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Hortus explores the gardens of Brittany

5 days | £2995 per person with ferry | 15 - 19 September 2025

Heritage and Innovation in the gardens of Brittany

Brittany’s mild, maritime climate and rich, acidic soil create a botanical paradise, a haven for both plants and gardeners. This region's craggy coastline and plunging wooded valleys craft extraordinary microclimates, offering dramatic settings where subtropical exotics thrive alongside hardy natives. The distinctiveness of Breton culture, proudly standing apart from the French mainstream, finds its unique expression in the gardens we shall explore. Join us on an exquisite horticultural journey through Brittany, where every garden tells a story of its own, rich in history and local heritage. Our itinerary includes visits to some of the most captivating and diverse gardens in the region, each showcasing a blend of meticulous design and natural splendour. Enhancing the allure of this tour is our stay at L’AGAPA, an elegantly appointed hotel situated with panoramic views of the sea in the charming seaside town of Perros Guirec. Nestled between the wild beauty of the Côte Sauvage and the ethereal Pink Granite Coast, L’AGAPA offers the perfect retreat for garden enthusiasts seeking both inspiration and relaxation. Experience the enchantment of Brittany's gardens, where nature and culture intertwine to create landscapes of unparalleled beauty. This tour promises not just a feast for the eyes, but an immersion into the heart of Breton horticultural artistry.

Day to day Itinerary

Day 1

Take our overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo.

Day 2

Arrive in St Malo. Today we follow the coast to Tréguier to visit Kerdalo, recently acquired by Christian Louboutin (France’s answer to Jimmy Choo). This delightful valley garden and arboretum was created by Prince Wolkonsky, a Russian emigré with a great passion for plants, during the Sixties. The garden was subsequently developed by his daughter, Kew-trained Isabelle and her husband, the renowned garden designer and plantsman, Timothy Vaughan. Tangi Rabin, Kerdalo’s new Head Gardener will meet us to guide us through the new developments in the garden. Lunch is a short drive away at a seafood café, overlooking a wonderful rocky shoreline and beach. Another short drive takes us to a superb plantsman’s garden, Le Jardin de Pellinec. Gérard Jean started planting a range of tender exotics in 1997 and has gone on to create a series of interlinked gardens, each filled with a range of rare and beautiful plants from different climatic regions of the globe. Monsieur Jean takes his garden very seriously and will be impressed by the number of notebooks he sees! Return to our hotel for dinner together.

Day 3

After breakfast, we set off for Roscoff and the Jardin Exotique. Developed and planted by two gifted amateur plantsmen with a passion for southern hemisphere plants during the Nineties, these much-admired gardens occupy the site of the former municipal rubbish dump. A granite outcrop overlooking the Bay of Morlaix at the heart of the garden, provides not only a spectacular setting for the sub-tropical plants but also a benign microclimate, releasing daytime warmth through the night. We continue to Roscoff harbour for the foot passenger ferry to the Ile de Batz. Lunch at a local café on the island. We set off on foot after lunch – there are no cars on the island – for a 15 minute walk along sandy paths to visit the Jardin Georges Delaselle, planted over a century ago by a gifted amateur botanist with a fondness for palms and sub-tropical plants. This offers a unique opportunity to observe the differences in both design and species assembled in today’s two gardens, separated by a century. Return to Perros Guirec for a free evening.

Day 4

We travel south into the wooded heart of Brittany to visit Le Grand Launay, a contemporary garden designed by the late Jean Schalit, which reveals his genius in creative use of hedging plants and grasses. We continue to Kerfouler, a private garden created by retired Dutch florists, Hanneke and Erwin Straalman since 2012. Fourteen inspiring – and very different - garden spaces, each with its own identity, ranging from water and wildlife to grasses and perennials, occupy a 2.2-acre plot. Lunch is followed by a short, guided tour with time for independent exploration. Travel to L’Atelier a garden showcasing the art of tree pruning before returning to Perros Guirec where we dine together at our hotel.

Day 5

We depart our hotel for a visit to La Château de la Ballue, arriving in time for lunch with owner, Marie-Francoise Mathon, followed by a tour of the gardens. La Ballue is an immaculately presented 17th century chateau, having a long association with both writers and radicals, complemented by two dramatically different gardens, each designed to stimulate the intellect as much as the eye. Begin our return journey to Caen to take our return ferry home.

5-Star L'Agapa Hotel, Perros Guirec

Elegance and serenity at the heart of the Pink Granite Coast and facing the Seven Islands Archipelago, L'Agapa is a place where everything is done to give priority to the magic of the view: vegetal decoration, fine sandy beach, nature reserve and a protected site for northern gannets. A former hotel of the 1930s, L'Agapa unites modernity with prestige, elegance and harmony. The architecture of the hotel is inspired by the wealth of the Breton environment - a mixture of sea spray and pink granite. Art Deco and contemporary styling are interwoven with elegance in an understated decor.

With Ferry Crossing: £2995

Join Direct: £2845

Single Supp: £295

Deposit: £450

Departure Dates:

15 - 19 September 2025

Duration:

4 nights / 5 days

Your Tour Includes:

Return ferry to and from Portsmouth including a cabin on the outbound journey and reclining seat on the inbound
Breakfast and dinner onboard the ferry in the CClub Lounge
Three nights' bed and breakfast at L'Agapa Hotel, Perros Guirec
Two evening meals with local wines and four lunches
Private coach transfers and excursions
Services of your Tour Host and Tour Leader
Guided visits to sites listed in the programme
Detailed programme and garden notes
All entrance fees, taxes, and gratuities for coach drivers and serving staff

Tour Lecturers

Charles Fox

Charles Fox comes from a long line of gardeners who are responsible for the creation of at least three remarkable Cornish gardens: Penjerrick, Trebah and Glendurgan. In the early 1990s Charles qualified twice as a garden designer, at Kew Gardens with Merit. Since that time he has led many garden tours in the south west, and having lived in Cornwall most of his life is well qualified to talk about the county's history. He has written one book about Glendurgan, the property where he and his family now live, and which was given to the National Trust in 1962.

Kirsty Fergusson

Kirsty exchanged a career in academia (she has a PhD specialising in French philosopher-novelists) for a life in gardening. Trained at Capel Manor, she was head gardener at Mapperton in Dorset during the early nineties, where a series of fortunate encounters opened the door to garden writing. As well as writing a weekly column for The Express, for many years she was a frequent contributor to Gardens Illustrated, House and Garden, Country Life, The Times, The Telegraph and The Independent. In 2003 she moved to SW France, where she continues to explore the possibilities of her own (very forgiving) garden - when not travelling, writing or leading tours.