Dave Pickersgill, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do
The National Herb Centre, Warmington
A plant centre at Warmington, near Banbury, growing culinary and medicinal herbs, fruit and native wildflowers, most of them on site in peat-free compost, with a café bistro, a play area and nature trails.
A place to make a trip for if you cook or garden: a wide range of mint, sage, rosemary and thyme, mostly grown on the spot without peat. With a café bistro, a children’s play area and three nature trails down into the valley, it can fill a morning.
- Good: Wide range of mint, sage, rosemary and thyme
- Good: Most plants grown on site, in peat-free compost, using biological pest controls
- Good: Also fruit plants and trees, and native wildflowers
- Good: Open seven days, with free parking
- Good: Three nature trails of 25 minutes to an hour, and a play area
- Worth knowing: Dogs on leads on the trails and in the display gardens; ask about the shop and bistro
About
The National Herb Centre is a plant centre on Banbury Road at Warmington, north-west of Banbury, about five miles from the town on the B4100 at the top of Warmington Hill. Its Royal Horticultural Society entry lists culinary and medicinal herbs, fruit plants and trees, and native wildflowers, with a wide range of mint, sage, rosemary and thyme. Most plants are grown on site, in peat-free compost and with biological pest controls, which is the reason to come here rather than an ordinary garden centre. The centre’s own site adds hardy and French lavenders, herbaceous plants and shrubs, and six demonstration herb gardens. Peter Turner, a former chairman of the British Herb Trade Association, set it up in 1997 to research herbs for British growers; that work has ended, and his two sons now run the garden centre and bistro.
It is more than a shop. The licensed Café Bistro, in a converted sandstone barn hung with local artists’ paintings, serves breakfasts, lunches, light bites, daily specials, scones and cakes, with tables in the garden on warmer days; its Christmas menu can be booked ahead for 1 to 23 December 2026. A path under wisteria, clematis and honeysuckle leads to a children’s play area, and a gift shop sells garden ornaments, seasonal produce and pet treats.
The centre has more than 125 acres of farmland and woods around it, and three nature trails wind down into the valley past herb fields, ponds and mature woodland, taking from about 25 minutes to an hour, with a trail guide from the shop. Dogs must be on a lead on the trails and in the display gardens; the centre does not say whether they may go in the shop or bistro, so ask.
In winter, from when the clocks go back, it opens 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 10.30am to 5pm on Sundays and bank holidays. In summer it stays open until 5.30pm. Parking is free.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Wednesday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Thursday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Friday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Saturday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Sunday | 10:30 to 17:00 |
Winter hours, from when the clocks go back. In summer it closes at 5.30pm every day, Sundays and bank holidays included. The café bistro shuts at 4.30pm, last food orders 3.30pm.
The details
- Features
- Shop · Café · Parking · Play area
Photos
The shop and entrance in 2011 Photo: nick macneill, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The view from the Herb Centre in May Photo: Feathering the Nest, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr 
A painted lady on the buddleia in 2009 Photo: Giles Watson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr 
The herb beds
Location
Places to stay nearby
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The Castle at Edgehill
Pubs · Edgehill and Radway
A pub and restaurant in the castellated 18th-century tower on top of Edgehill, above the 1642 battlefield, with Hook Norton ales, large gardens, five en-suite rooms and a gin school in the tower.
Family-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
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The Wroxton Hotel
Hotel · Wroxton
A 32-room hotel made from three adjoining stone cottages, partly dating from 1649, on the edge of thatched Wroxton, a few minutes' drive from junction 11 of the M40, with free parking and its own tea room.
Dog-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
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The Brasenose Arms, Cropredy
Pubs · Cropredy
A 17th-century inn on Station Road in Cropredy, with four refurbished bed and breakfast rooms, a bar and garden, and its own music fringe alongside Fairport's Cropredy Convention each August. The pub says it is the only one in the country with the name.
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Farnborough Hall 2.8 km away
- The Castle at Edgehill 3.9 km away
- The Moon and Sixpence, Hanwell 4.1 km away
- Upton House and Gardens 4.5 km away
Sights nearby
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Edge Hill viewpoint
Sight · Viewpoint · Edgehill and Radway
The long view from the top of Edge Hill, north-west of Banbury, across the plain where the Battle of Edgehill was fought in 1642. There is no signed viewpoint: the ridge road, the footpaths and the garden of a 1740s sham castle are how you see it.
-
Hanwell Castle
Sight · Historic building · Hanwell
The surviving tower and range of a Tudor brick courtyard house built for the Cope family at Hanwell, north of Banbury. Grade II*, diapered in red and blue brick, and private: the grounds open on a few event days, such as the February snowdrop weekend.