Welford Park has been a family home for over 400 years and is steeped in history.

Once the site of a monastery until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536, then turned deer-hunting lodge of Henry VIII, Welford Park found its way into the Puxley family in 1618.

The grounds and the house were largely planned by Charles Eyre and he was responsible for planting a spectacular collection of specimen trees, many of which you can still see today.

Welford Park Estate has a vibrant social community and a productive rural enterprise, focused on protecting the land and farming in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way.

The family are delighted and privileged to be able to share the house’s history by welcoming guests throughout the year for special events.

Welford Park has welcomed thousands of visitors to enjoy the breathtaking carpet of snowdrops each winter for many decades and is now the setting for open air theatre in the summer and Spectacle of Light in the autumn.

Dates for 2027 will be announced later in the year.

Welford Park maybe known to some as the home of the Great British Bake Off but come late wintertime, you will see one of the finest snowdrop collections in the UK.

The dainty droplets of snowdrops thrive amongst the 5-acre beech wood, enchanting riverbanks of the River Lambourn and the glorious gardens at Welford Park.

During certain dates in January – February, the award-winning grounds of this glorious private estate are open to the public to enjoy the swathes of snowdrops, hellebores, aconites and winter flowering shrubs.

Wrap up warm and enjoy a walk around the grounds of the picture-perfect Queen Anne style house then head to the tea tent for a warming drink and bite to eat to round off a lovely day.

The gates open at 11am and last entry is 4pm.

You can purchase tickets online or at the ticket box on the day.

The tea tent starts serving hot lunches from 12pm and the car park is locked at 5pm.

There is a small giftshop selling beautiful handmade pieces, paintings, kitchen essentials, linens and textiles, along with other happy keepsakes to remember your special day.

Living in the village of Welford at the heart of the Lambourn Valley, you cannot escape the annual anticipation of the first snowdrops.

As early as Christmas, and some years not until mid-January, they raise their brave little heads.

Reliable and hardy little flowers who take no notice of world affairs but pop up their tiny pure white heads to remind us that Spring is coming with a naivety that only nature can offer.

Galanthus is the Greek name for snowdrop, derived from ‘gala’ -milk; ‘anthos’ – flower.

Through the ages they have held their own in the ever-growing world of horticulture.

Stroll around the beech wood at Welford Park taking in the spectacular carpet and breathing the delicate scent you know this natural phenomenon is not only very special but a sacred gift.

You can’t fail to gaze in wonderment and have your spirits lifted by this extraordinary sight.

Snowdrops are not considered native to the UK but from mainland Europe. Linnaeus describes Galanthus Nivalis in his Species Plantorium in 1735.

However, one cannot escape the fact that the best snowdrop woodland displays in the UK can be found at Anglesey Abbey, Bennington Lordship, Hodsock Priory, Walsingham Abbey and the largest of all  at Welford Park.

One thing all these historic places have in common is that they are Norman monastic sites.

Norman monks used snowdrops to decorate their churches for Candlemas, planted them in graveyards to sanctify the soul of the departed and as a medicinal remedy.

here are several hundred species of snowdrops and G. Nivalis is considered the most common.

Many of the cultivars have derived from specimens brought home from the Crimea and Turkey during the latter half of the Nineteenth Century.

There are many horticulturists who specialise in dissecting every millimetre of the inner and outer segments, ovary, pedicel, spathe, scape, leaf, sheath, tunic, root and scaling the bulbs and they are known as ‘Galanthophiles’.

Personally, it is the foliage of plants that interests me more.

There are many shades of greens, greys and hues of blue and the height of stems and Galanthus offers  a wonderful selection but also G. Plicatus with its folded leaf, G. Elweseii with its wide tulip like leaf and G. Nivalis with the grey green pointed narrow leaves.

At Welford Park, they have approximately 5 acres of beech woods with a carpet of G. Nivalis and a collection of 73 cultivars around the gardens, which is always growing.