Gardens Tours in England

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 surrounded by choppy seas and protected by 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. Also, the climate is never very cold and partly because it is never very hot.  One usually has to be up and doing something.

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.  England has some wonderful cloister gardens attached to the great cathedrals. The best are simple rectangles of grass. England also has many castles - but no ancient castle gardens. Nor are there many renaissance survivals. There are baroque gardens but not nearly so many as in France and Germany. But from the eighteenth century onwards Britain has excellent examples of most styles of garden design.

Escorted Garden Tours in England

3
nights

The Gardens of Kent and Sussex, departing 11th May, 22nd June and 17th August 2012

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.

 

3
nights

Chelsea Flower Show, 24th May 2012

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 ).

 

3
nights

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, 7th July 2011

The tour includes a full day at the flower show, with Henry VIII's palace as a magnificent backdrop, and visits to Brook Cottage and 3 private gardens.

 

3
nights

Lakeland Gardens, 14th May, 2nd July and 3rd September 2012

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).

 

3
nights

Somerset and Devon, departing 22nd June and 26th July 2012

The tour includes Hestercombe (pictured left), Rosemoor, Marwood Hill, East Lambrook Manor, Cothay Manor and Kilver Court.

 

 

3
nights

Northumberland - Passionate Lady Gardeners, 18th May, 8th June and 7th September 2012

Four distinctively different gardens, four passionate lady gardeners – all this and the Alnwick Garden too.

 

 

ADDERLEY TRAVEL +44 (0) 1953 606 706

Small group garden tours
Adderley Travel Limited specialise in quality, small-group (max. 12 people) garden tours throughout Britain, especially for overseas visitors to the United Kingdom.

"...I would recommend this to anyone who didn't want a big travel tour experience, loves food, wants to see the English county through lanes and paddocks, doesn't mind a laugh, and wants to be looked after..." Rosemary, Gloucester NSW 2010

Email us at info@adderleytravel.com or visit www.adderleytravel.com to see our tours.

BROOKLAND TRAVEL LTD 0845 1212863 or +44(0)1305 259467

Brookland Travel offer a programme of exclusive garden tours in the UK.
The tours are fully escorted by professional guides or garden experts and many include visits to private gardens where you benefit from meeting with the owners and sharing horticultural expertise. High quality hotel accommodation and executive-style coaching are included in these highly regarded 3-4 night short breaks.

www.brooklandtravel.com

 

 

7
nights

The Month of the Rose, Saturday 9 June to Saturday 16 June 2012

English lessons in the morning - garden visiting in the afternoon! A language school, a horticultural experience and memorable garden tours with an expert guide. The June programme is designed for garden lovers who wish to combine their professional or hobby interest in gardening with practising and extending their English language skills. Each day starts in the classroom with vocabulary handouts and briefing notes to prepare for the day ahead. This programme includes two longer tours to the English Lake District and Peak District National Parks. Many of the gardens have roses hybridised by David Austin. The visit to his own rose garden and nursery is a particular highlight of this week.

 

7
nights

In an English Country Garden, Sunday 5 August to Saturday 12 August 2012

This tour takes place when English gardens are at their most glorious. Roses merge into herbaceous borders and the walls of gardens and country houses are covered with climbing plants. The six magnificent gardens and areas we visit include Dunham Massey, Levens Hall and a seven lake tour of the English Lake District, Arley Hall garden, the Peak District palace of Chatsworth, Wollerton Old Hall and Powis Castle, Wales.

 

7
nights

The Poetry of Landscape: The English Lake District, Sunday 7 October to Sunday 14 October 2012

Nature perfected through the work of William Wordsworth, John Ruskin and Beatrix Potter. Picturesque landscape, romantic poetry, philosophy and fables in a sublime setting. The mild English climate prolongs garden visiting in this region into the autumn months. Nowhere is then more beautiful than the Lake District and no greater testimony to this than the literature it inspired. Gardens surround cottages and houses in the vernacular architecture concentrating natural beauty into contained spaces. These spaces however, are enclosed by panoramic ‘borrowed’ views that invite exploration into the wider landscape. Mountains, lakes and waterfalls are strong attractions and the scale of this scenery makes it easily accessible. Boundaries between gardens and landscape merge and become invisible.

Walking boots are a must for this tour and the stimulus of the landscape will transform conversation into poetry and photographs into works of art!

 

4
nights

Gardens of a Golden Afternoon, departing 17th Sept 2012

Flower filled gardens of Shropshire
Peaceful gardens resplendent in a profusion of summer blossom, a beautiful and comfortable hotel, fine dining, excellent company, and a charming, knowledgeable host…what more could you wish for? An exclusive tour of the flower filled gardens of Shropshire, based at The Mytton & Mermaid Hotel on the banks of the River Severn. This is an old coaching inn that is now a hotel created in the 1930s by Sir Clough Williams Ellis. With 2 rosette dining and comfortable rooms this is an excellent base for this wonderful tour. A garden tour hosted by Stephen Anderton, gardens correspondent of The Times, and led by Sophie Piebenga, familiar to many of you for her knowledge and charm.

 

 

4
nights

New Light on Cornwall, departing 23rd May 2012

Gardens of the Cornish Peninsula
Cornish Gardens have for many years held great appeal, attracting many visitors to well-publicised gardens. For this tour we avoid the ‘honey pots’, discovering a vibrant new collection of gardens off the beaten track: some on cliff tops; one producing fine teas for the London market; another in a churchyard. We think that you will enjoy this new Cornish collection. You are accommodated at The Meudon Hotel, a haven of beauty and peace where guests enjoy comfort, fresh local cuisine, and traditional, unobtrusive service, all set in magnificent sub-tropical gardens sweeping down to the sea. David Gilchrist is well known to many of you as a first rate tour leader, attentive to every detail and with wonderful plant knowledge.

 

 

4
nights

HORTUS goes to Yorkshire, departing 24th September 2012

North Yorkshire is renowned for extensive National Parks, rugged landscapes, wild moorlands, small market towns & unspoilt villages. Staying at The White Swan in the heart of Pickering, we are well-placed to explore a host of beautiful gardens and to meet the owners & gardeners who have put everything together with such flair & skill. With an abundance of varied shops close at hand, the White Swan is a much-loved inn, proud of its reputation for good honest food, welcoming hospitality and dedicated staff. David Wheeler & Christopher Woodward very much look forward to guiding the group through their careful selection of late-flowering gardens, sharing with you throughout the tour and in talks their thoughts on plants & design.