Hellens Garden Festival

Accessibility ~ We are here to help

Please let us know if you need help when you arrive and we will endeavour to do all we can to make your visit a wonderful experience.

Disabled access

We have designated disabled parking areas. The site is largely accessible to wheelchair users and people with walking difficulties.

Some areas can be a bit boggy and there are lots of uneven surfaces so care is needed.

Their message echoed our belief, that if each person can respect, conserve and creatively use resources, we can all contribute to a better world. Visitors from 8- 80 were entertained by Martin Kizko, the UK’s green poet, weaving rhymes and lessons into glorious and funny poems. Others inspired by local wildlife and waterways experts, who highlighted the importance of conservation of our local rivers.

It was wonderful to hear visitors comments: ‘ a lovely festival in beautiful surroundings’, ‘came away with plants that we wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere locally’, ‘so much to see, hear and do for all the family’.

The Festival experience included engaging talks on a variety of topics: ‘Hedgehogs in Herefordshire’, Dowsing, Foraging Feasts, and ‘A Taste of Physic Garden teas’. Visitors meandering along the sculpture trail created a wave of movement through the meadow; it was a sight to behold from the East lawn, where a mesmerising spiral mandala evolved over the two days. Children were entertained and engaged, making clay fish, seed bombs, tactile mud walling and water filtering in the Back to the Wild glade, storytelling, ‘lucky dipping’ and following the fish trail. As music curated by the Pumpkin Sessions played on, local cider, delicious food and a great deal of ice cream was enjoyed and a gentle air of contentment settled throughout the Festival. An owl emerged from a block of wood carved by ‘chainsaw Sam’; Say it with Wood showcased their traditional vintage paling machinery and biochar, alongside talented local artists teaching blacksmithing, contemporary and traditional woodworking and willow weaving. The cedar lawn was abundant with beautiful blooms and unusual plants.

As replete, happy visitors and satisfied exhibitors made their way home in the warm Sunday sunshine, a quietness descended on the Hellens landscape, the mandala spiral glowing in the evening light. Another year’s Festival completed.