Home of the 'Lucy' family since the 12th Century, their stories are told throughout Charlecote House by their portraits, the objects they collected from around the world and the design influence they had on the house and parkland. The building of the house commenced in 1551 and the East front still retains much of its Elizabethan form, however most of the external décor dates from the 19th Century.

Shakespeare has been associated with Charlecote Park as a young man he was caught poaching in the grounds, and suffered justice at the hands of Sir Thomas Lucy, whom Shakespeare later ridiculed in his plays.

The gardens include a formal parterre woodland walk, and the wider woodland (inspired by Capability Brown) provides walks with picturesque views across the river Avon. In the 19th Century a terraced garden was created between the house and the River Avon, incorporating marvellous stone water steps.

The original Chatsworth House was the work of Sir William Cavendish and his third wife Bess of Hardwick in the mid 16th Century. The first duke rebuilt Chatsworth in classic style between 1686 and 1707, the library and North wing were added between 1790 and 1858. Among the most famous visitors to Chatsworth was Mary Queen of Scots who was here as guest and prisoner of Bess of Hardwick and her fourth husband the earl of Shrewsbury between 1573 and 1582. 

The house contains one of Europe’s finest art collections together with fine furniture, everything is on a grand scale; the great staircase, the state drawing room, the state music room, huge tapestries cover many of the walls. The house is still the home of the present 12th duke and duchess of Devonshire. The 105 acre garden has evolved over more than 450 years, there are five miles of walks with rare trees, shrubs, hedges, sculptures and a 300 year old cascade flowing 200 yards down the hillside to the emperor fountain.

Home to the Throckmorton family for 600 years, and still managed by the family today. The house stands in 25 acres of grounds, containing some of the most breathtaking gardens in the country. It was Clare Mclaren-Throckmorton’s intention to create a garden that compliments the beautiful house, and to give it the setting it deserves, created over the last 16 years the gardens are now mature and varied.

The centre piece is the famous walled garden with a concentration of roses and herbaceous plants. Within the walled garden is the rose labyrinth boasting over 200 different varieties of rose, including many old fashioned English roses. The house has witnessed some of the most defining moments in British history; from the court of Henry VIII to the gunpowder plot of 1605. Alongside family items on display there are pieces such as the chemise reputedly worn by Mary Queen of Scots when she was executed.

A stunning English Tudor and Country House in Derbyshire, Haddon Hall is home to Lord and Lady Edward Manners. Haddon is probably the finest example of a fortified medieval manor house in existence, dating from the 12th Century to the early 17th Century where upon it lay dormant for over 200 years from 1700. In the 1920’s the 9th duke and duchess of Rutland restored the house and surrounding terraced Elizabethan garden; undoubtedly rescuing the building from inevitable disrepair.

Avoiding fire; warfare; family misfortune and changing fashions, little has changed over recent centuries and Haddon provides a unique view of early English life and history. The House is positioned upon the River Wye, and built in various stages between the late 12^th Century and 1620.

The origins of the hall date to the 11th century. William Peverel, illegitimate son of William the Conqueror, held the manor of Haddon in 1087, when the survey which resulted in the Domesday Book was undertaken. Though it was never a castle, the manor of Haddon was protected by a wall after a licence to build one was granted in 1194.

A fascinating structure, the Hall was built on a sloping hill side, around two central courtyards, and remains an original and authentic example of its time. Upon entering the house, a glorious 14th Century banqueting hall, complete with minstrals gallery awaits you; looking exactly as it must have done 600 years ago. Haddon has featured in many film and TV programmes including Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre.

Hidden away amidst the twisting lanes of the Cotswold countryside, is ‘Hidcote’, one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in England. Owned and created by Lawrence Johnston, an American Garden designer, and consisting of exquisite ‘garden rooms’, each garden possesses its own special character. The hedges that divide these garden rooms are created of living holly, beech, hornbeam and yew; chosen for their qualities of shelter and structure.

Visitors will discover rare shrubs and trees, outstanding herbaceous borders and unusual plant species. The garden changes in harmony with the seasons, from delicate spring-time bulbs, and vibrant summer blooms, to the glorious red borders of autumn. An horticultural and architectural masterpiece, Hidcote Garden is the perfect location to relax, unwind and discover, in beautiful and changing surroundings.

