It’s hard to beat a combination of light shopping and greenery for a gentle and enjoyable day out with older people, so try these garden centres in and near Sevenoaks.
Whether rain or shine, garden centres are one of the best places in the UK to spend some quality and relaxing time. There’s enough going on to keep anyone with even the remotest interest in the outdoors alert and interested, but these places generally lack the urgent hustle and bustle of conventional shopping centres or department stores which also makes them ideal when you want to get out and have a potter around somewhere a bit calmer and quieter.
A lot of older people like to get into gardening, whether just a succulent or two in a pot on the windowsill to full-on planting and growing, so taking seniors out to a local garden centre in Sevenoaks can be a lovely outing with something for everyone to enjoy.
Polhill Garden Centre, “The Home of Gardens” is located on the London Road in Halstead, a few minutes’ drive from Shoreham village, Knockholt and Otford. The Garden Centre is mostly undercover, lending itself well to rainy days.
As well as the extensive plant nursery, Polhill Garden Centre includes a lovely restaurant, a gift shop, and a farm shop including a butcher.
You can grab a cuppa and a snack or light lunch (or breakfast) at Novell’s Restaurant while you’re there.
The entire centre is nice and flat so accessibility for the less mobile is easy, and there’s plenty of seating around to take a load off. There are paved paths around the entire area as well as onsite disabled facilities to make life easier. All in all, a lovely spot for an afternoon of pottering about, followed by a nice cup of tea and slice of homemade cake.
Coolings Garden Centre is one of four garden centres in the Coolings Group, located on Rushmore Hill in Knockholt village. It is easily accessible by car, with a bus stop just over the road.
If you’ve got a senior gardening plant lover who wants a place to explore and ask lots of questions, Coolings is an excellent spot. All kinds of plants are available here, and there’s always an expert on hand if you need to ask anything.
Coolings is home to Arthur’s Restaurant, housed in a traditional Kentish Barn themed building, which is nice to visit once you have worked up an appetite walking round the garden centre. Arthur’s also serves afternoon team on Mondays and Thursdays from 2:30pm, which you can pre-book through Arthurs directly.
Coolings also runs events such as crafts shows and antiques and collectibles fairs, be sure to have a look at their website for more up to date information.
Nestled in between West Kingsdown, Stansted village and Wrotham, Woodlands Garden Centre in Ash. Everything is easy to access for the less mobile, including in wheelchairs, and there’s plenty of seating both inside and outdoors as well as lots of cover over the plants for rainier days.
As well as the plants and landscaping on offer, there’s a lovely gift shop onsite which carries everything from garden care essentials to logs and kindling, house plants and even bird feeding and pet supplies. The gift shop is not only nice to look through but also a good place to find gifts – even for non-gardeners!
The garden centre also houses the Kent Fire Museum (call ahead to check on opening times) and its Little Wren Café, and The Twig & Spoon restaurant which is family-run and uses locally sourced ingredients. You can dine at the restaurant for a Sunday roast or Kentish afternoon tea. The restaurant has wheelchair friendly access.
You can find Woodlands on Ash Lane, just off the A20 as it passes from West Kingsdown down to Wrotham.
Greenacres is a family-owned garden centre located in Ightham, in the middle of the Kent Countryside. It sells a wide range of plants to brighten up any outdoor space, furniture, gifts, pet supplies and has a farm shop full of fresh and dry produce.
It’s a good compact garden centre if you’d rather not walk for too long whilst enjoying the plants on offer.
Greenacres is located on the Borough Green road, just off the A25 roundabout heading into Ightham.
Whatever the weather, a trip to a local garden centre in or around Sevenoaks is a great option for seniors and carers to have a relaxing and low-exertion day that mingles shopping and a sit down with a good cuppa and a taste of nature. Most places are well-covered with lots of benches and seating, so ideal for the less mobile, and many will also have seasonal events and decor to lend an extra bit of excitement to a spur of the moment day out.
Learn more about supported living or companionship for days and afternoons out, and find out whether home care in the Sevenoaks area could be the right choice for your elderly loved ones, by getting in touch with our local team today.