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Great Gardens of England and Hampton Court Flower Show |
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Program Number: |
19323RJ |
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| Start
and End Dates: |
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| Duration: |
11 nights |
| Location: |
England, UK:England
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| Price starting at: |
$3,167.00 - Price may vary based on date, departure city |
| Program Type:
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Homes & Gardens
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| Meals: |
28;
10 Breakfasts, 8 Lunches, 10 Dinners |
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| Meal
Options: |
Low Fat; Vegetarian; Low Salt; Gluten Free |
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Survey the heritage of the English garden from the 18th century to the present day. In Kent, the “Garden of England”, and in the Cotswolds, renowned for beautiful countryside and quaint villages, examine a broad range of garden styles that have complemented homes, palaces and castles for centuries, and gain professional insights into selected species, climate and soil conditions with an expert horticulturalist. Our gardens experience culminates in a field trip to largest flower show in the world: Hampton Court Flower Show.
Highlights
• Relish a day at the world’s largest flower show at Hampton Court Palace.
• Meet privately with the director of the Painswick Rococo Garden Trust.
• Venture through the Cotswolds to Chipping Campden and the unique spa town of Bath, and enjoy the company of expert horticulturalist, botanist, landscape ecologist and garden historian Jane Longland throughout your journey.
Activity Particulars
Walking, standing in gardens up to three hours; uneven surfaces, stairs in historic buildings.
Date Specific Information
7-1-2013, 6-30-2014
Enjoy the latest in hearing technology — listening devices — on this date.
Itinerary Summary
Arrival London, coach to Chatham, Kent, 4 nights; coach via Wisley to Cheltenham, 4 nights; coach to London, 2 nights; departure.
Overnight flight from the U.S. | 1 night | Arrival London | Coach to Chatham, Kent | 4 nights |
Begin by considering Edwardian gardens and planting associations, and explore the town of Rye while taking the coastal route to Great Dixter in Sussex. Marvel at the colors on display at the garden of landscaping visionary Christopher Lloyd, and see Lutyens' original garden designs as they remain today. Shift your focus to 18th-century English landscape schools and Victorian gardens on an excursion to Canterbury and Lady FitzWalter’s Goodnestone Park Gardens. Enjoy one of the world’s most celebrated gardens at Sissinghurst Castle.
Coach via Wisley to Cheltenham | 4 nights |
At the Royal Horticultural Society’s 240-acre Wisley Gardens, learn how the finest flowers and vegetables are identified in the trial fields from among countless new introductions, then explore the "Jewel of the Cotswolds," Chipping Campden. At celebrated Hidcote Manor Gardens in the North Cotswolds, walks reveal an Arts and Crafts masterpiece and stunning panoramas across the Vale of Evesham. The Arts and Crafts theme continues at Kiftsgate Court Garden, while a journey to Painswick Rococo Garden takes you back to the flamboyant English Rococo period, with a private introduction by the director of the Painswick Rococo Garden Trust. Explore the spa town of Bath and the fine 18th-century landscape garden at Stourhead.
Coach to London | 2 nights | Departure |
Stop on your way to London at the birthplace of Winston Churchill, the Baroque masterpiece Blenheim Palace. Your comprehensive English garden experience culminates in a field trip to the Hampton Court Flower Show, to see inspirational show gardens, learn how to “grow your own” and cook with produce, take an early start to beat the crowds.
England
It was the seat of an empire on which the sun never set. It has been Merry, Dickensian and Victorian. It has given us common law, Shakespeare, tennis, the Rolls-Royce and the Beatles. England and its people have played an outsize role in shaping world history. It is a country whose past, politics, culture and characters never cease to captivate.
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Accommodations
Chatham: Three-star hotel. Cheltenham: Three-star hotel at the edge of this elegant spa town. London: Four-star hotel that was once the London residence of the Vanderbilt family, restored to its former glory.
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| Road Scholar Instructors | | These instructors are participating on at least one date of this program. Please note that changes may occur. | Jane Longland
| | Dr. Jane Longland has been an expert leader on Road Scholar programs for a decade, sharing her deep knowledge of ornamental horticulture, garden history and landscape design. She earned her PhD in botany at the University of Edinburgh before teaching and doing research in the field for nearly a quarter century. For the past six years, Dr. Longland has traveled extensively in Europe, the United States and Asia to study the world’s gardens and teach others about them. | | | |
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