Farnham won five Golds at South & South East in Bloom, with Best in Category for the town centre and a first Gold for the station, in a year of heat and roadworks.
Farnham has won five Gold awards at the 2026 South & South East in Bloom awards, and its town centre was named Best in Category. The results were presented on Friday 25 September, Farnham Town Council said.
It came in a hard year for the town’s planting. The judge toured Farnham in July on one of the hottest days of the year, and the town centre spent the summer under the roadworks of the Farnham Infrastructure Programme.
The 2026 results
Farnham Town Council’s Farnham in Bloom campaign took home:
- Gold and Best in Category for the town centre, in the Town/City Centre class
- Gold for West Street Cemetery, in the Large Cemetery class
- Gold for Badshot Lea Cemetery, in the Small Cemetery class
- Gold for Hale Cemetery, also in the Small Cemetery class
- Gold for Farnham railway station
The council says the station award recognises the work to make it “an attractive and welcoming gateway to the town”.
How it compares with last year
Farnham also won five Golds in 2025, according to the council’s report of those results. The mix has changed.
| Entry | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Town centre | Gold, Best in Category | Gold, Best in Category |
| West Street Cemetery | Gold | Gold |
| Badshot Lea Cemetery | Gold, Champion of Champions | Gold |
| Hale Cemetery | Gold, Best in Category | Gold |
| Gostrey Meadow | Gold | Not listed |
| Farnham railway station | Not listed | Gold |
The town centre has held its Best in Category title. Hale Cemetery’s 2025 category win and Badshot Lea Cemetery’s Champion of Champions title are not repeated in this year’s results. Gostrey Meadow does not appear in the 2026 list, and the station appears for the first time in the two years. The council’s release does not say whether Gostrey Meadow was entered this year.
Community groups
Five Farnham groups were judged under It’s Your Neighbourhood, the strand for volunteer-led projects:
- Level 5, Outstanding: Badshot Lea Bloomers, Space2Grow, and the Friends of the Garden of Reflection at West Street Cemetery
- Level 4, Thriving: Hale Community Centre and Bourne Conservation Group
Badshot Lea Bloomers, Space2Grow and Bourne Conservation Group were all rated Outstanding in 2025.
A farewell award for the town clerk
Iain Lynch, who recently stepped down after 15 years as Farnham’s Town Clerk, received the Chairman’s Award. The council says it recognises his long support for Farnham in Bloom and his push for investment in the town’s green spaces.
Councillor Mat Brown, the town council’s lead member for environment, said 2026 had been “a particularly challenging year for Farnham in Bloom”, citing “the extreme heat and town centre roadworks”. He added: “I consider it to be an incredible achievement for us to be recognised in this way.”
He thanked the campaign’s sponsors, naming its Gold supporters as Squire’s Garden Centre, Farnham Institute Charity and Make It Farnham.
Godalming’s turn next
Godalming is waiting on a bigger result. Godalming Town Council is one of four finalists in the Town Centres & City Centres category of the national RHS Britain in Bloom 2026 UK Finals, representing the South East. The RHS says finalists receive their Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver or Bronze awards at a ceremony in the autumn. Farnham won Gold and Best in Category in the same national class in 2024.
What it means for you
The awards are judged on more than flowers. Litter picks, wildlife planting and the work of volunteer groups all count. If you want to help next year, the town council runs volunteer sessions with Farnham in Bloom, and businesses can sponsor a hanging basket.
For more to do around town this month, see what’s on in Farnham.
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