American Museum & Gardens

The gardens and the setting are spectacular, especially the New American Garden. The gardens offer color and interest and are beautifully maintained. It’s a wonderful place to spend a morning or afternoon. The staff at the entrance/ticket booth are very welcoming and helpful. As an American, I found the collection in the house to be a bit odd and outdated, but kudos to the founders for offering the opportunity to visit and soak in the beauty of this wonderful spot and to the current team for reimagining the possibilities of the landscape. Definitely worth visiting.

A lovely museum with fabulous gardens and walks around the grounds. We enjoyed the space exhibition and having a picnic in front of the house over looking stunning views. The staff/volunteers were very friendly and knowledgeable, we learnt a lots about the different periods of American history and loved the quilt room! A great day out!

A fascinating place, especially the basement which has history of the indigenous American people. My husband enjoyed the Space museum too. The volunteers are friendly and informative. There is a lift and the top of the beautiful gardens are accessible by wheelchair.

Really enjoyed the day here. We spent several hours enjoying the gardens, the museum and the space exhibition. The accessible routes round the garden and museum were very helpful. There is a lift in the museum to get you up to the first floor and down to the lower floor. The toilets were clean and tidy and the cafe served good food and drinks suitable for all ages and tastes. The views from the terrace are lovely in the Autumn. There were also fun activities laid on for children in half term.

I've been wanting to visit for a while and had no regrets, there's loads to see, the festive decor was great and we heard a volunteer give a talk about Salem Witch Trials which we didn't know was happening that day and really enjoyed! Would definitely come back in better weather to enjoy the gardens.

Despite the rain and half-term crowds we really think this place is worth visiting. Gardens are beautifully maintained and the exhibition was well laid out and plenty to do with children

We had a great time at the American Museum. There's something for everyone, with a great variety of artefacts on show, from folk art, to reconstructed interiors through the ages. The staff were consistently friendly, helpful and informative. We were pleasantly surprised by the delightful gardens, which we weren't expecting, but really added to our visit. The museum was easily reached from the City centre by bus (alight at The Avenue stop). Whilst not particularly well signposted, the museum was reached by a short 10-15 minute walk along a path next to the road.

We didn’t go into the museum but thoroughly enjoyed the gardens. It really is a beautiful place to visit. They have lots of outdoor seating to enjoy the views also. Staff at the kiosk and coffee shop were extremely helpful.

The American Museum is in a stunning setting with amazing views over a picturesque valley. It has beautiful gardens and child friendly activities are on offer which are extremely popular with our kids. The volunteers working here are very knowledgeable and friendly. The museum shop is tastefully decorated and well stocked with handcrafted items.The only thing that lets this museum down is unfortunately the catering. Dry, clumsily homemade cakes and biscuits, the same selection year after year and no cappuccinos or lattes available at all! In fact everyone I know and have spoken to is wondering why nothing is being done about the quality of catering.