ABOUT THIS TOUR

Nowhere in the world is the passion for horticulture expressed more vividly than in Britain, where gardens have served as inspiration for painters, writers and poets for centuries. From great country estates to miniscule inner-city gardens, the British use their exceptionally long growing season to its fullest advantage, and we’ve timed your visit to bring you the best of English gardens.

This is your invitation to see some of England’s most famous gardens at a time of year when color runs rampant. You will visit the Royal Horticultural Society’s flagship garden at Wisley, Kiftsgate and Hidcote Manor. Royal’s schedule permitting, you will also take a tour of King Charles’ estate at Highgrove. Additional highlights include visits to many other magnificent gardens including Pettifers Garden, Broughton Grange Gardens, Iford Manor and Stourhead.

In London, you will have a full day at the Chelsea Flower Show. Your tour includes membership in the Royal Horticultural Society so that you may attend the show on members-only day when the crowds are smaller than on the public days. There will also be free time in London to explore famous sights, museums and galleries that you may want to visit.

Come along with other garden lovers for a stroll through the most impressive English gardens. This trip is a quintessential celebration of springtime.

Day One, Monday, May 19:

Depart on an overnight flight from your chosen US gateway city to the London Heathrow Airport. Note: you will arrive in London on Tuesday, May 20.

Day Two, Tuesday, May 20:

Upon arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport, you will be met and transported to your hotel in central London for a two-night stay. (Rembrandt Hotel or similar.). Depending upon your arrival time, you may not be able to check in to your hotel room. Your tour guide will be there to make suggestions for lunch and local places to visit.

This afternoon, join your guide on an Orientation City Tour of London. There will be time to stroll around some of the sites and take photos.

Once back at the hotel, check into your rooms, unpack and refresh. Gather this evening for a reception and welcome dinner at the hotel.

Day Three, Wednesday, May 21:

 Start your day with an included breakfast served in the hotel. Today is your day to visit Britain’s most famous spring garden event, the Chelsea Flower Show. The show gardens, each an exquisite jewel of design and execution, are created by the finest international landscape designers. During your visit, have lunch on your own at one of the restaurants, cafes or food courts around the show.

Spend as much time as you wish among the inspiring exhibits. Then, you may make your way back to the hotel to relax or wander down the street to visit the Chelsea Physic Garden, the oldest botanical garden in London, founded in 1673. (admission not included) This evening, venture out for dinner on your own.

Day Four, Thursday, May, 22: 

This morning you head for the hills—the Cotswold Hills. Your first visit is to Pettifers Garden. Pettifers has taken about 15 years to create and continues to evolve. It has a peaceful feeling that comes with the extraordinary views over the landscape. This is a plantsman’s garden with plenty of interest all year round. It is considered one of the most influential gardens in England.

After a break for lunch on your own at a local pub, continue on Broughton Grange Gardens. Nestled in the Oxfordshire countryside, it is a stunning example of modern horticulture, featuring expansive landscapes, meticulously designed formal gardens and a renowned arboretum. Its history dates back to 1620, initially as a small farm cottage. Today, it is set in over 400 acres of parkland, farmland and open meadow, with parkland planting that owes its origins to the Victorian era. Over the last 25, years, Broughton Grange and its gardens have been substantially transformed such that it is now recognized as one of the most significant private contemporary gardens in Britain.

After a short drive, arrive at your hotel for a 3-night stay. (Kingshead Hotel or similar) There will be time to unpack and relax before you gather for an included dinner.

Day Five, Friday, May 23:

Following breakfast, your first visit of the day will be to the Hidcote Manor, England’s foremost 20th-century garden. Here you will witness a series of horticultural “rooms” that have been created, each different in color, character and intention. Hidcote is one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain.

After an included lunch at a nearby country eatery, you’ll visit Kiftsgate Court Gardens. The gardens, famed for its roses, are the creation of three generations of women gardeners. They were started by Heather Muir in the 1920s, continued by Diany Binny until 1950 and now looked after by Anne Chambers and her husband. Heather Muir was a pioneer in the rediscovery of shrub roses, including the celebrated rambling Rosa filipes “Kiftsgate.” It is claimed that the Rosa filipes “Kiftsgate” is the largest rose in Britain, measuring 80 feet x 90 feet x 50 feet high.

