Sir Harald Hillier Gardens, Romsey nr Southampton
Review 2015: Sir Harald Hillier Gardens
The first time I went to Sir Harald Hillier Gardens was when Miss NHM was 4 months old.
It was so fab but I didn’t get to really experience it because Miss NHM was too young.
However, we went back in October 2014 to meet up with friends and had a fantastic day. Miss NHM was three and a half when we visited so she loved all the different areas that we visited.
Unfortunately the weather was appalling that day, it rained for most of the time we were there, but that meant it was really quiet and we still had a brilliant time.
You are probably aware that I’ve been championing the “Save the Culture All Passport“. This was one of the places that you could visit under the scheme. I really hope they don’t lose out on families visiting because they can no longer afford to visit.
Play
The Gardens are HUGE! There are so many different areas to explore. I’m just going to post the pictures up and you can see all of the different areas to visit.
You can’t really tell from the rubbish picture, but this is a maze made out of bamboo. It even had a seat in the middle. We had much fun playing in the maze!
This is a stream that Miss NHM wanted to go paddling in. It was a cold October day. She wasn’t impressed when we said no! lol.
As you walk to the end of the garden there is a long ramp and you walk past a waterfall. Lovely part of the gardens
This is the restaurant at the other end of the gardens from the entrance. Unfortunately the restaurant is closed in winter but it’s open in summer.
As you can see, there are lots of picnic benches outside the restaurant.
My favourite tree in the gardens :-D. 
You can just see the tree art in the picture below. Miss NHM was fascinated with this!
This is the children’s area. There are different sensory areas. The picture below shows the ponds which had different types of pond life in.
Miss NHM enjoyed standing on top of these. I wasn’t sure that was what she was supposed to be doing!!!
This is the education centre, where the indoor activities take place. It’s next to the entrance. 
This is a picture of the restaurant. As you can see there is also outside seating for summer days.
The views were spectacular.
There are lots of sculptures dotted around the gardens. We loved this one, near the entrance.
The treehouse is by far my favourite place in the Gardens.
Tips
Take welly’s on a rainy day as it can get very muddy. We recommend an umbrella too.
Harald Hillier Gardens has lots and lots of activities for children so we recommend checking the website out before you go, to see what activities are on.
Dogs are not allowed in the gardens.
Food
I’m just going to let the pictures do the talking 😀
The food was excellent and really good value for money.
I was very impressed with the children’s meal which had some nice healthy options available and a free seed tray. Wow, I sound old! lol.
Facilities
There are toilets at the main entrance, the main restaurant and at the other end of the gardens.
There are covered places near the main restaurant to park pushchairs and wheelchairs.
Baby Facilities
There were baby changing facilities in each of the separate toilets.
Parking
Is free and there is lots of it.
Prices
- Under 17s Free (must be accompanied by an adult)
- Adult £9.30*
- Concession £8.40* (Seniors, job seekers, full-time students and people with disabilities)
- Groups (10+) £7.50 per person
- Guided Tours £60 standard
*Become a Gift Aid Visitor. Admission includes a voluntary donation to enable us to conserve, develop and exhibit our world renowned Gardens and plant collection. Standard entry prices Adults £8.45, Concessions £7.60
You can also become a member of the gardens, which looks very reasonably priced if you plan to visit lots: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/hilliergardens/hilliers-membership.htm
Open
- April–October 10am–6pm (last entry 5pm)
- November–March 10am–5pm (last entry 4pm)
- Open all year (except Christmas and Boxing Day)
Rating out of 5
We’ve given them 5 out of 5 as we love the gardens and if we lived closer we would be visiting all the time.