Why Gardens Make Such Good Outings With Friends
There's a particular kind of social experience that gardens offer which almost nothing else does. Unlike a restaurant, you're moving. Unlike a hike, you're not exerting yourself. You're walking at a gentle pace through beautiful surroundings, stopping when something catches your eye, sitting on a bench when the mood takes you, and talking — really talking — in a way that the softness of the setting seems to encourage.
Gardens are forgiving spaces. They don't demand anything of you. You don't need to be fit, you don't need special equipment, and you don't need to know anything about horticulture to enjoy them (though you might find yourself learning). They suit couples, small groups, and multi-generational gatherings equally well. And crucially, almost every garden worth visiting has a cafe at the end, which means you're guaranteed a sit-down with tea and cake to round things off.
Devon has some of the finest gardens and country estates in England. The mild climate — warmed by the Gulf Stream and sheltered by rolling hills — supports plants that wouldn't survive further north. Magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons, and exotic trees thrive here in a way that can feel almost Mediterranean on a warm afternoon. And the estates themselves are fascinating — centuries of history layered into the landscape, from medieval fishponds to Victorian glasshouses.
Here are the best ones within easy reach of Exeter.
Killerton — National Trust
Location: Broadclyst, 7 miles north-east of Exeter | Entry: Free to National Trust members; non-members pay on the day | Best season: Spring for magnolias and bluebells; autumn for colour | Cafe: Yes, excellent
Killerton is the garden you'll visit most often, simply because it's so close to Exeter. Seven miles out, set in the rolling countryside north-east of the city, it's the kind of place you can visit on a whim — a Sunday morning when the sun comes out and you fancy getting out of the house.
The garden spans eighteen acres of hillside, with far-reaching views across the Exe Valley. It's built on and around an extinct volcano — not as dramatic as it sounds, but it gives the garden a lovely undulating quality, with surprise views opening up as you climb. The planting is superb: formal terraces and herbaceous borders near the house give way to sweeping lawns, ancient specimen trees, and woodland walks. In spring, the bluebells carpet the forest floor and the magnolias are magnificent. In summer, the herbaceous bed is a canvas of colour. Autumn brings the fiery reds and golds of the mature tree canopy. Even in winter, there are colourful barks and early-flowering shrubs.
Look out for the Bear's Hut (also known as Lady Cott) — a small early nineteenth-century thatched summerhouse that offers lovely views across the garden and parkland. The rock garden with its alpine plants and ferns is charming, and there's an underground ice house to discover. The wider estate is farmed and wooded rather than manicured, and supports a lot more wildlife than the garden alone.
The cafe serves good food with seasonal menus, and there's a second-hand bookshop in the house that's worth a browse.
Killerton is brilliant for a "low-key social" — the kind of outing you can suggest to someone without it feeling like a big commitment. "Fancy a walk round Killerton?" is one of the easiest invitations to say yes to. Combine it with the cafe afterwards and you've got a proper catch-up in beautiful surroundings, all within twenty minutes of Exeter.
Knightshayes — National Trust
Location: Bolham, near Tiverton, 14 miles north of Exeter | Entry: Free to National Trust members; non-member prices vary by season | Best season: Spring and early summer for the formal gardens; autumn for woodland colour | Cafe: Yes
Knightshayes is Killerton's more formal, more dramatic cousin. The house itself is a Gothic Revival masterpiece designed by William Burges in the 1860s — all pointed arches, carved stonework, and richly decorated interiors. But it's the gardens that really distinguish the place.
Formal and woodland gardens surround the house, home to one of the most outstanding botanical collections in the country, set within a much larger designed landscape of parkland and woodland. There are a number of champion trees here — specimens that are the largest or finest of their kind in Britain. The topiary is exceptional, the formal terraces are beautifully maintained, and the woodland garden beyond feels like stepping into another world.
The fully productive kitchen garden is a highlight — a walled garden growing fruit, vegetables, herbs, and cutting flowers, all beautifully tended and immensely satisfying to wander through. There's something deeply appealing about a garden that's both beautiful and useful.
The cafe serves seasonal food, much of it using produce from the kitchen garden, which feels exactly right.
Castle Drogo — National Trust
Location: Drewsteignton, on the edge of Dartmoor, 20 miles west of Exeter | Entry: Free to National Trust members; non-member prices vary by season, and non-members pay for parking on top of admission | Best season: Year-round; the gorge is spectacular in autumn | Cafe: Yes, with local pasties and cream teas
Castle Drogo is unlike anything else in Devon — or, frankly, anywhere. It's the last castle built in England, constructed between 1911 and 1930 from local granite on a dramatic hilltop site overlooking the Teign Gorge. It was designed by Edwin Lutyens for Julius Drewe, a self-made businessman who believed he was descended from a Norman baron named Drogo de Teigne. Whether or not the genealogy holds up, the castle is extraordinary.
The gardens are intimate rather than grand — formal terraces, herbaceous borders, and a circular croquet lawn with views over Dartmoor. But the real draw is the setting. The Teign Gorge walk takes you down through ancient oak woodland to the river below — one of the most beautiful short walks in Devon. The combination of castle, garden, gorge, and Dartmoor moorland makes a visit here feel like several outings in one.
