Winterbourne House and Garden

Beautiful House and garden just 5 minutes away from Birmingham University. Amazing greenhouses filled with various flowers, cacti, plants. Such a lovely place to visit on a summer day especially if you check out their tearoom by the terrace!

Lovely house and a leafy, picturesque setting to enjoy a meal or a relaxing afternoon tea with friends.

Winterbourne is a great place for a sunny day. £5 gives you access to the Arts and Crafts house and gardens, both of which are lovely. Behind the more formal gardens are woodland trails (you might even see a beech tree I helped to coppice as a student many years ago) and Edgbaston reservoir, a calm expanse of water populated by ducks, moorhens and crested grebes. There are beautiful waterside rock gardens with stepping stones, which I love. The whole place feels like a sanctuary from the city and is conveniently located close to the Barber Institute and the university campus if you want to make more of a day of it.
There’s a tea room which sells serviceable scones (with that really aerated cream rather than proper whipped or clotted cream though) and also sandwiches, soup and potatoes etc.
You can get plants and gifts at the shop– and if you go during the week you may be able to get some advice from the gardeners, too.

Oh Winterbourne how I love you. I’ve always been vaguely aware of it but have only started going there on a more regular basis since I got a job at the University and whilst it’s a bit of a way out of Harborne and not quite in Selly Oak it really is worth a visit. Built in the Arts & Craft style, the house itself is set within 7 acres of botanic gardens and houses 1,000s of different plant varieties, vegetable and herb plots and a beautifully tranquil lake situated nearby. The house was bequeathed by its last private owner in the 1940s to the University and is a listed building with large airy corridors and a bright, sunny feel. They hold regular events at Winterbourne including an Edwardian fête and the tea-​rooms (which are free to enter) with its lovely views of the garden is one of my favourite spots. Car parking is available and rooms can be hired for meetings and the like.

This is the perfect place to go to take a friends or family for coffee and cake and a mosey around the house and garden. I have come here several times as it is free for students (it is also free if you just want to go to the tea room). When I first visited I looked around the house, which features a few big rooms and is presented in a museum-​like fashion with things to look at, such as the old furniture and paintings. I have had lunch several times in the little tea room and each time it has been wonderful. They serve a variety of sandwiches and hot food and they do have daily specials. I usually have soup or a toasted sandwich, which is just enough for me and it leaves room for some of their delicious carrot cake! The tea room staff are always polite and friendly and the prices are fairly cheap too. The best thing about this place though, is the garden. If you go on a nice day, it is absolutely glorious. They have flowers beds representing different places in the world and they also have a beautiful little pond at the bottom of the garden which has stepping-​stones in too! I love coming here as it takes me away from the hustle and bustle of the city and makes me think that I am at some grand country house! They also host many events throughout the year for occasions such as mothers day. A great place to take loved ones.

Having a friend who is passionate about the cacti, I had no escape If not visiting Winterbourne House and Garden with him once.
Its privileged location on Edgbaston Park Road, next to the Barber Institute and the University of Birmingham, should make this lovely heritage house something easy to be found, but it’s not!
There are few signs indicating the place, so it’s better to have the address or a map in hands to get there.
Winterbourne is pretty much a gorgeous Edwardian house with a mini botanic garden on it!
There are plenty of plant species to check on it but unless you’re familiar with gardening, it’s likely you will recognise less that 10% of them. So, if you are there, the best thing to do is just enjoying the walk in this really beautiful landmark from Birmingham.
I don’t want to make you think it’s a kind boring day trip but to be honest, it should help if the admission was a bit cheaper than £4.50.
Well, the cactuses were worth seeing but there are parks and the Botanical Garden itself that offer much more fun for less than this. Winterbourne House and Garden also has a gift shop, a lovely café and some plants for sale.
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