Visits
All visit will be open for sign up a month before before taking any payment to allow us to check numbers are sufficient to run the visit.
April 30th 2024
Afternoon visit to Broughton Grange Gardens & Arboretum, Banbury OX15 5DS
- Travel by own car, approx 33-40 minutes
- Sign up January
- Payment February
Broughton Grange is set overlooking a beautiful Oxfordshire valley. Over the last 25 years Broughton Grange and its gardens have been substantially transformed such that it is now recognised as one of the most significant private contemporary gardens in Britain.
In 2001, the landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith was commissioned to transform a six acre south facing field into a walled garden. This impressive new garden, features three individually themed terraces and has been designed in strong relation to the surrounding rural landscape. Many other parts of the gardens have been beautifully developed including a Parterre & rose Garden, Long Borders, Knot Garden and Woodland gardens and a substantial arboretum has been planted and continues to be developed.
May 21st 2024
Evening visit to Upton Wold Gardens, Blockley GL56 9TR
- Travel by own cars, approx 35-42 minutes (20 miles by shortest route or 28 using faster roads)
- Sign up February
- Payment March
Called the “Hidden gem of the Cotswolds” this garden has been created over the last 50 years from a piece of land around an old house with: two very ancient yews; an imposing holly; some old apple trees; and a very beautiful view.
This is a delightful garden to visit with a great variety of unusual plants and a number of different areas. Initially a greenhouse was built, yew hedges planted, a terrace built on the east side and borders leading to the herbaceous border. The herbaceous border was completely recreated in 2009, with the addition of a rill. A Pond Garden lies hidden beyond a wild flower meadow, approached through a wrought iron gate at the end of the herbaceous border. There is a lower border and across a lawn the lies the Hidden Garden, which has young magnolias. From the Hidden Garden a path leads through an old orchard to more shrub borders. Behind the restored dovecote is a small arboured vegetable garden and a walk of Malus "John Downie". The gravel garden, at the end of the Malus walk, was added in 2010.
June 4th 2024
Day visit to Kelmarsh Hall Gardens with Lamport Hall Gardens, Northamptonshire.
- Coach trip, pick up outside Snitterfield village hall
- Sign up March
- Payment April
Lamport Hall & Gardens is a hidden gem in the heart of Northamptonshire, the tranquil gardens extending to 10 acres, enclosed within a spacious park.
Explore extensive herbaceous borders; shrubbery walks with rare and interesting plants; a walled garden full of unusual tall perennials, many sourced from Piet Oudolf's nursery in the Netherlands. Discover the Irish yew Eagle Walk and the Italian Garden, finding numerous seating areas along the way from which to take in the atmosphere of this remarkable garden.
The Gardens at Kelmarsh Hall are designated by English Heritage (Historic England) as Grade II, a 'garden of national significance' and are known for their relaxed charm and ‘haphazard luxuriance'.
Nancy Lancaster, who lived at The Hall, created a soft, beautiful outside space in the 1920's that complimented her English Country House Style interiors. Borders filled with sweet peas and roses framed relaxed seating areas, and walkways that provided a backdrop to the diverse views enjoyed from the different aspects of Kelmarsh Hall, provided a stunning venue for the lavish cocktail parties in her era.
Explore the wonderful Walled Garden, Long and Double Borders, Sunken Garden, 
Philadelphus Garden, Fan Rose Garden, the Wilderness, Fairy Walk in the Woodland and Lakeside areas. All will make your heart sing.