England is a land of gardens. From the tiniest of terrace houses to the grandest of Stately Homes, the British tend their gardens with love and affection.

Our Garden and Great Houses tours include a selection of some of the finest formal and planned gardens dating from the 16th century onward. We also see award-winning modern creations, and gardens that perhaps don't receive the praise they should.

In addition to magnificent gardens, we also include a range of Stately and other great houses and homes. You can chose from one of three tours; one featuring the county of Kent, another the southern counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, or one combining all.

Our Kent portion concentrates on some of the more classic and better known sites while our Hampshire and Isle of Wight section introduces you to a range off the main tourist path, but exquisite in their own way.

Tour Code

Depart London

Return London

CFS

NIGHTSTOP

DAY ONE - SATURDAY - TOUR OPTIONS 1 & 2

DAY TWO - SUNDAY - TOUR OPTIONS 1 & 2

Ightham Mote, Knole, Scotney Castle

Ightham Mote, deservedly one of the most popular small gardens in the region. Here you can explore 650 years of history in the most complete examples of a mediaeval moated manor house. Scotney Castle has been termed England's most romantic garden with Victorian terraces covered in a riot of coloured shrubs overlooking a 14th century moated castle.

The garden is set on the side of a valley at 500 feet but is sheltered by the magnificent woods of the Sussex Weald.

Finally, a climatic finish to our first day with a visit to Knole. This is one of England great 'treasure houses'. Home of the Lords Sackville since 1603, the property has much to offer including Royal Stuart furnishings and a fine art collection of English masters. Knole was the birthplace of Vita Sackville-West (whose own garden creation we'll see later) and was used by Virginia Woolf as the setting for her novel 'Orlando'. A visit here is like stepping back in time.

Sevenoaks

DAY THREE - MONDAY - TOUR OPTIONS 1 & 2

Groombridge Place, Hever Castle, Sissinghurst

We travel the short distance to the fabulous Sissinghurst Castle. Vita Sackville-West's world famous garden is another that requires no introduction to garden enthusiasts. You'll have plenty of time to explore this intimate and intricate garden and to visit those parts of her home open to the public.
Hever Castle is the jewel in our day. Hever is many people's idea of what a 'real' castle should look like, from its gateway and courtyard to its surrounding moat. It is the most fairy-tale like. Though dating back to 1270, and being the family home of one of Henry VIII's ill-fated wives (Anne Boleyn), it also has a relatively contemporary feel provided by the Astors who took over and restored the castle in the early part of last century.  With a 30-acre garden including a unique Italian garden filled with roses and statues, there's plenty to admire here.
Our final garden today will be Groombridge. This has the added attraction of an attached house and Sherlock Holmes fans will enjoy discovering the connection here to the great detective.   We also need to leave some flexibility for 'serendipity' today as we'll no doubt find some attraction en route that is unplanned but which we simply must stop for. Well, it wouldn't be a Back-Roads tour if that didn't happen!

Bodiam, Great Dixter, local informal gardens and your choice!

On a Back-Roads Touring Co. tour we like to leave room for adaptation; adaptation to the weather, the local conditions, and most importantly, adaptation to the desires of tour participants. Thus, on today’s programme we’ll leave space for you, in consultation with the guide to decide on at least one visit. This region is blessed with homes and gardens; Penshurst Place, Leonardslee, Merriments Gardens “one of the best show gardens in England” (RHS Garden Finder) and Emmetts, to name but a few that have wonderful qualities.  This morning the choice will be yours (subject, of course, to democratic agreement!).

Another iconic garden and house is that of Great Dixter. This is the largest half-timbered house in England but it's the garden that really grabs the attention with it topiary, wild meadows and famed Long Border. It is one that cannot be missed.

We've an opportunity of a slight change of pace and period for today's final visits. You'll have the choice of seeing the magnificently preserved 15th century Bodiam Castle, the Abbey connected with the famed 1066 Battle of Hastings or, perhaps, Kipling's house, Bateman's. Dinner is not included tonight to allow some flexibility for attending London theatre. Search for West End shows here.

