Overview

I went with a group of get2gether members to Abbotsford. We didn't visit the house as the weather was too nice to go inside, so we spent quite a lot of time in the gardens and went for a coffee/snack afterwards.

Transport & Parking

We walked from the train station in Tweedbank, which is a long walk, and it wasn't easy to find. Abbotsford is made for drivers; although, we did't see many parking spaces as there were a few coaches that took plenty of space.

Access

The grounds are huge and you can easily get lost. For somebody with sight problems, it wasn't the easiest place to get around. Also, the paths in the park are quite narrow and very limited for space. It feels like a big maze and it's difficult to navigate round. Better bring your phones, just in case you lose somebody you went with!

Toilets

Loos were find, there was a disabled loo.

Staff

I'm registered as blind and asked for a concession - and I then got free entry to the garden. The staff weren't didn't seem to be very familiar with different concession rates and I needed to explain the different types of concession. In general, staff were friendly, though.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Apart from the gardens, we also visited the cafe, which was on the first floor. It has a manual lift, which means you have to open the lift doors yourself when you leave the lift, which makes it difficult for wheelchair users. The cafe was quite pricey, but the quality was good. It has table-service, which can be quite slow.

Photos