Kiftsgate first became well known to the gardening public after Graham Stuart Thomas's article in the Royal Horticultural Society Journal, May 1951, in which the great plantsman observed, "I regard this as the finest piece of skilled color work that it has been my pleasure to see.”

Late afternoon, return to the hotel. Venture out for dinner on your own this evening.

 Day Six, Saturday, May 24:

Following breakfast in the hotel, board the coach and head out to visit a most exquisite property, Iford Manor. Iford was rated as among the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" by Condé Nast Traveler in 2020, with the manor taking "center stage.” The origins of the present house are as early as the late 15th century or the early 16th.

Iford is best known for its beautiful gardens, which are designated Grade I in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens by Historic England. They were designed during the early part of the 20th century by the garden architect, Harold Peto. He lived at Iford from 1899 until his death in 1933 during which time he built up an extensive collection of antiquities and artifacts, brought back from his travels abroad. His great love of the Italian garden style is plainly evident at Iford, where flowers occupy a subordinate place amongst the more structural elements of cypress, statuary, hedges, water features and broad walks.

There will be time for lunch on your own at the Iford Café before you travel to the National Trust Garden and Palladian Mansion at Stourhead. The property is the site of one of the most famous gardens in the English landscape garden style, farmland and woodland.

The gardens were designed by Henry Hoare II and laid out between 1741 and 1780 in a classical 18th-century design set around a large lake, achieved by damming a small stream. The inspiration behind their creation were the painters Claude Lorrain, Poussin, and in particular, Gaspard Dughet, who painted Utopian-type views of Italian landscapes.

Monuments are used to frame one another; for example, the Pantheon entices the visitor over, but once reached, views from the opposite shore of the lake beckon. The use of the sunken path allows the landscape to continue on into neighboring landscapes, allowing the viewer to contemplate the surrounding panorama. The Pantheon was thought to be the most important visual feature of the gardens. It appears in many pieces of artwork owned by Hoare. The plantings in the garden were arranged in a manner that would evoke different moods, drawing visitors through realms of thought. According to Henry Hoare, “The greens should be ranged together in large masses as the shades are in painting: To contrast the dark masses with the light ones, and to relieve each dark mass itself with little sprinklings of lighter greens here and there.”

Return to the hotel to refresh. Early evening, gather for an included dinner.

Day Seven, Sunday, May 25:

Start your day with a leisurely breakfast served in the hotel. Then, board the coach and travel to Highgrove, HRH King Charles’ private estate and main residence when he was Prince Charles. The gardens at Highgrove have been open to the public since 1996. The gardens of the late 18th century home were over-grown and untended when Charles first moved in, but have since flourished and now include rare trees, flowers and heirloom seeds. Current organic gardening techniques have allowed the gardens to serve also as a sustainable habitat for birds and wildlife.

The gardens were designed by King Charles III in consultation with highly regarded gardeners like Rosemary Verey and noted naturalist, Miriam Rothschild. The gardens receive more than 30,000 visitors a year. The house and gardens are run according to the King’s environmental principles and have been the subject of several books and television programs. Your visit includes a guided tour of the gardens before an included lunch at the Orchard Restaurant at Highgrove. (This visit is subject to the Royal’s schedule.)

Depart Highgrove and return to the hotel. The afternoon and evening are at your leisure to explore, shop and have dinner at one of the many, locally owned restaurants in town.

Day Eight, Monday, May 26:

Check out of your rooms after breakfast in the hotel.  Depart the Cotswolds and head to the 240-acre flagship garden of the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley. Wisley is the second most visited paid entry garden in the United Kingdom. It is the jewel in the crown of the RHS and has been a living encyclopedia for gardeners for the past 100 years.  In addition to numerous formal and informal decorative gardens, several glasshouses and an extensive arboretum, it includes small scale "model gardens" which are intended to show visitors what they can achieve in their own gardens. There is also a trials field where new cultivars are assessed.

There will be time for lunch on your own followed by a tour of the garden’s highlights led by one of the local gardeners. You will also have free time to browse the charming Wisley store.

Depart Wisley, travel to Windsor and check into your hotel for a one-night stay. (The Castle Hotel or similar).  There will be free time to relax before you gather for an included farewell dinner.

Day Nine, Tuesday, May 27:

Following an included breakfast in the hotel, board your morning transfer to the London Heathrow Airport for your return flight to the U.S.A.