June 2018 Nancy Lancaster Ladies Who Travel A Way To Go Travel
Day 1 Sun 17 June
On arrival at London Heathrow Airport you will be met by your guide and escort Jackie Heyworth, who will escort you to your luxury midi-coach for the short transfer to Cliveden House Hotel.
Cliveden Behind its imposing period façade, this grand 17th century stately home boasts interiors brimming with English charm. Exquisite antique furniture and oil paintings contribute to creating a warm and very intimate ambiance. Not surprising that it has hosted many famous names throughout its history, and some of them, such as Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill, have even lent their names to rooms. Cliveden House, in the heart of Berkshire, is renowned for its magnificent 376 acre estate overlooking the River Thames offering tranquillity and exquisite dining just outside London and a stone’s throw from Windsor, Ascot and Heathrow.
William Waldorf Astor bought Cliveden in 1893 and remodelled many of the rooms within the house, including enlarging the Great Hall and installing the wooden staircase.
Astor’s eldest son, Waldorf married Nancy Langhorne (maternal aunt of Nancy Lancaster) in 1906 and the couple received Cliveden as a wedding gift. Cliveden entered a new, glittering era as the venue for many parties hosted by the Astors.
Nancy Astor became the first woman to ever sit in the House of Commons on 1 December 1919.
Afternoon at leisure enjoying the facilities of Cliveden including a talk about Nancy Astor and a visit to gardens including Cliveden’s newly restored Rose Garden planted with 42 different rose varieties whose colours mirror the rising and setting of the sun.
Designed by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe (see Ditchley Park later), one of the 20th century’s greatest garden designers, in 1959, this new garden sits within 74 acres of formal gardens cared for by the National Trust.
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The reinstated garden has been carefully nurtured by Head Gardener Andrew Mudge and his team of 12 gardeners and over 20 volunteers. They have created the circular garden, planted with over 900 repeat flowering roses.
Private Welcome Dinner at Cliveden in The Boudoir, Lady Astor’s private drawing room with stunning views over the lawn and Parterre. Includes three courses and wine.
Day 2
Mon 18 June
Transfer to Stonor Park near Henley for a private visit to the house and gardens and lunch hosted by Lord and Lady Camoys.
Stonor Park has been the Stonor family’s residence for 850 years making it one of the oldest family homes still lived in today. The historic building and sweeping grounds are breathtaking and the family’s collection of art and artefacts is extraordinary.
The walled garden at Stonor, formerly the old kitchen garden, is now converted by Lady Camoys into a pleasure garden. Divided into six plots – inspired by the 17th C painting of the house which you can see in the drawing room – you will find old fashioned roses, peonies and lavenders flanked by ancient yew trees and clipped box hedges. There is a long mixed border along the top of the terrace with as it’s focal point, a Japanese garden house built by the 5th Lord Camoys after his visit to Kyoto in 1906.
Lunch in the medieval, oldest part of the house, will be hosted by Lord and Lady Camoys or William and Lady Ailsa Stonor depending on their diaries.
This afternoon visit Henley on Thames - one of the most beautiful towns in England, recently voted by The Times as one of the best places to live in the English countryside and host to the wonderful Henley Royal Regatta held on the River Thames here every year.
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Henley’s riverside location, surrounded by a Chiltern landscape of wooded hills and green fields, lends itself to relaxation, long lunches and quirky shopping. There’s a pub where Charles I drank, a Chantry house, a butcher that smokes his own meat and independent shops still offering the personal touch.
Return to Cliveden for dinner and overnight.
Day 3 Tue 19 June
Check out of Cliveden this morning.
Visit Haseley Court near Oxford hosted by owner Fiona Heyward In 1954 Nancy Lancaster bought Haseley Court near Oxford. She renovated and decorated the house with the help of her business partner, John Fowler (1906–1977). The garden she created at Haseley was particularly famous for its sense of style. After a fire in 1971, she sold the main house at Haseley to the Heywards and moved into the Coach House where she lived for the rest of her life.
Fiona Heyward will join the group for lunch at the Lord Nelson pub near Haseley Court.
Afternoon visit to Ditchley Park In 1932 Ditchley Park was sold to Ronald Tree, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Market Harborough, a very wealthy Anglo-American (his description). Of American parentage, Ronald was born and educated in England and had returned to the US when his father died in 1914. He met and married Nancy and, after they returned to England, he was elected to Parliament and they bought Ditchley in 1933.
It was the decoration of this house which earned Nancy the reputation of having "the finest taste of almost anyone in the world." She worked on it with Lady Colefax and the French decorator Stéphane Boudin of the Paris firm Jansen.
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Ronald and Nancy employed Geoffrey Jellicoe (see Cliveden rose garden), then a relatively unknown young garden designer, to remodel the grounds. He laid out the Italian style sunken garden immediately West of the main house and resurrected the terrace to the North, part of the original Gibbs design. Under the Trees Ditchley regained some of its earlier social prominence, most notably through several visits there by Winston and Clementine Churchill.
