A new project to make Dunorlan Park in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, more accessible is moving into its final stages with the addition of a sensory garden designed for all visitors. The work aims to create a dedicated space where people can experience nature through touch and smell as well as sight.
The Friends of Dunorlan Park, working in partnership with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, are currently raising money to finish the garden, which will include four raised planters and wheelchair-friendly paths. Two of the four planters have already been funded and the project has moved into its installation phase; the local group is now working to secure the final £2,500 needed to complete the remaining planters and the accessible pathways by the end of 2026.
This new area is specifically designed to help elderly visitors, people with dementia, and those with limited mobility enjoy the park’s historic landscape. Royal Tunbridge Wells in Bloom is expected to feature the sensory garden prominently in its 2026 competition entries.
The project is being financed through private donations, community grants and Friends of Dunorlan Park membership subscriptions; the Charity Commission lists the Friends as a registered charity (No. 1063715). The garden is part of a wider effort to update the park’s facilities while preserving the Victorian design by Robert Marnock from the 1850s.
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