Saturday, July 5 sees nine Winchelsea gardens open their gates for visitors in support of National Garden Scheme charities. The gardens will open between 1pm and 5pm with teas served at Winchelsea New Hall. Friary Gardeners will be on hand selling plants.
Tickets cost £8 (free entry for children) and give admission to all nine gardens. Four of them are new and haven’t been open before, so there will be lots of fresh things to see.
Gardening is a major occupation in the ancient town and you can never guess what lies behind the frontages of Winchelsea’s attractive townscape.
We want local charities to benefit as well so, on the following afternoon, Sunday 6th from 2pm to 5pm, the same gardens will be opening for the Friends of the Memorial Hospital, Rye and they too will be serving teas.
Tickets cost the same on both days. You can pay in cash at the first garden gate you come to. Alternatively, on Saturday you can pay by card at Winchelsea Court Hall and on Sunday at the New Hall. There will be direction signs to guide you to the right place.
Visitors to Mid and East Sussex gardens contributed £197,000 to the NGS total last year - more than any other county - and nationally the scheme distributed over £3,500,000 to charities in 2024, including Marie Curie, Macmillan Cancer Support, Hospice UK and Parkinson’s UK. We look forward to welcoming you.
Eight gardens at Winchelsea Beach are also open this weekend - Saturday, June 28 10.30am – 4pm. Tickets £7.50, with teas and coffee available at the newly refurbished Winchelsea Beach Community Hall. The event raises money for St Michael's Hospice with more details on the website
Last month £5,560 was raised for the hospice by May's Open Garden events in Winchelsea held in aid of the charity.
