Itinerary
DAY ONE – MONDAY 13 SEPTEMBERLD
Morning departure from London St Pancras to Lille Europe. We join the coach to cross the Pas de Calais and Picardy to visit a beautifully planted garden surrounding a brick and stone manor house. The present owners have extended the garden over the years. Continuing our journey we arrive at the Hôtel Le Clos Masure, just south of Dieppe. We enjoy an aperitif and short talk in the garden before dinner together.
DAY TWO – TUESDAY 14 SEPTEMBERBLD
Our morning visit is to Château Miromesnil with its fabulous walled potager garden and elegant park. Guy de Maupassant was born here. Lunch is in the château in the company of the owner followed by a tour of the interiors. Afternoon visit to an exceptional collection of hydrangeas. The owner, Robert Mallet, shows us many eye-catching and unusual varieties. We return to our hotel for dinner together.
DAY THREE – WEDNESDAY 15 SEPTEMBERBLD
Le Vasterival, the renowned garden of the late Princess Sturdza, is on the coast. A splendid, extensively planted garden, the under-planting with hydrangeas in the woodland is most rewarding. A knowledgeable gardener will accompany us during our visit. Lunchtime in a nearby restaurant. Afternoon visit to L’Etang du Launay, recently created gardens of Jean-Louis Dantec, where high-pruned specimen trees lead to a lake and ponds with extensive woodland planting beyond. It is an impressively planted garden.
DAY FOUR – THURSDAY 16 SEPTEMBERBLD
We leave after breakfast for the superb contemporary garden, Le Jardin Plume, and enjoy a guided visit with the inspiring owners, Sylvie and Patrick Quibel. Well designed from an original apple orchard, it has good structure and vibrant autumn colours. There is time to visit their tempting nursery before a picnic lunch in the garden. Our afternoon visit is to Jardin de Valérianes, created by the owners around a typical farmhouse – richly planted and with the addition of a new garden in contemporary design. We return to the Clos Masure for dinner together.
DAY FIVE – FRIDAY 17 SEPTEMBERBLD
This morning we return to the coast to visit the extensive Arts & Crafts garden of Les Bois des Moutiers, created by Gertrude Jekyll around the house designed by Lutyens for Guillaume Mallet. It is an original and well-planted period garden with woodland behind the house leading to the sea. On the cliffs nearby is the eleventh-century church of Ste Marguerite with its Georges Braque stained glass windows: Braque lived and worked in the village. Lunch is in a nearby village. At the Château de Mesnil Geoffroy, we enjoy a guided walk around the grounds accompanied by one of the gardeners and discover a newly restored potager garden with old varieties of local vegetables. We return to the hotel to enjoy dinner on our final evening.
DAY SIX – SATURDAY 18 SEPTEMBERB
Depart by coach through Picardy. We break the journey to visit the delightful garden of Château de Séricourt, continuing to Lille Europe for the Eurostar train to London St Pancras.