please empty your brain below
Minor point, but it's Ardingly not Ardingley.

Keep up the good work!

dg writes: Damn, I got one of them right. Now fixed, thanks.

Robert Butlin | 18.04.17 - 7:12 a.m. | #

Used to be a lovely place to drive to, but they now charge £10 to park, NT members included. As a result, far fewer go there (including me) which is a pity as you found - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-32230083

Stephen C | 18.04.17 - 7:33 a.m. | #

£10 parking seems a bit steep. Great write up, I knew about the building but not the gardens. Those bushes are the purplest thing I seen for quite a while.

Kevin | 18.04.17 - 8:08 a.m. | #

Beautiful photos. Another place added to the growing "to visit" list.

Frank F | 18.04.17 - 8:15 a.m. | #

And, as Robert Butlin doubtless knows, it's pronounced 'Arding-Lye'.

Petras409 | 18.04.17 - 8:30 a.m. | #

Why didn't you take the Bluebell Railways to Horsted Keynes?

Flying Scotsman was in town...

dg writes: That's a longer walk. And the Bluebell Railway is a day out in itself.

Southern Heights (Light Railway) | 18.04.17 - 8:35 a.m. | #

Weird/ uncanny. We were talking about Wakehurst yesterday. We originally went after chancing upon a charming picture of the bakers shop with its old Hovis sign in Ardingly in a cycling book.

For anyone not bluebelled out/ thinking about next year, Edolphs Copse is also nearby and easily reachable by public transport, being about 5km walk from Gatwick station along the Sussex Border Path and Pudding Lane. The bluebells are second to none.

The elevated Fox Revived at Norwood Hill isn't a bad place to stop for (somewhat pricey) refreshment afterwards for those that like that sort of thing.

Lorenzo | 18.04.17 - 8:37 a.m. | #

Gorgeous. Added to my "to-do" list too.

Cornish Cockney | 18.04.17 - 11:02 a.m. | #

Wakehurst has been put on the list of places to visit this summer.

Michael | 18.04.17 - 11:28 a.m. | #

We've done exactly the same walk a number of times - very much recommended. We've also walked the long way around the reservoir and under the viaduct between Balcombe and Haywards Heath which is very pretty.

The walk to the reservoir from Wakehurst Place to Ardingly is worth avoiding as it follows along the back of the South of England Centre which is rather dull from what I remember.

Ed | 18.04.17 - 3:47 p.m. | #

Re parking charge of £10, the website says "•Parking is free for ticket holders, Friends of Wakehurst and Friends of Kew". So I guess it's included in the £12.50 entrance fee.

NickK | 18.04.17 - 6:32 p.m. | #

National Trust members used to represent 80% of all visitors to Wakehurst. They paid nothing for parking and nothing for admission. Now drivers must pay £5 if they stay less than 2.5 hours, and £10 for a longer visit.

In the year after the parking charge was introduced, visitor numbers dropped by half, most of which I suspect was repeat NT traffic.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 18.04.17 - 6:51 p.m. | #

Thank you, DG - blooming brilliant! Read your blog over breakfast and decided we had to go. What an amazing place. Found your purple-y plants as bright as you’d pictured them. The bluebells were particularly good, as were so many other things.

We did a circular walk and we didn’t once notice the 'hole in the middle'! Obviously we missed a lot, but that just gives us an excuse for a return trip, possibly at a different time of year.

As NT members, entry was free -thought you are right that this is by no means obvious on the approach to the till and may trick the unwary into paying unnecessarily.

At least the parking charge is per car, so it is not a huge deterrent, particularly if taking family or friends. (We now rarely visit Kew Gardens because of the high entry charges, even living nearby in Twickenham.)

Rob | 18.04.17 - 7:28 p.m. | #

Thank you Petras409 - did know. Just happened to be reading it just after 7am, so got the comment in first.

Robert Butlin | 18.04.17 - 9:35 p.m. | #

We are NT members and visit Wakehurst every month. The garden is always a delight. The walk all the way round is an adventure. I'm amazed at NT members whingeing about paying £10 to park. Its still incredible value.

Ian | 19.04.17 - 1:41 p.m. | #

There is a sub-species of the Common NTmember that is distinguished by its distinct whinge whenever it is obliged to produce additional resources. Best planted in shade.

drD | Homepage | 19.04.17 - 5:55 p.m. | #

NT members have already paid to get in through their membership fee, so to pay another £10 just to park is not really very good value. Even my local rip-off hospital car park charges less than that, provided you stay no more than five hours.

timbeau | 19.04.17 - 11:04 p.m. | #

If you head west rather than east from Balcombe, you get to Nymans. Took me about an hour and a quarter.

John Elliott | 26.06.17 - 7:27 p.m. | #











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