Highgrove: Inside the King's Garden and How to Visit

Tucked away near the market town of Tetbury in Gloucestershire is a garden quite unlike any other in Britain. It has no grand royal palace behind it and no centuries-old design to live up to. Instead, it is the personal creation of one man, made over more than forty years of patient devotion: the Highgrove garden of King Charles III.

When the then Prince of Wales took on Highgrove in 1980, the grounds were, by most accounts, rather plain and neglected. What he has made of them since is one of the most admired private gardens in the world — a place of fern-filled hollows, golden yew, wildflower meadows and walled vegetable plots, all grown the organic way long before that was fashionable. Today you can walk those paths yourself, and every ticket supports a good cause. Here is the story of the King’s garden, and how to see it.

From neglected grounds to a king’s masterpiece

Highgrove House was bought by the Duchy of Cornwall in 1980 for the young Prince of Wales, and he set about the garden almost at once. He has often said he started with little gardening knowledge and a great deal of instinct, learning as he went and taking advice from some of the finest horticultural minds of the age.

The first set piece came quickly. The Sundial Garden was finished in 1981, built around a sundial sculpted by Walter Crang — a wedding present from the Duke of Beaufort. Where it once held roses, it now brims with soft herbaceous planting, framed by tall yew hedges. A year later, in 1982, the celebrated naturalist Miriam Rothschild helped create the Wildflower Meadow from a mix of thirty-two species, a glorious tangle of native flowers that is still cut each summer by horse-drawn mower and grazed by sheep into the autumn.

Piece by piece, decade by decade, the garden grew into the rich patchwork of spaces it is today — each one reflecting the King’s deep love of nature, craftsmanship and the British countryside.

A garden grown the organic way

Long before “organic” became a label on supermarket shelves, the King was insisting his whole estate be run without artificial chemicals. It was a quietly radical decision at the time, and one for which he was occasionally mocked. He pressed on regardless, convinced that a garden should work with nature rather than against it.

That philosophy is woven through everything at Highgrove. Compost is made on site, rainwater is gathered, and wildlife is welcomed rather than chased away. The result is a garden that hums with bees and birdsong — living proof that beauty and good ecology can grow side by side. Decades on, the gardening world has caught up with him, and Highgrove is now studied as a model of how a great garden can be both spectacular and genuinely sustainable.

The garden’s most magical corners

Highgrove is really a series of distinct gardens, each with its own character. Among the most beloved:

• The Stumpery — perhaps the most famous corner of all. Inspired by a Victorian fashion for displaying ferns among tree roots, it is built from great upturned stumps of sweet chestnut and oak, planted with ferns, hostas and hellebores. Cool, green and faintly magical, it feels like something from a fairy tale.
• The Thyme Walk — a broad path flanked by golden yew clipped into wonderfully eccentric shapes, with fragrant thyme spilling between the paving stones underfoot.
• The Carpet Garden — a jewel-box space inspired by the patterns of Turkish carpets and Islamic gardens, which began life as an award-winning exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show before being rebuilt here.
• The Walled Kitchen Garden — a beautiful and highly productive plot that supplies the house, laid out in neat beds of vegetables, fruit and flowers with the orderly charm of a traditional potager.
• The Wildflower Meadow and Arboretum — open, breezy spaces of native flowers and rare trees that show the King’s gardening at its most naturalistic.

Walking between them, you sense a garden made not for show but for genuine love — a place that has clearly been lived in and cherished.

Visiting Highgrove: tours, tickets and what to expect

Happily, Highgrove opens its gates to visitors through the warmer months, and the gardens are best seen on a guided tour. Tours run during the main garden season, broadly from April to October, and last around an hour and a half, led by knowledgeable guides in small groups of up to twenty-six people. Because it is a private royal residence, you cannot simply turn up — tours must be booked in advance, and they do sell out.

There is a tour to suit most tastes. A standard Highgrove Garden Tour starts from around £45, rising to about £50 in the peak months of May, June and July. For a more leisurely day, you can add lunch (from roughly £92, or £97 at peak) or take one of the Champagne Afternoon Tea tours, while private tours are available for those who want the garden more or less to themselves.

Best of all, there is a lovely purpose behind the price. Highgrove’s tours, events and the famous Highgrove shop are run in aid of The King’s Foundation, the King’s charity, and the profits go towards its education and training programmes in traditional crafts and sustainable living. Always check the official Highgrove Gardens website for current dates and prices before you book.

Who looks after Highgrove now?

There is a gentle twist in Highgrove’s story that often surprises people. The house and garden belong to the Duchy of Cornwall, the historic estate that funds the heir to the throne — and when the King acceded in September 2022, the Duchy passed to his son, William, who became Duke of Cornwall. In a strict legal sense, William now holds Highgrove, while his father leases it from the Duchy as his private country home.

It sounds more dramatic than it is. The arrangement is simply how the Duchy has always worked, passing down the generations along with the title, and Highgrove remains very much the cherished private residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The garden the King has spent a lifetime creating is safe in the family — and, in time, will pass to a new generation who grew up walking its paths.

The King’s living legacy

Most monarchs are remembered through palaces, portraits and crowns. King Charles will surely be remembered, too, through a garden — a place he conjured from neglected grounds and tended for more than four decades, guided by a belief in nature and craft that the world took a while to share.

That is what makes a visit to Highgrove so special. You are not simply admiring beautiful planting; you are walking through the lifelong passion of a king, in the very spot where so many of his ideas about the natural world first took root. Browse our Royal Places & Events stories to discover more of the gardens, palaces and great occasions where Britain’s royal heritage comes beautifully to life.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Highgrove?

Highgrove is near the town of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, in the south-west of England. It is the private country residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

Can you visit Highgrove garden?

Yes. The gardens open to visitors on guided tours through the warmer months, broadly from April to October. Tours must be booked in advance, as you cannot simply turn up to a private royal residence.

How much do Highgrove garden tours cost in 2026?

A standard garden tour starts from around £45, rising to about £50 in the peak months of May, June and July. Tours with lunch or Champagne afternoon tea cost more. Always check the official Highgrove Gardens website for current prices.

Who created the Highgrove garden?

King Charles III created it himself, beginning in 1980 when he was Prince of Wales. He designed the garden over more than forty years, taking advice from leading horticulturalists along the way.

Is Highgrove organic?

Yes. The King insisted the estate be run organically from early on, long before organic gardening was mainstream. Highgrove is now admired as a model of beautiful, sustainable gardening.

Who owns Highgrove now?

Highgrove belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall, which passed to Prince William when he became Duke of Cornwall in September 2022. King Charles leases the house from the Duchy as his private home.

What are the most famous parts of the garden?

The best-loved corners include the Stumpery, the Thyme Walk, the Carpet Garden, the Sundial Garden, the Wildflower Meadow and the Walled Kitchen Garden.

Tour dates, prices and arrangements are set by Highgrove Gardens and The King’s Foundation and can change; figures here are correct as of 2026. For the definitive, current information, see the official Highgrove Gardens website.