Make the most of the last strains of summer by visiting some of Sussex’s most beautiful outdoor spots. The National Garden Scheme (NGS) provides an opportunity to wander around stunning gardens while supporting nursing and caring charities. In 2023, the NGS raised £3,403,960.
Geoff Stonebanks, Publicity Officer for the NGS in East & Mid Sussex, along with his colleague Kate Harrison in West Sussex, presents 10 magnificent gardens to visit in August.
Sunday, 4 August: Penns in the Rocks
Location: Groombridge, Tunbridge Wells, TN3 9PA
Open: 2 pm to 6 pm
Entry: £7
A large garden featuring spectacular 140-million-year-old rock outcrops. Enjoy a leisurely stroll around the lake, take in the 18th-century temple and woods, and meander through the old walled garden filled with herbaceous borders, roses, and shrubs.
Tuesday, 6 August and Saturday, 10 August: Kitchenham Farm
Location: Kitchenham Road, Ashburnham, Battle, TN33 9NP
Open: 2 pm to 5 pm
Entry: £6
This one-acre country house garden is set among traditional farm buildings with stunning views over the Sussex countryside. Enjoy the series of borders around the house and oast house, traverse the lawns, and see mixed herbaceous borders containing roses and delphiniums. A ha-ha separates the garden from the fields and sheep beyond.
Wednesday, 7 August: Fittleworth House
Location: Pulborough Bedham Lane, Fittleworth, Pulborough, RH20 1JH
Open: 2 pm to 5 pm
Entry: £5
A tranquil and romantic three-acre country garden including a walled kitchen garden growing a wide range of fruit, vegetables, and flowers, including a large collection of dahlias. Stroll through the old potting shed, across lawns, and see mixed flower borders containing roses and rhododendrons.
Friday, 9 August: Nyetimber Manor
Location: Nyetimber Vineyard, Gay Street, Pulborough, RH20 2HH
Open: Timed slots at 9.30 am, 11.30 am, 1.30 pm, and 3.30 pm
Entry: £15 for adults, £7.50 for children (Pre-booking essential, visit ngs.org.uk)
Nestled below the vineyards, Nyetimber Manor garden features extensive herbaceous borders, an orchard, a flower and rose garden, and a courtyard. A tapestry of topiary framed by lily ponds offers a beautiful view of the South Downs. The garden was extensively redesigned and replanted in 2020.
Sunday, 11 August: The Beeches
Location: Church Road, Barcombe, Lewes, BN8 5TS
Open: 1 pm to 5 pm
Entry: £6
This 18th-century walled garden is filled with cut flowers, vegetables, salads, and fruit. Wander through the separate orchard and rose garden, and enjoy the herbaceous borders and extensive lawns.
Sunday, 11 August: Champs Hill
Location: Waltham Park Road, Coldwaltham, Pulborough, RH20 1LY
Open: 2 pm to 5 pm
Entry: £5
Set in a beautiful natural landscape, the garden has been developed around three disused sand quarries, with far-reaching views across the Amberley Wildbrooks to the South Downs. A woodland walk leads you past a collection of beautiful sculptures.
Sunday, 18 August: Whitehanger
Location: Marley Lane, Haslemere, GU27 3PY
Open: 10 am to 4.30 pm
Entry: £6.50 for adults and children (Pre-booking essential, visit ngs.org.uk)
Set on six acres on the edge of the South Downs National Park, this garden includes lawned areas with beds of perennials, a serenity pool with Koi carp, a wildflower meadow, a Japanese garden, a sculpture garden, and more.
Saturday, 24 August and Sunday, 25 August: Butlers Farmhouse
Location: Butlers Lane, Herstmonceux, BN27 1QH
Open: 2 pm to 5 pm
Entry: £7 (Live jazz, bring a chair or rug)
A one-acre garden surrounding a 16th-century farmhouse with lovely views of the South Downs. This quirky garden includes a rainbow border, a small pond, Cornish-inspired beach corners, a poison garden, and a secret jungle garden.
Sunday, 25 August: Hollymount
Location: Burnt Oak Road, High Hurstwood, Uckfield, TN22 4AE
Open: Midday to 5 pm
Entry: £7
A new seven-acre garden on a sloping hillside with plenty of water features, including four large ponds, a stream, and waterfalls. The garden contains terraced beds, tropical areas, and wildlife such as alpacas, pigs, chickens, ducks, and fish.
Monday, 26 August: Durance Manor
Location: Smithers Hill Lane, Shipley, RH13 8PE
Open: Midday to 6 pm
Entry: £8
This two-acre garden surrounds a medieval hall house with uninterrupted views of the South Downs and Chanctonbury Ring. The garden includes Japanese-inspired areas, a large pond, a wildflower meadow, an orchard, and a Monet-style bridge over a pond with water lilies. Readers are spoilt for choice with such a wonderful variety of gardens to visit. Refreshments are available in all gardens, and in most cases, children are allowed in free. Visit ngs.org.uk for full details.
