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English Country Homes and Gardens with ARNE & CARLOS

Welcome to English Country Homes and Gardens Tour with ARNE & CARLOS!

We are delighted to invite you to our beautiful tour of English Country Homes and Gardens with garden enthusiasts ARNE & CARLOS as your hosts! The designer duo ARNE & CARLOS are well known worldwide for their famous knitting designs, but they are also very keen gardeners, and they have created a lovely English-style cottage garden in their mountain home in Norway. Nature, flowers, and gardens have always been great inspirations in their design work, and they have traveled extensively in England for inspiration and have visited many of the lovely gardens there, privately as well as hosts on garden tours.

“There is so much to say that it is impossible to compress it into a single article. This place is a jungle of beauty. I cannot hope to describe it in words, for indeed it is an impossible thing to reproduce the shape, colour, depth and design of such a garden through the poor medium of prose; I express only the hope that gardeners and garden lovers will visit Hidcote in their thousands”.

Vita Sackville-West

We will indeed visit Hidcote and no less than thirteen other stunning gardens on our tour. England is truly a nation of garden lovers with more gardens open to the public than anywhere else in the world.  From the quintessential herbaceous borders to clipped order of topiary, there is a garden for every taste and every season, and at this time of the year, the gardens will be in their prime and bursting with colours.

English gardens have an undeniable charm, full of dreamy roses rambling over stone walls, garden benches that beckon you to sit a spell, and a lush array of cottage garden flowers from spring-flowering bulbs to delphiniums to hollyhocks. The gardens often do not have a set of rules. Rather, there are many different styles of what we think of as English gardens, from pretty and functional kitchen gardens to exuberant plantings of cottage gardens.

The gardens of our tour are carefully selected, all located in the southeast of England, and in the lovely Cotswolds, representing some of the most beautiful and interesting gardens and manors in the country. The hotels throughout the tour are also chosen for their charm and character, in good locations, and as a fitting backdrop and place of rest after touring the gardens.

Highlights:

  • Enjoy some of the most beautiful English historic homes and gardens
  • Charming country house hotels
  • The Cotswolds - an area of outstanding beauty
  • Vineyard visit with tastings at Chapel Down Winery
  • Afternoon Tea in Broughton Castle
  • Visit the Royal Gardens at Highgrove – His Majesty King Charles III’s private gardens, followed by lunch at Highgrove.

 

 

 

 

ARNE & CARLOS

Scandinavians Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrisson are highly regarded fashion designers, textile artists, YouTubers and authors. They are best known for their original, colourful and visually striking designs as well as their knitwear and their books. Their work is highly influenced by their Scandinavian background and their everyday life in rural Norway. They work under their artist name ARNE & CARLOS, which they established in 2001.

Read more about ARNE & CARLOS here.

Program

PROGRAM

B = Breakfast    L = Lunch    T = Tea    D = Dinner

Please note that the program is subject to changes

 

Day 1              16 May 2024 - Arrival London, England (D)

Arrival in London, England, from your home destination, by your own arrangement. Check-in at Castle Hotel in Windsor. Meet with ARNE & CARLOS for welcome drinks and dinner in the hotel.

 

Day 2              17 May 2024 - Windsor to Tunbridge Wells (B, D)

Depart from the hotel after a good English breakfast and proceed to the Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden at Wisley, Britain’s most important plant collection and garden display.  This is British gardening at its best in all aspects, with 250 acres of glorious gardens.  At this time of year, the wooded slopes massed with azaleas and rhododendrons should be at peak bloom.  The bookstore at the garden is thought to have the most extensive collection of gardening books in the country and perhaps the world.  

We continue to Hever Castle, the ancestral home of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife. The spectacular gardens at Hever Castle were laid out between 1904 and 1908 by Joseph Cheal & Son, turning the marshland into the spectacular gardens we see today. One of the most magnificent areas of the gardens is the Italian Garden, which was designed to display William Waldorf Astor’s collection of Italian sculptures. The tour continues through the “Garden of England” en route to Tunbridge Wells in Kent and check-in to Ashley Park Hotel.

Day 3              18th May 2024 - Sissinghurst and Great Dixter (B, D)

This morning we visit Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, perhaps the most famous of Britain's romantic gardens, created by the poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West, and her husband, Sir Harold Nicholson. Utilizing the design concept of garden rooms and incorporating it with ruined castle walls makes this garden most spectacular. Lunch independently in the garden cafeteria.

Later this afternoon we visit Great Dixter, which has been the home of the Lloyd family since 1920 and where gardening writer Christopher Lloyd has continued the work started by his father, creating a series of colorful gardens.

