STATELY
HOMES & BEAUTIFUL GARDENS
4
days / 3 nights - Saturday to Tuesday
 England is blessed with palaces, castles and great country houses displaying unrivalled opulence and refinement. Treasure houses in every sense. And then there are gardens, gardens and more flower-filled gardens, formal and informal, large and small, planned and wild, all bursting into riots of colour and overloading the senses with fragrant smells and sights.
We've chosen to show you a balanced selection, including some almost legendary, iconic places that are virtual shrines for the home and garden enthusiast, and others that might escape ones attention unless shown them.
And knowing that one's partners don't always share the enthusiasm, please note that other of our our mini-tours often run over the same four days allowing couples to follow their own interests in the company of other kindred souls!
Garden lovers should also consider our tours including the Chelsea Flower Show.
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DEPARTURE DATES & PRICES FOR YEAR 2009
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Tour Code
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Depart
London
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Return
London
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HNG
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Saturday
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Tuesday
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HNG 01
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18 Apr
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21 Apr
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HNG 02
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02 May
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05 May
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HNG 03
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16 May
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19 May
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HNG 04
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30 May
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02 Jun
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HNG 05
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13 Jun
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16 Jun
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HNG 06
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27 Jun
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30 Jun
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HNG 07
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11 Jul
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14 Jul
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HNG 08
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25 Jul
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28 Jul
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HNG 09
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08 Aug
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11 Aug
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HNG 10
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22 Aug
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25 Aug
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HNG 11
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05 Sep
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08 Sep
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HNG 12
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19 Sep
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22 Sep
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HNG 13
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03 Oct
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06 Oct
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HNG 14
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17 Oct
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20 Oct
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Price per person: GBP £495 Twin share / GBP £535 Single room
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This tour departs from & returns to the following central London hotels.
We can assist with pre/post tour accommodation, transfers & sightseeing.
The Royal National, Bedford Way
The Corus Hotel, Hyde Park
The Grosvenor Thistle, Victoria Station
The Holiday Inn Forum
The Chiswick Hotel, Chiswick
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08.15 (underground Russell Square)
08.25 (underground Lancaster Gate)
08.30 (underground Victoria Station)
08.40 (underground Gloucester Road)
09.00 (underground Turnham Green) |
- Clients should wait by the concierge desk.
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What
your tour price includes
- Your accommodation for 3 nights while on the tour is included in your tour price, and this includes both full breakfasts and dinners;
- Your price also includes all entrance fees to attractions, transportation, services of driver/guide-companion and all taxes and tips other than those you may wish to give your guide;
- Airport transfers and accommodation pre and post tour is not included but can be reserved at a specially discounted price.
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| TENTATIVE
ITINERARY |
NIGHTSTOP
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DAY ONE - SATURDAY
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RHS Wisley/ Polesden Lacy/ Nymans
We start our tour discovering
these magnificent gardens the Royal Society Gardens at Wisley.
Here you can not only enjoy a garden with something for everyone
but a well-stocked bookshop means you have no excuse for not
taking home a few ideas for remodelling your own backyard!
Polesden Lacey 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.
Our final garden is Nymans, should we have time as we may find our first two simply too lovely to rush. Tour participants can decide on the day. After all, it's your tour!
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Kent
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DAY TWO - SUNDAY
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Chartwell / Knole / Scotney
Castle & Quebec House
Does
Winston Churchill home of Chartwell require an introduction?
What makes it such a memorable visit is not only the view from
the garden (that inspired his painting) but the fact that the
interior is almost as he left it. You can almost smell the cigars!
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.
Then
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 tomorrow) and was used
by Virginia Woolfe as the setting for her novel 'Orlando'. A
visit here is like stepping back in time.
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Kent
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DAY THREE - MONDAY
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Ingham Mote / Penhurst Place
/ Hever Castle
Penhurst Place is another of
our finest family-owned stately homes with a history stretching
back six and a half centuries. Perhaps its most memorable feature
is the 60-foot high, chestnut-beamed mediaeval hall. It doesn't
take much imagination to see the feast of old being enjoyed
here! In addition to the fine 'objects d'art', furnishings and
paintings displayed inside, Penhurst has a lovely garden, uniquely
divided into 'rooms' by yew hedges.
Then to Ingham Mote, deservedly
one of the most popular small gardens in the region.
Hever Castle is the jewel we leave to climax 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. (Those tour participants who have combined this with our Tudor tour will instead see Churchill's Chartwell).
With a 30-acre garden including
a unique Italian garden filled with roses and statues, there's
plenty to admire here.
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Kent
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DAY FOUR - TUESDAY
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Sissinghurst/ Kipling's Batemans / Bodiam Castle & Battle Abbey
We
travel the short distance to the fabulous Sissinghurst Castle.
Vita Sackville-West's world famous garden 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.
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 and the historic Abbey connected with the famed 1066 Battle of Hastings. Our final visit of the tour will be to Rudyard Kipling's house, Batemans, where this incredible authour penned many of his most memorable poems and stories such as the 'Jungle Book' and 'Pook of Pook's Hill'.
Our
tour returns to London for approximately 6pm.
>>Go to other tours departing from London
>> Tours including 2009 Chelsea Flower Show
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