The best places to see snowdrops in the Cotswolds [2025]

After dark, cold days and the post-Christmas lull, the first snowdrops peeking out from the ground are a sign that spring is finally on its way. These delicate white blooms reach their peak in late January and February, adding a touch of brightness and beauty to a winter’s day.

There are over 2500 varieties of snowdrop (part of the species Galanthus). And although they’re not native to the UK, they’ve made themselves at home in the woodlands, gardens and country estates of the Cotswolds. So if you want to enjoy the best of this natural display, here are our pick of the top places to see snowdrops in the Cotswolds, with details of 2025 opening times and prices.

Where to see snowdrops in the Cotswolds

Colesbourne Park

Located just south of Cheltenham, Colesbourne Park has been described as ‘England’s greatest snowdrop garden’ and is one of the most popular places to see snowdrops in Gloucestershire. The estate boasts over 350 varieties of snowdrop spread over ten acres of traditional country garden. It opens to the public during special snowdrop open days in January and February.

Colesbourne Park has been home to the Elwes family for centuries, and Henry John Elwes started the snowdrop collection when he discovered a new species – christened Galanthus Elwesii – in Turkey in 1874. Since then the family have kept adding to the collection and have created their own hybrid snowdrop species, meaning a real mix of shapes, sizes and colours on display.

Colesbourne’s snowdrops are spread through the different sections of the gardens, with a formal garden, ice house and wood all scattered with white blooms. You can also visit St James’ church in the estate grounds and buy snowdrop bulbs and plants from their plant stall.

Colesbourne Park is open from 1pm–4pm on 25–26 January, 1–2, 8–9, 15–16 and 22–23 February 2025. Entry costs £10 adults/free for children under 16. Dogs on leads welcome.

Painswick Rococo Garden

Tucked away in a hidden valley on the outskirts of Painswick you’ll find the Painswick Rococo Garden. It was created in the 1740s as pleasure garden to entertain guests, with follies and a maze built among the greenery. Later fashions changed but it was restored to its former glory using a painting by a local artist and is now the only complete Rococo garden in England.

The Rococo Garden has over five million snowdrops, creating a swathe of white flowers running through the Snowdrop Grove. Among them are some more unusual varieties like Galanthus Atkinsii, which was discovered here in the 1800s by James Atkins who lived on the estate.

The snowdrops are normally on display from late January to early March, but you can check their website and social media accounts for updates on the latest snowdrop status.

Painswick Rococo Garden is open daily 10am–5pm from Saturday 18 January 2025. Entry costs £11.60 adults/£10.40 seniors/£7.30 students/£5.40 children under 16. Dogs on leads welcome.

Cerney House Gardens

The gardens of Cerney House north of Cirencester are one of the Cotswolds’ hidden gems. Country Living magazine raved about this romantic Victorian walled garden, describing it as ‘what most people aspire to in their gardens – and few achieve’. The garden is attached to a manor house owned by the Angus family and surrounded by 40 acres of parkland and woodland trails.

Cerney House Gardens are open to visitors throughout the year. In early spring you can see snowdrops scattered through the gardens and carpeting the woods. And later in spring daffodils and bluebells start to appear. There are also plants for sale and refreshments in the bothy.

Cerney House Gardens are open daily from 10am until dark. Snowdrops 25 January–1 March 2025. Entry costs £7 adults/£1 children under 15. Dogs on leads welcome.

Batsford Arboretum

With the country’s largest private collection of trees and shrubs from all over the world, Batsford Arboretum near Moreton-in-Marsh might be most famous for its gorgeous spring blossoms and autumn leaves, but it puts on a fantastic display of snowdrops in winter too.

The arboretum covers 56 acres, with a sea of snowdrops running along the banks of a stream and beneath the trees. You can also see other colourful winter plants like aconites, crocuses and hellibores. There’s a winter trail to follow for younger visitors too, as well as a garden centre and shop. And the refurbished Garden Terrace Café serves locally sourced food and drinks.

Batsford Arboretum is open daily 9.30am–5pm (10am–5pm on Sundays). Entry costs £9.95 adults/£8.95 seniors or students/£3.50 children under 16. Dogs on leads welcome.

Rodmarton Manor

In between Cirencester and Tetbury, Grade I-listed Rodmarton Manor is a grand manor house, designed in the Arts and Crafts Manor House style by one of the movement’s masters, Ernest Barnsley. The house was built for the Biddulph family whose descendants still live there today.

The Manor’s eight acres of gardens were also designed by Ernest Barnsley as a series of outdoor rooms, each of which has a different character. And in the early spring there are over 150 varieties of snowdrop spread around the gardens. Look out for some of the different styles of snowdrop on display, including rarer yellow and green varieties as well as the usual white.

Rodmarton Manor gardens are open from 1.30pm–5pm on 1, 5, 8 12, 15 and 19 February 2025. Entry costs £10 adults/£5 children under 15. Dogs not permitted.

Dyrham Park

17th-century Dyrham Park is a stately home and gardens north of Bath, surrounded by 270 hectares of ancient parkland home to fallow deer. The house was built for diplomat William Blathwayt and is now run by the National Trust, who have recently restored its lavish interiors.

Visitors can explore both the house and gardens. The first snowdrops normally appear in late January. You can see them in front of the house, on the terraces and around the gardens, with six different varieties which have grown there naturally. The park has plenty of space to explore and the imposing frontage of the house and herds of deer make for a spectacular backdrop.

Dyrham Park is open daily except 31 January 2025 (gardens 10am–4pm, house 11.30am–3pm). Entry costs £19 adults/£9.50 children or free for National Trust members. Dogs not permitted.

Newark Park

Newark Park is another National Trust property where you can see snowdrops in the Cotswolds, this time a Tudor hunting lodge near Wotton-under-Edge which was upgraded into a grand country house with formal gardens during the 18th century. Newark Park’s position on top of the Cotswold escarpment mean you get great views of the Severn Valley and Mendip hills.

The garden is spread over three levels, with lakes, terraces and rockeries, and there are snowdrop walks running through the 700-acre estate grounds. The house reopens in February just in time for peak snowdrop season, with drifts of flowers decorating the garden’s banks and lawns.

Newark Park gardens are open at weekends in January (10am–4pm) and both the house and gardens are open daily from 1 February 2025 (gardens 10am–5pm, house 11am–4pm). Entry costs £13 adults/£6.50 children or free for National Trust members. Dogs on leads welcome.

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