Day 4              19th May 2024 - Pashley Manor and Port of Rye (B, L, D)

Today’s garden is Pashley Manor, a quintessential English garden offering a blend of romantic landscaping, and imaginative plantings with emphasis on colour and form, together with fine old trees, fountains, springs and large ponds. Mr. and Mrs. James Sellick opened their gardens to the public in 1992, having brought them to their present splendour. Pashley has several acres of beautiful borders and vistas – the culmination of a lifetime of passion for gardening, an appetite for beauty, and an admiration of the tradition of the English Country Garden.  These graceful gardens, on the border of Sussex and Kent, are family-owned and maintained – delightfully displayed throughout with an intimate and peaceful atmosphere.

Afterward, the tour continues to the ancient Cinque Port of Rye for a lunch stop. Perched on a hill, overlooking the River Rother and Romney Marsh, this ancient town is the sort of place you thought existed only in your imagination. With enchanting, cobbled streets, a medieval church and beautifully preserved historic houses from medieval, Tudor and Georgian times, Rye is almost suspended in time and has a uniquely unhurried tour atmosphere.

In the afternoon we are treated to a visit to Chapel Down Winery near Tenterden. Enjoy a guided tour of the vineyards and winery, learning about the grape varieties planted in the vineyard and how they turn the climate to their advantage.  The tour will finish back at the Wine and Fine Food Store on-site and includes a tasting of their excellent wines.

Day 5              20th May 2024 – From the South to The Cotswolds (B, T, D)

Departure from the southeast this morning for a journey to the picturesque region of The Cotswolds, with a morning visit to Rousham, one of England’s most important gardens. Rousham represents the first phase of English landscape design and remains almost as its designer William Kent left it.  Many of the features that delighted its 18th century visitors are still there for 21st century visitors to enjoy.

At Broughton Castle, afternoon tea will be served, in stately surroundings! Broughton Castle is a moated and fortified manor house near Banbury in North Oxfordshire. The Castle had strong links with the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War. Still a family home, Broughton Castle is lived in by the Fiennes family with a beautiful formal garden and park.

Our hotel for the next four nights is the charming Charingworth Manor in Chipping Camden, where we will enjoy dinner together this evening.

Day 6              21st May 2024 – Hidcote Manor, The Cotswolds  (B, D)

This morning, following breakfast, we visit perhaps the most influential English garden design of the 20th century, Hidcote Manor.  Although among the best-known gardens in Britain, Hidcote Manor still has the power to startle. It was begun before World War I by an American, Major Lawrence Johnston, who devised a type of garden that many think of as quintessentially English. It is a garden built up of separate rooms, each connected to the rest but often with blazing contrasts, laid out in a disciplined setting. Everywhere something enticing is glimpsed through an opening, across a pool or framed by a gate.

In the afternoon, we continue to Kiftsgate Court, which offers an admirable selection of plants and flowers, not least of which is the well-known rambling rose R. filipes ‘Kiftsgate’. The house, in a splendid setting with views to the Vale of Evesham, is surrounded by a series of enclosed gardens, whose formality is blurred by generous planting. Developed by three generations of women, the gardens are a plantsman's delight reflecting the pleasure the family has had collecting species from all over the world.

Before heading back to our hotel, we will visit Sudeley Castle, a medieval masterpiece once the home of Queen Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth wife, who is buried in the church in the grounds. The extensive grounds contain ten integrated, but individual gardens.  The gardens surrounding the ruins of the banqueting hall and the barn are exceptionally beautiful. 

Day 7              22nd May 2024  - Rockcliffe and Broadway (B, D)

This morning’s first visit will take you to tranquil cottage pastures, with grazing sheep, set perfectly amongst the immaculately cared-for five-acre private garden of Rockcliffe.  The garden has been cared for and created by Mrs. Keswick for the last eighteen years.  Explore the walled and box-edged kitchen garden, herbaceous borders, a sunken garden, and a swimming pool garden.  

Afterward, we have a stop in Broadway for lunch at our own leisure, and maybe some shopping, before continuing on to the picturesque garden at Upton Wold.  Mr. and Mrs. Bond have invited us to view their garden created in the 1970’s, which is a very distinguished typical Cotswold garden.  It is full of imaginative planting, with great care taken to provide lovely views from the house. 

