The Gardens of Dorset and Thames Valley with Jane Pepper
June 8 - 18, 2008

Itinerary | Your Guides | Land Arrangements
Flight Arrangements | For More Information | Responsibility Clause

ITINERARY

[Note: Where meals are included, "B"=Breakfast, "L"=Lunch, "D"=Dinner]

Day 1: Sunday, June 8

 Direct evening flight from Philadelphia International to London Heathrow

Day 2: Monday, June 9                             Plumber Manor              L, D

Colin and Ann Senior, our tour organizers, will welcome us at Heathrow. We will drive directly to Donhead St Mary where we will have lunch at Shute House, Suzy and John Lewis’s handsome early-18th century house surrounded by a garden of springs, ponds and canals designed by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. We then make our way to Plumber Manor near Sturminster Newton, a lovely Jacobean country house hotel.  Dinner in the hotel            

We first visit Bloxworth House, with its stunning gardens of designer Martin Lane Fox, who has devoted part of the property to a large flower meadow where he indulges his passion for butterflies.  We then move on to the old town of Wimborne Minster for lunch and a visit to the ancient monastery church of St. Cuthburga. In the afternoon we visit Cranborne Manor, the home of Viscount Cranborne, where we will explore this most beautiful garden with clipped yew hedges surrounding formal beds, Jacobean gatehouses and an Angela Connor fountain. We return to the hotel for dinner.

Day 4: Wednesday, June 11            Plumber Manor                    B, L, D

We start the day with a visit to Clive Farrell’s garden and nursery at Ryewater, which incorporates a whimsical ‘clock garden’ with timed fountains. We go on to Harvard Farm, Dilys Hobson’s green garden full of topiary, where we will have lunch. We then spend the afternoon in Sherborne, reputedly one of the most beautiful towns in England, with its abundance of medieval buildings, a superb abbey and many interesting shops.  Tonight we entertain the Dorset garden owners at Inwood House, the spectacular Victorian home of Comte Richard de Pelet.

Day 5:  Thursday, June 12             Plumber Manor                      B, L, D

This morning we visit Mapperton, home of Viscount Sandwich and one of Dorset’s most atmospheric gardens:  15 acres set into a unique stepped valley with sculptured topiary and Italianate features.  We lunch with Harriet Boileau, the National Gardens Scheme organizer for Dorset, at Rampisham Manor.  This stylish three-acre garden features rose beds, spacious lawns and a hidden vegetable garden. From there we drive to Grove Stall Farm, which Sue Orr designed around old agricultural buildings with two small formal gardens linked by iris and lavender walks. On our way back to the hotel we pass through Poundbury, the famous example of urban development, designed for the Prince of Wales by architect Leon Krier.  Thomas Hardy’s Cottage, where the great author grew up and wrote about in The Return of the Native, is our final visit before we head back to the hotel for dinner.

Day 6:  Friday, June 13            The Swan at Streatley              B, L, D    

We leave Dorset and drive to Englefield in West Berkshire, where we lunch in the village tearoom and visit Englefield House, home of the Benyon family. The large garden was originally laid out in the 17th century, and features in its design and plantings a fine balance between formality and intimacy. In the afternoon we proceed to our hotel, The Swan at Streatley, set on the banks of the Thames. Dinner in the hotel.

Day 7:  Saturday, June 14           The Swan at Streatley            B, L, D

We start the day with a visit to Bottom House, Bix, where Gaie Scouller, an enthusiastic plantswoman, has created a fine garden with year-round interest and very selective use of color.  A short drive brings us to Rofford Manor, where Mr. and Mrs. Mogford have spent 20 years developing a spacious garden with vistas from every angle. We will have lunch in the orangery, which faces an immaculate, French-style courtyard bordered by pleached limes.  We then visit a completely contrasting garden at Crockmore House, Fawley where Julia Kirkham has created what she describes as “a natural garden, suitable for children and outdoor entertaining.” Dinner at Leander Club, Britain’s premier rowing club, with a magnificent view overlooking the famous regatta course at Henley-on-Thames.

Day 8:  Sunday, June 15           The Swan at Streatley            B, L, D

In the morning we make a pilgrimage to the vast and spectacular 18th-century landscape gardens at Stowe, which have been superbly restored over the past 18 years by the National Trust.  Many distinguished designers, including Vanbrugh, Kent and ‘Capability’ Brown, have contributed their talents to these gardens. After lunch at Stowe, we will drive in to Oxford, where we can attend Choral Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral after seeing some of the College gardens.  Dinner in the hotel.

Day 9:  Monday, June 16            The Swan at Streatley               B, L, D

We start our day in Buckinghamshire with a visit to The Manor House, Bledlow, the home of Lord and Lady Carrington. Their elegant English garden has been designed to make full use of 14 chalk springs and some mature trees. The architecture stylishly combines tall yew and beech hedges with water features and modern sculpture. After lunch in a pub, we go on to Watercroft, owned by Mary Berry, a well-known cookery writer. Her chalk and clay garden contains an expansive rose walk, an Italianate garden and a newly replanted duck pond.  To round off the afternoon, we visit Jordans Meeting House, a renowned Quaker center, built in 1688 and now lovingly restored after a fire. William Penn was a frequent worshiper and, at his own request, was buried in the grounds.  Tonight we entertain our Thames Valley garden owners to dinner.

