The Telegraph: Gardens of the Welsh Borders

22 June 2021

4 days from £2,499pp

The mountains and moorlands straddling the borders of England and Wales are carved up by wooded river valleys,

verdant farmlands, and a surprisingly rich vein of outstanding private gardens.

Visit High Glanau Monor, one of the best-preserved Arts & Crafts houses
See the work of Arne Maynard at Allt-y-Bela
Lunch & a visit to Llanover House with Elizabeth Murray
See the private garden at Brockhampton Cottage, by designer Tom Stuart Smith
Explore The Laskett, a formal garden created by Sir Robert Strong and his late wife
Enjoy a visit to Wyndcliffe Court and gardens

The tour is based at Gliffaes Country House, a small luxury hotel on the banks of the River Usk, surrounded by beautiful, mature grounds, where you can expect excellent food. This tour introduces you to the work of many key designers, some on their home patch, and offers a rare chance to explore an array of exceptional gardens in the excellent company of Helen Yemm and Sophie Piebenga who accompany you throughout the tour.

Day 1:
This tour starts at Bristol Parkway Railway Station at midday to take advantage of the London Paddington train service. The station offers plenty of parking facilities. We journey together by coach to High Glanau Manor, one of the finest and best-preserved Arts & Crafts houses and gardens in Wales. Hilary and Helena Gerrish welcome us to their home and garden with a special invitation to a delicious lunch. We then check in at Gliffaes Country House for afternoon tea and a stroll in the grounds with time to settle in before an evening meal together.
Day 2:
We start the day at Allt-y-Bela in Llangym, Monmouthshire, to see the work of designer Arne Maynard on his home patch. Here, the garden wraps tightly around the medieval renaissance tower house and although it displays elements found in most of his distinctive designs – espaliered fruit trees, roses, vegetables, wildflowers and topiary – here, with the unpredictable terrain of the Welsh Borders, we find fascinating balanced and yet unsymmetrical garden. We then go to Llanover House, home of Elizabeth Murray, where we are invited to lunch on the terrace before discovering the garden she is passionately creating. In the afternoon, we travel up into the hills to see a relatively recent private garden that moves from intensive planting near the house across fields and then down into the woods. We are invited to tea and cake before returning to Gliffaes.
Day 3:
Brockhampton Cottage is a memorable private garden made by innovative designer Tom Stuart-Smith for his friend Peter Clay, owner of Crocus, the online garden nursery. Lunch follows in a local inn. In the afternoon we include a visit to The Laskett, a fascinating formal garden created by Sir Roy Strong and his late wife, the designer Julia Trevelyan Oman, and encoded with the story of their lives. Sir Roy has just this year passed the garden into the capable hands of Perennial, a garden charity that now owns and runs several key British gardens. Later, we return to Gliffaes to share a meal together.
Day 4:
Our final day features a special visit to Wyndcliffe Court, a beautiful Arts & Crafts house designed in the 1920s for Charles Clay, whose descendant Anthony Clay and his wife Sarah are the present owners. The garden layout was originally designed by H Avray Tipping and remains largely unaltered with Sarah Price, a Gold Medal-winner at the 2018 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, now advising on the planting schemes. After a special homemade lunch, we travel to Dewstow Gardens where excavations have uncovered the unique, mostly subterranean garden that was laid out more than 100 years ago for Henry Oakley, a onetime director of the Great Western Railway Company. Its labyrinth of rockwork, grottoes and waterfalls is adorned with rich plantings. We return to Bristol Parkway for 4pm.

Helen Yemm

Helen Yemm is probably best-known for her weekly THORNY PROBLEMS page that has been a fixture for nearly twenty years in the Saturday’s Daily Telegraph. In ‘real life’ she is a hands-on, self-taught, keen-as-mustard gardener and lecturer with a garden in East Sussex that she occasionally opens for small groups.

Helen is a sometime television presenter (GARDENING FROM SCRATCH and GARDENING WEEK for BBC-2) and is the author of several gardening books (the latest being GARDENING IN PYJAMAS). She is also a regular feature writer for THE ENGLIH GARDEN magazine. However, hosting garden tours is, she says, the icing on the cake – she gets enormous pleasure from discovering gardens in the company of others who share her passion.

Sophie Piebenga

Trained with the National Trust and qualified at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Whilst working as head gardener of a private estate, she developed a particular interest in the conservation of historic gardens. This eventually led to a doctoral study at the University of York, researching the work of the early Victorian landscape gardener, William Sawrey Gilpin. She has since worked freelance, mostly in the field of historic landscape conservation. Born in The Netherlands, now based in the Cotswolds, Sophie has lived most of her life in the UK. For the last 25 years, Sophie has regularly led tours for Boxwood to Ireland, France, Spain, The Netherlands and within the UK.

Join us at our hotel in the UK

Picture of - Join us at our hotel in the UK

Make your own travel arrangements at your convenience to join your selected holiday. Simply arrive at the hotel and our Tour Manager will be there to greet you.

If you require any further information to assist with your travel plans, please contact our Holiday Advisors who will be happy to help.

Parking is available at our hotel for those wishing to drive.

Overview

Gliffaes nestles among the lush hills of the BlackMountains, an impressive Italianate Victorian manor. A true countryside escape, the hotel encapsulates tradition, elegance and comfort in every way. Rooms are charmingly furnished and enjoy breath-taking views of the sublime surrounding landscape. An excellent restaurant turns out breakfast, lunch and dinner with a focus on seasonality and showcasing the very best of Welsh produce.

Room Facilities & Amenities

En suite bathroom
TV
Wi-Fi
Tea/ coffee making facilities
Hairdryer

The Telegraph: Gardens of the Welsh Borders

22 June 2021

4 days from £2,499pp

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

Helen Yemm

Sophie Piebenga

Join us at our hotel in the UK

Your Accommodation

Gliffaes Country House Hotel, Crickhowell

Overview

Room Facilities & Amenities

The Telegraph: Gardens of the Welsh Borders

22 June 2021

4 days from £2,499pp

Your Accommodation

Gliffaes Country House Hotel, Crickhowell

Overview

Room Facilities & Amenities

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