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England

Chelsea Flower Show and Gardens: A British Tradition

Program No. 22576RJ
Inspiration blooms when you join us for the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show and explore some of England’s best-loved gardens with experts!
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Homes & Gardens
Length
13 days
Rating (4.88)
Activity Level
Starts at
4,749
Flights start at
1,250

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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
13 days
12 nights
What's Included
29 meals ( 11B, 7L, 11D )
2 expert-led lectures
16 expert-led field trips
An experienced Group Leader
11 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
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Activity Note
Hotel check in from 3:00 p.m.
Lunch:
At the hotel.
Afternoon:
Arrivals continue. After you check in and get your room, take some time to freshen up and relax before our Orientation session. Orientation: The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. This program is staffed with both a Group Leader, who will accompany us throughout the program and deal primarily with logistics, and a Study Leader who will lecture, conduct field trips and serve as an information resource on program-related topics. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
The Great Pavilion is roughly 11,775 square metres or 2.90 acres.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Our horticultural adventure commences with a field trip by motorcoach to the world-famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Except for gaps during the two world wars, it has been held on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea every year since 1913. It remains Britain's most prestigious flower show, closely associated with the Royal Family. We’ll depart early to avoid the crowds with plenty of time to explore and be inspired by the show’s dazzling displays. There are various talks, demonstrations, and exhibits you may attend and explore to your heart's content including artisan gardens, fresh gardens, and show gardens.
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Afternoon:
Our exploration of the Chelsea Flower Show continues. We will rendezvous at a predetermined time and place to return to the hotel by motorcoach, and the remainder of the afternoon is free time.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Walking and standing up to 2 hours.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll board a motorcoach to begin our transfer to Ashford in Kent, the county known as “The Garden of England”. We’ll stop en route for a field trip to Lullingstone Castle, the ancestral home of Tom Hart Dyke. It is the UK's first “World Garden” and has been featured on BBC TV. Designed and cultivated by Tom himself, plants from around the globe are arranged by their respective countries of origination. We will meet Tom and hear him describe his vision and work as a modern day plant hunter. The idea for this “World Garden” developed when Tom and a companion were kidnapped by guerrillas while searching for rare orchids in the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama. They were held captive for nine months, often threatened with death. To keep his sanity, Tom began imagining a garden designed to display plants he had collected in his travels, to be laid out in the shape of a world map.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
We’ll board the motorcoach after lunch to complete our transfer to Ashford via Ightham Mote. A National Trust property, Ightham Mote, is a manor house surrounded by gardens with an orchard, water features, lakes and woodland walks. The property date from circa 1340–1360.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Garden: hardened paths, slopes with some ramps. Steps at a number of points may be difficult. Rye is very hilly.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
This morning, we will have a lecture entitled "A Brief History of English Gardens". After the lecture, We will travel by motorcoach to Great Dixter, the family home of gardener and gardening writer Christopher Lloyd (1921-2006), who made it famous. The Tudor house is surrounded by a famous arts and crafts garden. The gardens are profuse with, often, contrasting colours and a wild area. In Lloyd’s own words: “Most of the garden design was by Lutyens; it always seems fluid, never stodgy…I have no segregated colour schemes. In fact, I take it as a challenge to combine every sort of colour effectively…if I think a yellow candelabrum of mullein will look good rising from the middle of a quilt of pink phlox, I’ll put it there – or let it put itself there. Many plants in this garden are self-sown and they often provide me with excellent ideas. But I do also have some of my own! We will then continue to in the picturesque town of Rye.
Lunch:
You will be given a lunch allowance to allow you to explore Rye.
Afternoon:
We will have time to explore Rye. Charming and picturesque with steep cobblestoned streets, half-timbered cottages, elegant town houses, and even a Norman church, Rye was the 18th-century smuggling capital of England! As we walk with Kevin Tooher, learn about its murky past of smugglers and highwaymen. We’ll then return to Ashford.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Sissinghurst has 450 acres. Explorations may be from a 1-mile walk passing two lakes to a more adventurous 3-mile walk taking in all of the estate.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
This morning we will journey by motorcoach to Sissinghurst Gardens. From its beginnings as a Saxon pig farm, the place we know as Sissinghurst has become a “poetical refuge” dedicated to beauty and one of the most famous gardens in England. Its modern history began in the 1930s when it was purchased as a derelict by poet and author Vita Sackville-West and her husband, poet and diplomat Harold Nicolson. They began building up the surrounding farm and developing the garden, inspired by the examples of Sir Edward Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll. The garden design consists of a series of interconnected “rooms” — each with its own character, color, and theme — and some enchanting lakeside and woodland walks. Sackville-West and Nicolson opened the garden to the public in 1938. After Sackville-West’s death in 1962, Nicolson gave it to the National Trust, who have been its guardians ever since.
Lunch:
Your own choice at Sissinghurst.
Afternoon:
We will return to our hotel where we will have a lecture entitled "The Arostocracy, sexual intrigue and gardening" before departing by motorcoach to Sissinghurst.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Walking and standing up to 2 hours in garden.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Our morning’s field trip is to the 14th century Manor House and Gardens of Penshurst Place. The House, once the property of King Henry VIII, was left to his son King Edward VI and granted to Sir William Sidney in 1552. The Sidney family have been in continuous occupation for more than 470 years since and is now the family home of the Viscount De L’Isle. Discover the charm of Penshurst in the State Rooms, Gardens, Parkland and beyond.
