The garden, Terrace café, visitor centre, shop and toilet facilities (at the Stables) are open daily. Please see the Planning Your Visit section for more information. No booking is required to visit Threave.
Getting here
Threave Garden & Estate is 1 mile west of Castle Douglas and only a short drive from Dumfries.
Threave Garden is just off the A75 and is well-signposted from every direction. Turn onto the B736 from the roundabout and follow the brown signs.
The road to the nature reserve (and osprey platform) is directly opposite the B736 off the same roundabout – follow the signs for Kelton Mains or Threave Castle.
Contact information
Telephone: 01556 502575
Opening times
-
Garden
The Terrace Café is open 10am–4pm, with indoor seating and table service.
- 1 Jan–1 Apr, closed Current period2 Apr–31 Oct, daily, 10.00–17.00
-
Visitor centre and shop
- 1 Jan–25 Apr, closed Current period26 Apr–31 Oct, daily, 10.00–17.00
-
Nature Reserve
- Current period1 Apr–31 Dec, daily, dawn–dusk
Entry prices
- Adult
- £12.00
- Concession
- £10.50
- One adult family
- £18.00
- Family
- £26.00
- Adult
- Free
- Family
- Free
- One adult family
- Free
- Concession
- Free
Planning your visit
We want you to enjoy your visit to Threave Garden & Estate – your safety is our priority. This means we’ve had to make some changes so that we can keep everyone safe. Please read our Guide on what to expect before you set off.
This property is part of the ‘We’re Good to Go’ scheme, which means we have carried out an official COVID-19 risk assessment to check we have everything in place to reopen safely.
Please note that admissions are currently via a kiosk and entrance through the gate beside the visitor centre. In line with Government guidelines, the visitor centre and the glasshouses remain closed. A kiosk by the Terrace Café is offering a takeaway service.
Please be aware that for the health and safety of visitors, volunteers and employees in our hospitality venues, we will record the name and contact details of everyone who enters in order to support NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect. This information will be used to enable NHS Scotland to contact you should you have been in the venue around the same time as someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. We are obliged to process this data to comply with The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 11) Regulations 2020. Please see our Data Protection page for further information.
Further to this, in National Trust for Scotland non-hospitality settings, where there is either a pre-booking system in place or there is the potential for close contact (eg in some of our smaller properties), we will ask visitors to provide limited contact information. This is for the purposes of managing the number of visitors and also to support NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect. For further information, please see our Data Protection page.
Threave Garden is renowned for its exceptional plant centre, stocking an outstanding range of plants. Many are from unique specialist suppliers or cultivated at Threave’s own training nurseries.
Assistance dogs only are allowed into the garden due to ongoing training and conservation activities. However, dog owners are welcome to walk their dogs on the rest of Threave Estate and enjoy the outside seating around Threave Visitor Centre, including the Terrace Café, which has magnificent views over the Galloway countryside.
Photography is encouraged throughout the property.
Requests to fly drones must be received in writing to the property, with permission granted only on rare occasions due to our conservation work.
For more information about planning your visit please see our Facilities drop-down information or our frequently asked questions.
Threave Gardening Show
Friday 4, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 June
Join us at a three-day event for everyone who loves gardens and gardening. As one of Scotland’s premier gardens, we’ll host exhibitors, experts and demonstrators from the field of horticulture. We’ve been inspired this year to create demonstrations that will be available throughout the garden, accessed via a QR code to enhance the experience and ensure your safety! You’ll also have the opportunity to gain advice and ideas from our expert gardeners and students who have innovated, transformed and developed our outstanding garden.
Facilities & access
At Threave Garden we pride ourselves on accessibility.
We have an ongoing programme of accessible content development. Detailed accessibility guides for the most visited Trust places are available on our Accessibility pages as well as links to useful resources.
We’d love you to visit the Euan’s Guide website to review the accessibility of Trust places and tell us (and others) what’s good and where we need to do better.
There’s designated disabled parking adjacent to the visitor centre.
Routes throughout the garden have been adapted for all ranges of mobility.
The visitor centre, café, shop and toilets are all on one level.
Threave House has five main rooms to see – there are steps up to the main entrance and stairs to the main floor.
There are some inclines in the garden although the tarmac paths allow easy access.
The Terrace Café is open 10am–4pm, daily.
Coach parking is available 20m from the visitor centre.
There’s a car park near the visitor centre, and parking is free for all.
Threave Nature Reserve can be accessed by parking at Kelton Mains/Threave Castle.
Threave Visitor Centre Gift Shop will be open 10am–5pm. Similar to the systems you’ve probably seen at supermarkets lately, we’ll have one-way queues in place, and guidance provided through floor markings.
Please keep handling of products on shelves to a minimum.
Payment can be made by contactless card or by using machines that are protected with plastic and regularly cleaned.
You can also shop our beautiful range of products and gift ideas at our online shop.
The toilets at Threave Stables are open.
Due to restricted space in these facilities, distanced queues will be introduced to ensure physical distancing.
We’ll be providing hand sanitiser at the entrance to toilets and we may close off some cubicles and urinals to avoid overcrowding.
Guided touch tours of the house are available (please book in advance).
Footpaths link visitors between both Threave Nature Reserve and Threave Garden. There are numerous trails to enjoy.
Routes throughout the garden have been adapted for all ranges of mobility.
The visitor centre, café, shop and toilets are all on one level.
There’s a garden viewpoint from the visitor centre and Terrace Café.
Threave House has five main rooms to see – there are steps up to the main entrance and stairs to the main floor.
There are some inclines in the garden although the tarmac paths allow easy access.