Our Glorious Gardens

At the heart of one of the New Forest’s most beautiful and historic hotels lies one of its best-kept secrets.

Behind the hotel's arts & crafts style façade, take a turn about our glorious gardens - this hidden gem is a restful place for you to enjoy afternoon tea, a game of croquet, an al-fresco dinner party or to simply sit and listen to the pond fountain.

Renowned garden designer Gertrude Jekyll certainly knew how to create the perfect English country garden. Early summer foxgloves, fragrant roses, towering hollyhocks and drifts of Michaelmas daisies – Jekyll wove plants together to form blocks of colour to catch the eye.

Her designs were the inspiration for the glorious gardens at the Montagu Arms Hotel in the picturesque New Forest village of Beaulieu.

Seamlessly blending a romantic sense of 17th century history with luxurious modern touches, the Montagu Arms is especially proud of its timeless English country garden, where blousy tea roses and scrambling honeysuckle scent the air and winding paths lead to secluded corners.

To guests, the garden is the perfect place to sit with a cool drink, listening to the lazy hum of the bumblebees and watching the tiny birds splash in the fountain designed by renowned metalwork artist Giuseppe Lund - most famous for designing the Queen Elizabeth gate at Hyde Park.

To our chefs, it's a larder; a place where they get fresh herbs, salads and vegetables every day.

To our Head Gardener, Matt, it's as good as his office. But he also points out it's also the place that a huge variety of insects, reptiles, mammals and birds call home. That's important because the greater the variety of creatures that live in the garden, the healthier that garden is.

The layout of the garden hasn’t really changed that much since its design in the 1920s but over the last decade plants have been chosen specifically for their perfume and to also attract wildlife. The companion planting method brings a balanced eco-system to the garden, encouraging bees for pollination and discouraging pests from destroying crops within the kitchen garden.

We know our guests are always amused to see Sparrows and Robins flitting in and out of the fountain, but they are not the only feathered friends we have here.

Goldcreats, Firescrests (Britain's smallest birds), Tree-Creepers, Finches and Long-Tailed Tits are all regular visitors. It's not unusual to get Oystercatchers or Swans or Wildfowl from the nearby Beaulieu river; it is one of the reasons our Head Gardener, Matt, loves working outside.

"There is always something going on or something new to see and I like the way it works for everyone, humans and animals."

The hotel’s newest Courtyard Rooms have been converted from a series of 1920s chauffeur garages in the grounds, and have taken inspiration from their beautiful gardens. Designers worked to retain as many original features as possible, whilst creating spaces where the outside and inside harmoniously flow together.

The Courtyard Rooms have private terraces, open-plan living spaces with original exposed beams and sweeping views over the courtyard gardens, and bathrooms with gorgeous freestanding baths, walk-in drench showers, and underfloor heating.