Kiftsgate, a nineteenth century house with twentieth century Arts & Crafts garden, is home to the Chambers family; the house was built between 1887-1891 by Sydney Graves Hamilton, and subsequently bought by Mr & Mrs Muir in 1918. Mrs Heather Muir initiated the creation of the marvelous surrounding gardens, which have flourished over the last hundred years. Kiftsgate Court Gardens are the accumulated creation of three generations of women gardeners, made up of a series of interconnecting garden rooms, each with its own distinct character and secrets.

In one part of the garden you will find the Kiftsgate Rose, claimed to be the largest rose in England, when last measured it was 80ft by 90ft, by 50ft high, flowering mid July in cascading white blooms. From the delicacy of the woodland Bluebells, and the expanse of blooming roses, to the tranquility of the Water Garden with its abstract sculptures, Kiftsgate offers stunning views of the Cotswolds countryside from the lower garden, and beautiful tree lined scenery throughout the woodland walk.  

The house was designed in the late 17th Century by John Featherstone and his son, who began by laying out the rectangular enclosures, the raised terracing and the gazebo. The glory of this garden is its topiary (begun in the 19th Century), some of the standing figures are over 50 feet high; all are of different shapes and sizes, and have individual character. Two other major features of the garden are firstly the lovely mellowed brickwork of the gazebo walls and flights of stairs, and secondly the beautifully planted sunken garden.

The colourful borders give year round interest. In spring, daffodils, snowdrops and bluebells are a delightful distraction. Summer brings a blast of colour from herbaceous borders, climbing roses, honeysuckles and terrace beds; in autumn the foliage brings interest to the gardens.

The gardens at Ragley occupy 10 hectares, and surround the magnificent palladian hall; the 400 acres of parkland were designed by Capability Brown during the 18th Century. Ragely hall was designed in 1680 by Robert Hooke and houses a wonderful collection of art, porcelain and furniture. Ragely is the family home of the Marquis and Marchioness of Hertford.

The gardens you see today were mainly set out by Robert Marnock in the late 19th Century, and matured into a pallette for nature with mature trees predominating throughout. After years of neglect in the early part of the 20th Century, the 8th marquis and marchioness replanted part of the garden as a rose garden in the 1960s. In 2004 the Scott garden was opened, this area consists of three main features; the fountain garden, the magnolias and the ponds.

Rousham represents the first phase of English landscape design and remains almost as its designer William Kent (1685 - 1748) left it, many features which delighted 18th Century visitors to Rousham are still in situ throughout the estate, such as the ponds and cascades in ‘Venus’s Vale’, the ‘Cold Bath’, and seven arched ‘Praeneste’, ‘Townsend’s Building’, the ‘Temple of the Mill’, and, on the skyline, a sham ruin known as the ‘Eyecatcher’. 

The house was built in 1635 by Sir Robert Dormer, and has remained in the ownership of the same family for nearly four-hundred years. There is a beautifully kept walled garden, with herbacious borders, small paterre pigeon house and Espalier apple trees; and a fine heard of long horn cattle to be seen in the park.

At the heart of a traditional, family-run estate covering 4,500 acres of rolling Cotswold countryside stands a 200-year-old Mogul Indian palace, set in a romantic landscape of temples, grottoes, waterfalls and canals reminiscent of the Taj Mahal; this is Sezincote. The name Sezincote is derived from ‘cheisincote’ - ‘the home of the oaks’. ‘La chene’ being the French for an oak tree, and ‘cot’ meaning a dwelling or shelter in old English; this name is recorded in the Doomsday book. The house was built in the early 19th Century in Indian style for Charles Cockerell and is owned today by Edward and Camilla Peake. 

The Indian garden is in the cruciform moghul style and perfectly compliments the house. A stream emerges from below a temple and descends via a series of pools and a fountain to a lake. The borders are planted with massed rodgersias, hostas, campanula and other water loving plants, surrounded by trees of unusual size including cedars, copper beach and limes, there is a curved orangery which protects tender climbing plants, and an Indian bridge overlooks a snake fountain; the garden boasts wonderful Autumn colours.

This traditional Cotswold house built of golden yellow local stone is set on a hillside above the vale of Evesham. The Manor of Snowshill was owned by Winchcombe Abbey from 821 until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. It then passed to the crown and was given as a gift to Katherine Parr the last wife of Henry VIII. 

