Tapeley Park sits high on a hill overlooking the River Torridge and the North Devon coastline and is located between Bideford and Barnstaple, near the village of Instow.   As well as being the location of one of the oldest permaculture gardens in the UK, Tapeley’s grounds are renowned for their beautiful gardens - particularly the Italian terraces - and include a lake, ponds, old woodland and a number of fields where Tapeley’s herd of Highland cattle graze; as well as a sizeable organic vegetable garden.

The Tapeley Park permaculture garden is one of the oldest in the UK and was first established by Hector Christie in 1990, inspired by the work of the horticulturalist, Robert Hart. Working with – rather than fighting – nature is at the heart of the permaculture ethos, creating a managed wildness with trees, shrubs and perennials.
 

Many visitors remark upon the abundance of bees and insects found in the permaculture garden. The hum of insect life is constant amongst the serpentine paths that reveal new secrets behind every corner. A QR code trail informs visitors of the edible uses and medicinal properties of plants found in the Tapeley Park permaculture garden.  Highlights include Chilean guava berry shrubs, domesticated Sea Buckthorn, Nashi pear and Siberian Kiwi fruit trees. 

In summer the garden provides a smorgasbord of edibles and, with guidance from the permaculture garden team, visitors are invited to tour and taste such delights as Sezchuan pepper berries, Fennel, Shiso Perilla and a host of berries.

Tapeley Park is a place where the present sits in harmony with the past.  The grounds, with their Victorian-era lake (which underwent a major renovation in 2015), ‘old’ gardens and mature trees, project a sense of majesty that only time can bring.  A QR code trail provides visitors with information about the house and features of the gardens.
 

To reach Tapeley Park visitors can follow brown tourist signs from the A39 onto the B3233.  The Tapeley Garden entrance is just beyond the turning sign posted to Westleigh Village, coming from the Bideford direction.   GARDENS ARE OPEN  Sunday to Thursday until 30th October 2025

Adults £8.50
Children £6.50 Under 5’s Free
Seniors £7.00
Family Ticket (2 Adults and up to 3 Children) £22.00
Friends of Tapeley Season Ticket – Adult – £35.00, Child – £15.00