Press Release

Enjoy Winter at Wakehurst over the Christmas and New Year break

Plus information on Christmas tree recycling

12 December 2006

Blow away the cobwebs and walk off the excesses of festive food and drink with a visit to Wakehurst Place.

Kew's magnificent country garden in the heart of the West Sussex countryside, near Haywards Heath, is the perfect place to take a break from Christmas TV and celebrations and enjoy some fresh air and exercise.

Wakehurst Place is open 363 days a year and will be closed only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Throughout the rest of the festive break and the winter the gardens will be from 10am to 4.30pm.

With stunning views, a winter garden, formal gardens, woodland walks, hidden glades and lakes, there is always plenty to enjoy at Wakehurst, even in midwinter.

And during the festive season there is the added attraction of seeing Wakehurst's famous Christmas tree, which is lit up in all its splendour from 4pm each day. The tree, a towering 100 ft giant redwood festooned with 1,800 white lights, is the largest growing Christmas tree in the country and will be illuminated daily until January 5.  

The 500-acre Wakehurst estate at Ardingly has been run by Kew for more than 40 years and is also home to the international Millennium Seed Bank Project.

As well as enjoying the gardens, visitors can take a closer look at the pioneering work of scientists in the Millennium Seed Bank who are safeguarding plants from the threat of extinction. The project's headquarters include a free, interactive exhibition which reveals all about this fascinating work around the globe and just how vital plants are in our lives.

There's also a chance to take in an exhibition of garden and landscape photography which runs until March in the mansion gallery. Called 'Imagine yesterday...today', the exhibition is organised by the Garden Photographers' Association.

Christmas tree recycling

Christmas tree recycling will be taking place in the Wakehurst Place car park on Sunday, January 14 from 10am to 3pm. Bring along your tree to be recycled and the chippings will be put to good use on the Wakehurst Place estate.

Wakehurst Place at Ardingly is four miles north of Haywards Heath. Tel 01444 894066 or visit the website www.kew.org .

Ends

Press enquiries to Andy Jackson 01444 894054 or 894067.

IMAGES of winter at Wakehurst are available from: www.kew.org/press/images/wakehurst

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