Visit the gardens at Highgrove House with Jennie Bond

Itinerary

1. Day

   1

   Arrive, welcome talk from tour manager and dinner

   Wokingham, United Kingdom

   

   Arrive at your hotel today for an introductory talk from your tour manager ahead of your visit to Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace tomorrow. After settling in to your room, dinner will be served at the hotel this evening.

   Meals - Dinner
2. Day

   2

   Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace

   Windsor, United Kingdom

   

   This morning you will visit Windsor Castle. The castle enjoys the distinction of being the longest-occupied palace in Europe. Its construction was ordered by William the Conqueror, and in its original form it was a Motte and Bailey castle, but is now much changed following development by numerous monarchs since Henry I.

   This afternoon you will take a guided tour of Hampton Court Palace, which is perhaps most associated with Henry VIII and the Tudor dynasty.

   Meals - Breakfast, Dinner
3. Day

   3

   Tour of Highgrove Gardens with lunch and talk/Q&A with Jennie Bond

   Highgrove House, United Kingdom

   

   Today you will visit Highgrove, the country home of HRH the Prince of Wales. This will be a rare opportunity to see these fascinating gardens which of course are cultivated using wholly organic methods. You will also enjoy lunch with wine on your visit to Highgrove.

   Since buying the property in 1980 His Royal Highness sought the advice of a friend, Lady Salisbury, and together they laid out parts of the garden with scented plants: wisteria, honeysuckle, jasmine, holboellia, lillies and thyme were chosen to surround the house.

   On the advice of Miriam Rothschild, another gardening expert, the Prince created an experimental wild flower meadow which already boasts around 32 different varieties of endangered native plants including ox-eye daisies, yellow rattle, common spotted orchid, meadow crane's bill and ragged robin.

   Every year the Prince takes on a new project to take his garden in new directions, such as his walled kitchen garden or the arboretum. Vegetable varieties loved by the Prince are grown such as Charlotte potatoes and Happil strawberries, leeks, spring cabbage, brussel sprouts and carrots. A wide variety of apples are grown from trees next to the Orchard Room, along with others gathered from the Walled Garden, including Formosa Nonpareil, Golden Knot, Cornish Aromatic and Lady's Delight.

   You will be joined here by broadcaster Jennie, who will accompany you as you tour the garden, give a talk and hold a Q&A.

   Meals - Breakfast, Lunch
4. Day

   4

   Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace walk (exterior) and Tower of London

   London, United Kingdom

   

   Today's agenda includes a guided tour around the extraordinary Gothic masterpiece, Westminster Abbey with a Blue Badge Guide. This has been the site of many Royal coronations and burials. The current church was begun in 1245 on the orders of Henry III. Every monarch since William the Conqueror has been crowned on the site, and there have been 16 Royal weddings including that of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in spring 2011. Next up is a guided walk around the exterior of Buckingham Palace and the Mall before arriving at one of the world's most extraordinary buildings, the Tower of London, where you will spend the afternoon. This is another construction that was built on the orders of William the Conqueror, to keep hostile Londoners at bay. Since then some of Britain's most dramatic, surprising - and grisly - historical episodes have unfolded in its grounds.

   Meals - Breakfast