Exbury Gardens

Exbury Gardens is a famous garden in the New Forest, Hampshire. Covering a 200-acre woodland landscape, with an informal design and feel, it is often considered the finest garden of its type in Great Britain. It also features a narrow-gauge steam railway that has proved a big hit with visitors.  

The Exbury estate was bought in 1919 by Lionel de Rothschild, a member of the great European banking dynasty. He began to create an informal landscape on an ambitious scale, planting the rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias which the gardens are now famous for. The Beaulieu river and a number of ponds add to the beauty of Exbury. It is open most of the year round but is most popular from April to May for the flowering shrubs and from September to October for the autumn colour. Other horticultural highlights include a Hydrangea Walk, Camellia Walk, Rock Garden, Sundial Garden and American Garden. 

The Rothschild's house at Exbury is not open to the public but an additional attraction in the gardens is the now famous Exbury Steam Railway, a very popular train system that runs along the northern section of the landscape. The whole estate is run by the Exbury Gardens charity.