Six Fareham parks and open spaces won gold at the 2026 South and South East in Bloom awards. The Civic Gardens moved up a grade; Holly Hill kept silver gilt.
Six of Fareham’s parks and open spaces have won gold in this year’s South and South East in Bloom awards. A seventh, Holly Hill Woodland Park, won silver gilt.
The awards were presented on Friday 25 September at RHS Garden Wisley, in Surrey. Fareham Borough Council, which looks after all seven sites, announced the results on 2 October.
The biggest move was at the Civic Gardens in the town centre. They won silver gilt last year and gold this year.
The 2026 results
| Site | 2026 | 2025 | 2025 score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbey Meadows, Titchfield | Gold | Gold | 172 |
| Warsash Common | Gold | Gold | 177 |
| Coldeast Conservation Area | Gold | Gold | 178 |
| Portchester Common | Gold | Gold | 174 |
| Civic Gardens | Gold | Silver gilt | 154 |
| Sensory Garden of Reflection | Gold | Gold | 173 |
| Holly Hill Woodland Park | Silver gilt | Silver gilt | 169 |
The 2026 grades come from the council. The 2025 grades and scores come from the campaign’s published results. The campaign has not yet published this year’s scores. Last year’s appeared in December.
Long runs of gold
Several of these sites have a long record in the campaign. Its results sheet goes back more than a decade:
- Warsash Common has won gold every year it has entered since at least 2012. It did not enter in 2020.
- The Sensory Garden of Reflection has won gold every year it has entered since 2011.
- Coldeast Conservation Area, in Sarisbury, won silver gilt until 2021. This is its fifth gold in a row.
- Abbey Meadows, beside Southampton Road in Titchfield, won silver gilt in 2023 and has won gold since. The council officially opened it in July 2021.
Abbey Meadows covers about 20 hectares. The council’s Abbey Meadows page says it has wildflower meadows, a children’s play area, an apiary and dog-walking areas. It sits within the Titchfield Abbey Conservation Area.
Holly Hill: silver gilt again, with £1.09m on the way
Holly Hill Woodland Park, in Sarisbury, won silver gilt for the fourth year in a row. It won gold in 2018 and 2019.
Its lakes are about to be restored. Last week the council won a £1,088,866 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to clear silt from the Victorian lakes and ponds and repair the stonework. In July the park and the Sensory Garden of Reflection both won Green Flag Awards.
Two 2025 winners missing from the list
Two other Fareham entries won gold in 2025: Westbury Manor Garden on West Street, and Portchester Crematorium. Neither appears in the council’s announcement. It does not say whether they entered this year. The campaign’s full results will show it.
What the council said
Councillor Ian Bastable, the council’s executive member for streetscene, said: “These awards are a wonderful recognition of the outstanding parks and open spaces we are fortunate to have across Fareham.”
He credited “the volunteers, community groups and the Council’s grounds maintenance teams, whose dedicated efforts keep these spaces looking their very best for everyone to enjoy.”
The council describes South and South East in Bloom as the largest horticultural campaign in the region, involving hundreds of communities each year.
What it means for you
- All seven sites are free to visit. The council’s open spaces pages give locations and opening details.
- Abbey Meadows has free parking at Mill Lane Recreation Ground and off Cartwright Drive, the council says. There are no toilets on site.
- The Civic Gardens are in the town centre, on the walk to Fareham Live.
- If you volunteer with a friends group, the council credits volunteers alongside its own grounds teams. Its open spaces team can put you in touch on 01329 236100.
More to do locally: things to do in Fareham and Fareham October half term.
Sources
- Fareham success in prestigious gardening awards, Fareham Borough Council, 2 October 2026.
- South and South East in Bloom results 2025 (spreadsheet), including grades and scores for earlier years, published December 2025.
- Abbey Meadows, Fareham Borough Council, read 5 October 2026.
- Holly Hill Rediscovered grant, Fareham Borough Council, 30 September 2026.
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