ADVERTISING FEATURE

West Dean is one of those places that, unless you know it’s there, you won’t find it, but it’s worth the effort. If you set your SatNav to PO18 ORX you’ll get there.

The award winning gardens attract thousands of visitors each year, and more than 20,000 over the Chilli Fiesta weekend alone – which is now the biggest chilli event in the country. Behind the impressive façade of the flint brick mansion, there are over 60 full time visual arts and creative writing students, alongside others learning how to conserve ceramics, furniture, books and clocks, metal and objects at the college. People come from far and wide to attend West Dean’s short courses and there are over 700 to choose from.

But now there’s another reason to visit West Dean – The Garden Shop, through which you enter to reach the gardens themselves.

The shop has had a complete overhaul and new creative input thanks to the vision of retail development manager Karin Dunbar who studied at the Royal College of Art.

No longer merely a place to pass through and pick up a souvenir on your way home, Karin has transformed the shop into a shopping destination in itself (with free parking!).

It embodies much of the ethos of poet and collector of Surrealist Art Edward James, who lived at West Dean and created the charitable foundation The Edward James Foundation in 1964 to nurture and preserve traditional crafts and skills that were in danger of being lost. Karin says: “I wanted to apply the Edward James ethos to the way the shop is run by stocking locally made products which reflect this area.

“What I’m particularly excited about is the introduction of a new range of special pieces made by West Dean’s own tutors, some of whom use materials produced or grown on the estate. So now you can buy a piece of craft or art work and, should you be inspired, come on a course with the tutor that made it.”

Karin is currently stocking woodturned bowls and fruit made by Colin Simpson, leather embossed notebooks by artist Alison Milner, ceramics by Jon Barratt- Danes and jars of preserves with labels beautifully illustrated by Christine Forbes.

“It’s a chance to take a little piece of West Dean away with you at the end of your day”, says Karin. “Hopefully it will remind you why you want to come back again and again”.

If gardening is your thing or you need a clever present for a gardener in your life, then that’s another good reason to visit. There is a huge range of garden goodies, from beautiful long gardening gauntlets (which look far too luxurious to use), Burgon and Ball garden tools and accessories, to willow planters. There’s also an impressive range of plants, herbs and shrubs and seeds. In a nod to the forthcoming Jubilee celebrations, if you visit the shop over the next few weeks you will notice plenty of red, white and blue and you will be able to buy your own, tasteful souvenir, such as crown earrings or a 2012 leather bracelet and bunting.

But before you leave you must treat yourself to some of the Kokoh chocolate, made locally in the Surrey hills and winner of “The Great Taste Award 2011”, try one of Caroline Spilby’s delicious homemade ice creams or a clotted cream tea in the Gardens Restaurant (from £4.50).

The restaurant is often busy with garden visitors as well as young mums, toddlers in tow, enjoying some much needed time out with a latte and a slice of West Dean’s famous peach and fig cake – now that beats Starbucks anyday.