Groombridge Place Sherlock Holmes and Peter Pan character event

Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson arrive at GROOMBRIDGE PLACE followed by Captain Hook and Peter Pan!

Visitors to Groombridge Place near Tunbridge Wells in the school summer holidays can have fun searching for clues around the 150 acre estate with a little help from Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. On arrival, take a picture of the map to help you find the clues and solve the mystery as you walk around the gardens and the beautiful Enchanted Forest. Children who successfully collect all the clues and solve the mystery of ‘The Stolen Gems from Peacock Valley’ will receive a sweet treat to enjoy on their journey home! The delightful walled gardens at Groombridge Place were a favourite of the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who created the Sherlock Holmes character. The writer was a frequent visitor and Groombridge Place was the setting for his Sherlock Holmes story, ‘The Valley of Fear’. The writer much admired the house and gardens and felt that Groombridge Place was ‘the very essence of England’. Copies of the ‘Valley of Fear’ are available to purchase from the shop next to admissions.

Captain Hook and Peter Pan will also be returning for some pirate fun this summer as they entertain children in the gardens and along the canal path which leads to Crusoe’s World with its wooden fort, pirate ship and rope bridges. Other play areas in the forest include the long boardwalk with its rope swings and chain bridges and right at the top of the forest visitors can discover the exhilarating giant tree swings which adults and children can enjoy. Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson Thursday 22 July to Thursday 5 August Captain Hook & Peter Pan Friday 6 August to Friday 20 August Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson will return on Saturday 21 August to Tuesday 31 August

Tickets are also available from admissions for the Canal Boat which takes you on a journey from the gardens to Crusoe’s World. £1.50 for adults and £1 for children. The popular Birds of Prey Displays will take place daily with performances at 12.30 and 3.30pm. Look out for the resident peacocks as you stroll around the attractive gardens, which overlook the impressive historic moated manor house which was used in the film ‘Pride and Prejudice’ with Keira Knightley in 2005. Being surrounded by beautiful countryside, Groombridge Place is also a relaxing place to enjoy peace and quiet and observe all the native wildlife including the wild Fallow Deer often grazing at the edge of the meadows. The summer months are also the perfect time to spot the many species of butterfly which frequent the gardens and woodland of this 150-acre site including Red Admirals, Speckled Wood and Peacock butterflies. A refreshment area at Crusoe’s World has a BBQ (subject to the weather) and offers hot and cold drinks and snacks. The café near the admission office will also offer a selection of sandwiches, cakes, ice creams and hot and cold drinks. Admission per day: Adults: £8.95 Children of walking age to 12: £6.95, Family £25. Advance booking only please at www.groombridgeplace.com Groombridge Place will be open from 10am until the gates close at 5pm.

The attraction will be open daily in school holidays and on bank holidays and at other times from Wednesday to Sunday. Groombridge Place, Groombridge Hill, Groombridge, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN3 9QG. Car Parking Free.

Media enquiries to Caroline Edmunds at Pennington PR tel: 01892 616647 or 07775 943305 caroline@penningtonpr.com

Directions to Groombridge Place: Groombridge Place is located in the village of Groombridge, 4 miles south west of Tunbridge Wells on the B2110, which is just off the A264 Tunbridge Wells/ East Grinstead road - on the Kent and East Sussex county border.
By Road: From the M25: Exit at Junction 5 and head south on the A21. After 10 miles, exit at A26 signed Tunbridge Wells: then take A264 to East Grinstead and follow the signs to Groombridge village and Groombridge Place.
By Rail: London Charing Cross to Tunbridge Wells, then bus or taxi to Groombridge.