Below are details of our programme of member events, and outings till the end of 2026. You can also download a PDF leaflet for reference (see the bottom of the page).
Non-members are warmly welcomed at our face-to-face events and on outings for a £3 fee each time, unless otherwise stated.
The venue for our meetings is Uplyme Village Hall, Lyme Road, Uplyme, Lyme Regis, DT7 3UY (unless otherwise specified).
Directions: the Village Hall is in Uplyme on the B3165 between Hunters Lodge and Lyme Regis. Driving from Hunters Lodge, the hall is on the right after the mini roundabout and the filling station. There is parking in front of or behind the hall.
Programme subject to alteration.
Skip to Coach Outings and a Coach Holiday (new)
Talks and events at the Village Hall
January 28th 2026 (Wednesday) 7.30pm
TALK. ‘What’s hot, what’s not: the extraordinary world of chillies and sweet peppers’ by Joy Michaud of Sea Spring Seeds. Joy is a world leader in chilli breeding and production, especially for the British climate. Sea Spring vegetable seeds for sale.
February 7th (Saturday) 10am to 12 noon
COFFEE MORNING – MEMBERS ONLY. To be held at The Alexandra Hotel, Lyme Regis. Free for members but please RSVP to invitation. Places limited to 100.
February 25th (Wednesday) 7.30pm
TALK. ‘Pruning’ by Saul Walker. Part talk/part demo/part Q&A. Get all your pruning queries answered. Saul is Head Gardener at Stonelands House in Devon and a Trustee of the Hardy Plant Society.
March 21st (Saturday) 10am to 12 noon
COFFEE MORNING. To held at Uplyme Village Hall. Free for everyone. Please bring £6 cash to renew your membership for 2026, which runs from April 2026 to March 2027.
Also time to buy your ‘Potato in a Bucket’ kit for the Summer Show – £3.
March 25th (Wednesday) 7.30pm
AGM of the Society, followed by TALK. ‘Lessons from a Lifetime of Gardening’ by Anne Swithinbank. Anne started her career as a professional gardener before moving into writing and broadcasting. She has been a regular contributor to Radio 4’s Gardeners Question Time since 1994.
If you’ve not renewed your membership for 2026, please bring £6 cash.
April 22nd (Wednesday) 7.30pm
TALK. ‘Pots, Containers and Raised Beds’ by Jacqui Felix-Mitchell. Jacqui is a qualified garden designer based in Buckfastleigh, Devon.
Zinnia plug plants available to grow on for the Summer Show. Please bring your entries for our competition for Spring Flowers – any sort, pot or vase.
May 9th (Saturday) 10am to 12 noon
PLANT SALE AND COFFEE MORNING. Please donate plants, garden sundries or home produce to sell to raise funds to support our events. Entry £2, includes a drink.
May 14th (Thursday) 6.00pm
SOCIAL. Lyme Regis Bowling Club. Try out bowls or join a friendly match if you’re already experienced. Free filled rolls and tea; bar open. Pre-booking required.
May 27th (Wednesday) 7.30pm
TALK. ‘Getting to Grips with Peat-Free Compost’ by Kate Turner. Kate is co-host of The Underground podcast, looking at what’s new, what’s changing and what really matters in the garden industry. Talk includes a demo of different composts.
June 9th (Tuesday) 7.30pm
PANEL DISCUSSION. ‘Get Ready for the Summer Show’. Advice from judges on how to impress with your summer show entries.
June 24th (Wednesday) 7.30pm
TALK. ‘Good Hare Days’ by David Bailey. Learn more about this iconic creature of the British countryside. David is an award-winning wildlife photographer. His books and cards will be on sale.
August 1st (Saturday) 2-5pm
SUMMER FLOWER AND PRODUCE SHOW. Competition marquee; cream teas and refreshments; gardening advice; stalls and exhibits focused on gardening, horticulture, the local environment/natural world and crafts. This year we celebrate Pollinators. Entry £1 for all adults.
September 23rd (Wednesday) 7.30pm
TALK. ‘Seed Saving for Gardeners’ by Ellen Rignell. Talk plus demonstration of seed-saving equipment by Ellen of Winnow Farm Seeds, a seed farm based near Bridport that Ellen in 2024. Her aim is to bring colourful, flavourful and genetically diverse varieties of seed to your garden.
October 10th (Saturday) 10am to 12 noon
AUTUMN SHOW AND COFFEE MORNING. A fun, informal event judged by public vote. Plant donations for Society stall welcomed. Free bulbs available for members to grow on for the Spring Flowers competition in April. Additional bulbs available for sale to members and non-members. Cups from the Summer Show presented as well as presenting the money raised throughout the year to our chosen charity; in 2026 this is the Lyme Regis Foodbank.
