Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
If that is their wish, then I wish them all the best, and hope their voice is listened to. Botanical Gardens have been, Zoological Gardens have not - apparently.
UK zoos & lockdown going forward...
- Thread starter TriUK
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If that is their wish, then I wish them all the best, and hope their voice is listened to. Botanical Gardens have been, Zoological Gardens have not - apparently.
Does anyone have a link to where botanic gardens have been allowed to reopen? All I'm finding is that they're closed until further notice
littleRedPanda
Well-Known Member
the use of the term "botanic gardens" has confused me further. I thought we were talking about garden centres but although I am interested in neither, I do see them as different entities.
Yes, very different entities. Botanic gardens are ticketed visitor attractions (Kew, RHS Wisley, Eden Project, the university botanic gardens etc); garden centres are plant shops.
I'm seeking clarity from friends in the botanic garden sector as to whether they're allowed to reopen or not, and/or when that might be
I'm seeking clarity from friends in the botanic garden sector as to whether they're allowed to reopen or not, and/or when that might be
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Here is the link
Coronavirus – guidance on accessing green spaces safely
dated 23rd - clearly stating gardens (ie place where plants are grown) and not garden-centres, which are retail outlets
Full quote from GOV.UK 23rd May taken from the above link -
'visit gardens and land maintained for public use as an alternative open space to spend time outdoors, although buildings and amenities such as cafes will remain closed and access may be limited to members or those with tickets to ensure social distancing. You should check ahead and follow social distancing guidelines'
Thank you for the link @Andrew Swales reading it through, the "gardens and land maintained for public use" very likely refers to unticketed gardens, such as those found in public parks, rather than ticketed botanic gardens. Botanic gardens may be used by the public, but they are private land which requires a ticket to enter.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Fine lines are they not...?
The earlier update from 22nd said 'Ticketed or Private Attractions' - not ticketed AND...
These are open... at Lotherton Hall, and require a ticket to park your car. I think the car-park tickets have been suspended, but that does not make them a non-ticketed attraction, just a ticketed one not charging at the moment.
Edwardian Gardens
The gardens cover eight acres and were designed as a series of enclosed gardens by Mrs Gwendolen Gascoigne between 1893 and 1914, with few changes up to her death in 1949.
The old Walled Garden was transformed into an “old-fashioned” garden filled with rose beds and herbaceous borders with scented flowers, tender creepers and perennials. The William and Mary Garden was built with a sunken pond and plant walls.
Part of the Victorian shrubbery was made into a rock garden, with winding sunken paths and a hard tennis court was laid out overlooking the pasture. Today, the gardens are being slowly restored.
Regardless, the update of 23rd now permits tickets and clearly says...
access may be limited to members or those with tickets to ensure social distancing.
It will be interesting to see if the questions are chosen, which is answered...
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It's only quite a recent thing that there's even a ticket for the zoo at Lotherton - otherwise it's operationally a council normal park that has a ticket machine in the car park and happens to have other attractions in it. The main grounds have never been ticketed to my knowledge (though that place is a bit of an outlier in a lot of ways).
I've not been to Lotherton, but they would appear to be gardens in the grounds of a museum. The gardens are usually open (similar to the gardens around other museum houses and halls, such as Wardown in Luton, or the gardens at the Horniman Museum). You may need a ticket to park your car at Lotherton, but the gardens are publicly accessible.
The Horniman museum gardens are open - the museum is closed, but the gardens are publicly accessible without requiring a ticket. These are probably a very good example of the kind of garden the government page linked to earlier refers to
The Horniman museum gardens are open - the museum is closed, but the gardens are publicly accessible without requiring a ticket. These are probably a very good example of the kind of garden the government page linked to earlier refers to
Its so ridiculous! Those conditions of opening for botanic gardens are exactly what Chester Zoo - and no doubt others - have said they are willing and able to enforce without being prompted to do so. If gardens are allowed to open if they meet these criteria, so should zoos.
The problem is that even open air museums do involve a lot of buildings, and without access to them there wouldn't be much to see and do!
Crich Tramway Village is also advising that they will re-open in July at the earliest, but as that attraction is based around tram rides and exhibits in large sheds where objects are tightly packed in with little space around them, it would be ludicrous if this was opened at the same time as a zoo. So it'll probably happen then!
That's why I stated they 'may' argue for earlier reopening, not that they necessarily would. All the news I'm hearing from the museum sector is that nowhere is planning on opening earlier than July, with some sites probably opening up even later.
I've also heard back from contacts in the botanic gardens sector, and these are following the same time frame as zoos as regards reopening, with July being the earliest estimate. Have been searching around, and have not come across any botanic garden planning on opening earlier than July.
The govt page linked to above should really be clearer on what it means by "gardens and land maintained for public use", as this seems to be causing a lot of confusion.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
But the government page specifically said for social distancing visitor numbers controlled by membership or tickets, so it would appear not - if the Horniman museum gardens are accessible without a ticket, they do not fit into this new category as they are not controlling visitor numbers by tickets, neither are Lotherton.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Yes - if 'gardens' are now not either collections of plants or collections of animals (or both, they obviously have never been to Chester or Cotswold) - then their new definition of 'garden' must be something else...
It's been named now so can talk about it Lotherton plan to open there cafe on 1st June as a takeaway. But your not really going to be taking it any where you'll just eat/drink on there picnic benches or go sit on the grass. If they can prove it can be done safely, pubs restraunts cafes with large gardens will be argueing they should be able to open.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Many places are arguing that - some are being listened to, some are not; some are being financially discriminated against without compensation, some are not...
This is pretty much spot on though I'd probably use the phrase "unreasonably/unfairly disadvantaged" rather than "discriminated against" as, in my opinion, discrimination describes a decision taken with thought/intent (and some underlying, if flawed, logic) and there's no clear indication that any of this applies to government (or their policies) at present.
Lotherton isn't a car park ticket if you arrive by car it's £7.80 for every adult in the car paying at the hut on the entrance road. But if your a pedestrian it's a grey area as there is no ticket booths at the pedestrian entrances. Mayby there's a public right of way across the site like Chester but it would be too costly to police it to stop people devisting.
This has been the case on both my visits in 2018/19!
That's a change then since my last visit. But it's nonetheless clear that the council currently just regard the grounds as a park for the duration:
The zoo, hall, toilets and café are all closed: Lotherton closure
Lotherton is not an open ticketed attraction. The parkland areas of it have been opened as a park, that's all.