More Room to Take Tea at The Secret Gardens!

A fabulous new gift shop and spacious, extended tea room are among this season’s new attractions for visitors to the award-winning Secret Gardens of Sandwich.

The gardens, which surround The Salutation, a magnificent Lutyens-designed Edwardian Manor house alongside the quay at this history-steeped Kentish port, are open to the public throughout the year and regularly welcome coach parties from all over Britain and Europe.

The tea room has always been a delightful place to relax and take a traditional English afternoon tea, with melt-in-the-mouth home-made cakes and scones. However, its limited capacity has meant booking a table in advance to be sure of a seat at busy times.

From next month, however, visitors will be able to enjoy the addition of a new outdoor decked area, providing a further 52 seats.

Proprietor Dominic Parker said: “Our tea room has always been a much-welcomed part of a visit to The Secret Gardens, regularly reflected in our guests’ comments. However, the Old Gatehouse has had a limited seating capacity which we hope this new outdoor seating area will help to overcome.”

The tea room is licensed and offers a choice of fine wines and champagne, as well as a selection of loose leaf, herbal and fruit teas, coffee and soft drinks. The popular cream teas, including a new chocolate cream tea, home-made cakes and pastries are complemented by a choice of exquisite daily specials and light lunches.

Work at the tea room is being carried out by the Salutation team and should be completed by the middle of March – just in time to welcome this summer’s flock of visitors, many of whom return time and time again to admire the Jekyll-designed gardens, brought into the 21st century by Steve Edney and his skilled team of gardeners.

The gift shop – with the usual souvenirs as well as an unusual and rare selection of gifts, games and gardening accessories not easily found in todays’ marketplace – as well as a wide variety of rare and unusual plants grown on site at the gardens, opens to the public at the end of March, in response to public demand and will be another welcome addition to The Secret Gardens’ visitor attraction.

The Secret Gardens of Sandwich are a delight to visit at any time of year and a number of special events are already in the diary, including:

• Evening outdoor theatre event, July 7 – The Merry Wives of Windsor (ticket only)
• The Sandwich Day, July 17 – enjoy live music in the gardens (ticket only)
• The Secret Gardens Sculpture Exhibition, August 23 – 30
• Dahlia Festival – August 30 to September 12

The Secret Gardens are open from 10am, seven days a week throughout the year and include a Tropical Border, Spring Garden, Vegetable, Kitchen, White and Yellow Gardens.  However, you don’t have to be a gardening aficionado to appreciate these delightful gardens which offer a relaxing bit of ‘time out’ from the everyday hustle and bustle of life.

The Secret Gardens were joint winners in the tourism and leisure category of the 2009 Kent Excellence in Business Awards. Coach operators should contact 01304 619919 for further information and rates.

For more information contact Jane Shotliff on 01622 870272 or Simon Clubley at The Wow Factory on 01233 713 852.