Sir Harold Hillier Gardens

I spent a couple of hours there, but could have stayed for much longer had time allowed. The plants and trees were stunning. There were sculptures, places for picnics, interesting things for the children to do, craft shops and a tea room. Accessible routes were well marked. Accessible routes were marked as being flat, but definitely had a camber! They were just about independently manageable for a manual chair user.

This was our first visit anywhere since the start of lockdown. We visited the Sir Harold Hillier Garden on a day which was rather drizzly at times, but we had a good time. The gardens were beautiful even though the staff are under great pressure as none of the 150 plus volunteers are allowed to come and help. The shop was not open and there were no undercover refreshment areas, though there was a coffee and ice-cream bar at the entrance and light refreshments available at the far end of the garden near Jermyn's House. There are a few areas around the gardens where you can shelter. They had a separate entry to and exit from the Gardens. There were a lot of staff helping to maintain social distancing especially at the main entrance, refreshments and toilets. On the day we went there were no mobility scooters to borrow (I had taken my own anyway), but check their website for updates on this. Definitely worth a visit.

This used to be a good place to visit for my semi mobile wife and me. They have wheelchairs but parts of the site are steep so really the provided (at a small cost) mobility scooters were really essential. However, because of a recent 'health and safety' review they have reduced the number of mobility scooters to 2. This is hopelessly inadequate for such a popular site. So, if you plan to visit, make sure you do so well in advance and book your mobility scooter early.