Since then many alterations and additions have been made, the main part of the current house dates from around 1500, it was extended in the 17th Century. In 1919 the house was bought and restored by Charles Paget Wade to display his amazing collections, there are 22,000 items which he acquired mainly from antique shops throughout the country. He then set about the gardens, the South West slope was divided into individual garden rooms, each with their own style. Being unable to see the garden all at once leads to a certain mystery and intrigue.

This splendid Jacobean manor house, built of mellow Cotswold stone known as guiting yellow, lies in a sheltered hollow at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment, and has been protected from many changes of the 20th Century. Surrounded by landscaped parkland and rural villages all harmoniously combine to create an enclave of very English and almost magical harmony.

Currently the home of Lord and Lady Neidpath, the charming interior gives every appearance of being lived in and in no sense resembles a museum. Stanway has one of the finest water gardens in England, created in the 1720’s, incorporating a 300ft single jet fountain, the tallest fountain in Britain.

Stratford-upon-Avon, known locally as Stratford, is a market town in South Warwickshire, which lies on the banks of the River Avon. With over 800 years of history, Stratford-upon-Avon is best known as the birthplace of the playwright and poet William Shakespeare. Here you may visit several traditional houses lived and played in hundreds of years ago by Shakespeare himself and his family. Visit Shakespeare's Birthplace, the house where William Shakespeare grew up; he played here as a child, ate meals and slept in these very rooms - he also spent the first five years of married life in this house. Shakespeare's Birthplace is a fascinating house that offers a tantalising glimpse into Shakespeare's early world.

Discover where the young Shakespeare courted his future bride Anne Hathaway at her picturesque family farmhouse, with stunning grounds and gardens which overflow with beautiful blooms and traditional shrubs. Discover Nash House and the site place of where it is believed Shakespeare wrote some of his later works such as The Tempest. A well-preserved Tudor building, and now museum, Nash House is the house next door to Shakespeare's final residence - New Place. In it's time New Place was the second largest house in Stratford; it was Shakespeare's home when not in London, and where he died in 1616. 

Surrounding these properties are several streets of fascinatingly maintained and repaired Tudor buildings; you may care to take the opportunity to walk around the century old streets, between the historical timber-framed Tudor houses and buildings.

This historic castle, steeped in history, is surrounded by stunning views of the Cotswolds. The castle was once the home to Katherine Parr, the last surviving wife of King Henry VIII. Henry himself, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Queen Elizabeth I and Richard III have all played a part in Sudeley's story. Following its ‘slighting’ on Cromwells orders Sudeley lay neglected and derelict for 200 years. Then in 1837 Sudeley was rescued by John and William Dent who began a restoration programme. 

The castle is now the home of the Dent Brocklehursts and Lord and Lady Ashcombe and is open to visitors on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. There are nine enchanting gardens around the castle, the centre piece being ‘Queen Garden’ surrounded by great hedges of yew. In spring tulips prevail, in summer it becomes a wonderful showcase for roses. There is also a wild flower walk to the to the tithe barn and heritage seed centre.

Warwick Castle is a medieval castle, situated on a bend of the River Avon and developed from an original built by William the Conqueror in 1068. During the Hundred Years War, the facade opposite the town was refortified, resulting in one of the most recognisable examples of 14th century military architecture in Britain. It was used as a stronghold until the early 17th century, when it was granted to Sir Fulke Greville by James I in 1604. Greville converted it to a country house; the Greville family became earls of Warwick in 1759, however the castle was sold in 1978. 

Formal gardens belonging to Warwick Castle were first recorded in 1534. Landscaping in the 17th century added spiral paths to the castle motte during Fulke Greville's programme of restoration. Francis Greville commissioned Lancelot Brown to re-landscape the castle grounds; he began working on the grounds and park in 1749 and had completed his work by 1757. The gardens cover 2.8 square kilometres (690 acres).Robert Marnock created formal gardens in the castle's grounds in 1868–69. Started in 1743 and originally known as Temple Park, Castle Park is located to the south of the castle. Its original name derived from the Knights Templar, who used to own a manor in Warwick. Houses around the perimeter of the park were demolished and the land they stood on incorporated into the park. Attempts to make profits from the park in the late 18th century included leasing it for grazing, growing wheat, and keeping sheep.