Show open to all, free entry.
October 28th (Wednesday) 7.30pm
TALK. ‘Perennial Vegetables’ by Mandy Barber. How to grow perennial vegetables as part of a diverse, resilient, edible garden. Mandy is one half of Incredible Vegetables, a perennial vegetable nursery and experimental vegetable growing project, which is dedicated to useful perennial edibles and future food crops. Plants for sale.
November 25th (Wednesday) 7.30pm
DEMONSTRATION. A willow plant support plus make your own willow star for Christmas. Richard Kerwood of Windrush Willow shows us how. Windrush Willow has 4 acres in Devon with 140+ varieties of Willow. Richard and his wife Suzanne use friendly methods of growing rare coloured varieties for diverse habitats, and producing beautiful bark colours for weaving.
Willow products for sale – individual and stylish gifts.
December 16th (Wednesday) 7.30pm
CHRISTMAS SOCIAL. Quiz, mince pies, mulled wine (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), raffle.Outings
Outings
For all coach trip bookings, contact Jenny Harding, text or call 07773 604137. Coach pickups from Axminster by prior arrangement. All coach trip costs include a non-returnable deposit of £5. Non-members are warmly welcome on our visits and coach trips for a small fee of £3 extra per trip.January 15th (Thursday) Bath
January 15th (Thursday) Bath
COACH TRIP departs 9.15am. By popular demand, we are running a coach trip to Bath, known for its natural hot springs and 18th century Georgian architecture. Enjoy the shops/cafes and restaurants or visit Bath Abbey noted for its vaulting and stained glass. Visit the Roman Baths, Fashion Museum and Victoria Art Gallery or take a bus tour around the city. Cost £20. Optional one hour walking tour at 12.30pm Extra £3.
If the weather is unsuitable the trip will be postponed.
February 11th (Wednesday) Snowdrops at Shaftesbury then Springhead Trust
COACH TRIP departs 9.15am. Morning visit Shaftesbury town. Explore Gold Hill, Abbey and thousands of snowdrops planted in and around the town. Map of the best Snowdrop locations provided. Cafes for coffee/brunch.
Afternoon visit to Springhead Trust at Fontmell Magna with its ornamental and productive gardens. It lies at the foot of north Dorset’s most spectacular downs, on the western edge of the Cranborne Chase and commands stunning views over the Blackmore Vale and Hardy’s Wessex. Wander around the picturesque lakeside gardens at the head of which, icy, clear water bubbles up from seven springs that are crossed by a wooden bridge and overshadowed by huge and veteran trees.
At the entrance to Springhead, thatched cottages and an 18th century mill house form a courtyard. The small pool at its centre is fed by running water that cascades beneath the mill house to become a gentle stream, Collyer’s Brook, flowing into the River Stour. Pop up café. Cost £23.
March 10th (Tuesday) NT Kingston Lacy
Daffodils
COACH TRIP departs 9.15am. Walk through the gardens and see a wave of dancing daffodils. In the Victorian Fernery get close to smaller plants nestled between the sleeping Tree Ferns and other Winter plants. Stroll along The Cedar Avenue and Lime Avenue or take the Camellia Walk. Other paths lead you into the Japanese Garden or a slightly longer walk to the Kitchen Garden.
The house is the opulent home of the Bankes family – built to resemble a Venetian palace with the Spanish room and the finest collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts and paintings by Rubens, Van Dyke, Titian and Brueghel in Britain. Café and shop. Cost NT members £20; non-NT £33.
April 14th (Tuesday) Sherwood and Bernaville Garden Centre
COACH TRIP departs 10.00am. Traditional gardens surround a quirky, turn of the century Arts and Craft home. Sherwood Garden is a hidden treasure. The gardens were originally laid out before the First World War and its two steep valleys are ideal for even the tallest magnolias, of which Sherwood boasts some 120 varieties.
Acers, magnolias, camellias rhododendrons, azaleas and other woody plants are beautifully supported by banks of naturalised bulbs and wild flowers which thrive under careful low input management. Wildlife is in abundance with the variety of habitats both within and beyond the garden.
Morning visit to Bernaville Garden Centre for coffee / brunch. Cost £23.
May 6th (Wednesday) Sculpture by the Lakes
COACH TRIP departs 9.30am. Nestled in 26 acres of glorious countryside, Sculpture by the Lakes is situated alongside the River Frome, with lakes, streams, meandering paths and plenty of places to sit.
