Manchester Language School - English Garden Tours

Study Holidays English Garden Tours Programmes EGT4

EGT1

EGT2

EGT3

EGT4

EGT5

EGT6

EGT7

ENGLISH GARDEN TOURS (EGT4)

SCOTLAND’S ROMANTIC GARDENS AND CASTLES

Friday 18 June to Friday 25 June 2010

Scotland garden tours

The long tradition of gardening in Scotland has responded to the magnificent landscape, the climate of the West Coast influenced by the gulf stream and the contributions of the many plant hunters native to Scotland. The results impressively surround historic castles and create picturesque gardens that concentrate the details of landscape in small areas. Above all these gardens display horticultural excellence into settings both architectural and natural.

Scotland garden tours This is a two centre study tour based in Edinburgh and Oban (West Coast). Royal Botanical Gardens (Edinburgh), Little Sparta (probably the last great British 20th century garden), Dunmore, Drummond Castle, The Hermitage (Perthshire), Torosay (Isle of Mull) and Inverary Castle.

Day	Period	Activity
Friday 18/6	ARRIVALS
	Evening	Arrivals Edinburgh Airport. Transfer to University of Edinburgh, Pollock Halls. Arthur's Seat, for Edinburgh panorama followed by dinner in the Grassmarket below Edinburgh Castle.
Saturday 19/6	Edinburgh
	Morning	Free time for the Edinburgh sights.
	Afternoon	Guided tour of the Royal Botanic Garden.
	Evening	Theatre visit.
Sunday 20/6	LITTLE SPARTA
	Morning	Mass at the Rosslyn Chapel.
	Afternoon	Little Sparta garden created by the poet, artist and landscaper Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925-2006).
	Evening	Free time in Edinburgh.
Monday 21/6	DRUMMOND & THE HERMITAGE
	Morning	Drummond Castle via Dunmore (spectacular inhabited pineapple). Drummond Castle with its elevated 15th century castle and 17th century gardens was much visited in the 18th century. The very fine formal gardens were revised by Lewis Kennedy in the early 19th century, a gardener who had worked at Malmaison continuing Scotland's historic links with France.
	Afternoon	The Hermitage. Walk up the picturesque River Braan, a special and atmospheric example of landscape improvement.
Tuesday 22/6	OBAN, GATEWAY TO THE ISLES
	All day	Oban and the West Coast of Scotland. Callander, capital of The Trossachs. Continue to Oban via Glen Dochart, Glen Lochy and the Pass of Brander.
Wednesday 23/6	TOROSAY, ISLE OF MULL
	All day	Cross by ferry to the Isle of Mull and miniature railway to Torosay. This Victorian castle has a series of terraces with unforgettable Scottish vistas across the Sound of Mull to Glen Coe.
Thursday 24/6	INVERARY CASTLE
	Morning	Arduaine - a south facing, woodland garden on the sea. Created by a retired tea planter demonstrating the success of Asian plants in the Scottish climate with cardiocrinums and Himalayan blue poppies (naturalised).
	Afternoon	Loch Awe to Inverary Castle, ancestral home and 18th century castle of the 12th Duke of Argyle and head of the Clan Campbell. A final taste of quintessential Scotland.
Friday 25/6	RETURN TO EDINBURGH
		Departures Edinburgh Airport

Manchester Language School reserves the right to change the programme according to the availability of the gardens and venues listed.