Local Places to Visit

Special Offers
Visit Flower Perfections at Upminster Bridge and Plant Perfections at Battlesbridge for 10% discount on plants.  You need to show your handbook to obtain the discount.

Ingrebourne Valley Check out  website for details

Thames Chase  Check out  website for details

Upminster Old Chapel  http://www.facebook.com/OldChapelupmins

Essex Wildlife Trust  check out  website for details

RHS Hyde Hall check out  website for details

Long House Plants check out  website for details of their open garden days

Upminster Windmill has now been restored and has open days in the summer.  Check out website for current information

Rainham Hall (National Trust) gardens are constantly being developed and are open (free) on Wednesdays to Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm. Rainham Hall is looking for 'cafe volunteers' and 'visitors welcome volunteers'. For information visit nationaltrust.org.uk/volunteer.

Langtons Gardens in Hornchurch and this is a lovely spot to escape the high street and enjoy some refreshments in Liana's cafe in the courtyard.
 
Long House Plants is a retail nursery run by Tim Carter. All the plants are grown here and they have a range of interesting and unusual trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses and alpines, selected to be successful in the local soils.   You will be given a warm welcome, but please check the website for opening hours.  The nursery garden is sometimes open for charity during the year - see the Local Events diary page for full information.

Lots going on at Bedfords Park Walled Garden  Members can check the 2023-24 handbook for more information on this garden.
 
Hillcrest Nurseries can be found on the A128 in Herongate.  A true nursery - not a garden centre - with a wide selection of plants and trees - some quite unusual.
 
Organic gardeners may be interested in SE Essex Organic Gardeners activities and events.
 
Belhus Woods  is another great green space on our doorstep.  There is a very good playground here.

 

Also visit Parklands in Upminster where the bridge restoration has been completed.
 
Essex Wildlife Trust will give you lots of information on our local sites.
 
Anyone interested in having an allotment can contact Stewart Avenue Allotments in Upminster.  Fruit, veg, flower and preserves are sold at the gate during the year. Or take a look at the list of  all allotments in Havering.

The National Garden Scheme (also known as the Yellow Book) features many gardens open for charity during the year.  
 
The nearby gardens at Barnards Farm have many delights and hold the national collection of malus.

For local events and information check out the Upminster and Cranham Residents' Association website .

Further Afield

Villages which open several gardens are often a good day out.  Check out groups of gardens to visit.

The Gardens of Easton Lodge have open days throughout the year.

Royal Horticultural Society, with which we are affiliated, has a lot of useful information on its website.  Check out the page for affiliated societies and for their quarterly magazine 'Grass Roots'. For details of future shows see RHS events page

The Garden Museum on London's South Bank reopened in 2018 and has a very good cafe.   You can sign up online for their newsletter.

London Gardens Check out this online site for gardens and green spaces all over London, including some you might not know about in our local area.

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.  Only 30 mins from Central London. There are four gates which can be accessed by rail, bus or river.

The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines