Hundreds of visitors helped to raise money for charities when admiring three beautiful private gardens near Horncastle and Louth that opened their doors to the public on Sunday.

The openings were part of the National Garden Scheme (NGS), and all entry fees went to national and local nursing, health and garden charities.

For the first time this year, Oxcombe Manor at Horncastle was open for the NGS from 11.30 am to 5.30 pm.

Its gardens, described as “cared for rather than manicured”, offered visitors the opportunity to explore the kitchen garden, orchard, lawns and woodland, as well as browse local produce stalls, try potter taster sessions and enjoy home-made cakes and tea.

The garden at 23 Accommodation Road, just off the A158 Lincoln Road in Horncastle, was open to the public.

placeholder image — The garden at 23 Accommodation Road, just off the A158 Lincoln Road in Horncastle, was open to the public.

Admission was £7 per person, with children allowed in for free. The main gardens were wheelchair accessible.

Meanwhile, 23 Accommodation Road, just off the A158 Lincoln Road in Horncastle, was also open. This medium-sized garden is designed into small rooms with flower displays, as well as an array of tall and dwarf bearded iris, fruit trees and bushes.

Plants and garden wall plaques were available to purchase. Admission, from 11 am to 4 pm, was £3.50 per person, with children free, and the garden was partially accessible by wheelchair.

The third garden to open on Sunday, and for the third time this year, was Woodlands, Fotherby, which sits on Peppin Lane, near Louth.

Another view of the garden at 23 Accommodation Road near Horncastle.

Woodlands is renowned for its rich plantings in shady and sun-drenched beds, and it also has a wide range of varieties of salvias.

The garden, which is a Royal Horticultural Society-listed nursery, was open from 10.30 am to 3.30 pm. Admission was £5, with children free.

While there, visitors were also able to visit an award-winning artist’s studio, and refreshments were available to raise funds in aid of St Mary’s Church, Fotherby.

Dogs on short leads were allowed in all three gardens.

The NGS supports leading UK nursing and health charities, including Marie Curie, Macmillan Cancer Support, Hospice UK, The Queen’s Nursing Institute and Parkinson’s UK.

In 2025, the NGS donated a record-breaking £3.87million to its beneficiaries.

More details of these gardens, others in Lincolnshire and all those nationally can be found at www.ngs.org.uk