Tour exquisite gardens and meet TVstar Adam Henson in the Cotswolds
THE rolling hills and honey-coloured stone villages of the Cotswolds are home to some of Britain’s most spectacular gardens. You’ll have an opportunity to explore this quintessential part of England on our fabulous five-day tour – the highlight of which will be a special welcome to Cotswold Farm Park from its charismatic owner, television presenter Adam Henson.
Other memorable experiences will include visits to Batsford Arboretum, Sezincote House and Garden and Painswick Rococo Garden, as well as charming Sudeley Castle and Gardens and Chedworth Roman Villa.
Adam Henson was born on the 1,600-acre Cotswold Farm Park, which belonged to his father Joe. He now runs it with a business partner and regularly presents his Adam’s Farm segment of Countryfile from there.
Adam will join you for a private lunch and give a talk about his conservation work and sustainable farming, as well as about his role as a TV presenter.
Your trip will include an indulgent afternoon tea at the historic Lygon Arms Hotel in Broadway and free time to enjoy Chipping Campden, one of the area’s most delightful market towns.
REASONS TO BOOK
Meet Adam Henson: Adam will welcome you to Cotswold Farm Park, which has been in his family for nearly 60 years and has the UK’s leading collection of rare-breed animals. Adam will give a talk about his life combining farming and television presenting.
Join Adam for lunch: While at the farm, you will enjoy a delicious private lunch with Adam in the wonderful setting before you have the chance to explore for yourself.
Explore Batsford Arboretum: Home to one of the UK’s first comprehensive bamboo collections, thanks to original wild garden creator Algernon Freeman-Mitford, Batsford’s displays cover a wide range of plants from around the world, with an emphasis on the Far East. There are more than 2,850 labelled specimens including some 1,300 different trees (among them the beautiful Japanese maple), shrubs and bamboo.
Afternoon tea: The charming and historic Cotswold village of Broadway is a memorable place to visit, with its pretty high street lined with horse chestnut trees, a mixture of period houses and picturesque stone cottages. There you’ll enjoy an afternoon tea in The Lygon Arms Hotel, where both Oliver Cromwell and King Charles I stayed during the Civil War – though not at the same time.
Explore the finest gardens: Visit several of the Cotswolds’ loveliest gardens, including Painswick Rococo
Garden and Sezincote House and Garden. Painswick Rococo Garden was laid out by Benjamin Hyett II in the 18th Century and was painted by artist Thomas Robins in 1748. The painting allowed the garden to be restored in the late 1980s under the direction of Painswick’s owner, Lord Dickinson. Known as ‘India in the Cotswolds’, Sezincote covers 3,500 acres of rolling countryside and has a 200-year-old Mogul Indian palace at its centre among a romantic landscape of temples, grottos, waterfalls and canals.