When the Beer Heights Light Railway opened to the public in 1975, the garden area was very small, with only one or two shrubs and a few trees. As the railway grew in size, so did the garden. It was not until 1984 when we purchased a large greenhouse and had some excellent tuition from professional horticulturist, Arthur Faulkner, did we introduce colour into what had become a rather green and uninteresting area. Ever since then, the gardens have been filled with a variety of attractive flowers and have given much pleasure to our many visitors.

To help celebrate the Millennium, it was decided to do away with a tiered putting green and create a new series of garden ‘rooms’. Construction took just over two years and the garden was formally opened in July 2000 by well-known celebrity gardener Anne Swithinbank. Our designer, Naila Green, came up with the idea of a celestial theme; hence the Sun, Moon and Rainbow gardens, all of which are reflected in their planting colour schemes. In this area, you will also find a roof garden, scented walkways, a snake path, a shell grotto and wonderful hard landscaping with particular attention to fine detail – something to interest all the family.

Hidden somewhere on the site is our Secret Garden, a place separated from the main attraction and ideal for peace and tranquility. It is partially walled and contains herbaceous borders; quite a different planting regime to the rest of the garden, where traditional but popular annuals rule the day. In 2012 professional garden writer and broadcaster Anne Swithinbank helped with the design for new plantings and these have now matured into amazing beds, giving a variety of heights as well as an assortment of colours.