Overview

This is a village garden centre, cafe and gift shop, who’s staff are so helpful and friendly but sadly their accessibility is poor. They are however trying to improve as their 1 blue badge parking spot has now doubled and both have been recently painted to clearly identify them as accessible parking spaces.

Transport & Parking

Largely only accessible by car, I do believe there is an occasional bus service. As mentioned previously there are two designated disabled parking spaces. There is a large area of tarmac for parking then there is a further area of gravel for parking but this is both difficult to push over and is on a reasonably steep hill.

Access

There are several methods of entering the garden centre: - Main entrance, this is level access so is perfectly fine for anybody in a wheelchair, walking frame etc. -Front plant display, there is a display of plants to purchase directly off of the car park. There are several aisles to chose from but all but one have steps several inches high which there is no way I could negotiate even with the help of my PA. There is one single aisle with a ramp leading up to it which I could easily roll up but part way up there is a large pot hole. The owners have tried to make an effort to fill this by adding a block of wood which sadly does very little to make it possible to negotiate with a wheelchair. -Cafe, there is a wooden ramp leading into the cafe which is very easily accessible. From this entrance you have free access to the whole cafe and the lower level of the gift shop, to get to the upper level of the gift shop and the garden centre there is a very steep ramp. There is no way I would be able to push myself up this ramp and to be honest it was a struggle with my PA and I both pushing. Once in the garden centre there were places where there was a single step or a gap into a greenhouse or from one area to another. The staff had obviously realised that these were problematic to someone in a wheelchair so had tried to “bodge” a ramp from whatever was lying around which were inappropriate so had broken and not been replaced or were not big enough so had fallen into the gap they were trying to cover. In the plant area occasionally there was an obstacle in the way such as a trolley waiting to be unloaded or a big plant or tree, which meant I couldn’t get passed so had to turn around and find another route. The gift shop was very tight to get around and I was constantly very conscious of all the beautiful but very delicate items for sale there. As previously mentioned the gift shop is on two levels with a very steep ramp between the two. The cafe is very tight in places but there are enough tables on the periphery that were accessible to someone in a wheelchair and the staff were exceptionally helpful to ensure we were seated and comfortable. There is also a beautiful outside seating area with children’s play area for the cafe which can be accessed by a wooden ramp. I would not recommend this to somebody with a big powerchair or someone who has a big mobility scooter and cannot get out to walk around certain areas.

Toilets

I didn’t go to toilet as there was no Changing Places toilet so I have no idea of the toilet facilities.

Staff

All of the staff went out of their way to be helpful when asked and also offered assistance if they saw we were struggling. They were happy to help with the trolley of our purchases and lifted heavy items into the car. They were all very friendly and nothing seemed too much trouble.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

This is a family run: village garden centre with an amazing array of plants; gift shop with the most beautiful craft items, hand made gifts, one off pieces of clothing, handbags, books and many other things; cafe with lovely and reasonable drinks, meals, cakes, ice cream, snacks and even a special dog section with water and snacks for canine visitors. Since finding this garden centre I have visited a few times and have always had great service. Their issues with accessibility could so easily be resolved with: - a few ramps installed where there are gaps or large steps and then signs to show where the access is, once the ramps were installed - a sign by the very steep ramp in the gift shop to say access is possible by going outside and around to the easily accessible entrance or possibly asking a member of staff for assistance? - the potholes filled with cement or a similar product. - repositioning some of the items obstructing the pathways. - not leaving big trolleys waiting to be unloaded in the aisles. - trying to ensure that very delicate items are not next to really tight turns in the gift shops. These are all things that could so easily be achieved and with very little money, making this gem of a visit easier to get around with less stress. Make these changes and your rating will climb to a 5 stars!

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