Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens
On our second day of the trip, we visited Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens. Gardens are one of my favourite things to explore whenever we visit somewhere new, especially in the south of the UK as they’re a little more tropical than the rest of the UK. I was looking for something to do on our way over to Durdle Door near Weymouth, and came across Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens on the HHA website, so as we’re members we decided to take a little detour and stop in.
The garden was first established in 1765 as a kitchen garden for the nearby castle, but has since been filled with rare and exotic plants from all over the world.
Honestly, it was nice to explore with all the different areas of the garden, some borders filled with flowers, some with hydrangeas, and a rope bridge (they’re always my favourite), but it wasn’t that great. I think I was actually expecting a lot more from it, so my expectations were a little higher. I had it in my mind that being a subtropical garden, there would be a lot more palm trees and tropical plants, but it still felt like a very English garden with a little tropical area near the water. I’m not sure if we just missed quite a lot of it off though, as you have to pay extra/pay a deposit to buy/hire a map which I think is a little weird, so we just followed arrows dotted around the garden.
It’s only 20 minutes from Weymouth, so it’s pretty easy to get to if you’re in the area and it’s right by Chesil beach, so you can stop off there after too!
13 Comments
Cate
July 31, 2016 at 11:35 amwow that rope bridge looks surreal!! such a nice place..maybe that is all england can have according to its climate. having a tropical garden outdoor and not in a green house might be difficult..i don’t know..i’m terrible with plants! from the pictures it looks like a nice detour tho, except the ‘hire a map’ thing (weird!)
xx from italy
Cate α¦ kate/idoscope.com
April
August 1, 2016 at 6:52 amI loved the rope bridge! Yea, probably! I just had such high expectations from it haha! The map thing was definitely weird!
xo April
Kyia Belle
July 31, 2016 at 6:39 pmThis place definitely does look tropical and like a very serene environment. So pretty! I hope you had the best time π
Kyia at WANDERLUSTGIRL// lifestyle & beauty
Letβs be BLOGLOVIN friends!
April
August 1, 2016 at 6:53 amThanks! It was lovely to explore!
xo April
sonia // daring coco
August 1, 2016 at 2:11 amI loooove rope bridges too! Shame about the grounds, like the comment above perhaps climate or location is a factor? When I think of tropical I too think of palms and such but I’m not so sure that they handle well in the cold. Then again I am no botanist so don’t take this as gospel!
Sxx
http://www.daringcoco.com
April
August 1, 2016 at 6:53 amYeah, probably! I just had such high expectations for it that I think I was just a little dissapointed haha!
xo April
Gemma Evans
August 1, 2016 at 11:22 amNow that looks like a garden I’d like to explore! Maybe the rope bridge was a bit disappointing because it didn’t have the drama of a huge drop underneath β like the ones you see on TV π
Darina
August 1, 2016 at 12:48 pmI enjoyed the photos very much, wonderful! What a garden! I love it!
April
August 2, 2016 at 6:50 amThanks!
xo April
Aleeha
August 1, 2016 at 1:33 pmWow, these photos are incredible! It’s such an instagram worthy place!
Aleeha xXx
http://www.halesaaw.com/
April
August 2, 2016 at 6:50 amHaha yes!
xo April
Laura
August 1, 2016 at 9:48 pmThis looks like such a beautiful place! So much greenery and colours – I love it. I can’t believe how many amazing places there still are in the UK that I’ve never heard of it – my list of places I want to visit is getting wayyy too long!
Laura // Middle of Adventure
April
August 2, 2016 at 6:52 amHaha – mine too! I never used to like exploring the UK because I always thought it was so boring in comparison to other places – it’s growing on me now haha!
xo April