Unpaid carers and staff from Carers Trust enjoyed a morning wandering around the beautiful gardens of Godinton House in Kent on 17 September, as part of the charity’s ongoing partnership with the National Garden Scheme.
36 carers were invited along to explore the gardens at their leisure before they opened to the public later that day. The carers came from three local carer charities within the Carers Trust network.
As well as the beautiful grounds the carers enjoyed tea and cake as they took a well-deserved break from the pressures of their caring roles.
Beverly Fleck, 71, from Rochester said: “Today has been lovely and being here with everyone has made me realise that I am not the only one in this position and how important it is for all carers, like me, to take some time for themselves.
“Within my role as a carer there is so much of me that is lost. So even just getting up and getting dressed to come somewhere just for me was wonderful. I am a country girl at heart and I love trees, so this experience made me come alive again.”
The carers were joined by Sara Butts, head of corporate at Carers Trust. She said: “We are so lucky to have this partnership with the National Garden Scheme and yesterday’s visit was our biggest garden visit ever for carers. We could see walking around just what an impact these few hours alone had on the carers who joined us, and how much they appreciated having some time to themselves in these wonderful surroundings.
“We are really grateful to everyone at the National Garden Scheme and at Godinton House for making yesterday so special for all the carers on the visit. Being a carer can be very stressful and being outside in nature like this can help immensely with relieving some of that stress.”
Commenting on the visit, National Garden Scheme chief executive George Plumptre added: “We know, after almost 100 years of sharing gardens, what a joyous thing a garden visit can be. To see the interactions during Carers Trusts visits, not only with the gardens but between people sharing some of the stresses and strains of their roles as carers is always wonderful. That a garden can provide respite, even for a few hours, is hugely rewarding.”
Next year Carers Trust will celebrate 30 years of partnership with its longest standing funding partner, the National Garden Scheme.
As part of the partnership the National Garden Scheme specially arranges garden visits for carers from the local carer support charity within the Carers Trust Network. These visits are a much-needed break from their caring role for carers, as well as an unrivalled opportunity to enjoy the company of other carers in some of the UK’s most beautiful gardens.
