Winterbourne House and Garden

This property is owned by the University of Birmingham. It has a free car park that is quite obviously too small for the number of visitors so you are directed to a University of Birmingham car park a few minutes away. This is not a free car park and it costs several pounds for a few hours parking. At this academic centre of technological advancement you cannot pay with a card. It was difficult to use the pay by phone option because of the poor signal strength and when we found a signal we got an answering machine! When you buy your admission ticket for the house there is no refund for paying for parking. What a shambles!

The house and the tea rooms are good but the garden is fantastic. Must be worth multiple visits in different seasons of the year. There are some great and unusual specimens, see photos.

The gardens are beautiful and a real must see. The house is interesting and really well kept. The cafe has a small but tasty selection of food and drink and is reasonably priced. All in all a very enjoyable day out. The only complaint I have, which was not the fault of Winterbourne, was that some of the boys from King Edwards school taking their usual route through the gardens were using really awful language.

I came in the hope of seeing spring flowers and they were there in abundance; the great variety of hellebores being a special treat. The garden team must have worked incredibly hard all winter as everything was looking so neat and prepared for the real growing season to begin. I discovered a previously unexplored path which went off to the left through woodland just before reaching the lake. A place to return later in the spring as there were hundreds of bluebell plants growing in the woods. A final bonus was the excellent lunctime lecture by the curator, Henrietta Lockhart who talked (with minimal checking of her notes) on Ten Birmingham Women.

Purchased a Travelzoo voucher and had been hoping to visit late Spring until Covid closures impacted. We hadn't been expecting as much colour as we did and the gardens have been exceptionally well looked after. Very extensive with some specific areas externally and under glass, e.g. orchid house, carnivorous plant house, cacti and succulents etc. Very few areas closed off and acres of space to ensure you can keep well clear of others, although there are restrictions on visitors (August 2020 you cannot pay on the day). Nice little cafe with good value snacks and drinks, with a small shop and second hand bookshop on site.

It is difficult to remember that one is in Birmingham, a very large city, when wandering around Winterbourne Gardens. Even when it is busy it is still peaceful.
A must is a visit to the lake which is at the rear of the gardens and bordering on Edgbaston Golf course.
An amazing variety of trees and plants. Not to be missed.

Spent over 5 hours enjoying the beautiful gardens today. The staff and volunteers were very helpful, knowledgeable and friendly and made this a first class experience. The Printing Press was a highlight of our visit and the people who showed us around couldn’t have been more enthusiastic and interesting. The food in the tea room was tasty and very reasonably priced. The Arts and Crafts house was fantastic and it was so good to be able to take our time and look at all the rooms and displays.

I visited as part of the Birmingham heritage week so entry was free. I got there before it opened so managed to get a parking space. Parking is limited but marshalls were directing cars to another site. The Birmingham honey show was being held in the gardens. It is an amazing oasis with diverse plant life. I was completely blown away. The queues for the toilets and tea room were very long. Great place, hope to visit again with family.

The gardens are amazing. Beautifully set out. Every corner is packed with such an abundance of gorgeous plants. The variety is amazing . A beautiful old house is the backdrop to these wonderful gardens which can be explored. A mixture of well set out ornamental lawns with woodland and water settings. A huge selection of small paths that lead through to enclosed areas of hidden gems of delight. There is even a lake that can be visited by walking through a small wood.
I am not a garden person but have been blown away with this beautiful place.

We did visit on the sunniest day of the year; perhaps even [enter your favourite scummiest location here - mine is] Colliers Wood would look enticing. But Waterbourne House and Gardens really is something. It was helped of course by the staff we met: the genuine warmth of the welcome and the engaging chat with the young gardener, whom we distracted from his duties to give us some history and insights into the water garden. (There are SIX full time gardeners, a trainee plus an army of volunteers)
The house is not large or old, 1900s, but stylish and so well dressed and interpreted. You were encouraged to “open drawers”, pick up things and read the info boards. The terrace was full by 11.30 with ladies taking tea and cake and the garden had quite a few visitors, while not feeling crowded. The lawns, the water garden, the greenhouses, the walkways, at every turn each had their own charm and appeal. We saw a couple of individuals who had just come with a book to read in a quiet spot.
Many places we enjoy visiting have a cafe, a second hand book stall, a shop, a small exhibition, an interesting house and pretty gardens - a good story. But this stands out as being better than most. Bravo the team responsible.

Beautiful house and garden to visit, especially if you’re an arts & crafts fan. Thoroughly enjoyed even in the pouring rain. Nice little cafe serving good food. A few minutes walk and you can visit the beautiful Barber Institute of fine Art which is free and holds a fabulous collection.