New free bus service for visitors to Sheffield Park and Garden during rhododendron season

Runs until Tuesday, 24 May 2022 (See all dates)

Time
09:45 - 13:45
Venue
Sheffield Park And Garden National Trust, Uckfield, TN22 3QX
Price
Bus is free. Normal garden admission applies.

National Trust - Press Release

New free bus service for visitors to Sheffield Park and Garden during rhododendron season

• The National Trust is trialling a new free community bus service to Sheffield Park and Garden in May, from Uckfield bus station.
• May is the month to see the spectacular rhododendron displays at Sheffield Park.
• The garden is alive with tunnels of brightly coloured blooms, as a thousand rhododendrons come into flower.
• Supported by East Surrey Rural Transport Partnership, the bus service runs every Tuesday morning in May, collecting 9.45am from Uckfield bus station and returning 1.45pm from Sheffield Park and Garden, 3 to 24 May 2022.
• Every seat on the 16-seater minibus is fully wheelchair accessible.

The National Trust’s Sheffield Park and Garden in East Sussex is famed for its spectacular displays of rhododendrons in spring, with tunnels of bright, uplifting flowers. Now visitors can use sustainable transport to visit, as part of a free bus trail, on Tuesdays in May 2022, supported by East Surrey Rural Transport Partnership.

The conservation charity aims to make the Grade II listed garden more accessible to visitors and volunteers in the local community. All seats on the service are fully wheelchair accessible. It leaves Uckfield bus station on Tuesday mornings, returning after lunch, with journey times coinciding with mainline London train services from Uckfield rail station, just 5 minutes walk away.

Jo Grocott, Visitor Operations & Experience Manager said: ‘Rhododendron season is one of the best times of the year to visit Sheffield Park. Through the free bus service we hope to encourage garden lovers, first-time visitors and our volunteers alike to enjoy the spring colour using sustainable transport. The bus journey times match up with Southern Railway’s Uckfield to London Bridge service, making it possible to visit from Sussex, Surrey or London car-free.

‘We’re asking as many people as possible to support this green initiative for a trial period during May, so that we can make the case for continuing it. If successful, we will expand the service to meet demand – to ease pressure on the car park on busy days, reduce the impact of traffic on local residents, and reduce vehicle emissions in the area.’

Sheffield Park and Garden is much loved for its rhododendrons and azaleas in May. The garden comes alive with vibrant colour, as a thousand rhododendrons come into bloom, thriving in the sandy, acidic soil, in this corner of Sussex. Visitors stroll through deeply-fragranced corridors of rhododendrons, with larger than life flowers and twisting trunks. The mirror-like lakes add to the experience, reflecting brilliant red and yellow flowers in the water.


Timetable:
The National Trust / East Surrey Rural Transport Partnership bus runs 3, 10, 17 & 24 May 2022

Departs Uckfield Bus station: 9.45am
Arrives Sheffield Park & Garden: 10.05am

Departs Sheffield Park & Garden: 1.45pm
Arrives Uckfield Bus Station: 2.05pm.

Details:
Spaces on this free bus service are limited, so pre-booking via our website is essential. Normal admission applies. Guide dogs welcome. Well behaved dogs can jump aboard with their owners, if kept under control at all times.

Book online at

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sheffield-park-and-garden/whats-on

Or call 01825 790231

-ends-

For further press information please contact:
Jo Grocott, Visitor Operations & Experience Manager: joanne.grocott@nationaltrust.org.uk 01825 792205, or Hannah Elliott, Marketing and Communications Consultant: Hannah.elliott@nationaltrust.org.uk 07919 291549

Images
Credit: ©National Trust Images/Andrew Butler or ©National Trust Images /John Miller as shown on the file name. Please only use to accompany this story.

By downloading these images you are accepting the terms and conditions of supply of National Trust images - www.nationaltrustimages.org.uk/pages/terms-and-conditions








Notes for editors:

About Sheffield Park & Garden
Sheffield Park & Garden is a horticultural work of art created through centuries of landscape design with influences of Capability Brown and Humphry Repton. Four lakes form the heart of the garden with paths circulating through the glades and wooded areas surrounding them. The bordering parkland once played host to deer and game hunting for the guests at Sheffield Park House, thought to have included Henry VIII. Each owner has left their impression, which can still be seen today in the lakes, the construction of Pulham Falls, the planting of Palm Walk and the many different tree and shrub species from around the world.

About the National Trust
The National Trust is a conservation charity founded in 1895 by three people: Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley, who saw the importance of the nation's heritage and open spaces and wanted to preserve them for everyone to enjoy. Today, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we continue to look after places so people and nature can thrive. 

Entirely independent of Government, the National Trust cares for more than 250,000 hectares of countryside, 780 miles of coastline and 500 historic properties, gardens and nature re-serves. 
For more information, see: www.nationaltrust.org.uk  

More Information (Ashdown Radio is not responsible for external websites)

Venue

Sheffield Park And Garden National Trust
Sheffield Park & Garden
Uckfield
TN22 3QX

More details for this venue

Dates

The event runs from 09:45 to 13:45 on the following dates.
Select a date to add this event to your calendar app.

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