Visitors seek hidden delights in the garden
Hundreds of visitors descended on Bury St Edmunds on Sunday to get a sneak peek at some of the town's rarely seen gardens.
The 23rd annual Hidden Gardens event saw hundreds of programmes sold across the day, raising 16,000 for St Nicholas Hospice Care.
Among the hits of the day – when 36 residential gardens were open to the public – were a walled garden with Father's Day games, a World War Two air-raid shelter complete with memorabilia and sound effects, and a tiny courtyard garden with a 4ft high door as an entrance.
Residents and tourists who were following the trail said they were impressed with what they had seen, with many taking away tips for their own gardens.
Harry Hurst, of Rougham, said: "It's amazing what's behind the brickwork in Bury and this event means the rest of the town can appreciate it."
And Sandra Utting, from Bury, said: "We've been to the Northgate Street area and I was amazed how quiet and tranquil the gardens are for a town centre."
Syd and Marian Rutland, who opened their low-maintenance courtyard garden in Bridewell Lane, said the only drawback of taking part in the event was not having a chance to visit some of the other gardens.
Mr Rutland said: "We used to live in Tostock and came to Hidden Gardens as guests once or twice. When we moved here we thought it would be good to get involved.
"It's a great fun day and it's so good for the charity."
Organisers Isobel Ashton and Elizabeth Barber-Lomax said their thoughts had already turned to next year's event following Sunday's success.
Mrs Ashton said: "It was a very good day. The weather was brilliant and there were lots of people enjoying themselves, and we had more children than we've had before, which was really nice."
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: -2 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 6 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -5 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South east
