National Trust to open its gardens for free

The National Trust to open its gardens for free to enable us all to enjoy the beautiful spring flowers during the ongoing coronavirus situation.

They said on a statement issued today:

“Following the Prime Minister’s advice  the National Trust’s Director-General Hilary McGrady said that our pay-for-entry sites including houses, cafés and shops, will close by this Friday 20 March.

We’ll work, where possible, to keep as many of our gardens and parklands open, free of charge, alongside coast and countryside, to encourage the nation to enjoy open space, while observing social distancing measures.

Hilary McGrady said: “The National Trust was founded 125 years ago for the benefit of the entire nation. We want to honour our mission – to enable people and nature to thrive. Over the coming weeks we will do all that we can to keep on providing public benefit through caring for places and giving people access wherever possible.

“While we will close our indoor areas to help fight the spread of coronavirus, we recognise that people are likely to need access to open space.”

You can learn more and read the full statement here and check out your local National Trust open spaces to visit.