Ham House, Osterley House, Syon House and Kew

Tour option 3 / CFSH participants join tour this morning

Our London day concentrates on some of the gardens and stately homes that run along the banks of the Thames to the west of the city like a string of pearls.

Robert Adams ‘Osterly Park’, Gunnesbury House, the municipal gardens of Walpole House in Ealing are all deserving of attention but supreme amongst them is Syon House with its Tudor connections and National Trust arboretum.

A short distance away, close to Marble Hill House and under the watchful eye of Richmond Hill, sits Ham House. This magnificent 16th century pile boasts on of the last formal Dutch gardens. One method of reaching the house, by rowed ferry across the Thames adds a special dimension to the visit!

Last, but certainly not least on our day is the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew.

Dinner tonight will be taken in an historic Thames riverside pub.

The World famous CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW is our central feature of the day. There’s an afternoon option to visit Chiswick House for those who don’t want the whole day at Chelsea. Chiswick is a pleasant garden and ‘party’ home created by Lord Burlington and architect Inigo Jones at Chiswick. This public, neighbourhood space delights all visitors with its informality and its well tended and colourful flower beds.

Dinner is not included on the tour this evening to give flexibility to those who wish to stay as long as is possible at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The Rothchilde's Waddesden Manor, hidden villages of the Chiltern Hills and Cliveden

Today we visit a region of the UK that can truly be described as 'unrecognised'. Perhaps we could even use the phrase, 'the UK's hidden secret' without it being just the tired old cliche. The Chiltern Hills are a supreme delight.

In this smallish area of gentle hills and sudden valleys, we find impossibly pretty villages. Some might be recognisable from popular films and BBC TV shows but it's a surprise to find they are real not just sets. Amongst the gems to discover are the 'Marharishi's Well', an Indian Prince's garden gift, the Astor's magnificent country gardens at Cliveden, and the Rothschilde's sumptuous, Loire chateau-like, Waddesdon Manor.

Add to this some stunning private gardens, picturesque parish churchyards, a memorable retail 'garden centre' and a 1000 year old pub for lunch (not included in cost), and you have an exquisite and unique day.

Dinner is not included this evening to allow flexibility for those wanting to attend theatre, walk besides the nearby Thames, or perhaps enjoy Chiswick, this very English of neighbourhoods.

Note: if you are taking Option 2 / CFSK,  you will be dropped at one of our central London hotels at the end of the day. We can arrange any pre/post tour accommodation, transfers, sightseeing and services as required.

Painshill Park, Polesdon Lacy and Hinton Ampner

Our first visit of the day is to Painshill Park. Created between 1738 and 1773 by the Hon Charles Hamilton, a painter, plantsman and brilliantly gifted and imaginative designer, it is a unique award winning restoration of England's Georgian Heritage. Within its 160 acres its Hamilton landscapes are a work of art that influenced the future of England's countryside and culture. The Hamilton Landscapes have been authentically restored to their original pre-eminence winning the Europa Nostra Medal for exemplary restoration. 'Painshill Park is a jewel of English culture, a source of peace and inspiration, the work of an English gentleman in all its quiet charm'. Not a bad review!

Polesden Lacey, our next stop, represents the Regency period (1820s) in our historical panorama. Sumptuous? Certainly sumptuous enough to have attracted King George VI and wife Elizabeth (our beloved and much missed Queen Mother) to spend part of their honeymoon here. In addition to the magnificent interior, there's the lovely walled rose garden to walk through.

Finally, we'll look at Hinton Ampner. This is one of the great gardens of the 20th-century. It is a masterpiece of design by Ralph Dutton, 8th and last Lord Sherborne, uniting a formal layout with varied and informal plantings in pastel shades. It boasts a 12-acre garden of year-round interest with scented plants and magnificent vistas over parkland and rolling Hampshire countryside. Alternative gardens offered today are Hatchlands and Claredon.

