Saturday, 22 July 2023 - Monday, 24 July 2023 at All Day
A 3 day visit by coach to RHS Bridgewater has been arranged
The coach will leave from outside the Clevedon Rd carpark at 8.45 am on Saturday 22 July 2025.
There will be stops at a service station en route and a pub lunch before we visit our first garden.
After lunch we will visit Southlands, a beautiful multi-award-winning garden which has featured in Gardeners’ World, The English Garden & ITV. It comprises a series of rooms each with its own character and planting including a Mediterranean Garden, Courtyard, Shade, Gravel Walk, Kitchen & Pond gardens, a large greenhouse & a Woodland Garden. The owners, Maureen Sawyer and Duncan Watmough are artists and there will be artwork on display in the garden, plants for sale and refreshments. Maureen has served on the NEC of the Cottage Garden Society and is a listed RHS speaker offering presentations on many gardening topics.
Our hotel for 2 nights, Dinner, Bed & Breakfast is the Novotel Manchester West, Worsley Brow with outdoor space and is situated very close to RHS Bridgewater.
Wednesday 23rd July: welcoming, relaxed and nurturing are some of the words that describe the RHS Bridgewater – 154 acres of glorious gardens which continue to evolve with the help of award-winning designers and the local community. The Victorian Walled Garden, covering 11 acres is one of the largest in Britain and the same size as the Chelsea Flower Show. The Worsley Welcome Garden, designed by Tom Stuart-Smith combines naturalism and modernity. The Paradise Garden is a spectacular blend of Mediterranean and Asiatic planting where contemporary meets traditional. The Chinese Streamside Garden celebrates the four seasons.
The coach will drop us off close to the main Welcome Building. Paths are wide, level and accessible in all weathers but wheelchairs or mobility scooters can be booked for a small fee/deposit if needed. There is a shop, a plant centre and two cafes. We can book tea and cake in advance but not lunch at present, we are waiting to hear if that will be possible.
On our way home we’ll be visiting a third garden – John Massey’s at Ashwood Nursery near Stourbridge, a lovely private garden adjacent to the nursery covering 8 acres. It has a huge plant collection and many innovative design features in a beautiful canal-side setting. There are informal borders, island beds, woodland dells, a stunning rock garden, a unique ruin garden and a wildlife meadow. There is also a notable collection of Malus and Amelanchier.
Lunch will be provided here and there will be an opportunity to look at the gift & garden shops as well as the greenhouses and the plant sales area.
Please note that the wildlife garden has slopes and some steps so disabled access may be difficult to this part of the garden.
Please use the booking forms below and return to the named organiser.
Booking form in Word .docx format
Booking form in PDF format