Somerset 2018

We depart this morning and make our way westwards. Having made a suitable comfort stop we arrive at Stourhead (NT) for our midday break. When Stourhead first opened in the 1740s, a magazine described it as ‘a living work of art’. The world-famous landscape garden has at its centrepiece a magnificent lake reflecting classical temples, mystical grottoes, and rare and exotic trees. There will be ample to time to tour these glorious gardens at your leisure and you will be able to obtain lunch in the café. Later in the afternoon we continue to our hotel.

After breakfast we make our way to Montacute House (NT) Montacute is a masterpiece of Elizabethan Renaissance architecture and design. With its towering walls of glass, glow of ham stone and surrounding gardens, it is a place of beauty and wonder.Sir Edward Phelips was the visionary force and money behind the creation of this masterpiece, which was completed in  1601. There is the Long Gallery, which is the longest of its kind in England. The gallery houses over 60 Tudor and Elizabethan portraits on loan from the National Portrait Gallery. A beautiful garden surrounds Montacute House, constantly changing, filling the house with scent in summer.  By way of a complete contrast we visit East Lambrook Manor Gardens which is the iconic and quintessentially English cottage garden created by the celebrated 20th-century plantswoman and gardening writer Margery Fish. It was here that she developed her own style of gardening, combining old-fashioned and contemporary plants in a relaxed and informal manner to create a garden of immense beauty and charm.The English Heritage Grade 1 listed garden is characterised by many winding paths through abundant borders and is renowned as the premier example of the English cottage garden style. It has noted collections of snowdrops, hellebores and hardy geraniums and there is an excellent specialist hardy plant nursery in the garden.

This morning we drive to Bishops Lydeard where we join The West Somerset Railway for our steam hauled journey to Minehead. The journey takes us on an old branch line of the famous GWR through the gently rolling Quantock Hills ,Exmoor in the distance, unspoilt villages and farms nestling in leafy lanes, the cliffs and coast of the Bristol Channel with views of distant South-Wales. We then make the short drive to Dunster Castle (NT). Dramatically sited on a wooded hill, a castle has existed here since at least Norman times, with an impressive medieval gatehouse and ruined tower giving a reminder of its turbulent history.The castle that you see today became a lavish country home during the 19th century for the Luttrell family, who lived here for 600 years. The castle boasts spectacular views toward the Bristol channel, the Quantock hills and up to the moors of Exmoor. Later in the day we return to our hotel

The RHS Garden at Rosemoor  is our destination today.  Rosemoor is an enchanting garden nestled in the beautiful Torridge Valley. Surrounded by woodland, the garden is rich in variety throughout every season and features inspiring planting displays enhanced by the natural beauty of North Devon. These include the largest rose gardens in the South West, the stunning Hot Garden, a Devon Cottage Garden, lake and stream, walled fruit and vegetable garden, natural flower meadows & bluebell carpeted woodlands. An idyllic place to spend the day.

After breakfast we depart the hotel and commence our return journey. Late morning we arrive at The Vyne (NT) for a visit over the lunchtime period.  The Vyne is a beautiful Tudor house built in 1500-1520 for William, Lord Sandys, Lord Chamberlain to Henry VIII.. Among the highlights are a superb Tudor chapel and an ornately decorated Palladian staircase, as well as the striking neo-classical portico that is one of the earliest in England.  There is a small lake, part of 13 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows at The Vyne.  The centrepiece of this garden area is a red-brick summerhouse, built in the mid-16th century and featuring one of the earliest neo-classical domes in the country. Across clipped hedges from the formal garden is a sizeable walled kitchen garden. Please Note there are major roof restoration works taking place at Then Vyne which you are able to see by taking a lift up on to the scaffolding. (subject to change).  Later in the afternoon we continue our journey back to Sussex and expect to arrive in East Grinstead at approximately 18.30.