Lots of offer at annual open gardens weekend in Walsham le Willows
The 43rd year of the annual Walsham le Willows Open Gardens Weekend, claimed to be one of the best, longest-running and most successful events of its kind in East England, is set to take place on the August Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday.
There will be a total of 35 plus gardens and spaces this year and they range from large to minuscule … and a traffic island planted to celebrate the 40th year … with each one making a unique contribution to the event.
Entry is £8 per person and if you can’t get around it all on the first day then you can come back on the second day for free. There will also be a lower cost for groups on offer and children under 16 years old can come in for free.
The organisation is well established in the Walsham Year that a Charitable Trust has been created … The Walsham Le Willows Open Gardens Trust with the charity number 147893.
The weekend relies on the hard work of lots of people and this year there will be over 250 local people involved in some way or another; the garden owners, the people who bake, the catering teams around the village, the car parking teams and many more.
Funds raised are for village causes and most importantly for the maintenance of the fabric of the local church.
So far over £350,000 has been raised for St Mary’s the Virgin (pictured below) and it remains a magnificent example of a typical 15th Century East Anglian Church.
Visitors don’t only come for the gardens, however lovely. They appreciate the calm and serenity of the village and they listen to music with the Breckland Brass Band and the Gislingham Silver Band at the Memorial Village Hall and, a new attraction, in two of the gardens an Arcadian Recorder Consort and the Suffolk Clarinet Quartet.
There is bell ringing demonstrations, an art exhibition and sale together with floral art in the church with musical entertainment from Angels Delight, a harp and flute duo, together with organists playing the recently restored organ.
Bury Fair Morris and the Hoxon Hundred will strut their stuff over the weekend and visitors will be welcomed by the results of hundreds of hours of work to create the Flower Power project, literally thousands of crocheted and knitted flowers attached to netting, adorning the wall of the churchyard.
Other attractions will be a Village Market at the entrance to the event where people can enjoy and sample the best of the Suffolk countryside; birds of prey in the churchyard; and giant tortoises roaming one of the open gardens.
Refreshments will be available at the Memorial Village Hall and the Priory Room, where light snacks, lunches, teas and cakes are provided by the good folk of the village and again this year, there will be the famous Walsham merangues.
A barbecue and pizza experience is in Garden No 9 together with a licensed bar and a display of vintage and classic cars on both days.
John Stebbing, the secretary of the Open Gardens Trust and a member of the organising committee, said: “A lot of work by a lot of people has gone into making the Walsham Open Gardens event the success that it has been over the years and we thank them for all their efforts again this year.
“it’s a lovely day out and in these difficult times we don’t think you will get better value for money, especially as we have managed to keep the entrance charge to £8 a head and that gives access on both days.
“Where in East Anglia can you have two full days out for such a small amount?
“We hope that the sun shines and that our visitors, some who have been before and some who will be new to Walsham, will have a brilliant time in our lovely Village.’
The annual Walsham le Willows Open Gardens Weekend is on August 24 and 25 and for more information go to www.walsham-le-willows.org/annual-events/open-gardens/