National Trust bosses will start to reopen some of Britain’s best loved public gardens from next week … but stately homes will stay shut
- The National Trust said it will be reopening 37 of its public gardens from June 3
- But trust houses and shops will stay closed, along with cottages and campsites
- The Royal Horticultural Society is also reopening its four gardens from June 1
Some of Britain’s most treasured public gardens will reopen next week, it was announced yesterday.
The National Trust and Royal Horticultural Society said they will be throwing open the gates of some of their properties to those who buy tickets in advance next week.
Members of both of the organisations will also need to book.
The National Trust will open the gates of some of their properties to those who buy tickets in advance next week. This includes the grounds of Cliveden in Buckinghamshire (pictured)
The properties include the grounds of Cliveden, the Berkshire setting for the Profumo Affair, and the Anglo-Saxon royal burial site Sutton Hoo in Suffolk.
Other major sites opening include RHS Wisley in Surrey, as well as Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, and Kew Gardens in London.
The National Trust will initially re-open gardens at 37 of its 500-plus heritage properties from June 3.
More sites will open over the coming weeks where social distancing can be observed.
The National Trust will initially re-open gardens at 37 of its 500-plus heritage properties from June 3. Pictured, the National Trusts’ Codger’s Fort on the estate at Wallington, Northumberland
The Royal Horticultural Society is opening its four gardens from June 1, including Wisley in Surrey and Hyde Hall in Essex. Pictured, the National Trust property of Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire
All Trust houses and shops remain closed, along with holiday cottages and campsites.
The charity is urging people to limit how many visits they book.
Director-general Hilary McGrady said: ‘The fresh air, bird song, big skies and open spaces people have missed will be there, but things will be very different.’
The RHS said it was opening its four gardens from June 1 – Wisley in Surrey; Hyde Hall in Essex; Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire and Rosemoor in Devon.