The Winchelsea open gardens season starts on Saturday, April 20 when four gardens will open under the National Garden Scheme. The gardens are South Mariteau, Cleveland Place, King’s Leap and, for the first time, the communal garden at Kent Close.
Opening times are midday to 4pm. Admission to the group costs £5 for adults and children enter free. Cash payments can be made at any of the garden gates and there will a card machine operating at the Court Hall. Signs around the town will point visitors in the right direction.
The Friends of the Conquest Hospital will be serving teas in the New Hall to raise funds for their projects.
There’s also an opportunity to visit Winchelsea’s historic Methodist chapel – Wesley’s Chapel – which will be open at the same time as the gardens.
Funds raised from these garden visits will go to a range of charities supported by the NGS, including Marie Curie, Macmillan Cancer Support, Hospice UK, The Queen’s Nursing Institute, Carers Trust and Parkinson’s UK. In 2023, nationwide, over £2.3 million was donated.
In June, gardens at Winchelsea Beach open for St Michael’s Hospice and seven Winchelsea gardens will open for the NGS, including the ones that are opening in April. Six will also open for the Friends of the Memorial Hospital, Rye.
Since the first NGS opening in the town in 1980, over thirty gardens have been part of the group at different times and upwards of £150,000 has been raised.
Image Credits: David Page .