The Gardens of Dorset & Somerset

A FOUR NIGHT HOLIDAY | 3 JULY 2023

Expert horticulturalist and popular Kirker tour leader Kirsty Fergusson will escort this itinerary ‘behind the scenes’ of some of the most wonderful gardens in the south-west of England. Based in the picturesque small town of Bridport, close to Dorset’s World Heritage Jurassic Coast, we will join Kirsty in visiting a fascinating range of public and private gardens, many of which will open specially for our visit – including kitchen gardens, meadows, historic orchards, elegant water gardens and subtropical plant collections.

Forde Abbey

the itinerary

1

Please make your own way to the charming Bull Inn in Bridport, just over an hour from Bournemouth or Exeter, which will be our base for the duration of the holiday. Dinner will be served at the hotel this evening.

2

This morning we will visit the home of John and Jenny Makepeace in Beaminster. John Makepeace is a leading designer of contemporary fine furniture, dedicated to exploring the beauty of wood. His wife, Jennie is a distinguished gardener and plantswoman and together they have created complementary “his and hers” gardens, reflecting two very different approaches to garden design and planting. We will continue to Milton Mill in West Milton, the former home of nature writer Kenneth Allsop, where we will have lunch with owner Margaret Morgan-Grenville and a tour of her idyllic garden which has a river flowing through it and its own cider orchard. In the afternoon we will head to Mapperton in Beaminster for a tour of the house and garden where Kirsty was Head Gardener for five years.

Charles Dowding, master of the “No Dig” method, will give us a 3 private tour of his exceptional kitchen garden this morning and will share his insight into how to make your own produce grow and taste better. We then cross the border into Somerset where we will visit England’s newest Grand Garden at The Newt. We will have lunch at the excellent restaurant here and a tour of the gardens bravely created on the site of Penelope Hobhouse’s Hadpsen.

4

Our first visit today is to Forde Abbey, with its beautiful meadow gardens maintained by young head gardener, Joshua Sparkes. We will then continue to Southwood Farm. Garden designer Arne Maynard has worked with owner, Professor Clive Potter, a researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College, to create a garden that marries sensitively with the medieval yeoman farmhouse and the wider rural landscape beyond. Courtyards brimming with perennials and neat topiary and a superb kitchen garden overlook hay meadows and woodland beyond.

5

On our final morning there will be a visit to Abbotsbury subtropical gardens. Winner of the Christie’s Garden of the Year Award 2012, Abbotsbury comprises a Victorian walled garden set in 20 acres of woodland valley with a mixture of formal and informal flowers. The unique micro-climate enables rare and exotic species to thrive here, and it is renowned for magnificent collections of rhododendrons, hydrangeas, magnolias, and Camellia groves. After the tour you may choose to linger at the excellent café and plant centre here.

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TOUR LEADER

KIRSTY FERGUSSON

Kirsty Fergusson exchanged a career in academia (she is a PhD specialising in French philosopher-novelists) for a life in gardening. Trained at Capel Manor, she was head gardener at Mapperton in Dorset during the early nineties, where a series of fortunate encounters opened the door to garden writing. As well as writing a weekly column for The Express, for many years she was a frequent contributor to Gardens Illustrated, House & Garden, Country Life, The Times, The Telegraph and The Independent. In 2003 she moved to SW France, where she continues to explore the possibilities of her own (very forgiving) garden – when not travelling, writing or leading garden tours.

TOUR INFORMATION

DEPARTURE DATE & PRICES

DATE PRICE SINGLE SUPP

3 July £1,489 £388

Our prices are per person, based on the shared occupancy of a twin/double room. Supplement for single occupancy as shown.

WHAT WE INCLUDE

• Four nights’ accommodation with breakfast • Four dinners and two lunches • All sightseeing, entrance fees and gratuities • The services of the Kirker Tour Lecturer

Mapperton