Wakehurst Gardens is Kew Gardens’ wild botanic garden situated in an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ on the High Weald of Sussex. Our day includes a 60-90 minute guided tour of Wakehurst and free time to explore the grounds at your leisure.
The grounds are extensive with over 500 acres including colourful herbaceous borders, a series of water gardens, an Asian Heath garden, a fine collection of trees and many other rare plants. Its higher rainfall, more moisture retentive soils and range of microclimates complement the conditions at Kew and allow the plant collections to be greatly enhanced.
The Gardens are also home to the Millennium Seed Bank hiding an underground collection of over 2.4 billion seeds from around the world, banking them to conserve them for the future. You can enter the glass atrium to see the scientists at work above the sub-zero chambers where the seeds, collected from around the world, are stored in flood, bomb and radiation proof vaults.
Wakehurst is also home to one of the UK’s largest outdoor art installations, Planet Wakehurst, by artist Catherine Nelson. Planet Wakehurst is a riotous celebration using photography of plants from the site in celebration of the garden’s biodiversity from the colourful blooms of the abundant Water Gardens to the towering Giant Redwoods of California in Horsebridge Wood. You can also experience the gardens from a new perspective by visiting the canopy walk. Look down on the mansion lawns from 33ft up and experience a phenomenal outlook across the gardens and beyond.
NB: Access to the Canopy Walk will involve a climb of 66 steps over seven flights with rest areas in between.