September 11 (Friday) -- Depart

Board the plane for your overnight flight to Bristol, England.

 

September 12 (Saturday) -- Arrive, Abergavenny, and a Private Garden

On arrival at Bristol International Airport, we cross the nearby Severn Bridge into Wales and transfer to our hotel in the picturesque market town of Abergavenny, on the edge of the scenic Brecon Beacons National Park.  After checking in, enjoy free time exploring the town or relaxing, then we'll pay an afternoon visit to a fine private garden, with richly planted borders and terraces.  We'll enjoy tea with the owners, then return to the hotel for an evening at leisure.  (B,T)

 

September 13 (Sunday) -- Private Gardens in the Wye Valley

We spend today visiting three private gardens in the beautiful Wye Valley, which forms part of the border between Wales and England.  First we travel to an exciting  two-acre garden, with beautifully planted borders and tasteful formal areas and meadows, then we visit two delightful Arts and Crafts gardens with clipped topiary, colorful borders, and spectacular views.  Throughout the day, we'll also get off the beaten track and explore the Wye valley's wonderfully unspoiled countryside.  Return to Abergavenny. (B,L)

 

September 14 (Monday) -- Dyffryn Gardens, St. Fagans Castle, and Museum of Welsh Life

Our excursion this morning take us to Dyffryn Gardens close to Cardiff, the principality's capital city.  Created in the early years of the 20th century by garden designer Thomas Mawson, and now undergoing restoration, Dyffryn is one of the best surviving examples of an Edwardian garden, with large herbaceous borders, rose gardens, richly decorated balustrades, and a series of themed garden rooms.  We then travel to nearby St Fagans Castle, an Elizabethan mansion with ancient gardens, including a fine knot garden, summer borders, and a Victorian rose garden.  The castle complex is a wonderful ensemble of medieval vernacular buildings, some which house the fascinating Museum of Welsh Life, which we will also explore.  Return to the hotel.  (B)

 

September 15 (Tuesday) -- Aberglasney House and Gardens, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, and Hay on Wye

Two fine gardens feature today, starting with the historic Aberglasney gardens, long neglected but now superbly restored to their former glory.  Part of an estate dating back to the 15th century, the mysterious gardens boast many outstanding features, including a formal cloister garden, a unique yew tunnel, and colorfully planted walled gardens, one of which was designed by Penelope Hobhouse.  After lunch, we travel to the nearby National Botanic Garden of Wales, which opened in 2000 at a cost of $75 million, to much acclaim.  The vast garden is laid out around a beautifully-situated historic parkland, and contains a stunning modern glasshouse, waterfalls, a series of connected lakes, an impressive broadwalk of herbaceous plants, and a double walled garden.  We then journey to Hay-on-Wye, a small market town on the Wales-England border, and check into our hotel.  (B)

 

September 16 (Wednesday) -- Hay on Wye and Abbey Dore Court Gardens

This morning is set aside for free time in scenic Hay on Wye, internationally renowned for its many bookstores and annual literary festival.  In the afternoon we venture into the beautiful Black Mountains, then travel to Abbey Dore Court Gardens, on the English side of the border.  Set in glorious countryside, this imaginatively planted garden has six acres of formal, wild and river areas and a four acre meadow full of unusual trees.  Return to our hotel. (B)

 

September 17 (Thursday) -- Hergest Croft Gardens and Powis Castle  

Leaving Hay on Wye, we journey north through lovely border countryside to Hergest Croft Gardens, the work of three generations of the Banks family.  This varied garden, inspired by the ideas of garden writer William Robinson,  extends to over 50 acres and has a wonderful collection of trees and shrubs.  We continue to the mid-Wales town of Welshpool, home to medieval Powis Castle and its celebrated terraced gardens, which cling to the side of a steep bluff.   Time permitting, we'll also visit the charming four-acre gardens attached to a nearby nursery, before traveling to our country house hotel in the Shropshire countryside.  (B,D)

 

September 18 (Friday) -- Chirk Castle, The Garden House, and Betws-y-Coed

This morning we explore two very different gardens, starting at the National Trust's  700-year old Chirk Castle.  Set in an elegant 18th century landscaped park, these award-winning gardens contain clipped yews, herbaceous borders, a stunning shrub garden, with many rare varieties, and a terrace with fine views over the surrounding countryside. After lunch, a quirky slate sculpture garden and imaginative shrub and herbacaeous plantings await us at The Garden House, a five-acre garden overlooking the River Dee.  We then journey west to our hotel in Betws-y-Coed, a picturesque village in the Snowdonia National Park, a hauntingly beautiful region of North Wales, with craggy mountains, hidden wooded gorges, cascading rivers, and still glacial lakes.  (B)

 

September 19 (Saturday) -- Plas Brondanw, Portmeirion, and the Ffestiniog Mountain Railway

After a leisurely start, our first port of call this morning is Plas Brondanw, the former home of architect Clough Williams-Ellis.  Enjoying a beautiful natural setting, this delightful formal garden is divided into a series of rooms with much topiary, architectural features, and fine views of the mountains.  Later we visit Portmeirion, the extraordinary fantasy village created by Williams-Ellis from 1925.   Used as the setting for numerous movies, including The Prisoner TV series in the 1960s, Portmeirion is modeled on an Italian coastal village, with colorful Italianate formal gardens and fine woodlands.  We cap the day with a ride on the Ffestiniog Steam Railway, which passes through wonderfully scenic countryside between Porthmadog and Blaenau-Ffestiniog.  Return to the hotel.  (B)

 

September 20 (Sunday) --  Penrhyn Castle and Gardens and Bodnant

Following breakfast we travel to the National Trust's Penrhyn Castle, a 19th century mansion designed to look like a medieval castle.  We tour the sumptuously furnished interior and explore the large garden and grounds, comprising fine specimen trees and shrubs, a Victorian terraced walled garden, pools, lawns and a delightful wild garden.  We then journey to Bodnant, one of the world's most spectacular gardens.  Begun in 1875, Bodnant is the creation of four generations of Aberconways and features huge Italianate terraces and formal lawns on the upper level, with a wooded valley, stream and wild garden below.  We return to Betws-y-Coed and meet later for our farewell dinner.  (B,D)

 

September 21 (Monday) -- Depart

This morning we transfer to Manchester airport for your flight home. (B)