Heathfield House, a real local attraction within easy reach by public transport from central Croydon
There’s no need to travel far this weekend for your traditional English cream tea with no end of scrumptious offerings available at Heathfield House at the Green Heritage Fair on Saturday and Sunday, September 15-16.
You can enjoy a baked jacket potato or a bowl of delicious home-made organic pumpkin soup and a buttered roll for lunch in the Heathfield Pantry Café and there are Heathfield’s very own organic jams, jellies, chutneys, honey, herbs, chocolates and fudge available for sale.
All the profits from the lunches, teas and produce sales go straight to the Ecology Centre’s Wildlife Rescue and Animal Welfare Fund.
The gardens have been opened to the public since 1958 when the Riesco family owned the property, which was originally a large estate house overlooking the farmland that spread south from the Addington Hills.
Open through the year, the gardens are a delight for a family afternoon out.
Get in a spin with the activities at Heathfield House this weekend
You can visit the Ecology Centre’s Wildlife Sanctuary and its Organic Old Varieties’ Orchard; meet the sheep, Wilfred and Sam; watch the skill of a local spinner at work, using a traditional spinning wheel; and walk the Heathfield Tree Trail with a Heathfield botanist.
The Fair is open from 11am to 5pm on both days this weekend. Heathfield House can be reached by public transport with the nearest tram stop being Coombe Lane, an easy seven-minute easy walk from Heathfield House. More ambitious ramblers can stroll uphill from East Croydon, alongside Lloyd Park and Coombe Lane, in about half an hour.
The 130 and 466 buses stop near the top end of Shirley Hills Road, where you alight at Bishop’s Walk, close to Heathfield House. The entrance for pedestrians is in Ballards Way.
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Well done Heathfield House for getting involved in the non-London Heritage Weekend Event. It is a shame that Croydon Council chose not to get involved in London Open House, which is the following weekend.