Local Visits

Club visits are booked by the Visits Programme Organiser and members are encouraged to pass on any recommendations they may have from gardens that they have visited.  The visits usually take place between May and September and we try to fit in 6 different gardens during these months.  We aim for a spread of dates, dependent upon the seasonal interest of the chosen venues, and a mix of weekday (afternoon or evening) and weekend visits.

The programme attempts to cover a wide range of areas of interest within 50 miles or 1 hour’s drive from the College.  Gardens are chosen with the following criteria in mind:

  • To support a charity e.g. National Garden Scheme, Perennial
  • Gardens which have a specialist nursery
  • Public garden
  • Small private garden (with at least 45 mins of interest)
  • Large private garden (with at least 45 mins of interest)
  • ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ – this may not necessarily be a garden but could be about wildlife or nature in some way linked to gardening

Often our visits will be the follow-up to a talk we have had or could be a follow-up visit after a significant development of interest which changes the way we garden, such as the withdrawal of peat from our compost, the concept of ‘No Dig’ gardening or gardening for wildlife.  To find out more about where we have visited in recent years, please click here.

Venues also need to have the following facilities in order to meet our selection criteria:

  • Refreshments – usually tea/coffee and cake
  • Toilets
  • Disabled access
  • Parking for up to 30 people
  • Plant stall/shop (preferable)

There is normally an additional entry fee payable for all visits which is notified when the programme is published and payable when you book your place for the visits.  Refunds cannot be guaranteed should you not be able to attend on the day and visits will go ahead regardless of weather conditions.  We are gardeners after all!!

Details of the Programme of Visits for this year will be available soon.

Visits – Further afield

Coach Trips & Weekend Breaks

The Club tries to put on a coach trip to somewhere further afield once a year when possible.  This will either be a day trip, to include one or two gardens, or a weekend from Friday to Sunday, covering up to four gardens.  In this case we book the coach, accommodation, visits and breakfast and evening meals for members, so that we can offer an all-inclusive price.  Places are offered to everyone in the Club on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.  Examples of properties we have visited in the past include:

  • A Midlands weekend away – visiting Arley Hall Gardens & Arboretum, David Austin Roses, Shugborough Hall and Wightwick Manor (June 2016)
  • A Scottish weekend away – taking in Threave Gardens, Glenwhan Gardens, Drumlanrig Castle and Logan Botanic Garden (June 2018)
  • Day trips to the National Memorial Arboretum (May 2015), Howick Hall, Northumberland (2017) and Styal and Quarry Bank Mill (2019).

Full information of any visits being planned is given at Club meetings, in the newsletter or by email.