Day 8            23rd May 2024 – Highgrove Gardens and Miserden (B, L, D)

After breakfast this morning we head for Highgrove, the country home of His Majesty the King. This will be a rare opportunity to see these fascinating gardens which of course are cultivated using wholly organic methods. Since buying the property in 1980 His Majesty has devoted much energy to transforming the gardens around the house. Over 40 years in the making, the gardens at Highgrove are some of the most creatively inspiring and innovative in the United Kingdom. The series of interlinked gardens reflects His Majesty’s natural artistic ability. Managed organically and sustainably, the gardens have become an important haven for a rich variety of flora and fauna. Highgrove is the family home of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla and today’s lunch will be at Highgrove!

In the afternoon, we visit Miserden Gardens. This lovely, timeless, walled garden overlooks a deer park and the rolling Cotswold hills of the Golden Valley beyond. Designed in the 17th century, the garden still retains a wonderful sense of peace and tranquility with a topiary yew walk and quaint grass steps designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, who also redesigned a wing of Miserden Park. The Park was built in 1620 and although the house is not open to the public, it provides a wonderful backdrop to the garden especially when covered in Wisteria in the spring.

The garden is well known for its magnificent mixed borders, amongst the longest in private ownership. They contain a wonderfully wide range of roses, clematis, shrubs, and herbaceous plants that provide colour right through from spring to autumn. 

Farewell dinner this evening at Charingworth Manor Hotel.

Day 9              24th May 2024 – Departure from Chipping Camden to London (B)

After breakfast, check out and depart for London Heathrow and further onwards travel, by individual arrangements.

Special notice:

Please note the running order of the tour may change subject to a successful application for admittance to Highgrove, which will be confirmed in February 2024. Should we not succeed in getting tickets for Highgrove, which are limited and in high demand, we will make alternative plans for other gardens to visit.

 

 

Hotels

Castle Hotel - Windsor

This historic, boutique hotel sits magnificently in the town centre, opposite Windsor Guildhall and just a few minutes’ walk from Windsor Castle.  The history of the hotel and unique touches permeate every corner, yet the bedrooms are stylishly decorated with all the comforts you would expect to make you feel totally at home during your stay in Windsor. Comfy beds, 100% natural toiletries from 100 Acres, Nespresso machines for freshly brewed coffee in the morning and the finest Egyptian cotton bedsheets, enjoy a restful night’s sleep. Our rooms are Classic category.

https://castlehotelwindsor.com/

Ashdown Park Hotel

A stunning country house hotel in the depths of Ashdown Forest.  Bygone splendour meets modern indulgence at Ashdown Park Hotel. A listed 19th-century mansion set in 186 acres of landscaped parkland, the hotel, and accompanying country club has its own 18-hole par 3 golf course, a spa, gourmet dining, and a wide selection of leisure pursuits to enjoy during your stay. Our rooms are Deluxe category.

https://www.ashdownpark.com/

Charingworth Manor

This Cotswold Manor House Hotel sits high on the hills in the village of Charingworth, near Chipping Camden, with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.
It offers a seamless blend of country-house character and contemporary 4-star luxury which will make you feel completely at home. Experience their restful bedrooms, delicious fine dining inspired by fresh local produce, a deluxe afternoon tea and a dip in the luxury indoor pool. Our rooms are Deluxe category.

https://www.charingworthmanor.com/


Tour leader

Your tour leader for the journey will be Githa Kristensen from Aller Travel. Githa has been arranging knitting and garden tours with ARNE&CARLOS for several years. Githa has always worked in the travel industry as a tour leader, on cruise ships, and as a travel agent. Githa will meet you at Castle Hotel in Windsor - together with ARNE & CARLOS, and she will be assisting the group with all practical matters throughout the tour. Githa is also a keen knitter and loves visiting beautiful gardens. Her own garden next to a fjord in Norway, is very 'natural' though!

Prices in USD

Price per person in shared double room:     NOK 54 000,- (USD 4975)

Price single room:                                            NOK 64 000,-  (USD 5900)

 

Travel Terms and Payment Conditions

Terms and Conditions Aller Travel AS

 

The terms and conditions of this contract apply to all products or services of any kind whatsoever provided for or arranged by Aller Travel. These terms and conditions represent the entire agreement and a binding contract between Aller Travel AS and the customer.

The terms and conditions of this contract are drawn up in accordance with the Package Tours Act, and the regulations laid down by the Norwegian Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion. However, in case of conflict between this contract and Package Tours Act, this contract shall take precedence.

1. CONTRACT

Your contract partner is Aller Travel AS. When used in this contract, «you,» or «customer» means each person whose name appears on the face of the ticket and/or who uses the ticket for passage on the tour described in the ticket.

