Dorset Gardens Tour

This is a 2 day (2 or 3 night) accompanied tour of four of Dorset’s most beautiful gardens. There will also be visits to places of interest en route, as well as some delightful short walks on the way to or from three of the gardens for those who so wish.

This tour can be combined with our Thomas Hardy tour to make a memorable 4 or 5 night holiday.

Another attraction of our gardens tour is the drive each day along small lanes through gorgeous countryside and picturesque villages, including a stop at an attractive pub in the middle of the day. There should also be enough time for a Dorset “cream tea” or just a cuppa in the late afternoon.

This is absolutely not a mass tourist coach trip, but a much more flexible, personalised tour for individuals or very small groups, who want not only to visit a number of stunning gardens but also to discover a particularly scenic and unspoilt part of rural England, accompanied by a local person who is not a horticulturalist but who is passionate about the area.

You will be collected each morning from your B&B, inn or hotel and driven to each of the gardens and other sites of interest during the two days, returning in the late afternoon. Time will additionally be allowed for three optional walks, each of around 2 miles, in beautiful Dorset countryside between these visits. Those who opt out of these walks will be taken in our vehicle to see some of the most beautiful villages in the area where private gardens are also on display.

Amongst other places of interest, our Gardens tour includes:

• Athelhampton House and Gardens
• Mapperton House and Gardens
• Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens
• Minterne Gardens
• The iron age hill fort of Eggardon
• The beautiful village of Cerne Abbas, with its chalk giant.

Please note that garden entrance fees are not included in the price of the holiday. This is because many people are members of clubs or associations that offer reduced or free admission to historic houses and gardens, or else may be senior citizens or both.

If you do not have any such entitlement, you can expect to pay around £30 to visit all the gardens (and one house) on the tour. The website of each of the gardens can be found on our links page.

It would be quite possible to opt for a 2 night Dorset Gardens tour or a 4 night Thomas Hardy & Dorset Gardens tour, but then you would have to return home or continue your onward journey in the late afternoon directly after the final day’s walk or tour, i.e. without spending a final night in your accommodation.

Occasionally we may propose accommodation with a standard and price between A1 and A2.
 
We can sometimes offer family rooms and special prices for children, depending on the accommodation that is available at the time, but early booking is advisable. Please give us details of your requirements on the enquiry form.

For our full range of holidays and how we operate, go to holidays 2008 and why footscape?.