Holidays for the garden enthusiast
Garden holidays in the New Forest and Isle of Wight
New Forest Gardens & Isle of Wight
5-9 July 2009
With rolling countryside and pretty villages, the county of Hampshire offers much variety to garden enthusiasts.
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From our base at The Crown Hotel in Lyndhurst, we visit the delightful Little Court, a private garden packed with early summer planting. From here we travel to Mottisfont Abbey Garden (pictured, left), a National Trust gem famous for its rose and walled gardens, and we complete our tour with a visit to the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, which hosts one of the largest collections of hardy trees and shrubs in the world.
A day trip to the lovely Isle of Wight includes the delightful Victorian splendour of Queen Victoria’s palace by the sea, with a walled garden, hothouses full of exotic plants and extensive grounds offering stunning views across the Solent. Travelling around the island we call into Mottistone Manor Garden (pictured, left), a picturesque Elizabethan manor house with colourful herbaceous borders and a very peaceful setting.
Taking the New Forest Trail to Beaulieu Village, we spend time at the famous Palace House & Gardens, before continuing our journey through Britain’s newest National Park to the nursery and garden of Apple Court, a garden with many rooms, including the Daylily Garden, which holds centre stage at this time of year.
En route we visit the delightful Longstock Water Gardens and, on our return journey, spend time viewing the ornamental gardens of Waterperry.
Cost per person: £450
Single room: £60
Departure points: Lincoln, Newark, Leicester, Lutterworth