Threave Garden
Threave Garden
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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  • Graham R
    Honiton, United Kingdom390 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Red squirrels
    There is ample parking at this National Trust for Scotland garden. The azaleas and rhododendrons were coming into flower and the daffodils were still looking good. It is well worth the climb up the hill to the red squirrel hide. If you are lucky you will get close views of them drinking at the water hole or climbing into the feeders. The restaurant is well worth a visit and provides good quality food at reasonable prices.
    Visited April 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 24, 2023
  • Shaun Smart
    Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom138 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Experience a magic carpet of colour & design
    From visiting a year ago, it was evident that much hard work had occurred in making this garden a wonderful one to visit. New areas had been created and many updated/improved. The current team of gardeners must be congratulated for all the effort and thought applied to making this garden a ‘must’ to visit.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 1, 2023
  • Granderbob
    Fraserburgh, United Kingdom301 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wonderful Gardens
    Wonderful gardens and so well maintained. We were so lucky with the weather and the sun shone all day. There are so many lovely and interesting plants here. There is also a great cafe in Threave Gardens. It was so good here that we we came back again before our holiday ended.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written June 13, 2023
  • JenO263
    Castle Douglas, United Kingdom71 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    NTS Threave Garden cafe
    The cafe is becoming our favourite place for lunch or afternoon coffee after walking around the Threave Estate or Gardens. The staff are very helpful. The cafe has been refurbished recently and the terrace has beautiful views over the gardens. The menu includes plenty of options but the club sandwiches are fantastic and definitely our favourite. The cafe stays open longer than the ones in the town and is accessible for people with mobility issues. You can visit the cafe without entering the gardens. Better signposting and a path to the Estate walk would be helpful for visitors.
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written July 30, 2023
  • david n
    Manchester, United Kingdom4,758 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Most enjoyable
    The gardens are mainly an arboretum with many woodland trails. Some superb examples of trees and shrubs and cut lawns which we really liked. Negatives were that they do not offer free maps (except a £4 guide) and that, unlike English NT properties) there are NO MAPS at all even on trails and very few signs even for exit.
    Visited July 2023
    Written July 30, 2023
  • Explore473538
    7 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great alternative to beach
    Visited with 4 children aged 19 and under and grandparent. Lovely varied gardens, cafe with reasonably priced sandwiches, jackets, soup, cakes etc. great play park for kids with toddler and older kids sized play frames / slides and some cows to climb on. As it’s NT they had a trail on in the holidays for the kids so we managed to stay for 4h with lunch. There’s also a woodland walk and estate walks which we didn’t get to. Lots of wildlife around - saw butterflies and even an osprey flying close by, highly recommend
    Visited August 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written August 4, 2023
  • Janester2
    Pittenweem, United Kingdom118 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very enjoyable
    Had a really lovely visit today when the sun came out at long last! Lovely lunch, the young man serving in the very nicely refurbished cafe was attentive and professional. The food was tasty and fresh. The gardens were beautiful, well kept and maintained, well stocked and vibrant. The glass house was a delight. A very well stocked plant centre, with some unusual and very reasonably priced plants. A good afternoon out.
    Visited August 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written August 4, 2023
  • JakeFr
    Cambridge, United Kingdom16 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Really enjoyable
    We really enjoyed our time here, we went on the gnome hunt and found them all (even two of our own- 4 & 2 years old!) the cafe food and drink were lovely and well needed after a couple of hours here. My only negative was that the play park had a few bits of rubbish in it, but that’s talking more negatively about the people who did it rather than the whole gardens, which was otherwise beautiful.
    Visited August 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written August 7, 2023
  • Ros57
    90 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lovely gardens
    We arrived at the gardens with around a half hour to closing time. The very friendly staff suggested we visited the best places to visit in that time. Everything we saw was gorgeous and we had the place to ourselves - so peaceful. It is a beautifully maintained garden and we were able to use our National Trust cards to enter. We were told there was a ten minute walk to see the red squirrels but sadly we didn't have time to see them. Another time hopefully....
    Visited August 2023
    Written August 16, 2023
  • GordonS77
    Aberdeen, United Kingdom307 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Gardens
    Beautiful gardens, lucky to enjoy them on a sunny day. Dogs are allowed in the gardens except for the children's play area. Lots of lovely areas to walk in, including a walk up the hill behind the gardens. Cafe serves very good food. Definitely worth visiting if you're in the area.
    Visited August 2023
    Written August 24, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles622 reviews
Excellent
389
Very good
176
Average
38
Poor
8
Terrible
11

