Stowe's 'Stowedrops' walk
Explore recently reinstated paths through Lamport Garden as you take a new route, surrounding yourself with swathes of snowdrops, or as we fondly like to call them ‘Stowedrops’, and enjoy new views across the lakes and beyond.
Planning your visit
Please note this trail is only accessible when Stowe is open.
Total steps: 7
Total steps: 7
Start point
New Inn Farm, Buckingham, MK18 5EQ
Step 1
Start your walk at New Inn. Feel free to browse the Parlour Rooms or visit the café for a hot drink to take with you. Turn right down Bell Gate Drive and into the garden.
Step 2
Pause at the Temple of Friendship, once a complete temple it was destroyed by fire in the 1840s and has remained a ruin ever since. After three years of stabilisation work, it once again opened for visitors in 2019. From the steps you may be able to glimpse St Mary’s Church in the distance, usually hidden by tree cover.
Step 3
As you walk towards Lamport Garden you’ll see the Chinese House. In the winter months this special little building is wrapped in a canvas awning to protect it. It dates from around 1738 and the exterior is decorated with Chinese scenes, flowers and calligraphy painted by Italian artist Francesco Sleter. Come back in April to admire it in all its glory when it’ll also be surrounded by eighteenth-century style tulips.
Step 4
As you enter Lamport Garden, you should begin to spy aconites, cyclamen and snowdrops. We have two species here at Stowe; Galanthus nivalis which is a single snowdrop and Galanthus flore pleno which is a double snowdrop. Creating impressive drifts and swathes, you need to get up close to really appreciate the intricate shapes of these delicate flowers.
Step 5
Lamport is one of the more hidden areas of the garden; this nineteenth-century rock and water garden contrasts signifi cantly to the landscaping of the rest of Stowe. It was built around 1830 when Lamport Manor was purchased and then knocked down to create the garden. Continue your walk through this recently restored area of the garden along the woodchip path which opens out to a large display of snowdrops. Make sure you take in the views out to Stowe Castle and across to the Gothic Temple. As you walk towards the Gothic Temple look down the hill and take in the Octagon Lake, from this view you can see the original design intent of a river running through the landscape.
Step 6
The many trees in the Elysian Fields create a cosy microclimate that is perfect for snowdrops. Look out for drifts of them around the base of trees and along the water’s edge. You may also see some winter aconites adding spots of yellow amongst the white of the snowdrops or spot the ‘stinking’ hellebores with their bell-shaped flowers edged with dark red.
Step 7
As you leave the Elysian Fields look towards the Doric Arch where you can see the newly returned statues of the Nine Muses.
End point
New Inn Farm, Buckingham, MK18 5EQ
Trail map
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Lakeside walk at Stowe Gardens
A 1.2-mile family-friendly walk along the lakeside path at Stowe Gardens, taking in the temples and pebble alcoves along the way.
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