Thursday 21 July 2011
We depart from your local pick-up point and head for Cheshire, stopping en route for refreshments. Our first visit is to Ness Botanic Gardens on the Wirral Peninsula, which lies between the Dee and Mersey estuaries.  There is year round interest in the garden with lilies, primulas, herbaceous borders, terrace gardens with many climbing plants, native plants, herb and water gardens thriving in the summer months.  Ness Gardens has its own weather station and has been producing accurate and regular daily records since the early 1960’s. There is also a gift shop, plant nursery and a café.

We continue in the afternoon to Chester and our hotel, the Holiday Inn Chester (or similar). All rooms are en-suite.

Dinner will be served in the evening.

Friday 22 July 2011
After our full English breakfast we depart for a full day visit to the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show.   The show will be full of attractions, from spectacular Floral Marquees ablaze with colourful displays from over 80 nurseries and a series of back-to-back gardens proving that even the smallest space can become a treasured retreat. There will also be spectacular water gardens along with specialist plants. All the displays will delight and inspire, with flower arrangements that will take your breath away.

Dinner is served back at the hotel in the evening.

Saturday 23 July 2011
After breakfast today we visit the gardens of Arley Hall, near Northwich. A pair of herbaceous borders was laid out here in 1846 and they survive to this day, beautifully maintained - one of the great garden sights of England. There are also old walled gardens with good mixed borders and a simple terraced walk above a ha-ha. Still in private hands, Arley Hall preserves the atmosphere of a garden kept for its own delight.

In the afternoon we visit Bluebell Cottage Gardens & Lodge Lane Nursery. In an attractive setting next to the Trent & Mersey canal, this 1.5 acre garden has seven distinct areas which wrap around the cottage and offer a huge range of planting both familiar and rare. The adjoining nursery specialises in hardy herbaceous perennials with a stock of over 1500 varieties.

Dinner is served in the evening.
 
Sunday 24 July 2011
After breakfast this morning we check out of the hotel and begin our homeward journey, making a final visit en route to the gardens at Stonyford Cottage. This informal natural garden has been developed around a pool with bridges leading over to an island, which evokes Monet’s garden at Giverny. There is also a woodland walk and a damp garden. Adjacent to the garden is a specialist plant nursery.

Following our visit we will head for home and expect to arrive back at our original departure point in the evening.

3 nights dinner, bed and breakfast at the Holiday Inn Chester (or similar).

Visits to the Tatton Park Flower Show and the gardens of Arley Hall, Ness Botanic Gardens, Bluebell Cottage Gardens and a private garden in Chester.

Comfortable coaching throughout.

Services of a Brightwater Holidays Representative.

Single room supplement £60.00

London - Coach bay on Tothill St, between St James's Park Underground (Broadway Entrance)& Westminster Abbey

Luton – Outside Luton Parkway Railway Station

Northampton – Outside the Railway Station

Birmingham - Layby on Paradise Circus, at the foot of the stairs to Chamberlain Square

Stoke-on-Trent – Outside the Railway Station

All pick up points are subject to minimum numbers