DAY ONE - RHS WISLEY You join your tour at a Heathrow hotel before setting off to visit RHS Wisley, the Royal Horticultural Society’s flagship garden in Surrey, showcasing world-class horticulture across diverse landscapes, from formal borders and woodland walks to its striking glasshouse filled with plants from around the globe. Afterwards we drive to Dorset to settle into your hotel. DAY TWO - ATHELHAMPTON AND KINGSTON LACY Today brings two houses with rather different characters. Athelhampton is a fine Tudor house, with formal gardens and wonderfully clipped topiary. At Kingston Lacy, the house takes its inspiration from Italy and the grounds offer plenty of landscaped gardens to wander. DAY THREE - MOTTISFONT AND HISTORIC SALISBURY Today we visit Mottisfont, a historic former Augustinian priory set in beautiful riverside grounds in Hampshire, renowned for its world-famous walled rose garden, which displays one of the finest collections of pre-1900 shrub roses in the country. Afterwards we head to Salisbury to visit the Cathedral and Arundells, Sir Edward Heath's former home with two acres of peaceful gardens. DAY FOUR - FORDE ABBEY AND MAPPERTON Visit Forde Abbey where you can explore this former Cistercian monastery and its extensive gardens and wonder at the highest water fountain in the country, soaring to an astonishing 160 feet. Afterwards we continue on to Mapperton, a beautiful manor house where the Italianate terraces descend towards the valley below. DAY FIVE - STOURHEAD HOUSE AND GARDENS Cross the border to Wiltshire to visit magnificent Stourhead with its palladian mansion and acres of landscaped gardens where each turn reveals another vista, temple or folly. You will also find a wonderful subterranean grotto set on the edge of its serpentine lake. It is easy to spend a whole day here and you can either take lunch at The Spread Eagle Inn or the National Trust cafe. DAY SIX - BEHIND THE GARDEN GATE: PRIVATE VILLAGE GARDENS A relaxed morning at leisure before spending the afternoon exploring the village open gardens. From small, modern courtyards to extensive, lovingly landscaped gardens created by enthusiastic plantsmen and women, this is a genuine peek behind the English garden gate. Take tea on the vicarage lawn or stop at one of the village inns for a reviving pint of locally-brewed English beer. DAY SEVEN After a hearty English breakfast, transfer back to a Heathrow hotel - hopefully with some inspiration and ideas to try at home.