Rousham Gardens loved by Monty Don among UK’s best

Introducing its new list, Country Living said: “Britain’s gardens are made for summer visiting.

“This is the season when herbaceous borders are at their richest, roses are in full flourish, kitchen gardens are heavy with promise and planting inspiration abounds.

“Here, we’ve chosen some of the loveliest to visit, from well-known showpieces to places with more understated charm, including one by everyone’s favourite gardener Monty Don. Get, set, grow…”

You can enjoy a peaceful few hours at Rousham Gardens, according to visitors (Image: Tripadvisor)

Rousham Gardens was praised for its ability to propel visitors “into a green world”.

There is plenty to see here as visitors can take in the “masterpiece” that is William Kent’s work and visit the three walled gardens.

Monty Don recommends a visit to Rousham Gardens

Country Living highlights Rousham Gardens as being “recommended by Monty Don”, the popular TV gardener.

The magazine says: “Rousham is a sublime work of art and yet, despite being widely acknowledged as one of the truly great gardens of the world, it remains surprisingly unknown.

“Designed by William Kent in the 18th century, the Rousham that we see now has been largely held in amber since then.

“It appears, superficially at least, as though it has been untouched by time.

“The garden is where ladies with pannier skirts once sat and where men in tricorne hats and brocaded waistcoats trod.

“There are said to be a thousand circuits that you can take round the garden.

Take a look at Monty Don’s life and love of gardening

“Walk down a narrow path, slipping in between the trees, and you descend into a green world.

“Green light spatters through the trees onto ivy, herb Robert, holly and tightly cropped laurel.

“Each of these paths and rides through the trees culminates in a statue or building.

“So as you drift round, you do so from building to building, designed to replicate the experience of the Grand Tour that young British aristocrats were making at the time.

“As well as William Kent’s masterpiece, there are three walled gardens.

Rousham Gardens is one of Monty Don’s favourites (Image: Tripadvisor)

“The smallest is centred around a beautiful dovecote, its complicated box parterre filled with roses and foxgloves, a frothy dessert after the rich feast of Kent’s garden.”

How to visit Rousham Gardens

If you’re looking to visit Rousham Gardens, it’s open every day and can be found at Rousham House, Rousham, Bicester, OX25 4QU.

Visitors can buy their tickets on arrival (£10 each) and spend the day looking around the gardens, which are open from 10am and close at dusk with the final entry being at 4.30pm.

Children must be over 15 to visit and dogs are not allowed in the gardens, explains the website.

Visitors have shared their experiences at the gardens on Tripadvisor, where the house and gardens have a 4.6 rating out of five from 190 reviews.

There is no tearoom at the house or in the gardens, so some visitors have advised others to pack a picnic.

This person said: “Monty Don considers this the finest garden in England and we can only agree with his assessment.

“The formal gardens were lovely to walk around on a beautiful summer day and the less formal walks down to the river were a revelation with splendid views in all directions.

“The gardens are unobtrusively well cared for and with a generous sprinkling of seats and benches to rest on throughout the gardens.

“Everywhere felt very peaceful. It sounds harsh perhaps but the absence of dogs, children and tea room are a definite plus in preserving the tranquility of this special place.

“The self serve ticket machine was easy to operate but is contactless only and rejected my card so I recommend taking an alternative card just in case.

“You can also pay by cash but the machine only accepts £1 coins so that may be impractical.”

Another commented: “We visited the gardens and absolutely loved them.

“Could have spent hours in the walled gardens in particular.

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“The lack of a tea room was a bonus!

“This meant that the gardens were peaceful and you were able to see everything without the tea room crush.

“Wonderful to stroll around and, if it hadn’t been raining, we would have gone back again the next day.

“Definitely will visit again when in the area.”

Have you been to Rousham Gardens? Tell us your favourite sights in the comments below.