Now, this is a stately home with real history, a lake you can walk around, and a walled garden full of late summer colour.
Bowood House seen from the garden terrace
We stayed at the Bowood Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort this year multiple times.
We walked over to the Bowood estate several times during the holidays.
Now, usually a second visit is a weaker copy of the first.
Here it was the other way round. Each time we found a part we had missed…
To be honest, on our first visit we barely got into the house at all… the place is simply massive.
First visit- We never got past the games
The first time we came, my grandchild was so excited by the games near the entrance to the estate, that we barely managed to get into the house (and we have been there for 5 hours). We just ran out of time. There is so much for children to do here that it is easy to spend a whole visit on the play areas alone, and we came back on later visits to see the rest.
Walking in with my grandchild on my shoulders. Playing in the gardens.
The house - A lot of history behind one door
Bowood is a proper stately home, and it carries more history than I expected.
The house is linked to the American War of Independence, the India colonial period and the Napoleonic wars. It is also tied to the discovery of oxygen!
“In this room Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen gas on August 1, 1774.”
The plaque above is about Dr Jan Ingen Housz.
It says he was a friend of the Marquis of Lansdowne, worked in the same laboratory in the 1790s, and discovered the process of photosynthesis in this room.
The house is just filled with room after room filled with historical treasures - so very much like a good small history museum.
The grounds - Play areas on one side, quiet walking on the other
The gardens are where Bowood gets the balance right.
Large areas have been turned into children’s playgrounds. At the same time, big parts of the land around the lake have been left for easy walks in nature, with views back over the house. Children can run and climb while the adults walk, sit and look at the water. That is why it works so well for a family day out and for adults on their own. There is a great coffee shop at the entrance to the estate too, so you can break up the day without going far.
From the far side of the water you get a good look back at the house, which sits low among the trees.
The house across the lake.
The massive grounds are popular for summer concerts - if the weather is good - this is pure magic as the evening sets and the music on stage is played against this backdrop.
Woodland walk - A cascade, a grotto and a small temple
I did not expect the woodland walk. Beyond the lake there is a rocky cascade, a stone grotto you can walk through, and a small classical temple with fluted columns. It is shady and green, and you hear the water before you see it. If you only stay on the lawns you will miss it.
The cascade.
The small waterfall.
The trail - great fun for kids.
The small temple opposite the house.
The Walled Garden - Late summer colour inside old brick
The Walled Garden was my favourite part.
Inside, the beds were full of flowers: coneflowers, dahlias in every colour from white to deep red, and climbers on the walls.
The approach to the Walled Garden.
The gateway.
Coneflowers.
A dahlia.
Red and white dahlias.
Borders leading to the glasshouses.
It is also a working kitchen garden. Fruit trees are trained flat against the brick, and there were apples, squash and other crops growing in the beds.
A plum tree trained against the wall
Apple trees.
Before you leaveThe formal garden by the house
Near the house there is a formal garden with clipped hedges, gravel paths and beds of roses. It is a neat contrast to the looser walks around the lake.
The formal garden beside the house.
My advice- Do not try to see it all in one go
There is almost too much here for one day.
If you are staying nearby (many visit bath and never get here), as we were, split it up. Spend one visit on the house and its stories, and another on the lake, the woodland and the Walled Garden. Wear comfortable shoes, and if you have children with you, leave plenty of time for the playgrounds. Ours took over our first visit.
We would happily go back again. Bowood works for families, couples and anyone who likes some history with their scenery.
