Located in the parish of Westleigh, Tapeley Park sits high on a hill overlooking the River Torridge and the North Devon coastline. Home to the Christie family for two centuries, Hector Christie is the current custodian of the estate.
Tapeley Park is located between Bideford and Barnstaple, near the village of Instow. Visitors can follow brown tourist signs from the A39 onto the B3233 (please note if you use the post code in Sat Nav you will be directed to the incorrect entrance). The Tapeley Garden entrance is just beyond the turning sign posted to Westleigh Village, coming from the Bideford direction.
GARDEN OPENING HOURS: Our gardens are now open to all visitors and will be open Sunday 29th March until Thursday 29th October 2026 on Sundays to Thursday 10.00am to 5.00pm.
PLEASE NOTE WE ARE OPEN WHILST THE B32332 IS CLOSED FROM BARNSTAPLE, YOU WILL HAVE TO TRAVEL DOWN THE A39 TO BIDEFORD AND TURN RIGHT AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS BEFORE THE BRIDGE AND FOLLOW THE BROWN SIGNS
No need to book a slot for the gardens – just turn up and purchase your tickets from the Gift Shop
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
Group prices on application
Family friendly, dog friendly (on leads).
Disabled facilities
If you use a wheelchair (manual or electric) or a walker there are parts of the garden which may not be suitable, for example the walk through the wood to the lake and across the fields to the monument statue.
We offer disabled parking (located by the Pay Hut) which are not too far from the gardens which offers seating, and the toilet facilities are close at hand.
There is a lovely Tea Room which is accessible with indoor and outdoor seating – garden admission charges apply to use this facility – now open to all visitors from Sunday 29th March until Thursday 29th October 2026. Our opening times are Sunday to Thursday 10:00am – 5.00pm.
Address:
Tapeley Park
Instow
North Devon
EX39 4NT
Tapeley Park
Instow
North Devon
EX39 4NT
Whatthreewords: padding.makeovers.return
Telephone:
01271 860897
(or contact the Estate office 01271 342558)
01271 860897
(or contact the Estate office 01271 342558)
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The Tapeley ice house dates back to the 18th century and was to refrigerate persihable goods used by the main house kitchen. So how did it work?![]()
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Ice houses were common on country estates across the country before modern refrigeration and amazingly, they could provide year-round cool storage. The secret was in the design - a combination of insulation, geo-thermal temperature control and drainage.![]()
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Today you can see the exterior of the ice house at Tapeley, with its distinct igloo style top. It is like the ice cream sitting on top of a cone - in this case a pit which once extended 15ft (4m) below ground. ![]()
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The natural thermal insulating effect of the cave-like space was reinforced by a brick lining. A small, north facing, door and narrow entry chamber, with another internal door to the store room, was designed to prevent warm air from getting in. ![]()
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Ice was harvested from rivers and ponds in winter months was layered with insulating layers of straw and sawdust in between. A soakaway drain stopped any dripping ice water from sitting in the bottom and accelerating the melting process. This illustration from Friends of Apley Woods shows how the ice house at Apley Castle in Shropshire worked.![]()
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In aristocratic circles, culinary one-upmanship was high on the menu, so the ice house also allowed the kitchen to prepare ice creams and sorbets to serve to dinner guests. Accounts point to the Tapeley ice house also being used to preserve salmon, netted from the Torridge estuary, for market. ![]()
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It was probably in use until the 1920s or 1930s until modern refrigerators made it redundant. Like so many old ice houses it was filled in at some point.
Oh yes! We do love a Bank Holiday Vintage Fair! Stick Tapeley Park in your diary for this coming weekend. ![]()
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Brought to you in conjunction with our good friends at South Molton Flea Market, get ready for a Bank Holiday Monday browsing n' bargain extravaganza! ![]()
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Open 10am - 4pm. Dogs on leads welcome. Food, drink, attractions and lots of stalls! Free gardens entry with admission.
Tapeley's last play of the summer this evening from the aptly titled Rain or Shine Theatre Co. Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers on the Dairy Lawn at 6.30pm. Buy in advance from our sunny partners @plougharts. Also some tickets available on the door!
And you thought you were having a bad hair day....🪮🙄💂♀️![]()
Come on up for a bit of (Tapeley Park) tea (room) and sympathy!![]()
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#highlandcattle #tapeleypark #instow #thingstodo
Many things are struggling with the heatwave in the garden - the Tapeley fig tree is not one of them! It's been around for at least 75 years and this summer it is loving life!![]()
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A curious fact about figs... their flowers bloom on the inside! Many wild varieties rely on a symbiotic relationship with a particular fig wasp for cross pollination, although we think this is one of the varieties that isn't reliant on this process.![]()
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You can visit the Tapeley fig fig tree in all its glory in the kitchen garden... and also buy its happy yield from the Tapeley gift shop.