New Forest to Isle of Wight and Queen Victoria's Osborne House

The Isle of Wight sits a short ferry crossing from Portsmouth and offers us a unique day out with some fabulous sightseeing opportunities. The jewel in today's crown is Osborne House. This was where Queen Victoria chose to spend her Summers. The house and gardens are national treasures. Here, inside, you'll see how Queen Victoria lived (and also sneak a look 'beneath stairs' to see how her staff worked and lived). In the wonderful 50 acre gardens that sweep to the Swiss Cottage & its garden, you'll walk amongst magnolias,. Lebanon cedar, azaleas and other in-season blooms. There's also a perfect Victorian walled kitchen garden.

A second visit for the day takes us to Ventnor Botanic Garden  “devoted to exotic plants”, many, if not most, from the southern hemisphere. 

We'll spend the rest of our day soaking up the atmosphere of this lovely little corner of the British Isles and exploring its coastline and resort towns. If we've time, and the inclination amongst group members, we might also see Morton House.

Kingston Lacy, Exbury Garden, and Mottisfont

We've several magnificent properties on today's visit schedule. There's no better way of describing the first, Kingston Lacy, than the National Trust's own description; ' Home of the Bankes family for more than 300 years, this striking 17th-century house was radically altered in the 19th century by Sir Charles Barry. The house is noted for its lavish interiors, including William Bankes's dramatic Spanish Room, with its gilded leather walls. The family's collection of art is outstanding, with paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, Titian and Brueghel as well as the largest private collection of Egyptian artefacts in the UK. This wonderfully eclectic experience continues outside. Take a stroll across the beautiful formal lawns towards the restored Japanese tea garden. There are several waymarked walks through the surrounding parkland, with its fine herd of North Devon cattle, and the 3,440-hectare (8,500-acre) estate – dominated by the botanically rich Iron Age hill fort of Badbury Rings, home to fourteen varieties of orchid'.

Next, to Exbury Gardens. This spectacular 200-acre woodland garden is world-famous for the Rothschild collection of rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias, rare trees and plants, and is a real riot of colour!

Mottistone Manor, our final stop of the day, is a garden noted for its colourful herbaceous borders, grassy terraces planted with fruit trees and its sea views. The 16th- and 17th-century manor house, which is tenanted, lies at the heart of the Mottistone Estate, which offers delightful walks between the Downs and the coast.

The order of our garden visits will be determined by your guide, as wil the time allocated to each depending on the weather and location of overnight accommodation.

Stonehenge, Wilton House, Mottisfont, Winchester

First to Wilton House, truly one of the country's treasure houses. Here, amidst nearly 500 years of history, you will experience living history at its very best as you wander through its magnificent rooms, marvel at its architecture, soak in its fine paintings or be swept off your feet by its spectacular gardens.

Another marvel nearby is self-selecting as an inclusion on our tour. Though not having any connection with a home or garden, we cannot drive by the amazing Stonehenge with at least a photo-opportunity stop!

Last on today’s formal programme is the magnificent cathedral city of Winchester. The cathedral grounds are a delight and a walk beside the gentle river and it’s adjoining meadows reminds us that nature needs little help in giving us her own natural gardens.

Our journey back into London may offer a final opportunity for stopping at the gardens of Selbourne. Surely, no garden tour can be complete without at least the brief ‘tipping of the hat’ towards one of the great early gardeners and naturalists, Gilbert White.  

You will be dropped at one of our central London hotels at the end of the day. We can arrange any pre/post tour accommodation, transfers, sightseeing and services as required.

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Please note: while we will do our utmost to include all of the properties mentioned as central visits, we reserve the right to change an attraction should it become impossible to deliver a planned visit due to changes in opening days or times that we could not have been aware of at the time of loading this tour to our website. 

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