Private Gardens of Herefordshire

We begin today with a visit to the private garden of The Old Rectory at Thruxton. With breathtaking views over Herefordshire countryside, this constantly changing plantsman's garden is stocked with unusual perennials and roses, together with woodland borders, a gazebo, a vegetable parterre, a glasshouse and a natural pond.

In the afternoon we continue to Westonbury Mill Water Garden. Entering the main part of the garden over the Mill Pool you come to the Bog Garden, rich in water-loving plants. Paths cross the bog allowing a good view of individual plants. From the Bog Garden you may wander in any of several directions, visiting the Big Pond flanked by giant irises and rushes, the Cairn Garden, where boardwalks take you over a maze of small channels and luxuriant growth, or the Lily Pond and the blue `Monet' Bridge. The garden is home to a number of delightful follies, hand-built by the owner, including a unique, water-powered Giant Cuckoo Clock!

Today, we begin by travelling to the gardens at Hampton Court Castle, a 15th century castle surrounded by 1000 acres of stunning parkland, pasture and woodlands with the River Lugg running alongside. The gardens were only recently completed and are one of the most ambitious garden creations of our time. Original Victorian garden walls enclose stunning new flower gardens divided by canals, island pavilions and pleached avenues. The kitchen garden is an ornamental garden of fruit and vegetables, supplying produce to the Orangery Restaurant for its seasonal menu. There is a maze of a thousand yews with a Gothic tower at its centre - climb to the top for a panoramic view of the gardens or descend underground to a tunnel that leads to a waterfall in the sunken garden. Beautiful herbaceous borders stretch out from a one hundred and fifty-year-old wisteria tunnel that leads to vast lawns and ancient trees beside the castle. Beyond the lawns are riverside and woodland walks.

Our second visit today takes us to Stockton Bury Gardens at Kimbolton. This four-acre site was created by keen plantsmen Raymond Treasure and Gordon Fenn and is divided into different areas by brick and stone walls and yew hedges. Thoughtfully laid out and beautifully cared for, it contains a wealth of unusual clematis, shrubs, climbers and herbaceous plants. Many of the more unusual plants are for sale and are well-labelled, a good size and reasonably priced – the perfect souvenir! We are privileged to be personally guided round the garden by Tamsin Westhorpe, the niece of Gordon Treasure, who spends as much time as possible in the garden alongside her work as a freelance writer and RHS judge. A light lunch is included here.

Following breakfast we check out of the hotel and depart for Sir Roy Strong’s former garden The Laskett. The garden was created not long after Sir Roy and his late wife Julia Trevelyan Oman married in 1973. They created a garden of sentiment; memories of people, places and events. There is a Rosemary bush that belonged to Julia’s nanny and an area dedicated to their cats. The garden was very much divided into "his" and "hers" areas with Julia taking care of the kitchen garden and Roy with the architectural elements and the formal enclosures.

In the afternoon we return to our original departure points where we expect to arrive late afternoon/early evening.