Accessibility at the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair.
To find out more about accessibility at Audley End House & Gardens, please click here.
Any visitor who is registered disabled is able to purchase a concessionary ticket plus claim a free ticket for a carer to accompany them to the Fair.
All our stages are drop in, so no booking is possible.
Seating is informal, with space to the side accessible to wheelchair users
Assistance dogs are welcome and can be used to access all areas of the site.
Event Mobility Charitable Incorporated Organisation will be providing electric scooters and manual wheelchairs for the use of disabled, elderly and mobility impaired visitors to the show.
To reserve an electric scooter or manual wheelchair you can book online at www.eventmobility.org.uk/book-your-scooter
The charity asks for a donation of £30 for the use of an electric mobility scooter and £10 for a manual wheelchair.
All accessible devices must be pre-booked prior to arrival with on-the-day loans being offered on a first come, first served basis.
Event Mobility is also present at a number of other events. For further information please visit their website www.eventmobility.org.uk
The Autumn Fair takes place in parkland behind Audley End House. A significant part of this is on a slope with limited accessible routes. The formal gardens are separated from the event field by a ha-ha, which has a single accessible bridge linking the two.
The recommended wheelchair route through the gardens is visible in the map below. However, please note that some areas are not fully accessible due to the nature of the garden.
Wheelchair and mobility scooter hire is available, and requires reservation in advance of your visit. Please see further details in our ‘Wheelchair and scooter hire’ section above.
Wheelchair Access – Unable to access the first floor in the house without negotiating stairs. Level access to toilets and shop. Restaurants have ramped access to tearooms.
Stairs – Ground floor is level. Several bridges either have a step or steep slope. Three steps to self-service café in the Servant’s Hall.
Pathways Surface And Gradients – Access to house via loose gravel, tarmac, cobbles and smooth grass. Some gentle undulation. Gardens accessed via tarmac and gravel paths and very smooth grass.
Find out more about accessibility at Audley End House & Garden here >
The car park will be open from 9am to 6pm.
There are 80 parking spaces for Blue Badge parking, free of charge. These can be booked as you are booking your tickets, or can be added to your existing booking.
Please clearly display your Blue Badge upon arrival. Visitors will be directed upon arrival to the Blue Badge parking on the hardstanding next to Audley End house.
To add parking to your existing booking, CLICK HERE, log in with your email address and booking reference, click ‘add tickets to order,’ enter the code ‘carpark,’ and complete your booking. You will not be charged when making this booking.
In the event of a medical emergency please notify a member of security or any member of the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair team who will be pleased to help you.
The BBC Gardeners’ World Fair takes place in the field behind Audley End House. In 2023, the event will also extend into the areas to the side of the house, with street food and bandstand.
The Fair takes place on grass, and the area behind the house is on a slope. There route through the ha-ha from the events field into the formal gardens is not wheelchair accessible. However, there are accessibly routes into the gardens via the house..
Audley End's accessible routes:
Map key:
The dark green section represents the area where the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair takes place, 1-3 September 2023.
Red dashed lines indicated Audley End’s accessible routes
Yellow dashed line indicates the haha between Audley End’s Parterre Gardens and the event field. There is one accessible bridge over the haha, and one gate through the haha which is on a slope with a rough an uneven surface, unsuitable for wheelchairs or scooters.
1. Blue Badge Parking AND Event Mobility scooter hire
2. Main Fair entrance
3. Walled Kitchen Gardens
4. Plant Expert Tour Meeting Point
5. Lion Gate pedestrian entrance. Drop off point for taxis
6. This way to the main car park entrance (including Blue Badge Parking)
7. Cambridge Gate car park, limited availability
8. Cambridge Gate Fair entrance