LesleyScarborough
Scarborough, United Kingdom1,230 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021
We visited on Thursday 29 April 2021. I'd checked the Gardens' website which asserted that the cafe and toilets were open, so it was disconcerting to see a sign on an easel blocking the entrance to the cafe, announcing the cafe and toilets were closed. We could have turned round and left, but asked at the desk where a friendly young man assured us the toilets at the coach house were open (he gestured towards it) and we could get take-away soup, drinks and a selection of snacks from the cafe behind (he gestured again but we didn't realise he meant there was an open window in the gardens to the 'closed' cafe and thought he meant elsewhere in the gardens. No free map of the garden was available but he gave us a map of the daffodil trail which didn't help much to show what there was to see. In the end I bought a £3 booklet, with map of where the 'garden rooms' are. The daffodils were still in bloom along with some rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias. Work is taking place behind the children's garden and was very noisy. Not much to see in the walled garden at this time of year but the display glasshouse had a good variety of plants and a tank with some brightly coloured carp - one a true gold colour. The formal gardens were closed, with locked gates, but the Garden of Contemplation, created with money from the USA & Scotland, & mindful of the 30th Anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster, did what it said on the tin. We appreciated the fritillaries in the grass. It was disappointing that the cafe was closed, since the regulations permit it to serve food inside now, but during our visit we bought coffee, soup & roll, warm steak and cheese bakes and ice creams which we ate just to the right of the entrance where there are 3 outdoor tables, each with 4 chairs round them. I hope the indoor cafe opens soon for visitors.
Written April 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jock
1 contribution
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021
Specimen trees were excellent, the grand drives also. Cafe surprisingly underwhelming with extremely basic menu (soup or sausage roll with salad) but some of the staff were friendly. The bird hide was the highlight where we saw one red squirrel, four garden birds and glimpses of some deer passing behind a distant clump of trees.
The main house is not yet open to visitors and if you fancy seeing the Ospreys or visit Threave castle (not yet open) then you might be surprised that they are 1.5 miles from the Gardens, and I did not explore whether they required an additional entry fee.
Written June 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mijola
Pre-Saint-Didier, Italy34 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 • Couples
We arrived at threave after looking online and had seen there was a garden and a hide for wildlife. When we asked the person selling us a ticket she didn’t know about the hide and didn’t know if there was concession fees for someone with a blue badge and disabled with mobility issues (good start). We weren’t given a free map of the grounds like you would get in most places but offered a crap book for £4! As the cafe was being renovated jn the main centre we went down a steep hill to a temporary cafe. The place was dark and not very welcoming, there was no menu. We were then told there was soup and hot pastries. The hot pastries where sausage sausage rolls lol wise up!!!! We bought two hot drinks and 2 very average cakes for £12 a total rip off. I decided not to do the wildlife hide as it was a ten minute walk up hill for an able bodied person. I spent the time sitting on a seat while my partner went round the grounds. In fact the place was very hilly and not suitable for someone with mobility issues. Absolute, complete and utter rotten rip off of a place and I’d seriously advise people to avoid as there are way way way way better places than this! Very angry and feel ripped off
Written May 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

FOODIE51_13
Nottingham, UK130 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021 • Couples
On a weeks holiday holiday in the area and a garden visit is always on our ‘to do’ list. Threave was the obvious choice.

We visited on a lovely sunny day mid-morning before it got too busy.

Walking around the gardens was an absolute delight. We took our time and spent about two hours with plenty of opportunities to take a seat and enjoy the views. The acers and rhododendrons were particularly stunning though many other pants and trees to appreciate.

At midday the cafe was very busy but we did manage to get a table on terrace. Staff were friendly and helpful but the experienced was marred by the standard of the beverages. We opted for a ‘flat white’ but were given a large mug of frothy milk which hardly had any coffee flavour.
Written June 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Family
3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
We had spoken with Linda over the phone on the morning of the 7th of October, she was extremely helpful and friendly. We arrived at Threads gardens around lunch time. The staff member on the desk was so rude and disinterested as was the women in the cafe area, suffices to say we didn't stay. Very disappointing!!
Written October 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hercules R
Ullapool, UK327 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021
A lovely visit. Still lots to see even mid November. The gardens are amazing. The walled garden a treat as was the Garden of Contemplation. Lots of photo opportunities. Staff very helpful. Good Covid security. Nice toilets. We ate in the Terrace cafe as the Stables cafe was closed. Pleasant staff and quick service. We had an enjoyable meal , cafe rather than restaurant, and the price was very reasonable and helpings were large. Also good parking. We will definitely visit again
Written November 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Alan C
Sittingbourne, UK282 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020
In spite of the pouring rain, we found this an interesting garden to visit. It is well laid out in a number of different sections, some of which are very colourful. It takes about an hour to get round. Main disappointment was the limited catering facilities due to coronavirus.
Written August 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Barbara B
Scotland, UK1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Solo
Visited the Gardens today. Had a very rude and abusive couple shouting at me because I was on the phone whilst sitting in the garden of contemplation. At the time I was the only one there and did not see the problem. Next thing I’m being verbally abused because I was talking on my phone. This is a new one on me folks? It’s not like I was sitting in the Cafe! Is this a direct result of frustration by people because of covid 19 or did I just happened to meet such a terrible rude couple. Cancelling my membership immediately. There’s no need for that !!!!! Being a sole visitor I felt very threatened. The member of staff I complained to did not seem too concerned.
Written August 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hyacinthshusband
Gatehouse of Fleet, UK42 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Couples
Threave Gardens look good at any time of the year but this autumn has been really special. I just love red hot pokers and the specimens at Threave are a joy to see. We also loved walking round the walled kitchen garden and felt suitably jealous at the sagging branches of apple trees awaiting harvest. We didn’t venture in the glasshouse this time due to the number of people already there and the need to observe CV-19 protocols. We did however sit out for a cuppa at the tea room which managed its one-way system really well. It won’t be long before we return.
Written October 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

debbiedevil
tamworth, staffs309 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021
Stunning gardens, very friendly staff. The colours of the flowers are breathtaking and it’s clear a lot of work goes into the site. Gardeners were very friendly and happy to have a chat. Some well priced and lovely items in the shop. Tasty freshly prepared lunches served by a friendly team, great place for a visit.
Written August 23, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Threave Garden - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions about Threave Garden

Threave Garden is open:
  • Sun - Sat 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM