Free Entry throughout December: Father Christmas, Snowmen & Christmas Sparkle at The Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park

31st October 2011

The Savill Garden is celebrating Christmas with free entry for all to the Garden throughout December (saving a family £15.50). The winter beds bring together a variety of beautiful and fragrant plants that brave the colder months and the seasonal displays in the Queen Elizabeth Temperate House will be stunning. There will also be a special treat for the family where you can follow the Plants of Christmas trail to find out some interesting facts about festive flora. The Garden is open from 10am to 4.30pm in winter with last entry at 4pm. (Normal car parking charges apply).

The sparkling Christmas events begin with the Crafts for Christmas Fair, independently presented by the Rural Crafts Association, bringing together talented makers and designers from all over the UK in a special, heated pavilion that will be located on Obelisk Lawn (adjacent to The Savill Garden).The Fair offers special gift ideas ranging from unique craftwork to specialist foods from over 100 craftsmen and women. The Fair runs from 24 to 27 November and prices are £3 adults and £2.50 seniors (in advance); and £4 adults, £3.50 seniors, and children free on the day. Each purchased ticket gives two days entrance and the ticket hotline is 01428 684494 or visit www.ruralcraftsassociation.co.uk.

There will be a special visit from Father Christmas at weekends in December (3/4, 10/11 and 17/18) from 11am to 4pm. Don’t miss Father Christmas’ arrival at The Savill Building on a festive horse and carriage at 10.45am (weather permitting). Tickets to visit Father Christmas cost £5 per child and tickets go on sale from The Savill Building from 1 November.

Once Father Christmas has safely arrived, you too can enjoy a horse and carriage ride through the beautiful Royal Landscape every weekend throughout December (weather permitting).

Children can make a giant snowman sculpture with local artist Kerry Lemon on Saturday 17 December.  There will be two sessions which run from 10am-12pm or 2pm-4pm. Tickets are £15 per place which allows for one adult and up to two children to build a snowman. Spaces are limited and tickets go on sale from 1 November from The Savill Building. (The finished snowmen sculptures will need to dry overnight and so will be available for collection from the next day).

The Savill Restaurant will be offering a seasonal menu with traditional Norfolk turkey with all the trimmings in addition to the daily hot meals and homemade soup (5-30 December). Treat yourself with one of our homemade cakes or mince pies coupled with a steamy hot chocolate, the perfect way to warm up after a brisk walk!

Browse in our gift shop in The Savill Building for an extensive range of imaginative Christmas gifts, decorations and stocking fillers for all the family. A selection of smaller Christmas trees from the Windsor Estate will be available from the Shop. A full selection of Christmas trees will be available from Forest Gate (opposite Pink Lodge), off the A332.

The Savill Garden and Building will be closed on 24 and 25 December only; and open every day including Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. For more information on the Christmas events and carriage rides visit www.theroyallandscape.co.uk or call The Savill Building for ticket bookings on 01784 435544.

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.  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.

3.  The Savill Garden is open all year (except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). Admission prices to The Savill Garden Winter 2011/2012 (November-February): Adults £6.25; Seniors £5.75; Groups (10+) £4.95; Children (6-16) £2.25; Coach Driver Free; Carers Free; Blue Badge Guides Free; Group organiser/leader Free (1 per group and Garden admission only).

4.  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.

5.  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.

6.  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