Historic Houses of Devon & Cornwall

After a leisurely breakfast we travel the short distance to Lanhydrock, a magnificent seventeenth century house surrounded by nineteenth century formal terraced gardens. When Thomas Charles refashioned Lanhydrock after a fire in 1881 he wanted to create 'an unpretentious family home'. While his idea of everyday comfort might be different from our own, there is no doubting the family is at the very heart of this house. There's a whole suite of rooms dedicated to the children, family photographs throughout and the morning room which was used by the children as a performance space for annual plays and theatricals. We will also discover the fascinating contrast between the upstairs and downstairs worlds as we explore the kitchens and servants' quarters as well as the grand family spaces. We will also have time to wander in the terraced gardens and the informal pleasure grounds beyond.

Following our visit here we head for Padstow on the northern coast of Cornwall, where there will be an opportunity for lunch (not included), perhaps at one of celebrity chef Rick Stein’s various outlets.

In the afternoon we visit nearby Prideaux Place, a charming Elizabethan manor which has been lived in by the same family since its completion in 1592. The Prideaux family is an ancient Cornish clan whose origins date back to the Norman Conquest when they are recorded as Lords of the Manor at Prideaux Castle. The house now combines its traditional Elizabethan architecture with the 18th century exuberance of Strawberry Hill Gothic. The house has 81 rooms and some of the finest are included in our guided tour. The North Wing, sadly inaccessible to visitors at the present time, remains as it was the day the 121st Engineer Combat Battalion of the American Army marched from Prideaux to take up its role in the D-Day Landings.

Dinner will be served back at the hotel.

After breakfast today our attention turns to the neighbouring county of Devon as we visit two outstanding historic properties. Cotehele, near Plymouth, is a Tudor house with many stories and legends, festooned with tapestries and adorned with textiles, arms and armour, pewter, brass and old oak furniture; a magical experience awaits us where little has changed over the years. Outside, we can explore the formally planted terraces, the Valley Garden, which includes a medieval stewpond and dovecote, and Cotehele Quay, home of the restored Tamar sailing barge Shamrock. Lunch is available here (not included).

In the afternoon we visit the oldest property in our tour, Buckland Abbey, which started life as a peaceful Cistercian monastery in 1278. For over 250 years, the monks who farmed the vast estate lived in the peaceful solitude of the Tavy valley. Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries saw Buckland sold to Sir Roger Grenville, who began to modify the abbey into a house and home, and later it was sold again to privateer Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. In the course of our tour we will therefore walk in the footsteps of monks, sailors and servants, as we journey from a Tudor chamber to a cosy Georgian dining room.

We return to our hotel, where dinner is served in the evening.

Following breakfast we check out of the hotel and depart for a visit to the house and gardens of Killerton. The Georgian house displays a magnificent collection of 18^th- 20^th century costumes in period rooms (originally known as the Paulise de Bush collection) and in the coursed of our guided tour we will learn of Killerton’s 400 years of history.  Afterwards there will be time to explore the gardens where countless trees and shrubs thrive, including rhododendrons, magnolias, stewartias and maples.

Following our visit we will return to our original pick-up points, where the group will disperse or make onward connections.