Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens: Profile
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Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens is an historic West Sussex estate near Horsham that boasts "the finest woodland gardens in England," as well as a Michelin Star restaurant and luxury accommodation. The estate now features new English sparkling wines and wine experiences, including a vineyard hotel, at Leonardslee Family Vineyards.
Leonardslee House is a Grade II Listed Italianate mansion featuring Michelin Starred Restaurant Interlude, which offers multi-course tasting menus for lunch and dinner, created by chef Jean Delport and his team. Visitors can then stay overnight in the luxury accommodation in one of the ten charming en-suite bedrooms on the first floor, each individually designed by a top British designer. Rooms lead off from the galleried landing and magnificent hallway, which is bathed in natural light from an original domed atrium.
The 240-acre estate was established by Sir Edmund Loder, the great Victorian plant collector. Set in a steep-sided valley, the gardens offer visitors the spectacle of seven interlaced lakes, woodlands and parkland. The estate features outstanding floral displays all year round, including in the spring its famous rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, magnolias, daffodils and bluebells. The collection is exceptional in its diversity and maturity, with several rare ‘champion’ trees that are threatened in their natural habitat.
There is an acclaimed Pulham rock garden, built in 1890, a deer park and a colony of wallabies wandering the estate. Visitors also enjoy the extensive outdoor sculpture exhibition by contemporary artists that include several monumental figures to create a magical garden experience.
The gardens offer a protected ecosystem for rare wildlife. This includes Emperor Dragonflies and Damselflies, White Admiral and Purple Hairstreak butterflies and migratory and native birds - Kites, Great Tits, Tree Creepers, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers and Nightingales.
Public Attractions
Visitors can view a magical world in miniature at the Beyond the Doll's House exhibition, which depicts the Edwardian estate and neighbouring villages at 1:12 scale. There is also an exciting new 2,500 square metre play park designed to mix recreational play with the natural attractions of the Grade I Listed woodland gardens.
Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens offers a great family day out and is open all year round except Christmas Day. There is an extensive programme of entertainment that includes winter garden illuminations, wine festivals, art exhibitions, live music events, cooking and gardening demonstrations, arts and crafts fairs, modelling and toy shows, children’s events and adventure trails.
There is also a range of wellbeing and mindfulness events, that has included yoga, forest bathing and other health and fitness classes, for great days out in Sussex.
The estate reopened in April 2019, following acquisition and two years of intensive renovation by owner and entrepreneur Penny Streeter OBE to restore the woodland gardens after eight years of closure and neglect under previous ownership. It was the largest UK garden restoration project since Heligan some 30 years before.
Leonardslee Gardens, Brighton Road, Lower Beeding, Horsham, RH13 6PP
Vineyard Hotel & Restaurant
Just three miles from Leonardslee House is the Leonardslee Vineyard Hotel & Kitchen Restaurant. It is home to a range of exciting wine tasting and dining experiences. There are golf buggy tours of the 38 acres of vineyards, with some 73,000 vines, comprising 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier cultivars, to produce its acclaimed Blanc de Blancs, Brut Reserve and Brut Rosé sparkling English wines for visitors to enjoy.
Note to Editor: please see the Vineyard Hotel & Restaurant media pack.
https://www.leonardsleegardens.co.uk/
Leonardslee Gardens, Brighton Road, Lower Beeding, Horsham, RH13 6PP
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Editors notes
Michelin Star Restaurant Interlude: Lunch, Dinner
“Every dish in each seasonal, multi-course tasting menu is designed around a hunter-gatherer concept of food that’s foraged, cultivated and raised on the estate or close by. It is savoured and enjoyed as an intimate dining experience; a small, exclusive dinner party within the estate’s Italianate mansion house,” says executive chef Jean Delport.
Diners can feast on a seasonal lunchtime or dinner menu that might include: estate rabbit, winter purslane, hogweed cider and charcoal; fallow deer with sour raspberry; or oyster, foraged greens and juniper.
When guests arrive at Restaurant Interlude in the 1855-built Leonardslee House, they are greeted with a warm welcome and cocktails in the bar. Guests are then seated together at around 7pm in the restaurant, enjoying views across acres of gardens in the steep valley below, and east and south across to the South Downs.
Jean has particular experience from South Africa in how to complement innovative tasting menus with fine wines. Guests at Interlude can enjoy a selection of vintages from the owner’s vineyard at Benguela Cove, Hermanus in South Africa - and since June 2024 sparkling English wines from its own Leonardslee vineyard: Blanc de Blancs, Brut Reserve and Brut Rosé.
Advance booking is required. Please see the Restaurant Interlude website for opening times.
Leonardslee House Accommodation
Grade II Listed Leonardslee House, built in the Italianate style in 1855, features ten charming en-suite bedrooms. They are accessed by the magnificent hallway and galleried landing, which are bathed in natural light from an original domed atrium.
The great Victorian plant collector Sir Edmund Loder purchased the estate in 1889 and planted the extensive gardens and exotic flora that create the estate’s charismatic charm, offering guests a holiday break to remember.
Each bespoke bedroom features the fabric and wallpaper style of a quintessential British interior design house, overseen by the Johnston Parke Interiors studio and architects Gould Baxter. This creates an immersive experience for guests, with classic themes by some of the best-known and loved British designers.
The estate's owner is award-winning entrepreneur Penny Streeter OBE, who has prioritised British-based designers and suppliers, many of whom print their fabrics and wallpapers in the UK, with a strong focus on sustainable and artisanal composition.
The designers have sourced antiques to reduce any environmental impact and commissioned furniture suppliers who make their products in the UK. This includes David Seyfried for upholstery, Hypnos for beds, BTC Original for lighting, as well as Edward Bulmer, and Farrow and Ball for paints.
The rooms in the English country hotel feature superb views over the extensive lawns, down to the 240-acre historic woodlands and across to the South Downs.
“The luxury accommodation extends the range of guests who can visit and now stay overnight, to enjoy the full Leonardslee experience - the beautiful gardens, wine tastings and dinner at Michelin starred Restaurant Interlude. Perhaps too, a visit to our neighbouring Vineyard Hotel & Restaurant at Mannings Heath," Penny Streeter says.
Advance booking is required. Please see Leonardslee accommodation website for opening times.
Leonardslee Family Vineyards in numbers:
- Sparkling wine cultivars 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier
- Leonardslee Blanc de Blancs (RSP: £60); Brut Reserve (RSP: £45); Brut Rosé (RSP: £45)·
- Vineyard planted 2017
- Total Estate 750 acres
- 38 Acres of vineyard, 73,000 vines
- 2017 First vines planted 170 Tonnes of grapes, 2023 harvest
- 100,000 bottles produced annually
- 2024 First release of wine
- Owner: Penny Streeter OBE
- Winemaker: Johann Fourie
- MD UK wine operations: Barry Anderson
Leonardslee offers a range of packages for vineyard tours and accommodation, golf stays, great family days out, eco-tourism and art weekends.