The cafe serves freshly baked pasties, sausage rolls, hand-cut sandwiches, and Devonshire cream teas. There's also a small second-hand bookshop — Castle Drogo seems to attract readers.
Castle Drogo is also one of the best stargazing spots in Devon, with researchers pinpointing the skies above the castle as particularly good for night-sky viewing due to the elevated position and low light pollution.
Powderham Castle
Location: Kenton, on the Exe Estuary, 8 miles south of Exeter | Entry: Adults £14.95, children (5-16) £10.95, under-5s free | Best season: Late spring and summer | Cafe: Yes
Powderham is the closest estate to Exeter, sitting on the banks of the River Exe with views across the estuary. The castle has been the family seat of the Courtenay family (Earls of Devon) for over six hundred years — a remarkable continuity that gives the place a lived-in warmth that many stately homes lack.
The gardens include the Rose Terrace with English roses and herbaceous borders, the American Garden (a seven-acre Georgian garden with circular walks and specimen trees), and the Belvedere — a ninety-foot tower offering panoramic views across the Exe Estuary. Beyond the formal gardens lies an expansive deer park, home to up to six hundred fallow deer that have grazed here for centuries.
Note that Powderham opens for general admission seasonally — it typically opens around Easter for the summer season. Outside general admission dates, the castle hosts events and private functions. Check their website before visiting.
The estate is close enough to Exeter that you could combine it with a walk along the estuary — the Exe Estuary Trail runs right past.
RHS Rosemoor
Location: Great Torrington, North Devon, 45 miles north-west of Exeter | Entry: RHS members free; non-members pay less booking online in advance than on the day, and children under 5 go free | Opening: Daily, 10am–6pm, last entry 5pm (closed Christmas Day) | Best season: June and July for the rose gardens; year-round interest | Cafe: Yes, excellent seasonal restaurant
Rosemoor is the Royal Horticultural Society's garden in Devon, and it's magnificent. Set in the Torridge Valley between Exmoor and Dartmoor, it blends formal and informal plantings across sixty-five acres. The rose gardens in June and July are breathtaking — hundreds of varieties in full bloom, their scent carrying on the breeze. The hot garden, the cottage garden, the rock garden, and the arboretum all offer different moods and different pleasures.
What sets Rosemoor apart is the quality of the gardening. This is the RHS, after all — the planting combinations are inspired, the maintenance is impeccable, and there's always something new to discover. The seasonal displays are planned years in advance, and the result is a garden that looks spectacular in every month.
The restaurant uses fresh, seasonal produce and is genuinely good — not just "good for a garden cafe" but properly good. The plant shop is dangerous if you have any interest in gardening; the curated collections are hard to resist.
Two things worth knowing before you book. Rosemoor gives a thirty per cent discount to visitors who arrive car-free — by bus, train, bike or on foot — on production of proof at the gate. And under the RHS's access scheme, anyone receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Employment and Support Allowance can bring up to five people in their party for £1, again on production of proof on arrival. That is a genuinely generous policy and it is not well advertised.
Rosemoor is further from Exeter than the other gardens on this list, but it makes an excellent day trip combined with lunch in Great Torrington or a drive through the North Devon countryside. If you're heading to the North Devon coast, Rosemoor is a natural stop on the way.
Bicton Park Botanical Gardens
Location: East Budleigh, 14 miles south-east of Exeter | Entry: Tickets online or at the gate; annual passes available. Bicton does not publish its prices on its homepage, so check the ticket page before you set off | Opening: Daily, 10am–5pm | Best season: Spring and summer; the Palm House is year-round | Cafe: Yes, restaurant and gift shop
Bicton is one of Devon's hidden gems — around sixty-four acres of botanical gardens spanning nearly three hundred years of gardening history, from formal Italian-style design to areas of natural woodland beauty. The historic glasshouses are a particular highlight, including the Palm House, which dates from the 1820s and predates the one at Kew.
The gardens include indoor and outdoor children's play areas, the Bicton Woodland Railway (a narrow-gauge railway that loops through the grounds), a nature trail, and a countryside museum. It's an excellent family destination, but equally enjoyable for adults who appreciate exceptional planting and garden design.
The formal gardens closest to the house are stunning — precise geometric beds, immaculate topiary, and views across the parkland. The pinetum contains remarkable specimen trees, some dating back to the original plantings in the early nineteenth century.
Dartington Hall
Location: Near Totnes, 35 miles south-west of Exeter | Entry: Adults £7, concessions £5; free to Dartington and RHS members, to visitors on income support and to registered disabled visitors | Opening: Daily, 9am–5pm, year-round | Best season: Spring for magnolias and blossom; autumn for colour | Cafe: Yes, on the estate
Dartington is two things, and it is worth knowing which one you are paying for. The wider estate — footpaths, woodland, the deer park, the walks down to the Dart — is open dawn to dusk and free to wander. The formal gardens are the ticketed bit, and that is what the price above covers.