Day 10: Tuesday, June 17     The Swan at Streatley                    B, L, D

We spend the day in and around the charming village of Bradfield, where we visit three very different gardens.  Mariners, owned by garden writer Fenja Anderson, is a colorful garden designed around a large herbaceous border that takes advantage of its sloping site.  For lunch, we visit Fiona Ambler at Hookend Farm, where she has created a naturalistic garden with roses rambling through the apple trees.  In the afternoon we go to John Mooney’s garden, Potash, a paradise for plantsmen and dendrologists.  Set among handsome specimen trees, there is a year-long display of rare and interesting plants.  Our Farewell Dinner will be at the hotel, on a barge that once was the boathouse for Magdalen College, Oxford.

Day 11: Wednesday June 18 B                                           

Afternoon departure from London Heathrow to Philadelphia

YOUR GUIDES

Jane G. Pepper is Pennsylvania Horticultural Society president. Jane has led garden tours for the Society to France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Italy, and Kenya.

Ann and Colin Senior own and operate Heritage Garden Tours. Both Ann and Colin were brought up in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. Ann comes from a family of keen gardeners and continues in the tradition with her particular love of old roses. As a classical music agent, she has a long experience of arranging tours for visiting orchestras. Colin progressed from Oxford and MIT to a career in international banking. More recently he was on the board of the UK civil Aviation Authority, where he oversaw the regulation of British tour operators.

LAND ARRANGEMENTS

Per-person tour price:

Financial Schedule and Refund Policy:

Registration: To hold a reservation, please mail reservation form, Waiver and Release form, and deposit of $600 per person to Betsie Blodgett at PHS (information below).

Single Supplement: A limited number of single rooms is available.

Cancellation After Paying Registration Fees: Refund of $500 per person will be made if cancellation is received in writing by February 15, 2008. After this date, no refund will be made unless a substitute participant is obtained. There is no refund for any unused portion of the trip. Trip cancellation insurance is highly recommended and may be purchased through Travel Answers.

Final Payment: Balance due no later than March 15, 2008. A final invoice will be sent. The trip price is based on a minimum of 15 participants.

Donation: A tax-deductible donation of $300 per person (made payable to PHS) is requested. A reminder will be included with your final payment notice.

Cost Includes: Hotel accommodations based on two people sharing a room with private bath, hotel service charges, taxes and porterage as per itinerary; ground transportation by private motor coach in England; all meals per itinerary (10 breakfasts, 10 lunches, 10 dinners); wine with dinner; local guides; and all gratuities including coach driver.

Cost Excludes: Airfare; items of a personal nature; telephone; drinks; any extras or meals not shown on itinerary.

FLIGHT ARRANGEMENTS

Round Trip Non-Refundable Advance Purchase Airfare (electronic/etickets):

Philadelphia – Heathrow
Heathrow – Philadelphia via British Airways      $993

Fares are current as of September 30, 2007; those in effect at time of issue may be different.

Tickets must be purchased within two days of booking the reservation. No fares are guaranteed until tickets are issued. Please note there is a service fee for issuing each airline ticket; electronic tickets (etickets) will be issued.

All flight arrangements should be made immediately and directly with Travel Answers.

Air Cancellation Policy:

Tickets are non-refundable, but can be exchanged, for a fee, for up to one year with restrictions. We strongly urge you to purchase trip cancellation/interruption insurance. This and baggage insurance can be obtained through Travel Answers.

FOR INFORMATION

RESPONSIBILITY CLAUSE

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society acts only as agents for the passenger with respect to all transportation, hotels, and all matters of reservations and tour operation. We and our agents accept no responsibility for loss, damage, injury, accident, delay or irregularity, expense or liability caused by the defect of any vehicle or negligence or default of any independent contractors, their employees, agents, or representatives. Nor do we accept responsibility for losses or delays arising from sickness, pilferage, labor disputes, machinery breakdown, quarantine, government restraints, war, acts of terrorism, weather conditions, or acts of God. All such losses or expenses shall be borne by the tour participant. Tour rates provide for arrangements only for the time stated and as described in this brochure. We reserve the right to substitute services, features, and hotels of similar quality without notice. We reserve the right to cancel any tour prior to departure in which case the entire payment will be refunded without further obligation on our part. We likewise reserve the right to decline to accept or retain any tour participant at any time without being under any obligation to assign any reason therefore. In the event of the exercise of this right, we shall be under no liability to such person(s) except to refund such amount as our absolute discretion deems reasonable to attribute to the uncompleted portion of the tour. No refund will be made for the unused portion of any tour unless arrangements are made in sufficient time to avoid penalties. Baggage is carried at the owner’s risk entirely. It is understood that air, ship, or train tickets when issued shall constitute the sole contract between the passenger and carrier concerned. The airlines and all other transportation companies involved in this tour are not to be held responsible for any act, omission, or event during the time the passengers are not on board their planes or conveyances. All services are subject to the laws of the country in which they are rendered. The tour participant agrees, on behalf of himself, his dependants, heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, to abide by the above conditions and to release and hold harmless, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and any of their representatives from any and all liability for any delays, damage, loss, injury, or death occurring in relation to this tour. Any payment constitutes agreement by the individual tour participant with the terms and conditions contained in this brochure.

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