Chelsea Flower Show
 

We have tickets for the Chelsea Flower Show in May. We plan to be there when it opens to pick up our tickets.....they could not be mailed as we'll be traveling 3 weeks before the show and they couldn't guarantee they'd mail them early enough.

Does anyone have any tips for best seeing the show? We expect crowds. At times we've been successful starting at the end of a show like this but at other times, fighting the throngs going in the "right" direction was too much effort. Our tickets are for a members' day, not sure how much that helps. Any recommendations for lunch?

Any insights greatly appreciated.

"<i>Our tickets are for a members' day, not sure how much that helps. Any recommendations for lunch?</i>"

That helps quite a bit. It will still be very crowded but nothing like the open days.

I'd eat lunch either very early or after maybe 2PM -- unless you just happen on open seating someplace. There is no 'best' direction to travel since folks are going every which way all the time. At opening time here can be quite a queue both to collect tickets and and to get in.

I'm surprised you couldn't get the tickets mailed in time. I live in the States and have always received my tix w/i a week or so of ordering. Maybe their system has changed??

Anyway, not entirely sure but maybe you can collect the tix at the site a day or two before the show opens to save a bit of hassle later on.

Good point, Janisj, we may try to get tickets opening day as our reservations are for the next day. Thank you.

We originally asked for the tickets to be mailed, then inquired how early they mail them. I foolishly assumed they mail them as you order them.

They said they mail them all about 2-3 weeks before the show. We leave for Amsterdam 5/1 and will be traveling until we get to London 5/19. They said they could not mail them earlier, thus we need to stand in line to pick them up, not our first choice!

We'll need to look at our plans. I'd love to get them a day early but not if it means missing out on something else. In that case, I'll just go extra early.

Then it does sound like things may have changed. Last time I attended was in 2010 - but not on a member day that year - and I had my ticket in hand 2 or 3 months ahead.

That would have been so easy!!

My wife has been on a number of occasions, and janisj's advice is spot on (as usual :-)). My wife is a member of RHS and has gone on member days, and it is still pretty tiring. Don't plan to do anything that night!

A couple of years ago, we went on a garden tour, one of a number organized in conjunction with Chelsea, the Museum of Garden History in Lambeth. I think it also had some relation to the National Gardens Scheme, but they had a bus that took a bunch of us to perhaps eight wildly different private gardens in south and southwest London, with a stop in a large garden for delicious box lunches with elderflower cordials.

I am not a gardener but enjoyed this immensely and would have loved to go on their tours to other parts of London. But alsa, back to the States. You might enjoy it if they still run these, and except for getting to and from the Museum, all transportation is taken care of by them!

I will definitely look into that Ackislander. We are RHS members also. Thank you!