You’ll find not all the places I post will be Devon based, including this one…Stourhead…
The beautiful lake is one of the main features of Stourhead. Especially in Autumn.
Stourhead is a beautiful National Trust estate. Based in Wiltshire, famous for its landscaped gardens, stunning lake and Palladian estate. There are plenty of walks to do around the gardens. We visited on Sunday 11th November. If like us, you like to take your dog for days out too, then check when you are visiting. Stourhead does allow dogs into the landscaped garden area but you do need to check what times. During the summer months Dogs aren’t allowed in until after 4pm, in November, they can come in after 3pm. And all day from December - February.
We arrived at Stourhead by 2pm. A little too early to enter the gardens with our 4 legged friend. So we decided to do a walk to King Alfreds Tower. This is another beautiful walk on the Stourhead estate, which is very dog friendly. There is plenty of free parking around the area and easy to follow signs and maps. You may pass monuments along the way, walking through woodland and breathtaking countryside views. The main focal point of this walk is of course King Alfred’s tower, a stunning grade I listed triangular folly tower.
Once we had done the King Alfred walk. We then went back to the main National Trust car park at Stourhead. You do have to pay to enter the estate and gardens, but in my opinion it is worth it! We have a joint NT membership which is well worth the money. We headed straight towards the lake at Stourhead, the main reason I wanted to visit. It was just as beautiful as I was hoping it would be! Especially in the Autumn glowing light just before sunset.
We decided to walk all around the lake, which took us about an hour, as I was stopping to take in the stunning autumnal colours reflecting on the lake, as well as exploring the different buildings and the grotto that surrounds the lake.
If you’re wanting to visit this National Trust estate, I recommend you give yourself at least half a day to explore the whole area. Unfortunately we ran out of time, so we didn’t get to visit the rest of the gardens, shops or mansion. So we will definitely be visiting again! There is also a pump house next to the lake, which has a waterfall running beside it. Everywhere you look there is something beautiful to admire.
There is also a charming pub and courtyard between the estate and the lake called ‘Spread Eagle Inn’. We didn’t get time to stop and have anything to eat or drink here, but we definitely want to next time, it looked really cosy! As we were walking towards the lake I noticed some country cottages owned by the national trust, which appeared to be holiday let cottages.
The Lovely Cottages
Autumn in all its glory
Despite the drizzle, the rain managed to hold off for our day out. And whilst we were walking towards King Alfred’s Tower, we noticed a double rainbow! Just adding to the beauty around us!
A double rainbow at Stourhead
Stourhead was very busy on the November Sunday we visited, we struggled to find a car parking space at first. So do plan ahead and arrive early, especially if you’re visiting in the Summer or a weekend. I’m sure we will be back soon to explore the rest of the estate, and to view the gardens and lake in a different Season.
