If you’ve read some of our other blog posts- you’ll know we like visiting various National Trust places and gardens. Buying annual membership was one of the first things we did as soon as lockdown restrictions were eased and we could travel again ( this is what happens when living in a flat with a small balcony!). Wakehurst is a large botanical garden south of London, in Haywards Heath. Whilst it is owned by the National Trust (and National Trust members get free entry), Wakehurst is actually managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, (where we would also recommend you visit!). It is worth mentioning that it is also home to the Millennium Seed Bank.
For our trip we hired a car for the day and drove down – which took around an hour and a half or so. You can also get there by public transport by getting the train to Haywards Heath and then getting the bus which stops just outside the entrance. More information and directions are available here.
As we visited in August, a few weeks after Wakehurst had reopened following the lockdown, there were the standard social distancing arrangements in place. We booked a time slot online in advance, there were one way systems in operation, but the restaurants and food facilities were open and serving customers. However, do check online prior to your visit for any changes/latest news. Nevertheless we had a great day- and we were quite lucky with the weather too.
Wakehurst has quite a lot to offer- and is over 500 acres in size- so lots to see! We managed to chose a route that took us through the Mansion Gardens (located around the Mansion itself which was unfortunately closed), then through the North America section, the Asian Health Garden and around the Wetlands– apparently one of the “most evocative conservation hotspots”. This place is just stunning and offers a very pleasant walk around the area. We then walked back along the lake and through the pine forest-the trees here were just gigantic and incredibly impressive. En route we walked past several meadows which were stunning. As well as the plants and the flowers, there is a fair bit of wildlife around at Wakehurst– we even saw something that seemed like a mole borrowing around!
For some forward planning, you can find a map of Wakehurst here– the routes are very helpfully marked as to whether they are steep or fully accessible- and certainly helps in planning the routes. Additionally, good viewpoints are also marked- and there are a fair of these around as you can see from our photos.
Overall, this makes for a great day trip from London or anywhere in the South East, and we’d highly recommend. Whilst we enjoyed Wakehurst in the Summer sunshine, it seems to be the kind of place to be thoroughly enjoyed whatever the season and the weather- just be sure to bring both sunglasses and an umbrella just in case!
Below we have added in a gallery of some of our favourite photos from the day out… let us know what you think!
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