Almost perfect but let down by gravel in awkward places.
4
4
Date of visit: July 2021
overall Rating Text
Good
We visited the garden, cafe and shop encouraged by previous very helpful reviews. Most of the site is excellent but as a previous reviewer has noted some gravel areas let it down.
disabled Access In AndAround Text
Good
The surface of the actual garden was easy for me to push the wheelchair. Although not not paved, the paths are hard packed and smooth. I noticed two seats on the way round. Perhaps some have been removed because of Covid but there could be more. It is possible to go from the disabled parking to the garden along a path which is almost completely paved. At the last bit, however, before we could enter the garden there was about 8 feet of gravel which was a struggle to get the wheelchair over. A small adaptation would make an enormous difference. The actual garden centre part seemed to be mostly gravel as well. The shop and cafe are spacious, level and with smooth floors. The cafe has outside seating in a paved area. It looks as if the cafe would normally be self service, but during Covid restrictions it was table service. There is a separate large area with picnic tables, a lot of which is undercover but open. As far as I could see this area was all gravel. There is a coffee/snack takeaway service at the shop counter so it would be good to be able to take drinks etc to the picnic area.
parkingTransport Text
Good
There are two large car parks for this popular attraction. One can be seen clearly on approach but the second one is closer to the garden. Neither has tarmac. The blue badge parking is a small area found when you turn right just after the first car park. There is a small number of spaces (maybe 4?) which are paved but are not marked with cross hatching so can make transfer to a wheelchair from the side door difficult.
accessibleToilets Text
Excellent
Excellent. Almost a Changing Places toilet. There is a bench which can be lowered although I didn't see an overhead hoist. Grab rails on both sides of the toilet. Plenty of room for a wheelchair user and assistant. Very easy access to the toilet via a wide vestibule which means there are no awkward turns. The only downside was that the red cords had been tangled around the grab rails.
staff Text
Excellent
Very helpful and welcoming.
Additional Information
A member of staff was at the outer door of the shop/cafe to ask whether we wanted to go to the cafe. As it was busy, they were monitoring entry to the cafe, but it was fine just to go in to see the shop. Track and trace in place and sanitiser easily available. At the time of our visit the garden had a one way system.
