Just Back From Provence, England & the Cotswolds
May is here, which means it’s time for our spring tours! Read on to see where we went and what we did.
Laura, Ross, and our private week in Provence travelers.
May is high tour season here at Wingback Travel and we had two fabulous spring tours this year. We started with a week in Provence for our private group of nine travelers. Laura created a bespoke itinerary for this private tour, based on the interests of the group. We rented a house with plenty of space for everyone and spent the week enjoying long lunches under the Provencal sun and leisurely sightseeing led by Laura during the day.
Laura leading a visit to a medieval abbey in Provence.
Many of our Provence travelers are garden enthusiasts (like us!) so we arranged a private visit to an Italianate garden in Provence that is still owned by the family.
One of our Provence travelers enjoying the sun on a private boat ride along the Mediterranean coast.
We also arranged a private visit to a pottery studio. Here the artist (with Ross as translator!) explains her craft and her inspiration from the earthy colors of the Luberon.
We ended our week in Provence with a delicious dinner cooked just for us by a private chef. Here he is serving our cheese course, with the splendid sunset in the background. A perfect end to a perfect week!
Next Laura and Ross headed up to England to lead an eight-night trip through the southern England and the Cotswolds, ending with a visit to the Chelsea Flower Show.
We enjoyed guided visits to our favorite historical homes and gardens in southern England - some quite famous, others less so. Many of our private tours were led by Head Gardeners. There were many highlights, but I think we all agreed that getting to visit Sissinghurst before it opened to the public was a magical experience (it is quite crowded during regular hours).
Through our connections, we were also able to arrange visits to private estates with descendants of the family as our guides. We capped the trip off with a fabulous lunch at the Michelin-starred Gravetye and Members-Only day access to the Chelsea Flower Show in London.
We talked the Head Gardener at Sezincote into posing for a photo with us after he expertly led us through the garden!
The White Garden at Sissinghurst in full bloom - and empty of crowds! - during our private early hours visit.
Laura with the owner of one of our favorite Arts and Crafts houses in England. He is the fourth-generation descendant of the original builders.
A privately guided visit to Great Dixter, one of England’s “Big Three” gardens, with fields of topiary in the background.
Enjoying a traditional Sunday roast at a local pub!
Private lunch at the Gravetye Manor’s Michelin-starred restaurant..
The Chelsea Flower Show features innovative displays from the UK’s top garden designers. We arranged for our group to visit on a Members-only day.
A big thank you to our Wingback Travelers! It was a joy to travel with both of these fun and friendly groups.