2nd April 2025
We recently caught up with Ruth Campbell at Aspens Charities about their Pembury site and Bluebell Café, where members receive a complimentary hot drink when visiting and spending £5 on food, as a thank you for visiting.
Ruth, Bluebell Café sits at the heart of your site on Cornford Lane. What can we experience when visiting and when are you open?
The Bluebell Café on Cornford Lane, is in the heart of Aspens’ Pembury site, set in idyllic countryside and gentle rolling hills, and close to Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Paddock Wood. The Café is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 10.00 am - 4.00 pm, and on Wednesdays from 11.00 am – 4.00 pm. The Café often opens at weekends over the summer months and during December when we sell our popular Christmas trees; it’s best to check our website, www.aspens.org.uk, for any updates to our opening hours before visiting.
Aspens’ Bluebell Café runs a range of family-friendly, free or low-cost activities throughout the year during the school holidays, from adventure trails to arts and crafts.
The site also has an animal farm, with guinea pigs, rabbits and ferrets in the Small Animal Barn and larger animals such as alpacas, donkeys, pigs, ponies, emus and goats in the outside enclosures.
Visitors are welcome to explore our beautiful, spacious grounds, which include a buggy-friendly circular woodland walk (in spring the bluebells the Café is named after are amazing!) featuring giant musical instruments and our peaceful children’s playground set in the middle of the woods. If you’ve still got energy to burn, there is also an outside gym on site.
The site is open every day of the week throughout the year. Donations are very welcome and enable us to maintain and care for our site and the animals and to continue offering this experience to the community.
Donations can be made directly to the Aspens website or at the donations boxes on site and in the Café.
Well-behaved dogs (on leads at all times) are welcome to the outside areas. Parking is available but please note that at busy times such as school holidays it can fill up quickly, so you’re advised to come early in the day.
What does Aspens do?
Aspens is a charity that provides high-quality care and support to individuals on the autism spectrum and with learning disabilities; meeting their needs and aspirations and empowering them to learn and grow through an integrated network of services across the South-East.
We support children, families and adults across Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey and Bexley. Our services include registered care homes; supported living; community outreach; day opportunities; children and young people’s groups and support; specialist support; and free online support for families and carers across the South-East.
Support provided at our Cornford Lane site includes residential and supported living houses and our Acorns Day Opportunities Centre, where those attending can take part in a wide range of activities such as art, pottery, cookery, animal care and horticulture.
Tell me about Bluebell Café. When did you open and what’s on the menu?
The Bluebell Café has been the hub of Aspens’ Cornford Lane site for over 20 years, providing a warm and welcoming place for the people we support, our staff and the community to socialise and connect.
The Café, run by manager Becky Teles-Amaro and team, serves a selection of hot and cold drinks and a delicious range of sandwiches, pastries, snacks and ice creams. We offer a mouthwatering range of cakes, made by the people we support at our Roebuck Day Opportunities Centre in Hastings. The Salted Caramel Cake is a firm favourite with our customers! We offer a children’s menu throughout the year and specials during the school holidays. There is indoor and outside seating and our kiosk, serving drinks, snacks and ice creams, is open during busier times.
Your site is home to many of the people you support. Are they actively involved with the Café?
Visiting The Bluebell Café is truly unique as it provides an opportunity to see how the people we support benefit from the welcoming and friendly space it provides.
The Bluebell Café runs an Employability programme, offering the people we support positions as Café Assistants, enabling them to put the skills learned on our City and Guilds course into action with guidance from our trained staff. One person we support, Katie, has worked in the Café for over 5 years now!
The Bluebell Café truly is the heart of our site and the people we support, as well as our staff team and volunteers, enjoy visiting and meeting with friends and colleagues throughout the year.
I’m very proud to work alongside Aspens which is a very special charity. Why did you join the TN card?
At Aspens we place much value on our connections with the community and know this is key to our sustainability. The TN card aligns with our values in that it supports our local community and the independent businesses within it, as well as giving back to charity.
Nestled in the beautiful countryside, The Bluebell Café is a little off the beaten track (we think that’s part of our charm!), so being part of the TN card is a great way to let more people know we’re here and inspire them to come and experience our lovely Café, animal farm and beautiful site – whilst saving money at the same time!
Besides visting the cafe, how can we all support you?
Aspens provides over 890,000 hours of support to over 3,000 children, young people, adults and families every year. Providing this vital support costs £58,000 every day. With our funding impacted by rising costs and financial pressures on local authorities, we need support now more than ever.
You can visit The Bluebell Café throughout the year and shop at our charity shops in Bexhill, Crowborough and Paddock Wood, and our eBay and Etsy stores. You can donate your pre-loved items to our Donations Centre or at any of our shops.
You can follow us on our social media and sign up to our newsletter, The Aspens Courier. You can buy your Christmas tree from The Bluebell Café and come along to our events like our Golf Day or Festive Fun Day. You can volunteer your time in our Café, shops, gardens, with our animals or in our services. And, of course, please tell your networks, friends and families all about us!
For local businesses we have launched our Corporate Partnership Scheme, enabling them to directly contribute to our work, while offering exclusive benefits and experiences for staff and clients to engage with our mission. There are four partnership levels available, each offering a range of opportunities and benefits. We will work closely with businesses to tailor a package that aligns with their commercial, social and charitable objectives. Aspens partnership opportunities are limited and offer exclusivity within business sectors. Find out more on our website or email us at fundraising@aspens.org.uk
Your support will provide essential support and opportunities for growth and independence for people on the autism spectrum and with learning disabilities in your community. Thank you for any support you can give and we hope to see you at The Bluebell Café soon!
Member reward at Bluebell Cafe: Receive a free drink of your choice (hot or cold) when you spend £5 or more on a main food item on the adult menu. £5.00 spend excludes crisps, snacks and sweets. 