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Gardens
of Southern England
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From the splendor of Sissinghurst,
truly a magical peaceful garden, to the formal delights of Hampton
Court Place, our trip will include great landscaped gardens designed
by Capability Brown, to the neatness and skills of the great Victorian
garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. From water gardens to rose gardens
to arboretums this tour will fulfil all who have an interest in
stately homes, the gardens, the design and the plants and trees
that go together to form the breathtaking beauty that we will
experience.
Our trip will end in London and whilst there we will visit the
Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. There is still something of the
private garden about Kew, secure behind high brick walls and the
ha-ha which separated it from the River Thames. The mother of
King George 111 started the gardens in 1759. In 1841 the garden
was presented to the nation. The 300 acres, which offer unrivalled
beauty and tranquility, will be one of the highlights of your
trip.
Examples
of Transport
Examples of Hotels
Day
1
Overnight
flight from the USA to London Airport
Day
2
Arrive
early morning London to be met by your tour director and driver.
Onward to the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, where we
will be staying for the first two nights.
From its humble beginnings in1606, with the discovery of
a bubbling spring, the town grew to a fashionable spa resort.
Royalty and gentry were among the many visitors who came
to taste the allegedly health-giving waters. There is
an opportunity now to rest and explore the town, the afternoon is
yours. This evening, please join us at a welcome reception
and overview of tour. 
Day
3
After
breakfast this morning we drive to Sissinghurst, the gardens of which were planned and executed by Vita
Sackville-West in the 1920’s.
Her design and knowledge of plants and their colors has a
produced a group of 10 of the most famous and visited gardens in
the world.
Following lunch we return to Groombridge Place Gardens just outside
Tunbridge Wells.
Groombridge Place has an intriguing history stretching back
to medieval times. Flanked
by a medieval moat, with a 17th century manor house as
a backdrop, the beautiful formal gardens boast a rich variety of
separate gardens with extensive herbaceous borders.
High above the walled gardens lies the Enchanted Forest,
where magic and fantasy await visitors.
2nd night in Tunbridge Wells.
Day
4
Leaving
Tunbridge Wells after breakfast our route this morning takes us
southwest towards Haywards Heath and the National Trust garden at
Handcross. One of the
great gardens of the Sussex Weald, with rare and beautiful plants,
shrubs and trees from all over the world.
You will find here garden ‘rooms’ for all, from walled to
sunken to romantic ruins to a pinetum, laurel and wild garden walks.
Our hotel for the next three nights is in the Hampshire City of
Winchester
‘There
are not many finer spots in England then Winchester.
Here are hill, dell, water, meadows, woods and cornfields,
downs and all of them are very fine and beautiful’
(William
Corbett, 1830)
Day
5
The
Abbey and Garden at Mottisfont form the central point
of an 809 ha estate which inludes the village of Mottisfont, farmland
and woods. A tributary of the River Test flows through the garden
forming a superb and tranquil setting for a 12th century
Augustinian priory. The
magnificent trees, walled gardens and the National Collection of
old-fashioned roses, offer a garden for all seasons.
After lunch we will return to Winchester for a tour of this city
first founded by the Romans in 68AD; it was also the first seat
of government under the early Norman Kings.
There are many delightful parts of this city to explore including
the garden route.
2nd night in Winchester.
 Day
6
After
breakfast we drive to Ampfield, the former home and garden of Sir
Harold Hillier. These beautiful 184-acre gardens are home to one
of the best 20th century collections of plants to be
found anywhere in the world.
They were begun by Harold Hillier in 1953 and now have earned
the plaudits of ‘a garden for all seasons’
3rd night in Winchester
Day
7
Today
we visit the National Trust property at Stourhead; our route takes us past the 4,000-year-old stone circle
at Stonehenge.
Stourhead
is an outstanding example of the English landscape style; this splendid
garden was designed by Henry Hoare and laid out between 1741 and
1780. Classical temples,
including the Pantheon and Temple of Apollo, are sited around the
central lake at the end of a series of vistas, which change as you
move around the paths and through the mature woodland. An intriguing redbrick folly built
in 1772 is almost 150 feet high; it gives breathtaking views over
the estate. Leaving Stourhead we drive to Salisbury via
Shaftesbury.
Overnight Salisbury.
Day
8
Before
we leave for London this morning, we will have a few of hours to
view the cathedral. Built between 1220/1258, it is the
only medieval cathedral in England to be completely built throughout
in the same early English style, it also boasts the tallest spire
in England. The Chapter House contains one of
the four surviving originals of the Magna
Carta.
Arriving in London, we spend time this afternoon
on a site seeing tour of this fascinating city first settled by
the Romans. Our route
takes us past St Paul’s Cathedral,
The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Westminster.
Hotel tonight in central London.
Day
9
Boarding
our boat at Charing Cross Pier we sail up the River towards Hampton
Court Palace. The
splendor of Cardinal Wolsey’s house, begun in 1514, surpasses that
of many other palaces. It was not surprising that Henry V111 at first coveted, then
obtained it prior to Wolsey’s fall from favor.
The Palace is set in 60 acres of beautiful Tudor, Baroque and Victorian
gardens, featuring the famous maze, and the great vine, the oldest
and largest grapevine, believed planted in 1768, by Capability Brown.
Within its five hundred years of Royal history it has been, enlarged
by Henry V111, rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren and opened to the
public by Queen Victoria, the palace therefore offers some of the
finest combined architecture in Britain.
2nd night in London
Day
10
Today
we will visit the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew. There is still something of a private
garden at Kew, secured behind high brick walls with a ha-ha separating
it from the River Thames. Princess Augusta, the mother of George 111, started the gardens
in 1759. Its 300 acres
of unrivaled beauty and tranquility is an ideal setting for the
end of your trip.
3rd night in London
Final dinner together as a group.
Day
11
Transfer
to airport for morning flight to the USA
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