Contemporary sculptor Simon Gudgeon and his team of makers, invite you to explore the seamless symmetry between art, nature and relaxation. Explore the no dig Kitchen Garden and appreciate the Botanic Garden and its incredible collection of over 1,000 trees and shrubs, many of which are under threat in the wild.
Unwind in The Sculpture Park and discover something special in The Makers Yard. Enjoy delicious homemade food in The Kitchen, fresh local produce in The Pantry, find unique gifts and goodies in The Store and curated exhibition pieces in The Gallery. Take time, switch off and immerse yourself in your own day. Cost £26.
June 5th (Friday) to June 8th (Monday) – coach holiday to Kent and Sussex gardens
Click to see full details below.
June 13th (Saturday) Plaz Metaxu Garden Witheridge
COACH TRIP departs 9.15am. Described as ‘probably the most significant new garden to have been made in Britain in recent decades’ the name Plaz Metaxu translates as “the place that is between”.
This large valley garden has been influenced by myth, literature, poetry, painting and music, full of subtle connections and surprising transitions. It has been created since 1992 by Alasdair Forbes around his Georgian home, Coombe House, Witheridge – midway between Dartmoor and Exmoor.
Areas range from the intimate enclosures of a walled flower garden and two stone courtyards around the house, to wide-scale views of the pastoral landscape. There are spacious lawns around the central man-made lake, an orchard and a range of theatrical spaces. Sheltered walks lead through marginal woods to sacred groves and other secret gardens, many of them defined by formal hedges and discreetly placed sculptural features and poetic inscriptions. Cost £30. Optional tea/cake £5.50. 37 seats only.
July 7th (Tuesday) Bennetts Water Garden Weymouth and Portland Bill
COACH TRIP. Departs 9.15am. This 8 acre garden is located on the former claypits of Puttons Brickworks, which closed in the 1950s. Water then filled the pits creating lakes. In 1957 the newly formed lakes were used by Norman Bennett to farm waterlilies. Many of the original lilies planted were sourced from the same nursery in France that supplied the famous artist Claude Monet for his garden in Giverny France.
Around the garden there are five ponds to view plus a woodland walk where you will see the sides of the original clay pits. The walk through The Cutting leads you to the Japanese styled Monet Bridge commissioned in 1999 to commemorate 100 years since Claude Monet’s painting of the Water lily Pond 1899. Cost £23 for coach and entry to Bennetts.
August 6th (Thursday) Pugin House and Kingston Maurward Animal Park and Gardens
COACH TRIP departs 9.15am. Pugin Hall was once Rampisham Rectory, designed in 1847 by Augustus Pugin, who also helped to design the interior of the Houses of Parliament. A Grade I listed building, it is surrounded by 4½ acres of garden, including a large front lawn with rhododendrons, a walled garden filled with topiary and soft floral planting, orchard, and beyond the River Frome, a woodland walk. Tea and cake included
Kingston Maurward has 35 acres of beautiful formal gardens created by the Hanbury Family between 1915 and 1922 within the existing framework of an eighteenth-century Capability Brown-style parkland setting and the vestiges of a Victorian garden.
A tranquil, peaceful and intimate spot in undulating Dorset countryside, with sweeping lawns, lakeside walks and formal gardens including two national collections – salvias and penstemons. The Animal Park hosts a collection of livestock, poultry, and donkeys all set within Grade II listed parkland. Cafe for cakes and savoury snacks. Cost £24 includes tea/cake at Pugin.
August 15th (Saturday) RHS Wisley
COACH TRIP departs 7.30am (Executive 53 seat coach). RHS Garden Wisley is the historical home of the RHS and home to some of the largest plant collections anywhere in the world. Planting schemes are continuously evolving, with something to inspire visitors on every visit. At over 200 acres it is a wonderful day out with richly planted borders, the Fruit Orchard, Seven Acres and the Rock Garden. Explore the lush jungle of the spectacular Glasshouse – home to a world-class tender plant collection.
Enjoy a relaxed stroll through a collection of magnificent century-old trees, as you wander through the Pinetum. Head to RHS Hilltop – the Home of Gardening Science – to explore an impressive exhibition space and three beautiful gardens.
Visit Battleston Hill, a beautiful woodland garden with winding footpaths and enjoy breath-taking panoramic views from the Sky Terrace. Plant centre, restaurants and shop. Cost £30. Please book by July 1st.
