The National Trust’s Stourhead estate has opened a new café in a historic part of the grounds.
The café has opened in the Stableyard and offers patrons a range of hot and cold drinks, as well as snacks, sandwiches, and ice creams.
According to the National Trust, over the past 300 years, the buildings in Stourhead’s Stableyard have served various purposes, including stables, a carriage house, a granary, hay lofts, head groom and stable staff accommodation, property offices, and estate workshops.
Stourhead’s food and beverage manager Nicola Melville said: "We're so pleased to be able to open up the new Stableyard Cafe.
“It’s the perfect spot for those that want to grab a coffee before they enjoy the garden, or for families to grab a snack whilst playing in the Stableyard.
“The Stableyard has so much history, and we are pleased to be able to help bring this space to life again."
Stourhead’s Stableyard is becoming a popular attraction at the 2,650-acre estate, due to the games and activities that are available for families and children to enjoy in this area.
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The new café offers games and activities as well as food and drink, and Stourhead has said this has made it a popular attraction at the estate.
Whilst the café provides takeaway service only, there is plenty of undercover seating in the Stableyard for visitors to use.
According to annual visitor statistics, Stourhead is one of the most visited National Trust sites in the country, with more than 350,000 visiting the park in 2023.
In April, this paper reported that The Telegraph had listed the best National Trust properties in each English county and Stourhead, near Mere, has made the cut as Wiltshire’s representative.
Stourhead boasts a “world famous” landscape garden which features a huge lake, lawns, and classical temples.
The site’s Palladian House was one of the first Palladian-style villas to be built in the UK and the Telegraph praised the “artful” nature of the estate.
They said: “Now here’s a showhouse, created by banker Henry Hoare II, by artful manipulation of the landscape he was blessed with.
“The Stourhead estate sits at the source of the river Stour and Hoare was inspired by his travels to seed it with classical temples and grottos, and fill the interior with great art.
“It’s famous for azaleas and rhododendrons in spring and the great creation is overlooked by the Hoare Monument at the head of the lake.”
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