End of an era.

I know nothing stays the same in life.

The Sandringham flower show was very special in as much as it was like a very large village fete ,one day each year.
A wonderful day out for adults children and dogs alike.
There was an arena where all sorts of events took place Trick horse riding ,motor cycle trick events ,parachute drops ,dog shows and one favourite events was the pony grand national ,very entertaining,various bands etc.

Flower arranging,cooking competitions ,veg and fruit competitions.
Dozens of Quality plant stalls.
Of course you wouldn’t see or expect to see all this at RHS shows.
But this is what it is coming to ,as they are taking over ,so instead of one day for £20 there will be 6 days at probably £90 a day.
Well it will probably be on Tv.
On the upside Mrs Roders did get to shake hands with the Queen ,it is one of the only places where every year the public can come in close contact with King & Queen ,if you so want to.

I know I will miss it ,and the locals will be up in arms.




New Sandringham flower show 'prices out locals' - claims

 

They're right, the RHS shows are very expensive even with the members' discount. My friend and I though about going to Wentworth Woodhouse (this year's location for the "touring show") but decided that it wasn't worth the asking price.

Edit: I would imagine Sandringham could have its usual show in the years in between hosting the RHS show, if the owners and organisers want to do it.

 

This could be Monty next year.

 

As it is the Royal HS, perhaps the entrance charge is designed to keep The Peasantry from attending ?
Many of our National Societies seem to be going the same way including the National Trust. Whilst it is understandable to a degree that these societies need the finance, it does seem pointless if half the popilation can't afford to support them.

 

In a word greed!!!!!!

 

I think the RHS is a worthwhile charity to support as it does have some excellent schools, community, research programmes as well as the gardens. It also has a good monthly magazine for members, free entry to all their gardens and partner gardens, free access to experts for advice on plant ID, plant care, disease, pests, soil, propagation etc and the members seed distribution scheme.

I've been a member since 1989 but gave it up this year because, since Brexit, I receive only one or two of the magazines a year and always at least 6 weeks late. No idea where the other 10 or 11 go. The RHS has failed to solve this problem and even failed to answer requests for action. Living in France means I can't visit any of the gardens or benefit form the seed scheme and attending shows involves additional travel and lodging expenses on top of the entry fee.

That makes £55.50 for a magazine pretty expensive. Not for me anymore.

 

Not all of it is greed @salar

The RHS ahs very ambitious projects to improve horticulture for both professionals and amateurs, to improve the environment and to increase piblic awareness of the benefits and importance eof good gardening practice, be it planting a tub or window box, managing a domestic garden or managing a huge estate. They employ and train all sorts of scientists, technicians and horticulturalists and have recently invested millions in the new Bridgewater garden in Salford, thus providing an important community resource with outreach programmes.

I don't hold with some of the National Trust policies but we were members whilst we still lived in the UK and they too have invested heavily in saving important national heritage treasures. Imagine my "delight" when visiting Sissinghurst a few years ago and being charged parking as well as the entry fee. Given the state of the garden that May it fely like a rip off.

 

Gave up on the RHS some years ago.

I went to Sissinghurst many years ago and couldn't work out what all the fuss was about, It was just boring apart from the tower.

 

@shiney that is fine if you have lots of NT places to visit and make use of your membership. I was a member for many years and also did several years as a Volunteer House and Garden Steward at a nearby NT place.
However, as I can no longer drive, my choice of places is limited and the annual fee ( something over a hundred pa ? ) became unaffordable along with my other charity donations. I did approach the NT to ask whether they would consider a form of regional membership but they said No so I cancelled. Shame but that's life.

 

I think all these places are in rip off mode, Leeds castle is just down the road from me.
£33 for a day ticket, £23.50 for a child or £83 for a family ticket.

But you you can have multiple entries for a year, wonderful, who want to keep going to the same place just to get your monies worth.

Lots of tourists go there and get ripped off.

 

If you belong to the Scottish National Trust you get free entry and free parking to properties in England too. I think I pay about £5 a month. No handbook, but all the info is online now.

 

@Obelix-Vendée you can get the RHS magazine online now. They asked if I wanted it but I can have it sent to OH'S Norfolk cottage so I said no.

We have been very pleased with our NT membership this year, visited lots of places, well worth it.

 

We joined the NT at the start of this year, first time in many years. It cost us £151 for the both of us. We’ve had good value so far as entrance and parking tickets would have cost us around £550 so far this year. OH like to keep a tally of how much we save with things like this. However we are lucky as there are lots of places within relatively easy driving distance. I am also ticking off in the handbook which places we have visited and a tick or cross as to whether they are worth revisiting. I get them all muddled together otherwise and that way we can also decide if we are likely to get good value from renewing the membership - we may feel we have the NT done and dusted!

Where we used to live there was only a handful and it wasn’t value for money, same with the RHS.

You can also get into quite a few NT places with the GW 2 for 1 card. It varies a little which ones each year.

The RHS does seem to have far more Partner gardens than I remember it having some years ago. We have made good use of our membership that way. I only have individual membership for the RHS. We aren’t near the RHS gardens, all are too far for a day trip except Bridgewater. I quite enjoy the magazine. I agree re the price of the shows, they are still expensive even with the members discount. Once you factor in travel costs and refreshments it can be eye watering. We did Chelsea last year and it costs us well over £400. Most of that was simply the tickets and travel and nothing fancy refreshment wise. That’s an awful lot for a day out.