Beyond Brighton
The gardens of the High Weald: the back story
Town guide
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © www.mgaylard.co.uk · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbout The gardens of the High Weald: the back story
Haywards Heath sits among some of the finest gardens in England. Borde Hill is on the edge of town; Nymans, Wakehurst and Sheffield Park are a short drive away; and the Bluebell Railway runs steam trains through the countryside between them.
Few corners of England pack so many great gardens into so few miles. Spend a weekend in Haywards Heath and you can walk a different one every half-day, from plant hunters’ collections to a Gothic ruin and Kew’s country garden.
Borde Hill
Borde Hill, on Borde Hill Lane just outside the town, is a nationally important English garden, with rare trees and shrubs and a series of garden rooms.
Check opening times and trains on the official sites before you travel.
Nymans
Nymans, near Handcross just off the London to Brighton road, is a National Trust garden around a medieval-style manor remodelled in the 1920s and partly ruined, its roofless Gothic windows framed by clipped hedges and borders.
Wakehurst
Wakehurst, near Ardingly, is the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew’s country garden, with woodland, wetland and the Millennium Seed Bank.
Sheffield Park and the Bluebell Railway
Sheffield Park and Garden, cared for by the National Trust, is a landscape garden laid out round a chain of lakes and famous for its autumn colour. Beside it, the Bluebell Railway runs steam trains between Sheffield Park, Horsted Keynes and East Grinstead.
Practical notes
Each garden has its own opening times and seasons: check before you go. The Ardingly antiques fair at the South of England Showground runs several times a year, and The Talbot at Cuckfield is a good stop for lunch.
Our advice: come in May for the rhododendrons or in October for Sheffield Park’s colour, take the train to Haywards Heath and see two gardens a day.
Why it's on our list
- Borde Hill
- Nymans
- Wakehurst
- Sheffield Park and the Bluebell Railway
- Practical notes
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The gardens of the High Weald: the back story before you go.
What’s nearby
Distances from The gardens of the High Weald: the back story are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 15 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Key sights
- Preston Park11 miCar or taxi 52 min
- The North Laine12 miCar or taxi 57 min
- Brighton Dome12 miCar or taxi 58 min
- Royal Pavilion12 miCar or taxi 58 min
- The Lanes12 miCar or taxi 59 min
- Hove Lawns12 miCar or taxi 59 min
- Brighton i36013 miCar or taxi 59 min
- Palace Pier13 miCar or taxi 60 min
Railway stations
- Preston Park station11 miCar or taxi 52 min
- London Road (Brighton) station11 miCar or taxi 54 min
- Hove station12 miCar or taxi 55 min
- Brighton station12 miCar or taxi 56 min
Airports
- Gatwick Airport11 miCar or taxi 53 min