Our Park is a hidden gem in the heart of Tunbridge Wells. The town's oldest public park, it was originally designed by renowned Victorian landscape architect Robert Marnock in 1889. Since then, it has grown, developed and flourished to become a great place to relax, play and enjoy nature.

FoGH was set up in 2011. Our key focus is to enhance the quality of life for our community; raise awareness of ecology; and encourage the local community to take an interest in the conservation of the Park. Our work takes many forms, from family events, talks, walks and gardening, to ecological projects, such as rewilding the orchard.

Our Park has several access points. Use the postcode TN1 2HU to get to the entrance in Auckland Road. For the Hilbert Road entrance, near the Oast House, use TN2 3SF. All parking for the Park is on residential streets, there is no car park.

Click here to collapse the report.

It seems an appropriate time to let you know how our current project to extend the wildflower meadow in the orchard is progressing. After removing as much grass and thatch as possible, we planted yellow rattle. This weakens the grass by feeding off the roots and reducing its growth and it is doing its job well. This means we can now think about sowing wildflower seeds. This will take place over the next few months and, fingers crossed, we will start to see some lovely wildflowers appearing during next year.

This means that we have been thinking about our next fund-raising project, and we have come up with two new ones. The first is to repaint the graphics on the ground in the children's playground. This is now 10 years old, and after a lot of wear and tear is looking very tired. Rather than just repaint it, we have been discussing options with the Parks Team to create graphics reflecting some historical aspect of the Park. Ideas include the 'lost' swimming pool, the remnants of which still lie under the playground.

The second is to refresh some of the interpretation boards around the Park and install additional ones, where the swimming pool and bandstand once were. These will link in with our online Discovery Trail, which provides a self-guided tour around the Park. We are always grateful for all the donations we receive at our events, as they help to cover the running costs. For 2026 any money left over we get will go towards the children's playground graphics and interpretation board projects.

It was encouraging to see that the Park once again retained its Green Flag and Green Heritage Site awards. In addition, the Park was awarded Gold in the RHS In Bloom competition. Not to be outdone, FoGH were once again given an Outstanding rating in the RHS It's Your Neighbourhood category. These awards really underscore all the time and effort that everyone puts into the Park, so thank you to everyone that has been involved.

Finally, can I wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year and look forward to seeing you in 2026!

To report an incident to Kent Police in Grosvenor and Hilbert Park

• Emergency: dial 999
• Non-emergency: dial 101

Other contacts

• Council Parks Department: 01892 554031

To hire The Hub please contact the council to check for availability and instructions by sending an email to parksteam [at] tunbridgewells.gov.uk or by phoning 01892 554031

• Friends of Grosvenor & Hilbert Park: chair [at] fogh.org.uk

Please note there is a defibrillator at the Hub, if needed phone 999 to get the access code and assistance when using it.

The are two ways you can get involved with the park.

Join the Friends

We are a volunteer-run group that relies on donations from events and membership fees. By signing up and joining the Friends you will help fund our work and put on community events in the park.

Follow the link and sign-up on line.

Volunteer

Alternatively or additionally you might like to volunteer to undertake tasks around the park. We regularly hold weeding and planting event and there's always litter picking.

Simply sign up to our volunteer newsletter and we will tell you when something suitable is planned.