Half Term Autumn Celebrations 24-30 October 2011 at The Savill Garden and Royal Landscape, Windsor Great Park

18th October 2011

Celebrate the pumpkin in its many forms throughout half-term at The Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park. There are special activities for the children including the new Autumn Forage Trail, fantastic pumpkin and gourd displays, and the beautiful autumn colours of The Savill Garden and wider Royal Landscape to enjoy.

The Royal Landscape’s autumn colour will be close to its peak over half-term and children can explore this beautiful countryside by following the new Autumn Forage Trail. The Trail follows a circular route around Obelisk Pond and takes about 30 minutes. Investigate and explore, collecting your autumn goodies in a bag, and look for birds, wildlife, leaves and fungi. Use the leaves and seeds you collect to make a ‘forage face’. The Trail leaflet, forage bag, colouring pencils and a recycled pencil to complete the trail all cost just £1 and are available from The Savill Building.

Create your own spooky pumpkin mask in The Savill Building from 11am to 4pm, 24-30 October. Pumpkin masks are £2 each and will be available from reception. This activity does not need to be booked but children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

The Queen Elizabeth Temperate House in The Savill Garden will host a magnificent display of over 20 varieties of pumpkins and gourds. These will include the winning specimens grown by children from The Royal School, Cheapside Primary School and by Windsor Estate residents for The Savill Garden Pumpkin Competition.

Horse and carriage rides through the Royal Landscape will also be running over half term setting off from The Savill Building (subject to weather conditions).

After a refreshing autumn walk in The Royal Landscape, visit the award winning Savill Building which provides excellent visitor facilities including a gift shop, gallery and self-service restaurant offering hot and cold snacks, including delicious pumpkin dishes, and traditional cream teas.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

1.  The Royal Landscape is an area of a thousand acres of lakes, gardens and parkland, accessible to the public, at the southern end of Windsor Great Park. It includes The Savill Garden, the Valley Gardens and Virginia Water Lake. It is a man-made landscape, which has been shaped and planted over a period of 400 years. For more information call 01784 435544 or visit  www.theroyallandscape.co.uk.

2.  For more information on events visit www.theroyallandscape.co.uk

3.  The Savill Garden is one of England’s finest woodland and ornamental gardens with 35 acres of trees, shrubbery, ponds and streams, lawns, meadows and formal beds which are home to some of the world’s most decorative plants.

4.  The Savill Garden is open all year (except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). Admission prices to The Savill Garden Summer 2011 (March-October): Adults £8.50; Seniors £7.95; Groups (10+) £6.95; Children (6-16) £3.75; Coach Driver Free; Carers Free; Blue Badge Guides Free; Group organiser/leader Free (1 per group and Garden admission only).

5.  The Crown Estate manages a highly diverse property business valued at more than £7 billion.  We pay our surplus revenue (profit) to the Treasury for the benefit of the nation every year: in 2010/11 this was £230.9 million. Over the past ten years The Crown Estate has paid nearly £2 billion to the Treasury.

6.  Our objectives, which are laid down by Parliament under the Crown Estate Act 1961, include enhancing the value of the estate and the revenue it produces. The responsibilities of The Crown Estate are to maintain and enhance the value of the estate and its income over the long term and to do this having regard to good management.  In summary, The Crown Estate is a successful business organisation guided by our core values – commercialism, integrity and stewardship.

7.  The Crown Estate manages a diverse property portfolio which includes office, retail and industrial premises; housing; farmland; forestry and minerals; parkland; and around half the foreshore and almost all the seabed around the UK. The Crown Estate’s property comprises four estates: Urban, Marine, Rural and Windsor.

For more press information call Sarah Halstead, Marketing Dept, The Crown Estate, on 07918 121905 or email Sarah.Halstead@thecrownestate.co.uk