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RHS offers low income households £1 entry to its gardens in new Access for All scheme

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is pleased to introduce a new scheme that will enable thousands of families and individuals from low income households, and who are less likely to have access to a garden at home, to benefit from visiting an RHS Garden.

Starting on 1 April 2023, the brand new Access for All scheme will afford visitors in receipt of Universal or Pension Credit the opportunity to access all RHS Gardens for a reduced ticket price of just £1, and will run all year round.

Access for All will make RHS Bridgewater, RHS Harlow Carr, RHS Hyde Hall, RHS Rosemoor and RHS Wisley accessible to a wider and more diverse audience and builds on existing offers whereby free entry to gardens is granted to a number of groups. These include carers with a disabled visitor, school children on guided and self-guided school visits, and Under 5s, affiliated horticultural societies and community groups supported by the RHS Community Outreach programme.

The RHS recognises that entry fees are just one of the financial barriers that might prevent people from visiting its gardens, and to that end are also investing in sustainable and affordable public transport options across all five sites, to enable even more people to visit.

The popular RHS Wisley shuttle bus which runs between the garden and Woking Station costing just £2 each way, returned on 4 February, of which one visitor said: ‘The shuttle bus makes the garden so much more accessible for those who don't have a car. Thank you for this important initiative’. Meanwhile RHS Bridgewater’s shuttle bus (which stops at Manchester Piccadilly Station, Salford Crescent, and Walkden Station, and also costs £2 each way) will return on 1 April.

Details of upcoming shuttle bus trials for RHS Harlow Carr, RHS Hyde Hall, RHS Rosemoor will be available on the RHS website in due course.

Helena Pettit, RHS Director of Shows and Gardens, says:
“One in ten people don’t have a garden or access to one and many can’t afford to visit a public garden, yet green spaces are an important lifeline for so many of us. We believe it is vital that everyone should have access to a garden or green space, which is why we have launched our ‘Access for All’ scheme and we hope that many people who might never have thought to visit an RHS Garden before will take advantage of it.”

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Notes to editors

All visitors wishing to take advantage of the Access for All scheme must provide proof that they are in receipt of Universal or Pension credit. This can be in the form of a paper or electronic letter.

About the RHS Gardens

The RHS has five gardens:

RHS Garden Bridgewater, Occupation Lane, off Leigh Road, Worsley, Salford M28 2LJ
0161 503 6100  www.rhs.org.uk/bridgewater

RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG3 1QB
01423 565418  www.rhs.org.uk/harlowcarr

RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Creephedge Lane, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 8ET
01245 402019  www.rhs.org.uk/hydehall

RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH
01805 624067  www.rhs.org.uk/rosemoor

RHS Garden Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB
01483 224234  www.rhs.org.uk/wisley


About the RHS
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) was founded in 1804 and is the UK’s largest gardening charity.

The RHS vision is to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place via its inspirational gardens and shows, science research and advisory, extensive library collections and far-reaching education and community programmes. With over 600,000 members the RHS also shares its horticultural knowledge and expertise with millions of people every year through its website and publications.

In 2021, the RHS launched its Sustainability Strategy, committing to be net positive for nature and people by 2030. The supporting RHS Planet-Friendly Gardening Campaign will continue to harness the power of the UK’s 30 million gardeners to help tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis.

We are solely funded by our members, visitors and supporters.

For more information visit www.rhs.org.uk

RHS Registered Charity No. 222879/SC038262

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.