Time to move along to the next installment of the
Cotswold Garden Tour.

While I would like to take you along for each and every garden and event we saw, it’s just not possible in this space. So I’ll limit this last post to a few of the gardens we saw during the second half of our week.

Let’s begin with our visit to
Broughton Castle, home of Lord and Lady Saye and Sele.

The entrance to the castle:


This turned into a very, very special event for all of us; more so than had even been planned!
We were taken on a very complete tour of the castle and then went outside to go on a tour of the gardens. At that point Lord Saye appeared and proceeded to chat us up…mind you, he is 96 and it was another hot and sunny day out in the gardens! What a truly delightful man. He was soon joined by his wife, Lady Saye who is equally delightful and SO knowledgable about each and every plant in this very extensive garden. The name of each different rose, or poppy, or peony was spoken to us as though she were reading from a script. We were amazed.

And here, dear readers, is a very special photo. This is our group with our gracious hosts, Lord and Lady Saye. Keep in mind, this was after almost two hours walking and talking in the hot sun. Lord Saye then asked if he could “treat” us to ice cream at the on site tea room. And so we whiled away many very pleasant minutes talking of their life, of the centuries’ history of this castle and of life in general. It was, truly, a time none of us will ever forget.

And here I simply must include this photo, no matter the terrible quality (!), of our wonderful leaders. On the right is Andrew Guppy, owner of Costwold Tours, and on the left is Vivienne McGhee who went over and above any “requirements ” of the job: she is SO knowledgeable about any and all things Cotswold garden related, endlessly patient, and one of those people you just know you will never forget. Thank you to these two for making our week magical!

 

The next day, among several offerings, we went to
The Royal Gardens at Highgrove
home of their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and the Dutchess of Cornwall.
No one is allowed to take in either cell phones or cameras, so I have nothing original to show you. Do go to the site and look around. And I urge you, if you ever have the remotest chance, to buy a ticket and GO!

It is spectacular. Prince Charles bought the estate in 1980 and within a year decided to go totally organic with all the gardens and fields. One of the perennials he loves most is Delphiniums. Well, of course, I was in awe as I can’t grow them in my climate and I miss them. But these Delphiniums were, I kid you not, 9 to 10 ft. tall!!!   They were magnificent. All shades of blue mixed with white. Hundreds and hundreds. And most were individually staked and tied. It was quite a sight.

Our last day.
Our first visit was to
Coach House

I have admit that this was one of my top three of the week. First of all, I just really liked the owner and our garden tour guide of the day, Mel Tanner. Mel and her husband have worked on this house and garden for almost thirty years. Although it is only an acre and a half, it feels large and spacious through the creation of “rooms.” There are different levels although most are only a step or two up and down. The rill, which I showed your here, was so lovely.

Here are some views of selected areas:

A short video of the gardens:

 

 

Mel served us a lovely morning tea, complete with assorted cakes!

And now, a rare…very rare…self portrait. No, not a selfie, but my friend Peggy offered and guess what, I have four (count ’em, four!) really good photos. The lighting in this arbor was superb and she just snapped away.

 

If I look happy and peaceful, well, I was. It was a very good week.

If you are at all interested in visiting The Cotswolds, whether for this week long Garden Tour, or to plan a walking tour you MUST contact Andrew at
Cotswold Walks

As I may have mentioned before, they mostly do custom walking tours (whether guided or self-guided) throughout the Cotswolds. This Garden Tour is only held one week a year, at the end of June. Everything about it was handled beautifully: from the choice of hotels, to advance choices at our dinner restaurants (to save time…and it did!), to just the correct timing and pacing of one tour after another, to making sure we had plenty of bottled water in the heat, and to the interesting travel details provided by Andrew, Vivienne and Mel. There were other gardens: Barnsley House, Eastleach, Campden House, Broughton Grange, Hodges Barn and The Little House. It is a lot for one week but if you are a garden person, then this is a tour you will want to look at.

Hope you have enjoyed this bit of armchair travel; please do contact me with any questions.