Garden Map
Garden Map
Hover over the number of a garden on the map and click to be taken to more information on that garden.
Playground
Our Adventure Playground has recently undergone a complete refurbishment. It now comprises swings, a slide and a fantastic play fort. The fort is a huge wooden structure full of hidey-holes, various levels to climb, towers, a slide and even a zip-wire so there is plenty of fuel for the most vivid of imaginations.
Visitor & Plant Centre
The Visitor Centre shop offers a selection of products, many items especially made for Sudeley. These include greeting cards, stationery, books & gifts. We have a range of English preserves & local honey along with bottles of mead & rose petal wine....
Tithe Barn & Carp Pond
From the castle there is a great view across the lawns leading down to one of the gems of Sudeley castle gardens; the old ruined shell of a medieval Tithe Barn, reflected in a pond. The pond, stocked with great koi carp, sets off this magnificent building that dates back to the 15th century.
Castle Entrance
Entrance to Exhibitions & Gardens
Talks & Tours Meeting Point
The Coffee Shop
The Sudeley Coffee Shop is located in the Banqueting Hall - previously the Castle Stable and before that the Kitchen Range.
The Mulberry Garden & Lawn
At the foot of the Dungeon Tower is a fine ancient Mulberry tree, planted in 1885 by Emma Dent. The Mulberry was introduced to the UK by James 1. Before the trees leaf out in the spring, yellow and orange crown Imperials (Fritillaria imperialis) take advantage of the light.
The Queens' Garden
The Queens' Garden must be regarded as the centrepiece of the gardens, not just because it sits in the middle, surrounded by great hedges of yew but because in summer it is a wonderful showcase for roses. Sited on the original Tudor parterre, the formal gardens were replanted to a design by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall. Although there are clematis, cleomes, echinacea and agapanthus throughout these flowerbeds, it is the Roses that are queen of this Queens' garden.
The White Garden
It is believed that a covered passage led from the private quarters of the castle to the Chapel, and it would have been along this path that Katherine Parr would have walked in prayer with Lady Jane Grey. Today two topiaried figures draped in ivy and roses represent their ghostly figures.
The Knot Garden
Hidden within the old castle walls and yew hedges is a startling little knot garden that evokes the elaborate style of gardens of the Elizabethan era. This small, cool and bright knot garden was created in 1995, incorporating a design taken from a dress pattern worn by Elizabeth 1 in a portrait that hangs in the Castle.
Castle Ruins - The Banqueting Hall
The awesome skeleton of the gothic windows are all that remain of the old castle, but their presence soars above as you walk under them, the great boughs of old sycamores brushing the old stonework. For a moment you can almost hear the old Tudors revelling around their great banqueting tables, their hunting dogs lounging by a great log fire.
The East Garden
In 2003, Charles Chesshire designed a cedar arbour with an oriental flavour, playing on the idea of the ‘East’ garden. In spring white Japanese wisteria flowers hang inside the arbour while all around the borders are fabulous Chinese rockii tree peonies. In summer the arbour is festooned in Tibetan and Chinese golden yellow lantern clematis.
Saint Mary's Church
The refurbished 15th Century Church was built alongside Boteler’s original Castle. St Mary’s was ruined during the Civil War and in the 18th Century the remains of Katherine Parr were discovered within its walls. Now she lies in a Victorian marble tomb in the Church, which is open to visitors as part of the standard admission ticket.
The Secret Garden
In 1979 the late Rosemary Verey was commissioned to create a Secret garden to celebrate Lady and Lord Ashcombe's marriage. Rosemary enclosed the long gallery-like space in yew hedges of one side with old garden walls hemming in the 3 other sides. Beds were raised on all sides to display flowers but by the late 1990 the garden had begun to lose some of its zest.
The Pheasantry
The Pheasantry at Sudeley houses a collection of 15 rare and endangered species of birds from around the world and now is also home to 3 species of Owl - Snowy Owls, Eagle Owls and Barn Owls!
Tudor Physic Garden
This garden focuses on the plants which were used to create medicines and cures during the Tudor period. The garden is part of the newly-planted Herb Garden Walk, which will inform and fascinate visitors concerning the Wisdom of Nature and the many applications our ancestors had for the plants they grew.
The Herb Garden Walk
Herbs are nature’s medicine chest and their use in herbal healing stretches back over 4,000 years. The Tudors would have had a physic garden at Sudeley, providing the household with cooking and medicinal plants. Today there is a revival of interest in the use of herbs and their remarkable properties. The walk reflects today’s revival of interest in their remarkable properties.