Gardens Illustrated; Gardens of Brittany

5 days   £3250 per person with crossing   1 - 5 September 24

Gardens Illustrated; Gardens of Brittany

We are privileged to have renowned horticulturalist Troy Scott-Smith to host and Kirsty Fergusson to lead this special tour.

Day to day Itinerary

Day 1

Depart Portsmouth at 0800 for our crossing to Caen arriving 1500.  Coach to Perros Guirec, with a stop en route, to arrive at approximately 1900. Tonight, we dine together at our hotel.

Day 2

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 before returning to Perros Guirec where we dine together at our hotel. 

Day 5

After breakfast, we depart our hotel and travel for two hours to Le Château de la Ballue arriving in time for lunch with owner, Marie-Françoise Mathon, followed by a tour of the gardens. La Ballue is an immaculately presented 17th century château, 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. During the recent lockdowns, Mme Mathon has carved out a new garden with ponds and bog planting in the wooded valley below the château. We then travel to Caen for our return crossing departing at 16:30 to Portsmouth arriving 21:30.

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: £3250

Join Direct: £3150

Single Supp: £425

Departure Dates:

1 Sep 2024

Duration:

4 nights / 5 days

Your Tour Includes:

• Return ferry from Portsmouth to Caen with Brittany Ferries
• Four nights' at L'Agapa Hotel, Perros Guirec
• All breakfasts, plus three evening meals and four lunches
• Transportation by private coach throughout the tour
• Services of your Tour Host and Tour Manager
• Detailed programme and garden notes
• Entrance to all sites listed in the programme

Tour Staff

Troy Scott-Smith

Troy Scott Smith is a highly experienced horticulturalist who has worked with the National Trust since 1990. He has spent most of his career as Head Gardener at three National Trust gardens, including the renowned Sissinghurst Castle Garden! After two years at Iford Manor Gardens, Troy returned to his role in Sissinghurst to help preserve its fascinating legacy.

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.

Hotel: L'Agapa Hotel Perros Guirec

Star Rating: ★★★★★

Board Basis: Bed & Breakfast