NEWBURY GARDEN SHOW
The Newbury Garden Show is held in tandem with the Newbury All About Dogs Show (extra charge) at the Newbury Showground in Thatcham. The Showground is a not-for-profit organisation set up to educate the public in the preservation of the countryside wildlife. A worthy cause.
This is a totally independent guide from GardenFocused is intended to provide you with information about the show to help you enjoy it more.
For 2019, the show will be held at in the grounds of the Newbury Showground estate in Thatcham, Berkshire. In 2018 it ran for three days (Friday to Sunday) however in 2019 it lasts for two days from Saturday 13th April to Sunday 14th April. For both days opening hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm.
Tickets cost £9.00 for adults (£7.50 if booked in advance), senior citizens £8.00 (£6.50 if booked in advance) and children £2.00 (free if booked in advance). Combined tickets for the Plant Show and Dog Show cost more but we found that you could simply wander into to Dog Show once you were in the grounds.
Note that for 2019 there is a 2 for 1 entry if your enter ROSE into the promo code box when booking online.
We certainly did visit the dog show with any additional entrance charge because some of the dog exhibitions in the Main arena were very interesting! And I don’t even own a dog.
Do be aware though, if you or your children have an aversion to dogs, that because the dog and plant shows share adjacent areas, dog owners are walking their around with their dogs in the plant show. We judge it to not be a problem for almost all people because the walkways are very spacious.
Car parking is free, well organised and more than adequate. There was only a couple of minutes queuing to get into the car park. In fact it took more time to queue up to get out of the car park.
The walk from your car to the main concrete path is on flat grassed ground which is cut short. We arrived at around midday on a Saturday and it took about 3 minutes to walk from the car to the main entrance.
GARDEN PLANTS
Browse stalls where plant nurseries are displaying a wide variety of plants. Also included are displays of garden furniture, tools and accessories from companies around the UK. Almost all gardeners will be satisfied with the vaiety and number of plants for sale and there were some bargains to be had.
Although not as large as some of the vastly more expensive garden shows, the Newbury Garden Show is extremely well laid out. The stalls are on either side of wide concrete or tarmac paths ensuring that even when the weather is rainy, mud is not a problem.
Wheel chair users and those who do not appreciate being jostled at almost every step will be pleasantly surprised by this show. There are lots of people but not so many as to cause a problem walking round.
FOOD
There are endless food outlets to suit almost every possible taste accompanied by coffee and tea bars and a licensed bar. Our overall impression is that prices are on the low side for shows of this type.
One major problem with many shows is where to sit when having a picnic or eating food and drink bought at the show. Not so at the Newbury Plant Show. Lets face it, the ground in Newbury around April is never likely to be warm or dry! There are more than enough seats for everyone all round the show.
If it is raining when you visit do bear in mind that in the show area very few of the seats are under cover. If it is raining we would suggest using the covered large cafe which is at the entrance to show.