Lunch:
At a local pub.
Afternoon:
This afternoon we visit the hamlet of Comp near Seven Oaks to visit the seven acre garden of Great Comp. Home to an Italian Garden, romantic ruins, enchanting woodland walks.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Walking and standing up to 2 hours with some uneven terrain.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
This morning’s field trip features a special opening exclusively for our Road Scholar group of the Dean's Garden in the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral. We’ll learn about the history of this secret part of the Cathedral precincts (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) from one of the gardeners, then venture into one of the earliest Gothic buildings in England to explore at our own pace, perhaps paying homage at the shrine of Thomas Becket, who was murdered in the Cathedral in 1170.
Lunch:
You will be given a lunch allowance to allow you to explore the many varied eateries in Canterbury.
Afternoon:
Free time to continue our independent explorations in Canterbury.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant before returning to the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; total driving about 175 miles, approximately 3.5 hours. RHS Wisley has 240 acres of grounds.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will check out of the hotel, board our motorcoach, and begin our transfer to Cheltenham. En route, our Study Leader will deliver a lecture on the first 200 years of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). We’ll stop at RHS Wisley along the way. Wisley is the flagship garden of the RHS, and one of the best loved in Britain. Its more than 230 acres offer a beautifully cultivated blend of practical and innovative techniques as well as one of the largest plant collections in the world. It includes decorative gardens, arboretums, and interesting “model gardens” offered as a guideline on what home gardeners can expect to achieve on their own land. Another highlight is the Glasshouse, 40 feet (12 meters) high and the size of 10 tennis courts. We will explore some of the highlights with our Study Leader.
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like at the various eateries at Wisley. These include the Food Hall, Glasshouse Café and Restaurant.
Afternoon:
We will have time for independent exploration until mid-afternoon, when we will continue on our way to Cheltenham. There will then be time to freshen up and relax after checking in at the hotel.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
Free time. You may wish to stroll around the Imperial Gardens outside your hotel.
Activity Note
Walking and standing up to 3 hours throughout the day. Some of the pathway surfaces are uneven and include stairs.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll board the motorcoach and set out on a full-day exploration of the Cotswolds, beginning in the north Cotswolds at Hidcote Manor, a celebrated 20th-century garden surrounded by beautiful countryside. Hidcote, created by the talented Anglo-American horticulturist and noted plantsman Major Lawrence Johnston, is considered to be one of the top ten gardens in Britain. This garden also explores the concept of “rooms” within a garden that we have seen elsewhere. It is famous for rare shrubs and trees, as well as its outstanding design with wild flower areas, pools and water features, and long avenues bordered by imaginative and colorful plantings. We’ll then proceed to the nearby market town of Chipping Campden.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant or pub.
Afternoon:
We’ll begin the afternoon with some free time to explore Chipping Campden, then board the motorcoach and ride to another of the Cotswolds' most fabulous gardens at Bourton House. The garden features luxuriant terraces and wide herbaceous borders with stunning plant, texture and colour combinations. Imaginative topiary includes a knot garden, parterre and topiary walk and there are several spring-fed water features including a raised basket pond from the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
Free time.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
This morning we will journey by motorcoach to the beautiful Cotswold town of Painswick, where we will have an opportunity to admire the honey stone architecture before stepping back in time at the flamboyant Painswick Rococo Garden. The only complete Rococo garden surviving in Britain, it was originally laid out in the 1740s, designed as a pleasure garden and place for garden parties, almost like a theatrical set. By the 1970s, it had become terribly overgrown but renewed interest on the part of garden historians led to its restoration. We will return to Cheltenham at the conclusion of our field trip.
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like in Cheltenham.
Afternoon:
Free time to see and do what interests you most in Cheltenham.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
Free time to allow you to pack and prepare for an early start tomorrow.
Activity Note
The motorcoach trip to Rousham Gardens is about 45 miles.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
After checking out of the hotel, we’ll board our motorcoach to begin our transfer to London. Our first stop on the journey will be Rousham Gardens, just north of Oxford. The gardens are the purest example of an Augustan landscape garden, designed by William Kent. We’ll walk amongst the statues paying homage to Imperial games, wander into the woods, and venture through a glade leading to a Temple overlooking the River Cherwell. Next, we’ll make the short journey to Oxford where we will be dropped off at the central Martyr's Memorial, with some time for personal independent exploration. The Group Leader will point out some of the main areas and sites to see in this “City of Dreaming Spires.”
Lunch:
In Oxford, we’ll have a packed lunch.
Afternoon:
We’ll have some more time for independent exploration in Oxford, before we rendezvous at a predetermined spot for a mid-afternoon resumption of our transfer to London. We’ll arrive at our hotel in the late afternoon, and after checking in we’ll have some time to relax and unpack before dinner.
Dinner:
At the hotel. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell meal.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Hotel check out by 11:00 a.m. See your program’s travel details regarding transfers.
Breakfast:
In the hotel depending on departure times. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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Please Note: This program has itinerary variations on certain dates.
May 20, 2025 - Jun 01, 2025 (London, England to London, England)
May 20, 2025 - Jun 01, 2025 (London, England to London, England)
May 11, 2026 - May 22, 2026 (Ashford, Kent to London, England)
May 19, 2026 - May 31, 2026 (London, England to London, England)
May 20 - Jun 1, 2025 Itinerary Differences: Itinerary as follows: Arrival London 2 nights, Kent, 5 nights; Cheltenham, 3 nights; London, 1 nights, departure.





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