Year round interest - pretty gardens, abbey & ruins.
4.5
4.5
Date of visit: January 2020
I have experience of challenges around: moving around and understanding.
Overall Rating
Excellent
The Abbey gardens is a very well kept park, always with fabulous seasonal planting and lots of places to perch or park your chair. Wide, open & sweeping paths are flat and easy to navigate. It is possible to see and get close to the ruins, some dating back to 1020. There is an outdoor cafe (nearly always open) selling hot/cold drinks and ice cream and a newly renovated rangers office where they sell plants and have local information. Depending on the type of wheelchair you have and the recent weather it may be possible to get on the grass amongst some of the ruins. However, well surfaced paths do allow you to see most of the site with some slight inclines. To the bottom of the park there is a very popular and well appointed play park with swings etc. The river lark runs here so there are always ducks to feed. I will almost guarantee that you will see squirrels, black birds and robbins close up. (just yesterday a robbin sat on the bench with us). Squirrels so tame they may even eat out of your hand. The Abbey is also well worth a visit and has good access. There is a very good cafe in the abbey selling snacks and light meals. The Gardens are shut at night and closing times vary depending on the time of year. The Gardens also host event in the year eg fireworks, Christmas market, summer concerts - so is occasionally closed. The gardens can lead to further walks along the river and into the town.
Disabled Access In and Around
Excellent
Parking & Transport
Good
Nearest parking is available in the Angel Hill car park (free with Blue badge), Ram Meadow (pay but with additional time given) and behind the Premier Inn. There is also some nearby disabled bays (near the police station). There is a train station in Bury St Edmunds. It is the other side of town, so probably a 30 minute walk. There is a bus station in town approx 15 minute walk.
Accessible Toilets
Good
There are public toilets in the gardens - a discrete toilet block at the top of the gardens. Often has an attendant. I think the disabled toilet is RADAR locked. The abbey also had a reasonable disabled toilet.
Staff
Excellent
