This year’s study trip will be based in central Bury St. Edmunds; accommodation has been reserved at the historic 4* Angel Hotel, centrally located with ample free parking and accessible by train. There will be 2 ½ days of garden visiting, with the tour running from late morning Tuesday 10th September to 4.00pm Thursday 12th September.

Book:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-gardens-trust-suffolk-study-event-tickets-873421756987

The Itinerary

Day One Tuesday 10th September

A coach will collect those travelling by train from Diss station and travel to Somerleyton, where we will have lunch and a tour of the gardens. We will return to Bury St. Edmunds late afternoon in time to book into the hotel and enjoy a three-course dinner in the hotel’s atmospheric and recently restored “vaults.”

Day Two Wednesday 11th September

After breakfast, leave for Kentwell Hall, a Tudor manor house with a romantic garden. Here, the owners will give us a private tour of the house and gardens. After lunch, we will visit Melford Hall (NT), where arrangements are underway to provide access to both the public gardens and private gardens of Lady and Sir William Parker, before returning to Bury St. Edmunds in the late afternoon for tea and a talk in the cloisters of St Edmund’s Cathedral. Bury has been described as the food capital of Suffolk, and in the evening, you are free to discover one of the local restaurants. For those who wish to have a group meal, a table has been reserved at a local eatery (sorry, we can only accommodate 20 people).

Day Three Thursday 12th September

After breakfast, book out of the hotel and travel to Helmingham Hall, where we will be welcomed by Lady Xa Tollemache, followed by a private guided tour of the gardens by the head gardener. In the afternoon, we will visit Crowe Hall. This private garden is not normally open to the public and is the recent subject of an MA dissertation. A buffet lunch will be served in the orangery, followed by a tour of the gardens by the owners. The coach will drop those returning home by train at Manningtree station, then return to Bury St. Edmunds.

There are limited places available for this visit, and booking is essential.

Closing date for application 15th June.

We anticipate a high take-up for this study tour, and we will need to confirm numbers by the end of June, so please don’t delay booking.

Booking is via Eventbrite with preference given to Gardens Trust members.

Should you wish to become a member of the Gardens Trust and take advantage of the member’s discount for this event, annual subscriptions start at £40.00. Visit our website for more information.

This study tour will be moderately strenuous and will require walking of up to 90 mins on level ground, with limited opportunity to sit down.

All meals are included in the residential ticket price apart from dinner on day 2.

Please bring your National Trust membership card otherwise entry charge to Melford will apply.

Travel Arrangements

There is ample free parking at the Angel Hotel for those wishing to bring their own car. For those coming by train the hotel is about a 30-minute walk from the station, so best reached by taxi or the local bus. On day One, a coach will pick up those arriving by train at DISS station, the most convenient station to our first garden, Somerleyton. For those already at the hotel there is also a train service between Bury and Diss. The coach will return to Bury St. Edmunds late afternoon. A drive of about 90 mins. On the final day, the coach will drop those returning home by train at Manningtree station, the nearest station to our final garden. Both these stations are on the Norwich to London line. The coach will return to Bury St. Edmunds for those who need to return to the Angel Hotel.

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