TOP TEN SEASIDE & GARDEN

SUSSEX COASTAL CURIOS

This day is both entertaining and easy on the feet with the added attraction of sitting together for morning coffee and a chicken lunch included in the tour fee.

Meet at 10.30am in Bramber (near Steyning on the A283) for morning refreshments. Many of the old cottages in Bramber were built with flint pilfered from the ruins of the Norman Castle. This is one of the prettiest villages in West Sussex so you’ll be pleased to know we return here for lunch.

We begin our day by visiting an architectural masterpiece the soaring Gothic chapel of Lancing College - truly magnificent. The chapel is the spiritual heart of the boarding school attended by Evelyn Waugh, Tom Sharpe and Sir Tim Rice. We return to beautiful Bramber for a lunch of seasonal chicken with potatoes and vegetables or a veggie alternative. We’ll leave folk to treat themselves to a dessert if they want on the day.

In genteel Goring we find a quite astonishing ceiling at the Catholic church. A Local artist and parishioner has created a unique reproduction of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. This labour of love and faith took five years of neck ache and painting through the night. This must be one of the most unusual churches you’ll ever visit. Last but not least we drive to the seaside at Worthing for tea to round off our day out off the beaten track before heading for home at 4.45pm.

Adults & Seniors: £25

Available Tues- Fri all year

Explore the fragile fascinating Suffolk Coast with visits to Southwold and Aldeburgh and enjoy a fish & chip lunch.

Meet the guide at 10.30am in Woodbridge to purchase morning coffee. Suitably refreshed we head straight for the sea passing through Orford, Snape with its famous Maltings and on to Aldeburgh.

In this seaside town the Moot Hall, once the centre of the town, now teeters on the sea’s edge. We stop to take in the timeless maritime air and see where the fishermen still sell their catch on the beach. On to Dunwich - the town has already been claimed by the sea but the brilliant Flora Tea Rooms survive. This is an exemplary example of that very British tradition of a famously good fish & chip lunch - fresh fish & chips, a slice of bread, a dessert and a cup of tea or coffee are all included in the tour fee.

In the afternoon we continue along the coast towards the elegant little Edwardian resort town of Southwold. Old cottages of great charm cluster around the gleaming white lighthouse and candy coloured beach huts line the shore. Join the guide to explore possibly the finest mediaeval church in England - the home of ’Southwold Jack’.

There’s free time to buy a cup of tea and enjoy the town before heading home.

Available daily from Apr-Oct

Adults & Seniors: £27

THE SUFFOLK COASTAL TOUR

RYE OR HYTHE & THE ROMNEY MARSH

The Romney Marsh is a mysterious region of Kent, rich in history and legend. This fine day out, tried and tested over the past twenty years, is undemanding on the feet but satisfying on the senses. The day includes a fish & chip lunch at the famous Pilot Inn at Dungeness. In the afternoon choose between a visit to beautiful Rye or the historic Port of Hythe.

We start just off the M20 at 10.30am to buy morning refreshments before driving through a slip of Weald onto the Romney Marsh. Survival on the marsh required a lot of mettle and the locals established a reputation for self-sufficiency, wild, felonious deeds and lawlessness. The bleak and timeless character of the marsh has always made it popular with artists and writers. Ian Fleming would drive out alone for inspiration naming his characters after local place names like Moneypenny Farm. We’ll stop and visit one of the mediaeval churches that pepper the marsh.

There are nearly 100 homes of all different shapes and sizes peppered across the peculiar landscape of Dungeness - the UK’s only desert. The Pilot Inn sits here just a stone’s throw from the sea. Fish & Chips and a hot drink is included. After lunch we’ll take a pleasant drive to the cobbled streets of Rye or you can opt for a drive along the coast to the flat streets of historic Hythe. Whichever afternoon you choose there’s time to pick a spot for tea before heading home at 4.45pm.

Adults & Seniors: £25

Available weekdays all year

This day starts on a lonely hilltop looking out over Hadleigh Castle and the Thames Estuary, includes a coach tour of an unexplored area of Essex, a two-course lunch with coffee in a 3* seaside hotel, free time in Southend and a visit to picturesque old Leigh-on-Sea.

Meet the Blue Badge guide at 10.30am to buy morning coffee at Hadleigh Farm just outside Southend. The café sits on top of a hill with views of the romantic ruins of Hadleigh Castle set against the dramatic backdrop of the Thames Estuary.

A morning coach tour explores a landscape of lonely creeks, wide horizons, wildfowl, marsh farmers and oystermen. At ancient Canewdon we hear of legendary witches before we meet the sea and sweep along the Thames Estuary back into Southend. This is the seaside to generations of Londoners. A two course lunch is served at the Palace Hotel looking out to sea. After lunch there’s an hour of free time to enjoy Southend.

