Gardens of a Golden Afternoon: Sussex & Kent

5 days | £3295 per person | 15 - 19 September 2025

Gardens of a Golden Afternoon: Sussex & Kent

This is a hand-picked selection of the finest, mostly private gardens and nurseries in the south-east of England, this is indeed a star studded garden visiting experience, including a visit with Tom Coward to the gardens of Gravetye Manor, an early-bird visit to Sissinghurst Castle where Troy Scott-Smith will be our informative guide, a special invitation to lunch with Lady Collum at the delectable Clinton Lodge and a visit to our hosts own garden at Eldenhurst, the home of Helen Yemm. We have selected Ockenden Manor Hotel, a charming and tranquil Elizabethan Manor House, which offers good food and hospitality, as the perfect base for the tour, with all dinners with wine, bed and breakfast included.

Day to day Itinerary

Day 1

This tour starts at Haywards Heath train station to take advantage of the rail service from London. Those who wish to drive, can park at Ockenden Manor to be collected by the coach en route. We journey together to Knepp Castle, owned for the last 220 years by the Burrell family and renowned for its innovative rewilding projects. After lunch at the Wilding Kitchen at Knepp Castle, we have an exclusive visit to Sussex Prairies. Most of us dabble with herbaceous plants in our gardens but Paul and Pauline McBride have broken the mould by boldly planting a large field with huge swathes of perennials, interspersed with modern sculptures.

Day 2

After a leisurely morning at our hotel we journey to Gravetye Manor, former home of William Robinson, ‘Father of the English Flower Garden’, laid out in classic Arts & Crafts style and now a hotel of distinction. A special private lunch will be served following a garden tour of the estate. The gardens are mature, charming and wonderfully renovated.

Day 3

To avoid the crowds, we have arranged a special ‘early bird’ visit to both the garden and house at Great Dixter, the former home of renowned gardener and author Christopher Lloyd (1921-2006). Lloyd devoted his lifetime to creating one of the most experimental, exciting, and constantly evolving gardens of our time, now managed with sensitivity and skill by Fergus Garrett. Following a lunch at a good local inn, we visit Fairlight End, a private garden on the south-eastern edge of Sussex Weald and is just a mile from the sea. Here you will discover beautiful wildflower meadows with extensive views over natural ponds.   Modern corten steel features reflect back to the days when the region was alive to the sights and sounds of iron foundries.



Day 4

We Start the day with a visit to Eldenhurst, Helen Yemm’s own garden. Albeit the smallest garden on the tour, it packs a hefty punch for its skilful planting. Nearby Frankham Manor is a large garden in the making where we enjoy lunch together before heading off to Balmoral Cottage where Charlotte Molesworth has exemplified the use of extensive topiary as a backbone to her cottage garden. 

Ockendon Manor Hotel & Spa

A fine Elizabethan manor house with 28 lavishly decorated rooms, outstanding spa and an award-winning restaurant set in eight acres of beautiful grounds overlooking Cuckfield Park. With its history and character, elegant sitting room warmed by a roaring log fire and cosy, wood-panelled bar, Ockenden Manor is a wonderful place to escape to and it's less than an hour from London. Each room is uniquely designed with fabulous new bathrooms and plenty of character and charm.

Price: £3295

Single Supp: £395

Deposit: £350

Departure Dates:

15 - 19 September 2025

Duration:

4 nights / 5 days

Your Holiday Includes:

• Four nights' bed and breakfast at Ockendon Manor Hotel & Spa with all breakfasts
• Private coach transfers and excursions
• Four evening meals and five lunches
• Guided visits to sites listed in the programme
• Services of the Tour Host and Tour Leader
• Detailed programme and garden notes
• All entrance fees, taxes, and gratuities for coach drivers and serving staff

Tour Lecturers

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 sometimes television presenter (Gardening from Scratch and Gardening Week for BBC Two) and is the author of several gardening books (the latest being Gardening in Pyjamas). She is also a regular feature writer for The English 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

Born in The Netherlands and based in the Cotswolds, our expert Sophie Piebenga has lived most of her life in the UK. Trained with the National Trust and qualified at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, all whilst working as head gardener of a private estate, Sophie quickly 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. Sophie has since worked freelance, mostly in the field of historic landscape conservation, and, for the last 25 years, has regularly led Boxwood tours around the UK and to Ireland, France, Spain and The Netherlands.

Travel Information

The price does not include extras at the hotels or travel insurance.

Please note that Boxwood Tours use hotels of character featuring a variety of rooms & styles.

Stamina

Please note that some of our tours can involve a fair amount of walking, sometimes across uneven

ground. Please contact us if you would like more information.