GW holiday: Uncover the beautiful gardens of Norfolk

Join us on this superb five-day garden tour through Norfolk, where history and horticulture meet in some of the county’s most beautiful gardens. From secret Victorian escapes and grand stately gardens to award-winning walled gardens and intimate urban retreats, each visit offers a different botanical experience, accompanied by renowned plantsman and garden expert David Hurrion.

Your holiday includes

• Four nights’ accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis at the Barnham Broom Hotel, based on shared occupancy of a twin/double room
• 4 dinners with wine at the hotel
• Three lunches
• Special private evening visit and dinner with wine at Alnwick Garden
• Two further dinners with wine at the hotel
• Three lunches
• Comfortable coach travel throughout
• Entrances and tours as per the itinerary
• Accompanied by plantsman and garden expert David Hurrion

Garden Highlights

• The Plantation Garden - Head gardener-guided tour and talk about the garden’s restoration
• Stow Hall - Head gardener guided tour, followed by tea and cake
• Holkham Hall - Private tour with the head gardener and David Hurrion, with lunch included
• Houghton Hall - Private tour of the gardens and entrance to the hall
• Pensthorpe Nature Reserve - Gardener-led tour with free time and lunch
• Blickling Hall - Visit the rooms and gardens
• East Ruston Old Vicarage Gardens - Tea/coffee on arrival, tour by owner Alan Gray, plus a twocourse lunch
• 33 Waldemar Avenue Gardens - Visit gardens and tree house, with tea and cake

Your itinerary

• DAY 1 Check in 3pm. Evening welcome drink and talk from David Hurrion. Dinner with wine.
• DAY 2 We head to Norwich for a guided visit of The Plantation Garden. Offering a peaceful escape in the heart of the city, this Victorian garden features a Gothic fountain, Italianate terrace, woodland walkways and lush planting. Following the tour, enjoy free time in Norwich – a modern yet medieval city. In the afternoon we have a private guided tour of Stow Hall Gardens led by the head gardener. This 20-acre private garden was inherited by Lady Rose Hare, who transformed it from a garden that had fallen into neglect to a space with over 200 rose varieties, ancient trees, a walled orchard with rare local apple species, herbaceous borders and woodland paths.
• DAY 3 We visit the 18th-century Holkham Hall, a masterpiece of the Palladian revival style, built by Sir Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester. David Hurrion will lead a tour of the gardens, where he started his career. These feature a six-acre walled garden with seasonal blooms, shrubs and trees, Victorian greenhouses, a working kitchen garden, ornamental borders and a vineyard. After lunch we visit Houghton Hall, which boasts an award-winning walled garden, sculpture park and deer park.
• DAY 4 We start at Pensthorpe Nature Reserve, which features five beautiful gardens, each with its own design philosophy. A gardener-led guided tour will be followed by a light lunch. We then continue to the Jacobean mansion of Blickling Hall to look around the principal rooms, in particular the long gallery, often described as the grandest of its period in England. The gardens include a walled garden, a lake, huge yew hedges and lush 1930s herbaceous planting.
• DAY 5 We take a coach ride to the 32-acre East Ruston Old Vicarage Garden, created by gardeners Alan Gray and Graham Robeson from 1973. Despite its coastal location, exotic and diverse plants thrive here, thanks to clever planting and sheltered beds. Alan Gray will lead us on a private guided tour through the themed garden rooms, which include the Mediterranean Garden with terraces, the Desert Wash inspired by Arizona and featuring cacti and aloes, and a Sunken Rose Garden. Enjoy the heritage apple orchard, woodland garden, sculptures and water features. After lunch we visit the large suburban gardens of 33 Waldemar Avenue for a guided tour with the owners. The exotic and tropical planting here includes a succulent and cactus collection, dahlias and tropical perennials, a treehouse draped in plants, and a palm-thatched tiki hut surrounded by plants.

Terms and conditions

Organised by and subject to booking conditions of Travel Editions Tours Ltd. Experts/locations may be substituted. All timings are approximate and order of itinerary may vary according to local conditions and tour manager’s discretion. Joining instructions sent 14 days prior to departure. Price excludes holiday insurance, transfers, meals other than those stated, items of a personal nature such as drinks, laundry, calls etc, porterage and gratuities. *Pricing from £1,875 per person based on twin/double share. Double room for sole use supplement: £240. Extra night at end of tour twin/double room (B&B): £140 per person. Extra night at end of tour double room for sole use (B&B): £200