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Newby Hall
(photo copyright: Jeff Sainsbury)
Join
us on this intimate tour of the wonderful gardens of
northern England, a region blessed with some of Britain's
most majestic and unspoiled natural scenery. In all we will
visit more than 18 gardens during the peak blooming season,
many of which have the natural beauty of the Peak District,
the Yorkshire Dales or the Lakes District as a breathtaking
backdrop. Some of the gardens we'll see, like Chatsworth, Studley Royal,
and Levens Hall, are justly famous the world over, but we
also get off the beaten track to search out the region's
delightful hidden gems -- gardens such as York Gate,
Parcevall Hall, Holehird, and Rydal Hall. We will also visit charming private gardens which will open
especially for our small group. Throughout
the tour we will stay in comfortable inns and hotels, enjoy the famed warmth of northern hospitality, explore delightful villages and towns, and have adequate leisure time for
individual sightseeing or relaxation.
Land Tour Price:
9 Nights -- $2950.00
Single supplement: $475
Meals included: all Breakfasts (B), 1 Tea (T), 2
Dinners (D)
Limited to: 7 members
ITINERARY
July 13 (Monday) ---
Depart
Board the plane for the overnight flight to Manchester,
England.
July
14 (Tuesday) -- Arrive, Peak District, and
Private Garden
After a morning arrival in Manchester, we drive to our hotel
in the scenic Peak District National Park, an unspoiled
landscape of rolling pastures, dry stone walls, and
harmonious stone villages. Rest or sightsee on your own,
before an afternoon visit to a private two-acre garden with topiary and fine mixed
borders. We enjoy tea in the garden with the owner, then
return to our hotel and meet later for a welcome dinner. (T,D)
July 15 (Wednesday) -- Chatsworth House and Haddon
Hall
This morning we make the short drive to Chatsworth
House to explore its magnificent 105 acre park, containing
many important historical and horticultural features from
the last five centuries, including rose and cottage gardens,
a yew maze, and the famous 300 year old Cascade. Later we
travel to nearby Haddon Hall, once described as the 'most
romantic house in England.' The fortified medieval manor
stands on a limestone bluff overlooking the lovely River Wye,
while the garden, laid out in a series of stone-walled
terraces, is noted for its extensive collection of climbing
and rambling roses. Return to our hotel. (B)
York Gate
(photo copyright: Jeff Sainsbury)
July 16 (Thursday) -- Private
Garden and York Gate
On leaving the Peak
District, we head north, stopping mid-morning at a wonderful
farmhouse where, since 1995, the owners have created a
beautifully planted water garden, double borders, and a
romantic rose garden. We continue to York Gate, a one-acre
garden tucked away behind the ancient church in Adel.
Created by the Spencer family during the second half of the
twentieth century, it is a garden of immense style and
craftsmanship, widely recognized as one of the most
innovative small gardens of the period. We continue to our
hotel in the scenic Yorkshire Dales. (B)
July 17
(Friday) --
Fountains Abbey, Studley Royal, Ripon, and Newby Hall
Today's excursion takes us to sites near the small cathedral city of
Ripon. First we visit Fountains Abbey, the largest and most
complete Cistercian ruin in Europe, beautifully set in a
hidden wooded valley of the River Skell. Linked to the
Abbey are the magnificent 18th century water gardens at
Studley Royal, a series of formal water features embellished
with garden buildings.
