Are you a member of a Group or Organisation? Would you like the opportunity to visit the delightful Challis Trust House and Gardens – a tucked away oasis of tranquillity in the middle of Sawston?
Bookings now being taken for September 2026 – August 2027
There is the opportunity to enjoy these spaces exclusively by booking-in your group outside usual opening hours.
We offer a choice of visit options for groups of up to 20:
A talk about the Museums, the history of the House, the Challis family and a House Tour.
A talk about the Gardens, their history as a Market Garden, plus more recent developments and a Garden Tour.
Refreshments – tea/coffee/ cakes etc can be booked.
Our outdoor kitchen can also be booked by those providing their own refreshments.
All of these are optional – you can simply come along with your group to enjoy the Garden as you wish but House visits have to be led by a Challis Trustee.
There is no charge for visits. Instead, we request donations from groups and participants to go towards expenses the ongoing work of the Challis Trust.
Booking form online on the Challis Trust website under ‘Contact Us’
This is a non-smoking and vape-free site
PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO THE RURAL AND UNSPOILT NATURE OF THE GROUNDS AND THE HOUSE, WE ARE UNABLE TO HOST WEDDINGS OR WEDDING RECEPTIONS.
Rosie Phillips
August Garden News:
Some good news to start with: our wonderful Garden was featured in the Garden News weekly magazine as ‘Garden of the Week’ in the issue that was published on 28th July! Fame at last and very well deserved. It’s a credit to the many volunteers and trustees who have worked over many years to create this peaceful and inspiring space in Sawston. It is very gratifying to see the Garden used by so many groups and visitors, and increasingly by school groups. Long may it continue!
The not-so-good news, of course, is that the heatwaves and exceptionally dry conditions continue into August. The lawns are parched and the flower beds slowly shrivelling up. Many plants of all types have succumbed and seem unlikely to recover. We are very lucky to have our own borehole water that we can continue to use without restrictions. However, It’s simply not possible to water everything so we have to prioritise – perennial beds, annual plants, vegetables, potted plants and new plantings get first call.
We really do need to plan ahead now and consider what plants to use for the future. To this end, we are collaborating with the Climate Change Gardening group to inspire and advise visitors about how to mitigate the effects of climate change on our gardens. It is important to review what plants are coping with the present conditions – sedums, penstemons, some Verbenas, Gaura, dahlias, asters and four-o’clock plant (Mirabilis jalapa) are faring well. These will be more widely used in our plantings in future.
The gravel paths in the Garden are due for upgrading in August. Please be advised that the Garden will be closed from 10-14th August for the work to be carried out. We hope to re-open on Saturday 15th August. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Mike Redshaw