Your experienced guide will escort you on a trip to 10 gardens, chosen for their variety and appeal, ranging from small, intimate cottage delights to the enormous formal designs of the great houses, these colourful gardens will thrill you and inspire you to your own creations. Included for our group to see in the company of tour guide Anne Slade, and in many cases, private guides, are:

Sissinghurst

Sissinghurst - Writer Vita Sackville-West created this garden in the 1930s, around the remains of an Elizabethan mansion.

Wisley (Surrey) - The 240 acre flagship of the Royal Horticultural Society, Wisley features a Rock Garden, scientific trial grounds, the Model Garden, and enormous flower beds among mature trees.

Westwind Organic Garden - a couple esteemed for their garden photography worldwide created this organic garden from the cuttings and memories of their travels, including the Prayer Garden, Italian Terrace, and sections for roses and vegetables.

Polesden Lacey - Dating to 1761, this is the country estate where the Queen Mum spent part of her honeymoon. The 1920s Regency villa offers panoramic views over a wooded valley.

Church Hill Cottage Gardens - Snuggled up to this 16th century cottage is a scene of riotous flowers, including many unusual varieties.

Chatsworth House - The home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire since 1552. Its maze, rookeries, and water gardens were first landscaped in the 1760s. The 26-room Great House has been twice voted the British Public's Favourite House. We will enjoy a private tour led by one of the family's gardeners. More about Chatsworth.

Castle Howard - Location for the film adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. Designed in 1699, the house is situated between two lakes, with extensive formal gardens. We will receive special tours of the Rose garden and the Temple of the Winds.

Hodnet Hall

Hodnet Hall Gardens - These waterscapes along a chain of large ponds in Shropshire feature sweeping lawns, masses of brilliantly coloured flowers and a cultivated habitat for waterfowl and wildlife.

Barnsley House Gardens - A mecca for gardeners worldwide who come to see the creations of the late Rosemary Verey. We will be escorted by her husband Charles.

Hidcote Manor Gardens - Created in 1907, this Cotswold garden is famed for its old roses and its series of orderly formal spaces. More about Hidcote.

Our tour will include drives through the countryside of the Cotswolds and James Herriot's Yorkshire, known worldwide for their pastoral beauty and quintessential English scenery. You will have time to explore in detail the towns of York and Harrogate, full of historic architecture, shops, and pubs. Known as "England's Floral Town", Harrogate itself is replete with masses of flower beds throughout the city.

The four accommodations for the tour have been selected for their charm and ambiance. We include three nights at The Old Swan in Harrogate, the hotel where Agatha Christie reappeared after her mysterious disappearance for ten days in 1926.

Full breakfasts are included every morning, as well as seven lunches, most at the garden sites themselves or in charming tea shops. Four dinners will be with your touring companions, each in an elegant and impressive setting, especially the Sunday dinner at The Old Swan. Transportation from beginning to end will be in our chartered luxury motorcoach.

Accommodation venues:
The Worth Hotel, Gatwick, Surrey (2 nights)
The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate, Yorkshire (3 nights)
The Jarvis Bowden Hall, Gloucester (2 nights)
The Travel Inn, Gatwick, Surrey (1 night)

All accommodation is in 3 and 4 star hotels

Your Tour Leader:
A native of Lancashire, Anne Slade has lived in Dallas, Texas, since 1985. She has worked with an English antiques importer and later with a specialist in the sale and repair of rare books. She is the founder of Lakewood House Antiques, specializing in Victorian Lace, During the past 4 years, Anne has worked at Redenta's Organic Garden Centre in Dallas, where her knowledge of vegetables and herbs and her expertise in container arrangements has been well recognized. With her 30 years expertise of natural, now known as organic gardening, and as many years with English antiques, Anne has a "knowledge combination" that proves invaluable when visiting not only the gardens, but also the Historic and Stately Homes of England.

Cost: ($US)
$2300 per person, double occupancy
$2500 single

Includes: All land transportation, full breakfasts daily, seven lunches, four dinners, all site tours as listed in the itinerary.

Dates:
June 11 - June 19, 2002

Deadline for Registration: April 8, 2002

Go to:
Terms and Conditions > Printable Registration Form

For further information and registration, please contact us either by email or phone: Paul Slade: paul.slade@ukation.com or, telephone Texas International Tours at 214-265-7782

The English Gardens Tour 2002 is a partnership between Britain Express, UKation, and Texas International Tours.

Texas International Tours