Eleven Winchelsea gardens will be opening this weekend, under the National Garden Scheme. This will take place on Saturday 18 July from 11am to 5pm, and on the afternoon of Sunday 19 July, for the Friends of the Memorial Hospital, Rye from 2pm to 5pm.
We are delighted to welcome back Periteau House and Cleveland House. Both were a must-see part of the group for many years and, after a gap, are returning with new owners.
Group admission costs £10. On Saturday you can either pay by cash at any of the garden gates or by card at Winchelsea Court Hall. Your entry ticket doubles up as a map to guide you to the different gardens. On Sunday you can pay by card at Winchelsea New Hall or with cash at garden gates. There will be plenty of signs to point you in the right direction.
On Saturday, the National Trust will be making a field available and there will be plenty of space to park. Tea and cake will be served in in the New Hall in aid of the charities on both days.
The number of Winchelsea volunteers taking part is considerable – gardening, manning the gates, making cakes, serving teas, looking after the parking – and the garden openers are enormously grateful. Everybody’s efforts and the generosity of our visitors should mean that we raise at least £10,000 for charity this weekend.
In 2025 the National Garden Scheme was able to donate a record £3,875,596 to good causes. The donations help thousands of people living with cancer, Parkinson’s, poor mental health, or the pressures of unpaid caring, by supporting the nurses, health professionals and case workers who care for them. Three thousand five hundred garden owners open their gates nationwide and more than 600 volunteers support them.
The Winchelsea garden opening for St Michael’s Hospice in June attracted over 350 visitors and raised £3,854 – the highest figure in their season so far.
Image Credits: David Page .