Dartington Hall is extraordinary. The twenty-six acres of tended grounds are Grade II* listed and feature medieval terraces, a Henry Moore sculpture, and some of the most impressive champion trees in the region — including a yew believed to be around 1,500 years old and a line of sweet chestnuts thought to be more than four hundred years old.
The gardens blend formal and wild beautifully. The medieval courtyard and terraces give way to sweeping lawns, woodland walks, and views across the Dart Valley. It feels ancient and contemplative — the kind of place where you naturally slow down and speak more quietly.
Volunteer-led garden tours run every Friday at 11am from early March to October, last about ninety minutes, and are included with garden entry. They're genuinely excellent — passionate guides sharing the heritage and history of a landscape that's been cultivated for centuries. Dartington is an RHS Partner Garden, so RHS members get in free.
The wider Dartington Estate is a fascinating place in its own right — a centre for arts, sustainability, and social enterprise since the 1920s, with a cinema, shops, and regular events.
Cadhay
Location: Ottery St Mary, EX11 1QT, 12 miles east of Exeter | Entry: Guided house tour £12 adults, £3 children over 5; garden only £6 adults, £1 children over 5; free to Historic Houses members | Opening: Fridays 2–5pm, 1 May to 25 September 2026, plus a handful of special dates | Best season: Late spring and summer | Cafe: Tea room with homemade cakes
Cadhay is the smallest and most intimate property on this list, and in some ways the most charming. It's a Grade I listed Tudor manor house — one of the finest in England — surrounded by gardens that include medieval fishponds, a walled kitchen garden, and an avenue of lime trees leading to the house.
The house opens every Friday afternoon from the start of May to late September, with a few extra dates around the August bank holiday. Guided tours set off shortly after 2pm, the last leaving at 3.30pm, and take about an hour; they run first come, first served, so arrive in good time rather than expecting to book. The tea room serves homemade cakes that are worth the visit alone, and dogs on leads are welcome in the gardens. If you think you will come more than once, the £12 season ticket pays for itself on the second garden visit.
Cadhay is the kind of place you discover and feel slightly smug about — a genuine hidden gem that hasn't been polished into a tourist attraction. The scale is human, the atmosphere is personal, and the beauty is real.
Garden visits work brilliantly as a social format because they give you something to do together without demanding much of you. If you find it hard to suggest activities with friends — if everything feels like too much effort or too much commitment — try "shall we go and look at a garden?" It's low-pressure, it's flexible (you can leave whenever you want), and the combination of gentle movement, beautiful surroundings, and a cafe at the end creates exactly the right conditions for good conversation.
Making the Most of a Garden Visit
A few practical thoughts. Most of these gardens have seasonal highlights, so it's worth thinking about timing. Spring is generally the most spectacular season — bluebells, magnolias, rhododendrons, and camellias all peak between March and May. Summer brings herbaceous borders and roses. Autumn brings colour. Winter brings structure, bark, and the quiet beauty of a garden resting.
Worth knowing on price: National Trust admission is not a flat rate, and the headline figure is rarely what you pay. Killerton's 2026 whole-property ticket is £18 for an adult, £9 for a child and £45 for a family without Gift Aid, or £19.80 / £9.90 / £49.50 with it — and parking is £2.60 for two hours or £5.20 all day on top. Prices at Knightshayes and Castle Drogo move with the season in the same way, and Castle Drogo also charges non-members for parking. There are two discounts worth knowing: arriving by bus, bike or on foot takes 10% off at Killerton, and a temporary VAT cut running from 25 June to 1 September 2026 means the till price may come out below the advertised one. Membership pays for itself in three or four visits a year. Whichever way you go, check the property's own page the week you travel.
And don't underestimate the cafe. In our experience, some of the best conversations happen not in the garden itself, but afterwards — sitting with a pot of tea, slightly tired, slightly wind-blown, with the shared experience of the visit still fresh. That's when people relax and really talk.
What Is New for 2026
Several of these properties have refreshed their programmes for the new season. Killerton's 2026 exhibition, "History off the Hanger," draws on the National Trust's largest fashion collection — more than 20,000 items of historic clothing and accessories are held at Killerton — to tell three hundred years of hidden histories from the wardrobe. It runs until 1 November 2026 and is a fascinating addition to a garden visit if you are interested in the stories behind the estate as well as the planting. The wider estate is far bigger than the garden, with trails for children of all ages, making it one of the best family-friendly days out near Exeter.
Knightshayes continues to invest in its parkland and woodland, with the botanical collection and champion trees drawing visitors from across the country. The National Trust's Devon gardens page is worth bookmarking for seasonal highlights and event listings across all their properties — wildflower meadows in May, rose gardens in June, and autumn colour from September onward.
If a garden visit sparks an interest in getting more involved with the outdoors, our volunteering guide includes opportunities at both Killerton and Knightshayes — from conservation work to kitchen gardening. And if you would rather combine your garden visit with a wider day out, our day trips guide covers how to build an itinerary that includes these estates alongside nearby towns and restaurants.
If you're looking for more ways to spend time outdoors with friends around Exeter, our guides to the best walking routes in Devon and exploring Dartmoor are worth a read. And if you'd rather start with dinner, there's always how sharing a meal can change your social life.