Model Railways, in the railway shed; great! I enjoyed my sandwich in the cafe, it was busy and very hot but the staff remained professional and polite. I thought the prices for food were a little steep, but within the gardens if families wish to bring a picnic then there are areas to use. Beautiful walks and wonderful gardens. We will be back!

Great food in the refurbished restaurant; good portions, beautifully done. Also, it's always wonderful to have decent-sized teapots - definitely a winner!



Thank you all, site wide, for brilliant, helpful and thoughtful customer service. What an ace day :)

Even though it was a grey day and drizzling , it didn't stop us going round the whole garden. On top of that I manager to push my father in a wheel chair too! Most of the flowers had past their prime but we were impressed with the massive trees and shrubs.

Thumbs up from my son for the steam train.

Beautiful gardens, so peaceful and scenic views of the river Beaulieu. I did feel that the tea rooms by the entrance could have opened half an hour before the gardens and offer a small selection of breakfast food. We travelled about am hour to get there and a bite to eat and drink would have been appreciated.

Always love our visits to Exbury no matter what the season is. Lovely and peaceful, well kept gardens, plenty of places to get a drink or something to eat, and of course there is the railway. One of the best days out of this type in the south.

The gardens themselves are beautiful. We spent most of the day there and had a lovely time. The only thing that let it down was Mr Eddy's restaurant. We had coffee, which was ok. But lunch was very disappointing. We expected there to be more choice of hot meals considering how busy it was. There were three options - something with chicken, ham with chips and piccalilli or hog's sausage roll with new potatoes. The new potatoes needed butter, the sausage roll had herbs in it which spoilt it and hubby didn't like the chips which weren't cooked. So we left most of it. Next time we go we will take our own picnic.

Lovely day spent at Exbury with two 4yr olds and a dog. Been many times but every visit we seem to find something new to enjoy. Only marred by an admin issue as we left - upon entrance when indicating we wanted to sign up to be a Friend of Exbury we were told we would be refunded if we joined on the way out at the end of the day so didn’t matter if we did it as we left. What we weren’t told was that the railway ticket wouldn’t be refunded. So seems to be better value if you are thinking of becoming a Friend of Exbury to join at the start of the day (which would have included unlimited train rides). But felt the queue of people behind us at the till meant they wanted us through quicker �

Great place to visit, peaceful environment. Mr Eddy's Restaurant was a thorough disappointment with very limited menu, poor choices, under cooked chips and strange mixtures of foods. Next time I will take a packed lunch.

Beautiful gardens . Very well kept together and colourful. Lad loved the train ride.



Recommend a nature trail or something so kids could go around gardens collecting clues or something. Even adults would enjoy this.

We came to the Halloween train 2 years ago with our children and we all loved it! Lots of spooky characters and decorations. 5* effort.

Sadly this year not so spooky. We all felt like the budget had been cut! Train story seemed a bit silly. Fun for little toddlers...

Still we had a laugh and love the gardens. We would come back but for the price this year we were a little disappointed

Exbury gardens itself was lovely as always.

This was our third year attending the Halloween event and I must say I was very disappointed. Previous years lots of effort was put in and children and adults both, really enjoyed the day. The Halloween train was lacking, less effort on the story, tunnel and entertainment value. There was no people dressed up and the kids (8 and 5) were not impressed. Judging by the look on everyone else’s faces they weren’t impressed either.

Really a shame as previous years were excellent and we were really looking forward to it.

Hopefully back to normal standards next year?

Exbury Gardens are lovely, and so enjoyed the long walk around the grounds, the Restaurant was not that clean. And an Elderly couple had fish and chips that sat near us the fish looked burnt and the chips very dry looking, If it had been for us i would have sent it back also some of the cakes did not have any covers on them.