{"id":59301,"date":"2026-03-20T15:50:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T14:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/?p=59301"},"modified":"2026-03-20T15:53:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T14:53:31","slug":"wakehurst-named-number-one-visitor-attraction-in-sussex-two-years-running","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/2026\/03\/20\/wakehurst-named-number-one-visitor-attraction-in-sussex-two-years-running\/","title":{"rendered":"Wakehurst named number one visitor attraction in Sussex two years running"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Wakehurst<\/a> is the\u00a0number one visitor attraction in Sussex<\/strong>,\u00a0for the second\u00a0year running,\u00a0according to new figures\u00a0released\u00a0today (Friday 20 March)\u00a0by\u00a0the Association\u00a0of\u00a0Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA),\u00a0during English Tourism Week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The ALVA members\u2019 visitor figures for 2025\u00a0show Wakehurst, Kew\u2019s wild botanic garden in Sussex,\u00a0has\u00a0retained the top slot\u00a0in the county\u00a0for the second year runnin<\/strong>g, as the number one\u00a0visitor attraction and\u00a0destination in Sussex,\u00a0since\u00a02024, placing it in the\u00a0top 20 in the South-East\u00a0<\/strong>(outside\u00a0of\u00a0London).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Susan Raikes, Director of Wakehurst, commented:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u201cI am\u00a0delighted\u00a0that Wakehurst has once again been recognised as Sussex\u2019s top visitor attraction,\u00a0and proud to see us ranked among the top 20 in the South-East.\u00a0<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cOver the past year,\u00a0we have\u00a0worked hard to enrich every aspect of the Wakehurst experience\u2014welcoming more\u00a0visitors\u00a0and\u00a0creating truly memorable moments. Highlights include celebrating\u00a0seed science and conservation to mark\u00a025 years of Kew\u2019s Millennium Seed Bank, reopening our Elizabethan Mansion with new exhibitions, and ending the year with an\u00a0enchanting\u00a0Seed Safari\u2013themed Glow Wild light trail.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cVisitors are returning not only for our beautiful landscapes and inspiring events but because Wakehurst is a garden with purpose\u2014a living laboratory, home to pioneering science and the world\u2019s largest wild seed bank, dedicated to protecting and restoring nature.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0excited to welcome\u00a0new\u00a0visitors in the year ahead, especially with the launch of our\u00a0<\/em><\/span>Henry Moore and\u00a0more\u00a0outdoor exhibition in June,\u00a0showcasing\u00a0Moore\u2019s iconic sculptures,\u00a0alongside works by three internationally acclaimed contemporary artists.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Image: Wakehurst mansion pond, Jim Holden\u00a0\u00a9\u00a0<\/strong>RBG Kew<\/em><\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wakehurst is the\u00a0number one visitor attraction in Sussex,\u00a0for the second\u00a0year running,\u00a0according to new figures\u00a0released\u00a0today (Friday 20 March)\u00a0by\u00a0the Association\u00a0of\u00a0Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA),\u00a0during English Tourism Week.\u00a0 The ALVA members\u2019 visitor figures for 2025\u00a0show Wakehurst, Kew\u2019s wild botanic garden in Sussex,\u00a0has\u00a0retained the top slot\u00a0in the county\u00a0for the second year running, as the number one\u00a0visitor attraction and\u00a0destination in Sussex,\u00a0since\u00a02024, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":59302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1585],"tags":[],"directory-category":[],"event_categories":[],"class_list":["post-59301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awards"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-27 19:55:53","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59301"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59306,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59301\/revisions\/59306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59301"},{"taxonomy":"directory-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory-category?post=59301"},{"taxonomy":"event_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_categories?post=59301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}