winterbourne house and garden

Beautiful Arts-and-Crafts house near Birmingham University, home of the Nettlefold family of engineering fame - and money - which enabled both to be philanthropists in the city and the create a home with all mod cons (for the time) - central heating! lots of light! wide landings! white paint.... many people come for the extensive and varied gardens but don't miss the beautifully restored house, the shop, the art exhibitions, the classes/workshops - or the café. You can tea or lunch on the terrace and imagine yourself back in the gracious days of the Edwardians. With so much emphasis on WW1, this is the perfect time to see how life in an upper middle class family was actually lived at the time.

first visit the staff all were very friendly and helpful well done the ground are well lookafter and the green house excellentit would be good to come back in the sumnerthe cafe was very good for lunch and afternoon teathe main house was easy to look around would lots of information in the rooms the arts and caft excellent and the views from rooms excellent.the train set in billard room gave the history of family and its a grade 2 list garden and housewell done keep up good work tony mbe when inbirmingham a must to visit

Dear BobblenoseFirstly, thanks so much for the lovely review and we're really pleased to hear you enjoyed your visit so much.We do apologise about the hot chocolate: it's usually frothy and very chocolatey so it sounds like the machine may have been running low on powder. We're sorry that that wasn't picked up on and that you didn't enjoy your drink.Hope to see you here again soonAnna Fawcett, Visitor Services Manager

Beautiful gardens with Japanese features; there is an stunning variety of trees, shrubs and flowers as well as a reservoir! The House is well worth a visit and holds lots of historical information & has preserved the decor, furniture and clothing of times past. The tea room has a welcome choice of snacks and hot and cold drinks, but the menu could benefit from being enhanced

We came here in gloomy February hoping for signs of spring and we were not disappointed!! The gardens are absolutely beautiful, we seen a lovely display of snowbells and iris'. The indoor greenhouses, especially the alpine section are beautiful this time of year, everything was in full bloom and lifted our spirits in the middle of winter! The house itself is beautiful and very well preserved. There is a tea room which sells cakes and hot food which was delicious. There is also a lovely little gift shop, we bought a little alpine as a souvenir for a very reasonable price. We would definitely recommend and will definitely be back in the summer to see the gardens!!

This large Edwardian house is a little way out of the city so best arrive by car. There is free parking on site. All the rooms are decorated and furnished in the style of the period and you can wander through them at will. There is some clever use of audio recordings to help bring the place to life. Don't miss the old kitchen which is accessed from the walled garden. The grounds are quite small but there a number of features to interest the keen gardener. I particularly liked the several small glasshouses which housed specialist plants and were obviously cared for by someone knowledgeable. I wouldn't recommend this place for children as there isn't much to interest them. There is a pleasant tearoom serving light meals, snacks, cakes etc. Max visit time 2 hours. If you enjoy walking, arrive by taxi and return on foot. Turn right out of drive and follow road until you see large pond set in parkland on your left. Walk to the left of the pond and up towards The Vale university residences. Hidden at the back of a small car park is a footbridge over the canal. Turn right and follow the Tarmac canal side walk, arriving at Broad Street in the city centre just after the canal makes a sharp left turn. Max time 1 hour.

A surprising venue not overly publicised. Plenty of room for children and interesting house to view. A pleasant venue worth a visit.

There is no dislike here. These gardens and house in Edgbaston are squeezed in on the edge of Birmingham University by the Edgbaston Golf Club and King Edwards' Schools. Apart from the traditional and extensive layout of virtually every horticultural feature, the hidden gem of a visit here in the Spring is the exceptional beach woods with acres of blue bells. Certainly the finest I have ever seen. In recent years the house has been restored back to its peak of earoyb20th century period style and the new cafe / restaurant offers good fayre at sensible prices. Often there is an art exhibition under way in the coach house and a shop sells plants.

I go here offten you can vist as and pay on the door and if like me you love it you can join and visit as offten as you wish. A smart house that was the home of one of our city's great famliys and industrialists. But the real reason to visit is the stunning garden, a collection of the worlds wonderful flora. Superbly maintained, and even when busy you can find a quite corner.It has a lovely cafe and the food is good. I wish they did breakfast I kep asking, it would be a great way to start th day.

This little hidden gem is just a short stroll from the Barber .We viewed the lovely house & ventured into the superb gardens then hit afternoon tea which was fab

Winterbourne House was built in 1903 by The Nettlefolds family of Guest Keen & Nettlefolds fame. It was constructed in a very pleasant Arts & Crafts style with curved dipping roof lines being very romanically attractive. The interior of the house is set up with a number of interactive displays about family life and their involvement in the social housing and town planning of the Harbourne area (on a somewhat small scale to local Bournville area of The Cadbury's estates.) In 1944 the last owners of the property The Nicholsons handed it over to Birmingham University. The Gardens consist of some 7 acres containing walled gardens, a terrace garden, a dingle and bog section with rock gardens containing alpines from around the world including China, North & South America. Also at the appropriate time of year the adjoining golf course permit access to its woodland for a wonderful display of Bluebells. There is a gift shop and restaurant on site with the cafe being staffed by personnel studying catering at the university and therefore the fare is of a high, and varied selection See Winterborne.org.uk for videos of both the property and gardens Visits free for Historic Houses Association ortherwise at a reasonable fee.

A very pretty house to visit with some local historical interest, but the best bit is the gardens which are beautiful to wonder around. The cafe is a little over priced, but serves very nice food which you can sit outside and enjoy whilst taking in the sunshine and wonderful surroundings - amazing to think you are only 3 miles from the busy city centre

great nature, a lake, nice flowers, perfect for a nice summer day, nice staff, in a nice and quiet area

Lovely settings and grounds for a romantic winter walk and educational points in house itself.Plenty to do and see to fill an afternoon and nice cafe. Much quieter than some of the more commercial sites in Birmingham.

We were filling in some time, waiting to pick up our daughter from a sporting event and thought we'd see what Winterbourne House is like. We were bowled over. It's beautifully maintained and has a wealth of delights and hidden treats spread throughout the house, gardens, tea room, gallery and shop. We both loved our food in the tea room. I was in raptures over the homemade buttery flapjack. My wife loved her turkey and stuffing bap. Lovely to eat overlooking the terrace and gardens. we enjoyed the gardens even out of season - in season they must be sensational! In the shop I bought a couple of birthday present gifts. Well worth a visit. We plan to go back in future. £6 per adult with gift aid. Concessions available.