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Small personal guided tours, visiting private & great gardens on the scenic north coast of Devon, Somerset & Cornwall, leisurely pace, exclusive accommodation package available.
Gardening is more popular in England than anywhere else and this is reflected in the number of gardens open to visit in England. As an island with a powerful navy, Britain's territory was physically secure from an earlier date than other European countries. English towns could spread beyond their medieval walls much earlier than in continental Europe. Instead of apartment blocks, the typical English dwelling was a small house with a small garden. The aristocracy always wanted 'a place in the country' for the summer and a town house for the winter.
A wide range of design styles are well represented in England, although the most famous period in English garden history is the eighteenth century, when the original English landscape gardens were made.
The tour includes a full day at the Chelsea Flower Show, which is the most famous horticultural event in the world, a visit to one of the best known Arts and Crafts gardens in England ( Sissinghurst ), a tour of the RHS's flagship garden ( Wisley ) with its new glasshouse, and a visit to one of most complete historic gardens and estates in England ( Tatton Park ).
Cornish gardens have a very special character, partly because Cornwall is warmer and wetter than most of the UK and partly because the wind has encouraged people to make gardens in well-wooded valleys. The tour visits 10 of the best privately-owned gardens in Cornwall including Tregrehan, Caerhays Castle, Ken-Caro, Marsh Villa, Bosvigo, Lamorran House and Pine Lodge Gardens (pictured left).
This is an excellent tour for visitors to London who would like to visit gardens in Kent and Sussex. The countryside is varied, well-wooded and very favoured from the points of view of garden makers and garden visitors. The tour includes visits to Lullingstone Castle, Great Comp, Nymans, Leonardslee, Sissinghurst, Great Dixter and Hever Castle.
The tour includes Hestercombe (pictured left), Rosemoor, Marwood Hill, East Lambrook Manor, Cothay Manor and Kilver Court.
Since Wordsworth's time, the Lake District has been the best-loved scenic area in England. It has woods, forests, bright rivers, beautiful lakes, handsome mountains and attractive gardens. The tour includes visits to Arley Hall, Dove Cottage, Brantwood, Holehird, Holker Hall, Bridgemere Garden World, Yewbarrow House Gardens and Levens Hall (pictured left).
Cambridge » 3 gardens to visit - Christ's College Fellows' Garden, Cambridge University Botanic Garden, Wimpole Hall Garden
Cotswolds » 4 gardens to visit - Hidcote Manor Garden, Kiftsgate Court Gardens, Mill Dene Garden, Sezincote Garden
Cornwall » 3 gardens to visit - Caerhays Castle Garden, Eden Project Garden, The Lost Gardens of Heligan
Derbyshire » 3 gardens to visit - Chatsworth Garden, Haddon Hall Garden, Renishaw Hall Garden
Devon » 5 gardens to visit - Hotel Endsleigh Gardens, Rosemoor RHS Garden, Marwood Hill Garden, Knightshayes Court Garden, Castle Drogo Garden
Dorset » 5 gardens to visit - Mapperton Gardens, Montacute House Garden, Forde Abbey Garden, Athelhampton House Gardens, Abbotsbury Gardens
Kent » 3 gardens to visit - Sissinghurst Garden, Pashley Manor Gardens, Great Dixter Garden
Lake District » 3 gardens to visit - Levens Hall Garden, Graythwaite Hall Garden, Holker Hall Garden
Central London » 7 gardens to visit - Kensington Roof Garden, Kensington Gardens, Chelsea Physic Garden, Holland Park, Museum of Garden History, Westminster Abbey - Garden and Cloisters, St James's Park
Northumberland » 3 gardens to visit - Alnwick Castle, Cragside House, Garden and Grounds, Howick Hall Gardens
Oxford » 5 gardens to visit - Rousham House and Garden, Stowe Landscape Garden, Blenheim Palace Garden, Waterperry Gardens, Oxford Botanic Garden
Somerset » 4 gardens to visit - Hestercombe House Gardens, Montacute House Garden, East Lambrook Manor Garden, Tintinhull House Garden
Staffordshire » 3 gardens to visit - Biddulph Grange Garden, Alton Towers Garden, Trentham Gardens
Surrey » 4 gardens to visit - Painshill Park, Claremont Landscape Garden, Polesden Lacey, RHS Garden, Wisley
Sussex » 5 gardens to visit - West Dean Gardens, Borde Hill Garden, Nymans Garden, Wakehurst Place Garden, Leonardslee Gardens
Warwickshire » 3 gardens to visit - Warwick Castle Garden, Shakespeare Houses and Gardens, Charlecote Park
Wiltshire » 4 gardens to visit - Stourhead Garden, Stourton House Flower Garden, Bowood Gardens, Longleat Garden
Yorkshire » 4 gardens to visit - Castle Howard Garden, Studley Royal and Fountains Abbey, Rievaulx Terrace and Temples, Duncombe Park
South West London »




(4.0/5)
5 gardens to visit -
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Chiswick House Garden, Hampton Court Palace Garden, Syon Park, Ham House Garden
Bath and North Somerset » 4 gardens to visit - Claverton Manor Garden, Prior Park Landscape Garden, Bowood Gardens, The Peto Garden, Iford Manor
South Cornwall » 4 gardens to visit - Trebah Garden, Glendurgan Garden, Trewithen Garden, Trevarno Estate and Gardens
Hampshire » 5 gardens to visit - Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum, Mottisfont Abbey Garden, Hinton Ampner Garden, Furzey Gardens, Exbury Gardens