Hestercombe Visitor Centre being declared open by Somerset County Council Chairman, Ralph Clark, on Tuesday 22 April 1997

On Tuesday 22 April 1997, the 35-acre Landscape Garden was officially re-opened to the public for the first time in 125 years by Mark Coplestone Bampfylde, 7th Lord Poltimore, a descendant of C. W. Bampfylde. The nearby visitor centre was unveiled on the same day by the Chairman of Somerset County Council, Ralph Clark. In the afternoon, about 100 supporters were treated to a guided tour of the garden. Additional publicity was generated by HTV which aired two half-hour documentaries on the restoration on Sunday 27 April and 4 May.