Miserden

What to see

Miserden Garden, the garden of Miserden Park, was laid out in the seventeenth century, and its long mixed borders are, the garden says, among the longest in private ownership. There is a yew walk with grass steps, a rill with a fountain, a stone summerhouse, a mulberry planted in 1620 and a loggia by Edwin Lutyens, who rebuilt the burnt east wing of the house in 1920 and 1921. The garden is closed for the winter until April 2027. In season it opens Wednesday to Sunday and on bank holidays from 10am to 5pm, and an adult ticket was £12 in 2026, with under-16s free.

St Andrew's church, listed Grade II*, has a nave of the eleventh century with Saxon doorways, a twelfth-century chancel and a fifteenth-century tower. It was heavily altered in 1866, but its monuments are the thing to see. In the south chapel, Sir William Sandys of Miserden Park, who died in 1640, and his wife Margaret Culpeper lie in alabaster with their children carved round the tomb; Historic England suggests, without certainty, that Edward Marshall was the sculptor. Beside them is the painted effigy of William Kingstone, who died in 1614, and in the chancel Anthony Partridge and his wife kneel on a wall monument of 1625, both by Baldwin of Stroud.

North of the lake, on the private estate, is the mound of Miserden's Norman castle, a motte and bailey that Historic England has scheduled since 1927. It stood by a crossing of the Frome by the mid twelfth century and was abandoned between 1266 and 1289.

An afternoon in Miserden

In season, come on a weekday, when we would expect the garden to be quieter. Park in the garden's grass car park, give the borders and the yew walk an hour and a half to two hours, and have tea and cake from Little Ginger, the estate's café, which keeps to 10am to 4pm midweek. Then walk down through the village to St Andrew's for the Sandys tomb, and if there is light left, take the estate's Lake Walk round the lake and through the arboretum.

Walks

Miserden Estate publishes three walks on its land, with maps to download, and asks visitors to keep to them, with dogs on leads: the Lake Walk, 1.8km and about 40 minutes. The Valley Walk, 3.3km across open fields with views over the valley, about 50 minutes. And the Farm Walk, 6.5km and about an hour and 40 minutes, to the remoter corners of the estate. Cyclists are asked to stay on the public bridleways. None of our own walks starts here. The nearest are at Painswick and on the Cotswold Way from Birdlip to Painswick, and over the hill at Sapperton the Frome runs on through the Golden Valley.

Food and drink

The estate's Little Ginger café and deli serves coffee, cakes and light lunches in the garden season, and dogs are welcome there. The village pub, the Carpenters Arms, is open every day: from 11am on Mondays and Saturdays and from noon on other days, to 10pm, or 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. It publishes no food times, so ring 01285 821283 before counting on a meal. Otherwise, the Bear at Bisley and the Butchers Arms at Sheepscombe are each a short drive away.

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When to come

From April to early autumn, when the garden opens: wisteria covers the house in spring, and the borders are at their fullest in summer. On Saturday 7 November 2026 the estate holds its fireworks and bonfire, with gates open from 4.30pm, the display at 7pm and free parking in the field. Tickets are cheaper bought in advance. Our guide to Cotswold gardens sets Miserden among the other gardens to see in a season.