The owners of the Sandridge Park estate near Stoke Gabriel will be opening their beautiful gardens to the public in aid of LandWorks for two days at the start of June.

There are 10 acres of formal gardens, walled gardens, orchards and woodland walks within a stunning 150-acre estate overlooking the River Dart available to explore and enjoy.

The event follows a very successful weekend opening in May last year which saw almost 700 people visit the estate and raised £20,000 for the charity.

The estate has a long and interesting history.

At one point owned by Sir Walter Raleigh, the estate was developed in the early 19th century when Lady Ashburton commissioned one of the foremost architects of the time, John Nash, to build the Grade 2* listed house that stands on the estate today.

The house was sold for re-development in 1937 but escaped demolition; subsequently both the house and gardens were requisitioned by US forces during World War 2 to prepare for D-Day. The estate passed through a number of hands until was acquired by the current owners, Mark and Rosemary Yallop, in 2006.

The estate has been lovingly restored since then, with Country Life Magazine describing it as having had an “inspirational renaissance”.

The Open Gardens weekend is being held in aid of LandWorks, a specialist rehabilitation and resettlement charity based on the Dartington Hall estate near Totnes.

It provides a supported route back into employment and the community for people leaving prison or serving community sentences and at risk of going to prison, working closely with local prison and probation services.

In 2024, LandWorks won the top award at the prestigious Civil Society Media Charity Awards.

The Sandridge Park gardens will be open to the public on Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7 between 11am and 5pm each day.

Dogs on leads welcome.

There will be plenty of parking available on site.

Refreshments are available, and visitors are welcome to bring a picnic.

A range of beautiful crafts and produce made and grown by LandWorks participants will be available to buy with all proceeds going to the charity.

And this year an additional relatively easy-going long riverside walk will be marked out on the estate for visitors to enjoy.

The first £5,000 raised by the event will be matched funded, meaning the money raised will be doubled for the charity.

Rosemary Yallop said: “We are so pleased to open the gardens again in support of LandWorks.

“LandWorks is an inspiring local charity which makes a real difference and we are delighted to be able to support them.”

Chris Parsons, LandWorks Director, said, “It is very kind of Mark and Rosemary to open their beautiful gardens again in aid of LandWorks.

“Last year was hugely enjoyable and we are very grateful to everyone involved in making this event happen again.

“All proceeds will go towards running the charity, helping people to start a new life, stop reoffending and ultimately make our communities safer.”