Bury St Edmunds took gold, won the large town class and was named Suffolk champion in Anglia in Bloom 2026. Abbey Gardens and Nowton Park won gold too.
Bury St Edmunds has won the large town category in Anglia in Bloom 2026 with a gold award. It was also named Suffolk’s county champion.
The results were announced at a ceremony in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, on Thursday 24 September. West Suffolk Council published them on 28 September (West Suffolk Council). The full list is on the competition’s own site (Anglia in Bloom 2026 results).
Bury beat seven other large towns across the six eastern counties. Four of them also took gold: Dunstable, Houghton Regis, St Ives and Wickford.
What Bury won
Bury St Edmunds and its gardens collected these awards:
| Entry | Category | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Bury St Edmunds | Large town | Gold, category winner |
| Bury St Edmunds | County champions | Suffolk champion |
| Abbey Gardens | Historic park and garden | Gold |
| Nowton Park | Public parks | Gold |
| Quaker Burial Ground | Cemeteries and burial grounds | Silver gilt |
| Angel Hotel | Hospitality and service venues | Silver |
| Bury in Bloom | FIFA World Cup special category | Silver |
Source: Anglia in Bloom 2026 results.
The Abbey Gardens took gold but not the category win. That went to Houghton Hall Park in Bedfordshire. In public parks, Nowton Park was one of 15 golds; Wootton Park in South Wootton, Norfolk, took the category.
Five more Bury projects were shortlisted for the special awards but did not win:
- the Blombish Green alleyway, for best community project
- the Police Station Ditch, for gardening for wildlife and biodiversity
- the floral mural, for best industrial or commercial area
- Guildhall Feoffment Primary School, for best young people’s project (under 12)
- Buzzing Bury, for the Winnie the Pooh centenary award
The overall Anglia in Bloom winner for 2026 was Filby, a Norfolk village.
Brandon’s year
Brandon, about 15 miles north of Bury, had an even stronger night. It won gold and the town category. It also won the World Cup special category with gold, where Bury in Bloom took silver.
Brandon also won:
- gold and the churchyard category for St Peter’s Churchyard
- gold for The Orchard in the public parks category
- silver gilt for Brandon Cemetery
The council’s release gives Brandon Country Park as the public parks gold. The competition’s own results list The Orchard, Brandon, instead, and we have gone with the organiser’s list.
Why it matters
Anglia in Bloom is the regional round of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom. It covers Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Bury is no stranger to the national stage. At the RHS Britain in Bloom UK Finals in 2025, Bury in Bloom took gold in the large town category (RHS Britain in Bloom results). The Anglia region’s picks for the next UK Finals are Dunstable, Chatteris and Sawtry, not Bury (Anglia in Bloom).
Most of the work is done by volunteers. Bury in Bloom was founded by the Bury Society in 1986, and it says it employs only one part-time person (Bury in Bloom).
Cllr Ian Shipp, the council’s cabinet member for leisure, thanked the Bury in Bloom and Brandon in Bloom groups, and “the staff and volunteers who maintain our parks and gardens to such a high standard”.
What it means for you
- See the winners. The Abbey Gardens are free to enter. Our Abbey Gardens opening times page has the autumn and winter gate times. Nowton Park is on the south side of town.
- Help next year. Bury in Bloom takes volunteers and sponsors through its get involved page. It also runs the Certificates of Merit front garden scheme for residents.
- Looking for more to do? Our things to do in Bury St Edmunds page lists the town’s parks, museums and walks.
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