Westonbirt, 7 October 2019
A day trip taking in the beauty of Westonbirt Arboretum, the vision of Robert Stayner Holford. After a delicious lunch at the Kings Arms at Didmarton, we move on to a tour of Westonbirt House once the family home of the Holford Family.
Tour of the North, September 2019
Glorious weather blessed our visit to the North. Ably led by Simon Johnson and local guides we got a rich impression of the region’s turbulent history with in-depth visits to Durham Cathedral, the Auckland Project, Hadrian’s Wall, Alnwick Caste and more.
Midney and East Lambrook, 12 July 2019
First to Midney (above), a truly exciting garden, plenty of quirky features and stunning design with fantastic planting. Onwards to a lovely ‘light’ lunch that filled even the hungriest of us and then to East Lambrook, where we were treated to an interesting talk on the history of the gardens, originally laid out by Margery Fish, and now cared for by new owners Gail & Mike Werkmeister.
Bowood House and Garden, 17 June 2019
View of the terraces and house at Bowood ©Anna-Stowe
We enjoyed a day trip to Bowood, the Wiltshire family home of the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne. The building and surrounding 2,000 acres bear the hallmarks of Robert Adam and Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown.
Severn Valley Manor Houses, 14 May 2019
A glorious day out at two private manor houses in the Severn Valley — Hardwicke Court and Whitminster House (pictured above). The two houses and the estate church at Whitminster proved of great interest. The pleasure was completed with a fine lunch at the Old passage Inn.