Open gardens event is the pick of the bunch, raising £7k for charity

Weather was deemed ideal for the event on Saturday, June 16. And with a grand total of eleven gardens taking part, one of the organisers of the event, David View says it was on bigger than anything attempted before. “With more gardens opening and a longer day, the result was that, for a few hours, Winchelsea’s population was tripled,” he said. “Well over 1000 visitors enjoyed spectacular flowers, wonderful views, tours of the medieval cellars and scrumptious teas.

“Pretty much every able bodied member of the community was roped in to help in some way; stewarding the car park, baking and serving refreshments, taking admission money at the many garden gates, and fielding searching questions from discerning gardeners who had come from all over the south-east, many wanting to see what had changed since their last visit.

“The gardeners themselves put in all the hours of hard work that enabled visitors to see everything at its best.

“All the money from National Garden Scheme openings goes to charity. Winchelsea also supports Friary Gardeners which originated in the town before making a home in Hastings. The project offers horticultural training to adults with a wide spectrum of learning difficulties and they had a plant stall in the town on the day.

“Over £7,000 was raised at the event - a Winchelsea record!”