Threave Garden Reviews Summary

Category: Garden

Address: Threave Estate, Castle Douglas, DG7 1RX, United Kingdom

Phone: +441556502575

Rating: 4.6
based on 181 reviews.

Gardens

Pros:

  • "The garden is well maintained and there are lots of paths and areas to discover."
  • "Gardens are just amazing and you can totally see the amount of work and care that goes into maintaining them."
  • "Beautiful gardens with many different areas to explore."
  • "A lovely place for an afternoon visit with beautiful formal gardens, a walled garden, less formal gardens higher up the hill, and beyond those, some native woodlands."
  • "Especially loved the vegetables and fruits growing in the walled garden."
  • "Beautiful gardens with an interesting house to visit."
  • "The entire garden is beautifully designed and meticulously maintained - a jewel in the Trust's crown."

Cons:

  • "The other sections were OK but a bit samey."
  • "Parts of garden were lovely. Other parts rather neglected."
  • "The 'woodland walk' was somewhat overgrown and had stinging nettles in some parts."
  • "Some of the paths are very muddy, the garden of contemplation especially so if you are in a wheelchair it will be hard to use."
  • "Only slightly tarnished by the massive ride on mowers buzzing about during our entire visit, seemingly without anything to do, which made a lot of noise and made it a bit hard to relax with a toddler who loves exploring."
  • "Walled garden hard going as shingle though."
  • "Some of the paths which were gravel proved a little challenging for our wheelchair."

Accessibility

Pros:

  • "Entry is overly expensive and while it is accessible it's by no means an easy place to push a wheelchair around."
  • "Our party of 4 included a wheelchair user and we were really impressed by the accessibility of the gardens."
  • "There's ample parking including disabled spaces and the staff are friendly and welcoming."
  • "Very accessible from main roads."
  • "They do have a couple of electric scooters if required."
  • "It is a bit hilly in places so be aware if you have walking problems however it is fully accessible if you are in a wheelchair."
  • "The provision of a motorised scooter and a pre-planned route rounded off the great experience."

Cons:

  • "THEY ARE NOT. Steep gradients, Mum nearly fell out at one point, took 2 to hold the chair back, rough sloping poorly maintained tarmac paths, grass paths, gravel paths, crazy paving paths with deep cracks impossible to push chair through."
  • "It’s very steep. No good for a wheelchair, you’d need an electric chair or scooter."
  • "The doors are very narrow and it was difficult to get in (I am a manual wheelchair user)."
  • "Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed anywhere inside the gardens nor in the facilities."
  • "No maps or signposts in the gardens."
  • "Outrageous entry cost to walk around a lot of lawn steep hills and trees."
  • "Sadly it poured with rain when we arrived. The café said they had water pressure problems and we couldn't have a hot drink but some customers were offered tea."

Cafe and Food

Pros:

  • "The cafe was pricey but very tasty with generous portion sizes, so is well worth a visit."
  • "Staff very friendly and coffee and scones very tasty."
  • "The coffee shop was reasonably priced and the service was excellent."
  • "We went to the cafe and had the sausage roll followed by wonderful cake and coffee."
  • "The café does delicious food."
  • "Prices are not too dear with good portions of high quality food!"
  • "Lovely cafe with some hearty fare."

Cons:

  • "Food from cafe was quite basic and not worth the cost."
  • "The cafe had a limited menu mainly of soup or pasties and when we tried to leave a tip for the waiting staff we were told National Trust for Scotland does not allow tips!"
  • "Cafe is a bit overpriced, we easily spent £30 on a panini, a couple of rolls and small drinks."
  • "Called in for lunch and found out Restaurant is closed until March."
  • "Sadly the scones did not live up to our expectations and were a complete let-down from the usual standards at Threave."
  • "Very disappointed that I couldn't have a cheese and pickle toastie..... although I could have had it in a sandwich!"
  • "They lose a star for the cafe though....despite what others have said, I think they could do better. Limited range of cakes and snacks, and eye wateringly expensive."

Staff and Service

Pros:

  • "Even a couple of cafe/tearooms to stop for refreshments."
  • "Staff very friendly and coffee and scones very tasty."
  • "The staff are very friendly and helpful."
  • "All the staff we encountered were friendly and helpful."
  • "The helpful attitude of staff (special thanks to Chris whose support was outstanding)."
  • "The gardeners are only too happy to answer questions."
  • "A fabulous location, garden and staff. A real pleasure to visit and wander among the well cared for plants."

Cons:

  • "Wasted trip and alienating potential visitors. Two women on till quite snooty!"
  • "Welcome staff can be a bit grouchy so make sure you give them a big hello when you arrive."
  • "Only reason for not giving a full 5 stars is because there are no bins throughout the gardens whatsoever so you have to carry all rubbish until you get back out to the car park and entrance."
  • "I had expected more to be honest for the cost."
  • "Not sure we will return."

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