September 9th (Wednesday) Blackshed Flowers and Sherborne
COACH TRIP departs 9.15am. Morning visit to explore Sherborne’s shops and cafes, Pageant and Paddock Public Gardens, and Sherborne Abbey (entry not included). Afternoon visit to Blackshed Flowers, a beautiful, 2 acre, flower farm just outside Sherborne established in 2017. It features over 200 colourful and productive flower beds growing a sophisticated selection of cut flowers and foliage to supply florists and the public for weddings and events throughout the seasons. Traditional garden favourites alongside more unusual perennials, foliage plants and grasses, create a stunning and unique display.
Pick your own plus fresh and dried flowers for sale. Guided tour. Fabulous cafe opposite. Cost £15. Optional 1 hour guided tour of Blackshed Flowers + £10.
October 4th (Sunday) NT Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum
COACH TRIP departs 9.00am. Lacock Village in Wiltshire, dates from the thirteeth century and was once the centre of the medieval wool trade. With its picturesque streets, timber-framed houses, 14th century tithe barn, St Cyriac’s Norman church, independent shops, the stunning Lacock Abbey and cloisters, it has to be one of the prettiest villages in England. Downton Abbey, Harry Potter, Wolf Hall, Cranford, Pride and Prejudice have all had scenes filmed here.
With 800 years of history, Lacock Abbey is now a quirky country house, developed over the centuries around a former 13th century nunnery. Wander through enchanting medieval cloisters, explore magnificently furnished rooms and discover the extraordinary Gothic hall.
The Fox Talbot Museum explores the history of photography – William Henry Fox Talbot created the first ever photographic negative at Lacock in 1835. Discover meandering paths through woodland and parkland with a historic rose garden, orchard and William Henry Fox Talbot’s Botanic Garden. Cost NT members £21; non-NT £33.
November 7th (Saturday) Longleat Safari Park and Festival of Light
COACH TRIP departs 9.30am. No trip to Longleat would be complete without a safari tour through the big game park and cheetah kingdom. Here you will view the majestic white rhinos, wolves, giraffes, zebras, tigers, flamingoes as well as the world famous lions. Enjoy a delightful walk in the gardens created by ‘Capability’ Brown as well as taking a trip on the boat safari. Discover the Secret Garden, get lost in the maze or visit the bat cave. Cafes/ restaurants.
Festival of Light from 4pm. Experience the lantern trial, enchanting Christmas Tree Show, Longleat House Light Show and more. Depart Longleat after Festival of Lights trail by 6.30pm. Cost £45. Optional 1 hour guided tour of House £9.95. Please book by October 1st
December 6th (Sunday) Winchester and Christmas Market
COACH TRIP departs 8.45am. Enjoy festive shopping at the Winchester Christmas Market with its historic Cathedral location and German-style wooden chalets.
Beyond the Christmas market discover the historic city of Winchester, England’s ancient capital and former seat of King Alfred the Great with its cathedral, river walks, shops and cafes. Please note some suggestions may not be open.
Explore – Winchester Cathedral (gothic masterpiece and resting place of Jane Austen – entry fee), NT Winchester City Mill (ancient corn mill, cafe and garden – free entry) Winchester College Treasury (College Street – artefacts from Egypt, Greece and Rome – open 2- 4pm – free entry) King Alfred’s Statue next to Abbey Gardens. City Museum (The Square – entry fee) The Arc (Jewry Street – Cafe/exhibitions) City Wall, Jane Austen and Keats self guided walks. Wolvesey Castle ruins (medieval residence of Bishops of Winchester – free entry) The Hospital of St Cross (“England’s oldest and most perfect almshouse” – entry fee) The Great Hall (Legendary home to King Arthur and his round table – entry fee) Buttercross (Holy Cross, dating back to the mid C14th). Cost £20.
Coach holiday to Kent and Sussex gardens
June 5th (Friday) to June 8th (Monday)
Explore six world-renowned gardens in Kent and Sussex: West Dean Gardens, Sissinghurst Castle, Great Dixter, Great Comp, Borde Hill and Standen House.
Stay for three nights bed, breakfast and 3-course evening meal at King Charles Hotel, Kent. Executive coach travel, professional driver and tour manager from Crossways Travel.
Cost of £419 includes travel, accommodation, food (excluding lunch) and garden entrance fees. Single supplement of £45 for the trip. Discounts for National Trust and Historic Houses Association members (£34 and £28 respectively).
For detailed itinerary see Crossways Travel flier below:
To book call Crossways Travel 01305 851697. £50 per person deposit. For further information contact Jenny Harding jennyhlyme@hotmail.co.uk 07773 604137
Uplyme & Lyme Regis Horticultural Society 
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