Parham House and Gardens Grow Your Own Event Review
Parham House & Gardens
Grown Your Own Event
Reviewed by Amanda Hayes
We you arrive at Parham House in Sussex you drive through the gates to a magnificent vista over rolling parkland, it really is stunning. A minute’s drive through the park and you see the wonderful house in front of you and the old church in the grounds to the right.
Parking attendants were on hand to show my mum and I where to park and although at 11.15am the car park was already getting busy we were directed promptly and parked easily. The weather was looking a little unpredictable so we grabbed the picnic and blanket but also the umbrellas and raincoats! On arriving at the entrance there were plenty of people on the ticket desk and the queues were short and quick. You enter into the main courtyard off which leads the house, shop, restaurant and toilets, it’s really lovely with a central fountain and flower beds to the edges. In the courtyard there was a large board showing the events of the day, who was speaking, times and venue. Basically there was something going on every 30 minutes until 4.30pm and as Frances Quinn of Bake Off fame was just about to do a demonstration, we decided to leave viewing the house for later and rushed straight off to see Frances. The demonstration was located in a marquee in the grounds, It was busy but plenty of seats were provided so mum grabbed a couple and we sat whilst we watched how to make orange marzipan and then how to turn the marzipan into honey bees cake decorations. Frances was extremely entertaining as were all the speakers throughout the day, each one delivering there chosen subject with humour. There was something for everyone with talks on cookery, fruit, vegetables (mum’s favourite) and pig keeping (my favourite, as there were loads of gorgeous piglets).
After watching Frances we looked around the stalls in the grounds, they were mainly produce stalls together with plant sales and a beekeeping section. Mum was slightly disappointed with the quantity and diversity of stall holders as she was looking forward to buying some seeds for next season, and being a grow your own event thought she might get some unusual ones. We bought a few items to try however, such as olive jam, and all the sellers were obviously passionate about their products.
As expected the heavens opened so we took shelter under a tree and had our picnic, we wanted something hot to have with it as it was quite a cold day, and so we had a pizza as that was the only hot food stand out in the garden area. A little more choice would have been nice as my mum is not a great pizza fan, but the pizza was freshly cooked and we both enjoyed it. The restaurant does a good selection of hot and cold food but it’s away from the marquee where the demonstrations are so if you’re keen on the next talk you want to stay nearby. One small downside we found was a lack of litter bins. We heard at least 6 people asking for bins in the 10 minutes we waited for our pizza to be cooked, not good when everyone is walking around with used cartons and napkins
On top of the talks in the marquee and the stands, there are of course the main gardens to view, the house to look round and Parham’s own plant shop stocked with a large variety of perennials. The house and garden are well worth visiting in their own right, fabulously well kept, even though we seem to be having an early autumn and it’s nearing the end of the season plant wise. You could easily spend a couple of hours looking round the formal gardens and wandering down to the lake, there is also a small maze. The staff in the house were particularly friendly, happy to pass on any information they could and very good with children.
We both thought that the event was great value for money, in fact it doesn’t cost anymore to go on an event day and hours of entertainment are provided. We actually struggled to see everything we wanted in the time we had, and we stayed until just before closing, so that’s a sign of a good day out.
Rating: 4.5/5
The next event at Parham House is the annual Autumn Foraging & Estate Life event on Sunday 28th September between 10.30am and 5pm.
For more information visit www.parhaminsussex.co.uk.
Parham House & Gardens, Storrington, West Sussex RH20 4HS | 01903 742021
