Highdown Gardens

Our first picnic of the year! With maternity leave ticking away and the weather being so beautiful today, when things got grumpy after lunch I piled the three of us into the car and headed to the nearby Highdown Gardens, just outside Worthing in West Sussex between Ferring and Goring.

The gardens are lovely at any time of year, and on this beautiful sunny day they were glorious. My favourite part of the gardens is the Chalk Garden, one of the first areas that you encounter, with a large grassy area to sit on, a pond with enormous fishes and a little footpath at one end that goes up the side of the hill and is usually filled with butterflies, great for little ones to run around and around.


We'd just eaten so the picnic was limited to raisins, cheerios and breadsticks. Mia didn't really get into the spirit of it, she just up-ended all my little pots. The birds will be well fed this evening. I love our vintage Marmite picnic mat!

You can get around the gardens easily with a pushchair, there are some steps but they can be avoided. The gardens  are situated on a fairly steep slope, so you just have to keep an eye on toddlers that love running down hills as it's a long walk back up from the bottom!

Entry to the gardens is free (although donations are gratefully accepted) and I'd really recommend a visit if you live nearby!