Enjoy a tour and afternoon tea at Ditchley Park
Later this afternoon check-in to the Lygon Arms Hotel in Broadway
Dinner, bed and breakfast are included at the Lygon Arms Hotel
Day 4 Wed 20 June
En route to Kelmarsh Hall visit first Coughton Court A lovely Tudor house, home of the Throckmorton family since 1409. Coughton features a half-timbered courtyard, an impressive gatehouse, and no less than two churches. The Throckmortons were heavily involved in the Gunpowder Plot, and a compelling exhibit in the house outlines the story of the plot and its impact on the family.
The house stands in 25 acres of grounds containing some of the most breathtaking gardens in the country. After inheriting the estate in 1992, it was Clare McLaren-Throckmorton's intention, together with her daughter, the acclaimed garden designer Christina Williams, to create a garden that gives this beautiful house the setting it deserves. Created over the last 17 years, the gardens are now mature and varied and are solely managed by the Throckmorton family.
The Family Gardens are now recognised as being amongst the best in England with many wonderful elements, including the award winning Rose Labyrinth, the famous Walled Garden, two sunken gardens and Early Summer Garden, formal lawns, lake and Bog Garden, riverside walks, a formal courtyard garden, vegetable garden, orchard and fruit garden.
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Your visit will be hosted today by Imogen and Magnus Throckmorton and a light lunch will be included in the private wing of the house.
After lunch continue to Kelmarsh Hall to visit the House and Gardens there.
Kelmarsh Hall Built for the Hanbury family in the 1730s by virtuoso architect, James Gibbs and builder, Francis Smith of Warwick, Kelmarsh Hall was praised by historian Nikolaus Pevsner as, “a perfect, extremely reticent design, done in an impeccable taste.”
One other arbiter of fashion to leave her mark on the Hall was society decorator Nancy Lancaster. Drawn by the house’s fine bone structure, her taste for combining comfort with formality set the trend for the Twentieth Century’s Country House look. Her spirit still pervades the house today in the delicate terracotta colouring of the Great Hall, the exuberant Chinese wallpaper and seasonal flower arrangements.
Within the 18th century setting, the gardens that visitors see at Kelmarsh Hall today are largely inspired by Nancy Lancaster. She extended her interior style of shabby chic charm into the gardens and drafted in the garden designer of her day, the talented Norah Lindsay, to help. Around the Hall the landscape architect Geoffrey Jellicoe laid out a formal terrace.
From the sophisticated pastels of the sunken garden through to the showier shades of the 60m long border, the garden leads you on a tour around the perimeter of a triangular walled garden. This secret heart is a relaxing space filled with traditional fruit and vegetables, cut flower beds and a restored vinery. The produce and cut flowers are sold in the Visitor Centre when available.
Return for dinner and overnight at the Lygon Arms Hotel
Day 5 Thu 21 June
Check out of Barnsley House Hotel this morning and head for the dreaming spires of Oxford.
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Arrive at Worcester College Oxford for coffee and biscuits and an introductory talk by Simon Bagnall, head gardener.
Unbeknownst to most people here you will find an unexpected marvel: a vast 26-acre garden with one foot in the past and one firmly in the present. The garden began its life as a Benedictine Abbey in 1283. Worcester College celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2014.
Brief walking tour of hidden Oxford including a visit to Merton College Library (to be confirmed).
The library building at Merton College in Mob Quadrangle, dating from 1373, is the oldest continuously functioning library for university academics and students in the world and is only open to visitors in exceptional circumstances.
Lunch in Quod Brasserie in the center of Oxford.
Time at leisure in Oxford before transferring to London and check-in to the Kensington Hotel.
Day 6 Fri 22 June
Full day interior design themed in London. Possible visits to David Linley, the Chelsea Harbour Design Centre and the new headquarters of Colefax and Fowler. Details to be arranged and schedules managed nearer to arrival time per owners.
Evening at leisure.
Overnight at the Kensington Hotel.
Day 7 Saturday 23 June 6 June 2018 Nancy Lancaster Ladies Who Travel A Way To Go Travel
Full day at leisure.
Optional cost on request: Evening tickets to West End Theatre or Globe Theatre
Overnight at the Kensington Hotel
Day 8 Sunday 24 June
Private transfer to London Heathrow Airport for your return flights
Based on minimum 12 paying participants will be $5465 per person sharing a twin/double room
Single room supplement $1500
Cost includes the following:
Hotel accommodation for 7 nights: • Dinner, bed and breakfast at Cliveden House (2 nights) based on run of house room types which would be a classic double room or higher • Pre dinner drink and Wine with dinner on the first night at Cliveden in a private room • Dinner, bed and breakfast at Lygon Arms Hotel (2 nights) based on run of house room types which would be a classic double room or higher • Bed and Breakfast at the Kensington Hotel (3 nights) in London based on deluxe King/Queen bedrooms
Ground services:
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• Jackie Heywood, Blue Badge Guide and Nancy Lancaster aficionado, to accompany throughout from arrival to departure • Luxury executive midi coach for all touring and transfers as per the itinerary Gratuities • Driver and guide gratuities • Entrances as specified or similar • Lunches x 4 (two courses with coffee and one glass of wine/soft drinks) at Stonor, Haseley, Coughton Court and Oxford • Afternoon Tea at Ditchley Park • Escorted by Weezie Glascock
NOT included: Guide gratuities and any meals not specified
Insurance available and cost based on birthdate and information on registration form. Deposit : $1650 per person. Final payment: March 15, 2018
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