After a lunch stop in Ripon,
we visit Newby Hall, an award-winning 25-acre formal garden
with wonderful double herbaceous borders backed by clipped
hedges and flowering shrubs. Return to our hotel. (B)
Yorkshire
Dales
(photo copyright: Jeff Sainsbury)
July 18
(Saturday) --
Harlow Carr Gardens, Harrogate, and Private Garden
After a leisurely
breakfast, we make our way to the Royal Horticultural
Society's display gardens at Harlow Carr. Started in the
1950s, the gardens contain a wide range of moisture-loving
and cold tolerant plants, which are attractively arranged
over 58 acres of a shallow valley. A recent addition is
the Gardens Through Time display, which commemorates the
Bicentenary of the RHS and comprises seven fascinating
historical gardens spanning two hundred years, from the
Regency period right through to a contemporary 21st century
garden. We later enjoy free time in the genteel
Victorian spa town of Harrogate, before paying a late
afternoon visit to a private garden. Return to the hotel. (B)
July 19 (Sunday) -- Parcevall Hall, Levens Hall, and the Lake District
This morning we visit
Parcevall Hall, buried
deep in the wonderfully unspoiled Yorkshire countryside.
Created in 1927, the little known gardens combine Arts and
Crafts influences, lovely plants, and dramatic views. We then journey through the
Yorkshire Dales to Levens Hall, a magnificent Elizabethan
mansion with a rare and spectacular 17th century topiary
garden and unchanged since that time. There is also a rose
garden, a nuttery, fine herbaceous borders, and a fountain
garden laid out with pleached limes in 1994 to celebrate 300
years of the gardens at Levens Hall. From here it's a short
journey to our hotel in the Lake District, one of Britain's
most picturesque regions.
(B)
Holehird
(photo copyright: Jeff Sainsbury)
July 20 (Monday) --
Lake District: Rydal Mount, Rydal Hall, and Holehird
Today we explore the southern lakes region, an area
associated with the poets Wordsworth and Coleridge, who were
inspired by the magnificent natural landscape. We visit
William Wordsworth's former home at Rydal Mount to see the
well-maintained informal gardens that the poet himself laid
out. We then walk to the recently renovated Italian-style
gardens at nearby Rydal Hall, designed at the beginning of
the twentieth century by Thomas Mawson, the noted Arts and
Crafts landscape architect. In the afternoon we visit
Holehird, the Lakeland Horticultural Society's spectacular
ten-acre hillside gardens with fine views of Lake Windermere.
Return to our hotel. (B)
July 21
(Tuesday) -- Private
Gardens and Dalemain
We take to the back roads this morning as we seek out some
of the Lake District's loveliest scenery and best private
gardens. We'll make a stop for lunch in the lovely
unspoiled village of Askham, then later visit nearby
Dalemain, an historic house in a
beautiful setting with flower-filled formal gardens and a
stream walk. Return to our hotel. (B)
July 22
(Wednesday) -- Holker
Hall, Cartmel, and Yewbarrow House Garden
After checking out of our hotel, we travel to Holker
Hall, where we'll see lovely formal beds and inventive planting in a
garden with a distinct Italian feel. Then we enjoy
time wandering the unspoiled streets of Cartmel, a
delightful village with a elegant stone houses and a 12th
century priory, before visiting the modern garden at
Yewbarrow House. Packed with exotic and unusual
plants, this innovative garden is divided into a series of
walled garden rooms overlooking Morecambe Bay. We
continue south to our
hotel in the Cheshire countryside and meet later for a farewell dinner.
(B,D)
July 23
(Thursday) --
Depart
Following breakfast, we make the short journey to Manchester
airport for the flight home. (B).
Included in the tour price:
-- 9 nights accommodation in inns and comfortable
hotels with private bathroom
-- passenger van transportation with
air-conditioning
-- entry to all gardens and sites as per the itinerary
-- all breakfasts and other meals as indicated in the tour
itinerary
-- services of tour manager, usually Jeff Sainsbury, from
Manchester Airport until departure of return flight
-- tips for hotel porters, bellmen, doormen, waiters at
tour meals, and sightseeing guides
-- arrival and departure transfers (certain restrictions
apply; please ask for details)
Not included in the tour price:
-- airfare and airport taxes
-- excess baggage charges
-- personal expenditure such as room service, telephone
calls, drinks, and optional activities
-- meals other than those specified in the itinerary
-- tour manager and driver gratuities
-- travel insurance
-- any other items not specifically included |
