Kipling Gardens, Rottingdean

Kipling Gardens

Named after the village's most famous resident, 'Jungle Book' writer Rudyard Kipling, these delightful gardens are full of rustic village charm.

Surrounded by flint walls and sitting close to Rottingdean village's green and duck pond, Kipling Gardens is a great example of a traditional English garden.

In close walking distance from the gardens are local shops and cafés. The nearby 12th Century church, St Margaret’s, is famous for its Burne Jones windows.

Kipling Gardens is one of eight parks in the city recognised by the Green Flag award scheme

Getting there

Click the map above to find the park's location.

Bus
The 2 and 2A buses run past the park every 20 minutes during the day. The 57 bus service also runs through the village hourly on Sundays and bank holidays. The 57 also runs journeys at other times during the week. The main A259 coast road, with a wide selection of regular and frequent buses, is approximately 8 minutes' walk from Kipling Gardens. Further information is available from the Brighton & Hove Bus company.

Cycling

An off-road cycle path runs alongside the coast road from Rottingdean towards Brighton and Hove. There are cycle parking stands, and Btn Bikeshare hubs, on the southern side of the coast road in Rottingdean Village.

Download your city cycling map here and visit our cycling page for more information on cycling around the city.

Cars
There is very limited free parking available in Falmer Road, and some in surrounding roads.

Opening Times
Park: Always open.

Features of the gardens

Kipling Gardens

Like all the best traditional gardens, Kipling Gardens are divided into a series of distinctive areas. These include a woodland garden, which is particularly beautiful in spring, and a rose garden full of beautiful colours and scents.

The garden contains thousands of bulbs that produce a carpet of colour in spring. There's also a small herb garden and a chalk garden with picnic tables, just perfect for those who want to relax longer and have a bite to eat in these beautiful surroundings. The garden also has the only formal croquet lawn in the city.

Did you know?

The gardens were originally the grounds of 'The Elms', the country house which Rudyard Kipling rented between 1897 and 1902. Kipling wrote many of his 'Just So' stories in the house. This house is now in private ownership.

The gardens had become overgrown over many decades, but were rescued and restored by the Rottingdean Preservation Society in the early 1980s. In 1986 the site was formally handed over to the council and they have been maintained and improved upon to this day.

You can Dedicate a Bench at this park.