We spend an easy first day at the Royal Botanic Gardens, starting with a guided tour followed by a lovely lunch in their café.

That afternoon, we explore one of the oldest buildings on the Royal Mile - Gladstones Land, which has been a commercial and social hub for more than 500 years! We take a special tour that follows the lives of three women who lived and worked there, learning about changing tastes in food and the impact of trade, class, and fashion on people’s diets. Yummy tastings are included!

Dinner is at Civerinos where they not only serve delicious Italian, they also contribute to local charities.

Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner.

Dr. Neals' Garden is hidden beside a moody loch in the hills outside Edinburgh. In addition to exploring the gardens, we enjoy a sumptuous catered picnic.

That afternoon, we visit the National Museum of Scotland. This wonderful treasure trove contains glittering hoards, some of the charming Lewis Chessmen, a massive mechanical clock, a gallery filled with cutting-edge fashion, and even Dolly the Sheep!

Then we enjoy dinner at Maker's Mash Bar.

Meals included: Breakfast & Lunch.

After the short train trip to Glasgow, our first stop is the Kelvingrove Gallery - one of my favorite museums anywhere.  It's one of those 'everything' museums - art, sculpture, stained glass, and an exhibit dedicated to the unique Glasgow Style of the early 20th Century Arts & Crafts Movement, a Dali painting, and so much more.

We have a delicious lunch at a nearby restaurant recommended by no less a personage than Anthony Bourdain and spend the rest of the day at the Glasgow Royal Botanic Gardens with its Arts & Crafts glass houses.  Dinner is at Òran Mór, a former church now atmospheric restaurant and entertainment venue.

In the evening, we take the train back to Edinburgh and our hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast and Dinner.

After a busy day in Glasgow, today is more relaxed. You have free time to sleep in, shop for souvenirs, visit the Castle, or just grab a cuppa and watch people go by. If this sounds too quiet, I can give you plenty of suggestions on how to spend your time!

Dinner is a 2-course French delight at Le Petit Paris in the Grassmarket below the Castle. Then we head to Mary’s Milk Bar for some of the best ice cream you’ve ever tasted!

 The evening is spent on a fun Literary Pub Crawl.  Don't worry if you don't know anything about Scottish lit beforehand, you won't know anything afterward either - even if you don't drink!

Meals included:  Breakfast & Dinner.

We spend this morning learning all about chocolate. There are lots of tastings, of course, and everyone creates her own chocolate bar - which may or may not make it back home!

After lunch, we stroll down the Royal Mile where we visit tiny tucked-away gardens and try to decide if the Scottish Parliament building is a cutting-edge wonder or a hideous monstrosity. That evening, we enjoy a blow-out dinner at the terraced gardens of the Gardener's Cottage.

Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner.

Leaving the Scottish capital, we head south into England.  Our first stop is at Alnwick Castle Gardens to see the largest cascading fountain in the country, tour their Poison Garden (with a guide!), and enjoy a delicious 3-course lunch at the Treehouse Restaurant.   

We then take the train to the ancient city of York full of wonderful medieval buildings. We might not be hungry after our huge lunch, but perhaps we could find room for a Yorkie Wrap (sandwich fixings wrapped in a Yorkshire pudding) from the York Roast Company.

Meals included: Breakfast & Lunch. 

Harlow Carr Gardens sits in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. It highlights a variety of landscapes, from running and still water, to woodland and wildflower meadows. We will be joined by some local garden-loving women too.  
 

Once we return to York, there will be free time to wander the twisty, ancient lanes and hit some of the great boutique shops before meeting for a 3-course French dinner at Rustique.

That evening, we're led through the historic streets by my favorite York guide, Chris.

Meals included:  Breakfast & Dinner. 

Taking a morning train to London, we check into our Earls Court hotel, grab some lunch, then head to Kensington Gardens.  

This huge park is the site of the Princess Diana Fountain, the famous Peter Pan Statue, and the Prince Albert Memorial, a towering monument to Victorian excess.  Princes William and Harry recently dedicated a statue of their mother overlooking the beautiful Sunken Gardens next to Kensington Palace.  

If there’s time, we visit the peaceful Japanese Kyoto Garden in nearby Holland Park.  

For dinner we go to The Churchill Arms - the inside is full of Winston Churchill memorabilia but it's most famous as a pub literally covered in baskets of flowers.  (The food is great - but, ironically, it's Thai, not pub grub.) We end the day at a nearby wine bar.

Meals included:  Breakfast.

This day packed full of beautiful gardens! We start at the Chelsea Physic Garden created in 1673 to grow medicinal herbs to train apprentice apothecaries.

After lunch at their Garden Café, we meet our guide Tim for a private tour to visit gardens in a variety of unique settings. We will also enjoy Chelsea in Bloom, as local businesses get in the flower spirit too.

Dinner is a 3-course delight at The Botanist Restaurant.

Meals included:  Breakfast & Dinner.

Kew Gardens is home to stunning glass houses, multiple specialty gardens, an interactive bee exhibit, a treetop walk, and a gallery full of vibrant botanic paintings by an adventurous Victorian lady.  There is so much to see and do here that some of us might choose to spend the entire day. (No worries, it’s a short trip on the Tube back to our hotel so you can go back whenever you like!)

That evening we eat another delicious three-course dinner tucked away in our own 'pods' at the Secret Garden in South Kensington.

Meals included:  Breakfast & Dinner.

Today we experience Chelsea - the grandest flower show of them all!   Highlights include avant-garde show gardens designed by leading floral designers, a center marquee full of floral displays, and smaller gardens such as the Artisan and Urban Gardens. It is a wonderful and over-the-top garden extravaganza equivalent to a fashion show catwalk.  We get in with the other cool kids (Royal Horticultural Society members) because a year of membership is included with this tour.

Lunch is at one of the pop-up food booths while we spend the day among the stunning garden designs, gorgeous floral displays, and endless shopping opportunities.  I know *I* can't wait!

Anyone who's interested can meet me for dinner near the hotel, but we may all be too exhausted after such a day.

Meals included:  Breakfast.  

We begin our day high overlooking the city having brunch at the Sky Garden's Darwin Brasserie.  Once we've had our fill of the amazing views, the rest of the day is free for you to explore.  

Those who are interested can meet me for dinner at The Blackbird Pub close to the hotel in Earls Court. I’ll probably opt for a pie & ale flight (three small pies and three half-pints of ale) but they have all types of pub fare.

Meals included:  Breakfast.

After breakfast, the tour ends.  It's been a wonderful time!  We've seen so many gardens and made some wonderful new friends.

Meal included: Breakfast.