Old Leigh-on-Sea was once a thriving fishing and smuggling village. Leigh fishermen became Dunkirk heroes and today keep alive Leigh’s reputation as the centre of the world cockling trade. There’s an old-world charm here with cockle boats and cockle sheds, sailors’ inns and clapboard cottages. Sample the traditional cockney teatime treat or buy a simple cup of tea before heading home at 4.30pm.

Adults & Seniors: £29.50

Available Mon-Thurs, Apr-Oct

CREEKS, COCKLES & COCKNEYS

Broadstairs and Deal are survivors of a bygone age imparting a

sense of what the English Seaside at its best is all about. Join us

on this entertaining day as we take a trip down memory lane to

the grand age of the British seaside. We also pay a visit to the

Secret Gardens of Sandwich, made famous by the posh couple

from Channel 4’s Gogglebox and is one of Monty Don’s top ten

gardens. Runs 10.30am to 4.45pm or midday to 6.30pm & includes:

• A top notch Blue Badge Guide throughout the day

• Morning Coffee and a Danish pastry

• Visits to Broadstairs and Deal

• A visit to the Secret Gardens of Sandwich

Available weekdays all year

Adults: & Seniors: £27

THE OLD KENT COAST

Faversham is the oldest market town in Kent: It oozes charm and

character. Fruit from the Kent orchards and oysters from

Whitstable made this the larder for London. This day includes visits

to Whitstable and Faversham and morning coffee and lunch (or an

early lunch with a coffee) in an historic Faversham inn.

This day runs 10.30am to 4.45pm or midday to 6.30pm & includes:

• Blue Badge guided tour of Faversham

• Morning coffee and biscuits & one course lunch

• Jolly coach tour to the sea

• Free time in Whitstable

Available weekdays only throughout the year

Adults & Seniors: £27.50

APPLES & OYSTERS

Visit the beautiful Stour estuary where Essex meets Suffolk, from

England’s smallest town to the sea by the Ha’Penny Pier in Old

Harwich. In the afternoon we visit the Beth Chatto Gardens

created by the pioneer of ecological gardening

This day runs 10.30am to 4.45pm and includes:

• A top notch Blue Badge Guide throughout

• Morning coffee and biscuits

• Coach tour to Old Harwich

• Free time for lunch in Old Harwich

• Visit Beth Chatto Gardens

Mon to Sat March to end of October

Adults & Seniors: £26

BETH CHATTO & THE HA’PENNY PIER

Explore the beautiful countryside of the South Western Cotswolds

and the Gloucestershire Golden Valleys with visits to Tetbury,

Painswick and Abbey House Gardens in Malmesbury - a compact,

beautiful garden with a huge variety of plants and flowers to enjoy.

This day runs 10.30am to 4.45pm and includes:

• A top notch Blue Badge guide throughout

• Free time for morning refreshments and lunch

• Scenic coach tour through the valleys of Gloucestershire

• A visit to the beautiful town of Painswick

• A visit to Abbey House Gardens with tea and cake included

Available daily from March to October

Adults & Seniors: £25

COTSWOLDS GOLD

A day of forest glades & garden inspirations. Epping Forest is a

place of sunlit glades, rough heaths and great hornbeam trees.

This morning we explore the heart of the forest and see a Tudor

hunting Lodge. After lunch in genteel Epping our afternoon is spent

at Capel Manor Gardens which are delightful throughout the year.

This day runs 10.30am to 4.45pm and includes:

• Top notch Blue Badge guide throughout

• Visit Epping Forest & Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge

• Free time in Epping for lunch

• An afternoon at Capel Manor Gardens

Available daily March - October

Adults: £27 Seniors: £25

EPPING FOREST & CAPEL MANOR GARDENS

Judge’s wife Kathy Brown likes edible flowers and modern art and

has created some unusual garden rooms at her idyllic manor house

in Bedfordshire based on famous paintings by artists such as

Rothko and Monet. In the morning we explore handsome Bedford

on the Great Ouse and spend the afternoon at Kathy’s garden.

This day runs 10.30am to 4.45pm and includes:

• A top notch Blue Badge Guide throughout

• Morning coffee and biscuits in a Bedford hotel

• Gentle walking tour of Bedford

• Free time in Bedford for lunch

• A visit to Kathy Brown’s Garden, with tea and homemade cake.

Daily except Tues & Sun April to September

Adults & Seniors: £29

BEDFORD & KATHY BROWN’S GARDEN

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