Welford park promises a charity fundraising snowdrop carpet

Owner James Puxley said the snowdrops defied recent heavy rain and freezing temperatures: “They always seem to come through, despite bad weather.”
He hopes the flowers will boost visitor numbers, after some 10,000 viewed the snowdrops last year.
The 50-year-old tradition of opening the park for the display of snowdrops (Galanthus Nivalis) will this year support five local charities, including the Red Cross and Newbury Riding for the Disabled.
Any remaining cash goes towards maintaining the garden and running costs at the park, a location for filming of the 2014 BBC television series The Great British Bake Off.
The park opens from Wednesday, January 28, to Sunday, March 1, from 11am to 4pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Entry £6 – adults, £5 – concessions and students, £1 – children aged four to 12, under four free of charge. Manual wheelchair users with a pusher count as one concession entry. Motorised wheelchairs pay accordingly.
Top Berkshire garden writer, Naomi Slade, will be giving a talk about snowdrops in the garden, to raise funds for the repair and restoration of St Gregory’s Church, Welford, at 2pm, at the church, on Saturday February 7.
Tickets cost £10, available online at www.welfordpark.co.uk and include access to both the snowdrop wood at Welford Park, which the author describes as “one of the most impressive in the country,” and also the collection of flowers in the walled garden at Welford Park.
Naomi’s book, The Plant Lover’s Guide to Snowdrops (Timber Press, £17.99) contains many pictures of Welford Park and the church.
For an interview with Naomi Slade and a chance to win a signed copy of her book, look in the February issue of Out and About, free with the January 22 issue of the Newbury Weekly News, sister paper of Newbury Today.