The 10 best parks and gardens in Lydney

Beautiful gardens, dog friendly. Only open during April, May,June. Weds, sat and sun. Super friendly gate keepers, stunning house and gardens and recommended visit. Roman temples also, quite a hill climb for those who may not be able. Areas for picnics also.

An absolutely stunning garden teeming with the most beautiful azaleas and rhododendrons. Paradise on earth on a sunny day. Well worth the entry fee. Picnics are welcome and the toilets were clean. Lots of parking. Not great for the less mobile due to steep undulating paths.

A hidden gem! We visited when the rhododendrons were in bloom, such an amazing variety and wonderful colours. Dogs are welcome on leads, and the paths are good. The lakes and small waterfalls were very pretty, and the water lillies were starting to bloom. It is a lovely place to walk, take a picnic, and listen to the birds.

Beautiful take a picnic and sit and wonder the gardens. We've been here many years probably 30 years plus always lovely when you go at the right time. Only porter toilets but always clean.

A really interesting place to visit, excellent roman temple baths and temple with fantastic information boards, beautiful gardens and a great museum.

So glad we made the effort to find this garden. The post code can be misleading because you can finish a 12 minute walk away. However, the garden is a must for anyone who loves Rhododendrons and meandering streams. We love the different levels, showing off the beautiful vistas. A must visit place!

Absolutely stunning 😍 beautiful place to spend a few hours walking in the sunshine!

Driven past the place numerous times and finally got a chance to stop and cure my curiosity! Well, what a gem of a place. Everyone is super friendly, knowledgeable in all the gift shops. Cafe is great, plenty of deliciousness on the menu. We be back again for the various events throughout the year. Not that we will need an excuse to come back.. highly recommended.

Found this lovely craft centre whilst visiting lydney over the weekend in June 2025. There was a lovely tap room with a good selection of ales and ciders and spirits. There were wide and varied choices of shops selling anything from scented candles, shower steamers and bohemian clothing to a large garden centre selling plants and gardening must haves. Found some books about foraging and herbs, tarot cards and ethereal wonders, jewellery, arts and many other interesting and novel purchasing opportunities. Lovely place to visit, good prices. Would recommend

Came for a car boot sale that we saw advertised locally when visiting, only for it to not be on the day we went! Mooched around the shops but too far out of our price range. Toddler enjoyed the park. Free parking.

Our 2nd visit that did not disappoint! Had a lovely lunch - freshly made & so tasty! Loved wandering around the shops in the autumnal sunshine & feeling the values of this amazing community! A great way to to spend a Sunday afternoon! We will be back! x

A few small shops, a garden centre and a popular cafe. Definitely worth a visit although there is not as much there as you might at first think. Looks like events are hosted here sometimes. Free parking and entry.

Such a lovely little find. Lots of artisan shops - not astronomically priced. Little play area for children. Cafe area and shop selling food stuff (I've forgotten it's name).

Only 4 stars because a lot of the shops were closed as the owners were taking a well earned holiday. Shops that were open were really good and had unique goods for sale

Fabulous park. No vandalism, No graffiti, just gorgeous well maintained flora & child friendly open space. We all loved it.

Lovely setup and well worth a visit from anyone. I really enjoyed myself up to the point where where I slipped on a gravel path - sloping downwards - and broke my right leg just above the ankle. I am writing this 4 weeks later with my leg in a cast and up watching England v. The West Indies T20 on television. I did get some super photos before breaking my leg.

Such a beautiful area to walk and chill in. The gardens are stunning. The trees and green area are beautiful. The church and cemetery are fascinating. The rail road, the cafe, the park....all thoroughly enjoyed.

Bathurst Park in Lydney became famous in the sixteenth century when it became the favoured venue for Thomas Harden to exercise Henry the Eighth's Otter Hounds, this first happened in 1539. The tradition for famous bods to exercise their pets in the park continued. René Descartes, who famously announced "I'm pink, therefore I'm spam", had a pet parrot called Pierre, which he would fly around Bathurst as often as he could. He often spoke to the young Isaac Newton who had his pet Iguana, Gordon, with him until it's untimely death in 1649. King Charles the Second often went to Lydney with his spaniels, who were all named Harold. This continued until the King's death in 1685. Charles Darwin walked his collection of army ants, each on a separate lead, every other Tuesday. He would've walked them more often but he had to spend a lot of time untangling the knotted leads. We are all aware that Marcel Proust had a pet haddock. Marcel would allow Nobby (the haddock) to play with the fish in the Bathurst pond well into the twentieth century. Former Newcastle and England centre forward, Malcolm McDonald, favoured the park to exercise Luigi, his pet llama.

We have visited here quite a lot. There is something for all ages. My little boy can play in the infant park and my older teenager can go on the trim trail or exercise equipment in the big field right next to the park. There is a lovely pond with a beautiful garden surrounding it where you can sit and just relax. There is a seasonal cafe in the centre with seating outside. Highly recommend coming here for picnics, field games just spending a few hours with family.

We enjoy this park, it has outside toilets ( which aren't that nice ) or if the café is open, there are also toilets inside. Not a lot of parking, so alternative parking may have to be sought out if it's busy. It's a big open space, things for older kids, smaller kids and an obstacle course if the adults are feeling up to it 🤣 also a mega tall slide which is the main selling point for my two kids 🙌🏼

This is a lovely open space with superb walks around the lake.Theres a cafe where you can sit and rest.The space is brilliant for any age of child even the grown ups have a good time.

Small free car park and two way marked walks. Bird hides. Pond. The long walk was closed due to forestry operations and some of the paths are very muddy.

Lovely place to walk, nice long loop. We were very excited to see a wild boar, even though it ran away as soon as it saw us!

I went to RSPB Nagshead to experience an RSPB site to see if they are managed and well looked after and I was impressed with this location. It was clean and tidy and the Bird Hides are also very well looked after. Free Parking at the location for Members and Non Members. I done the long trail then finished off by going to the bird hides. Great day and experience! Thank you RSPB! Photos attached are a few I took while being at RSPB Nagshead. Hope you enjoy!

Wonderful broadleaf forrest. The terrain is mostly flat and easily accessible. Lovely range of fungi, suggesting excellent habitat

Within minutes we saw a boar and it's piglets, a male boar and then deer. We were blown away. Hopefully everyone else will ve as luck as we were.

Had a great walk along the 'long trail'- our highlight seeing several sightings of wild boar, including piglets, and a deer. Lots of birdlife.Lovely tranquil spot.

A lovely place to walk, very peaceful. However, we were following the Long path, which at some point just left us with no direction. It took over an hour to relocate the centre and car park.