When you book travel with us, this contract is regarded as binding once Aller Travel AS receives the first payment of the deposit. Aller Travel AS is then responsible for delivering the products/arrangements you have booked while you are financially responsible for the booking. The moment you make a booking you are confirming that you have the authority to accept these terms and conditions on behalf of yourself and any travel companions. You accept responsibility for payment to us for all customers in your booking. The customer is solely responsible for ensuring that the actual reservation corresponds with the booking made.

As the person making the booking, you are also responsible for ensuring that the names on all documents are correct and in accordance with the passports of all customers for whom you are making the booking. As the person making the booking, you will also be responsible for ensuring that all travel companions in the booking are kept fully informed of what was booked and any changes that may arise.

2. GOVERNING LAW AND FORUM SELECTION CLAUSE

Any disputes and matters of whatsoever nature between the customer and Aller Travel AS shall be governed by Norwegian law. Such disputes and matters shall be litigated in and before a court of law in the city of Oslo, Norway.

3. GUARANTEE

Aller Travel AS at all times provides the statutory guarantee for package tours from:

The Norwegian Travel Guarantee Fund
Post box 227
N4001 STAVANGER
Norway

4. PAYMENT

Payment of deposit NOK 3000 per person is due immediately for all bookings.

The full amount due must be paid at least 8 weeks before departure.
If the booking is made less than 8 weeks prior to departure, the full amount is due immediately.

If you fail to make any payment by the date on which it is due under this contract, Aller Travel AS reserves the right to cancel the booking, keep the deposit and demand a cancellation fee.

For online purchases made by credit cards, Aller travel follows the EU regulations which require 3D Secure banking system for credit card transactions.
 
In order to pay by credit card, please check the following:
 
•         Check the limit on your credit card
•         Check that your card is open for transactions in EU
•         Preferably use browsers Chrome or Firefox, from a stationary computer
•         Check that your bank and credit card are enrolled in the 3D Secure banking system
 

5. PRICES

The tour fare set forth in this contract is stated Norwegian kroner (NOK), which is per person based on double occupancy. The fare does not include items of a personal nature, including but not limited to, laundry, liquor, beer, or wine. The full and correct price of the trip is given before a booking is confirmed, except as set forth below.

The tour fare includes all applicable and known taxes, surcharges, and government-imposed fees.

6. TRAVEL PROTECTION PLAN

We recommend that all passengers purchase a travel protection plan to help protect you and your trip investment from unexpected events such as cancellations, delays, and medical emergencies. Please read the cancellation policy below.

7. CANCELLATION BY CUSTOMER

You or anyone in the booking have/has the right to cancel the booking at any time. All cancellations must be done in writing by the person who has made the booking. The cancellation is effective on the date that Aller Travel AS receives the cancellation request.

Cancellation fees are calculated according to the following schedule:

Number of days prior to departure

Cancellation fees

Less than 30 days before

100 %

30 – 89 days before

50 %

More than 91 days before

Deposit is non refundable

 

8. CANCELLATION BY ALLER TRAVEL AS

Aller Travel AS reserves the right to cancel any booking without liability or compensation to you, provided such cancellation is due to circumstances that are beyond Aller Travel’s control, including but not limited to acts of God, war, piracy, terrorism, civil strife, labor conflicts, weather conditions, perils of the sea, mechanical breakdown, or collisions («force majeure events»).

Aller Travel reserves the right to omit, alter, or curtail any tour excursions at its sole discretion. If a change to a tour is minor, of a kind that the customer should have anticipated occasionally occurring or the occurrence of which is beyond Aller Travel’s reasonable control, then Aller Travel shall have no obligation to pay a refund to the customer. If a deviation is not minor, or Aller Travel cancels a tour, a full refund will be given to the customer.

9. MEDICAL CARE AND NOTICE OF SPECIAL CONDITIONS

Prior to traveling, you must notify us of any medical condition for which you or any person accompanying you may require either medical attention or accommodation during the tour, including but not limited to food allergies, or for which the use of a wheelchair is required. The customer assumes all risks arising out of the customer’s personal medical condition prior to the tour, whether or not that condition is disclosed to Aller Travel.

10. TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

Your specific passport and visa requirements as well as any other immigration requirements are your own responsibility and you must clarify this with the relevant embassies and/or consulates. We do not accept any responsibility in situations where you cannot travel because you do not meet the latest requirements.

11. CONTACT INFORMATION

Aller Travel AS

Karvesvingen 1

0579 Oslo, Norway

 

Githa Kristensen

TEL: + 47 917 93 754
githa.kristensen@allertravel.no