Pembrokeshire

D1 Thursday 3 June

Wyndcliffe Court

Tim will meet you at the Sheraton Heathrow Hotel at 09:30 and, after loading the minibus, we’ll head west to Wales and Wyndcliffe Court, an exceptional 1920s Arts and Crafts garden created by architect Eric Francis and garden designer H. Avray Tipping. It is laid out on the steeply sloping ground below the house, with terraces and yew topiary, a sunken garden, a lily pond and a newer rose garden, designed by Sarah Price, which should be looking particularly good at this time of year.

After lunch we’ll continue west, through some of the most beautiful scenery in South Wales, before arriving at Tŷ Mawr Country Hotel, our home from home for the next four nights, where we plan to be late afternoon, in good time to settle in before dinner.

Today's driving is about 210 miles/335 km

D2 Friday 4 June

Llandeilo, Aberglasney & the National Botanic Garden of Wales

Staying close to home, we start today in Llandeilo, an attractive market town well-known for its independent shops, before our morning visit to Aberglasney, a remarkable garden and a great favourite of ours.

Much of what we see at Aberglasney today has been recreated from the remains of a once-important Elizabethan and Jacobean garden. Its celebrated cloister garden, restored walls and intimate planting give it an atmosphere quite unlike anything else we’ll see this week.

After lunch, at Aberglasney, we’ll spend the afternoon at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. Set in the beautiful Tywi Valley, the gardens combine a historic landscape with modern horticulture, and its famous Foster-designed Great Glasshouse, which houses one of the world's largest collections of Mediterranean plants under glass, is the world’s largest single-span glasshouse.

We will dine at nearby Y Polyn, a well-regarded family-run restaurant in the Carmarthenshire countryside.

Today's driving is about 50 miles/80 km

D3 Saturday 5 June

Cae Hir, Llanerchaeron & Gelli Uchaf

Today’s adventure takes us north to visit three gardens, starting at Cae Hir Gardens, for coffee and cake in this informal and exuberant garden, the creation, over many years, of the late Wil Akkermans, a passionate Dutchman and his family.

We continue north, to Llanerchaeron, an unusually complete 18th-century estate designed by John Nash. The house, gardens, farm buildings and surrounding landscape survive remarkably intact, allowing us to see a complete country estate as it once functioned.

After lunch, at Llanerchaeron, we return south and visit the remarkable gardens at Gelli Uchaf, a 1½ acre garden, created over the 30 years by owners Julian & Fiona Wormald. The garden has several distinct areas around the stone farm buildings, each with its own character and theme; each created to complement its setting and act as a haven for wildlife.

We’ll have dinner at The Forest Arms, the village pub in Brechfa, before returning to Tŷ Mawr.

Today's driving is about 60 miles/95 km

D4 Sunday 6 June

Llwyngarreg, Colby Woodland Garden & Laugharne

This morning we visit Llwyngarreg Garden, a four-acre plantsman's garden created by owners Liz and Paul O’Neill since 2000. They aimed to create drama and year-round colour, growing a lot of plants which naturally thrive in wet West Wales.

We continue to Colby Woodland Garden, a sheltered woodland garden, full of camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas, sitting above the Pembrokeshire coast. A far cry from its industrial past, when children were used to haul the coal out of the narrow coal seams below.

We’ll have lunch at Colby before we explore this part of the coast and Laugharne, the small estuary town so closely associated with the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. We shall visit the Dylan Thomas Boathouse, his home and workplace during the final years of his life, overlooking the Taf estuary. It is an evocative place, and the surrounding landscape provides an opportunity to understand something of the setting which inspired his later work.

There will be time to explore Laugharne before supper at Brown’s, the poet’s favourite pub.

Today's driving is about 90 miles/145 km

D5 Monday 7 June

Dyffryn Fernant & Melin Tregwynt

We load the minibus, say goodbye to Tŷ Mawr and head west to visit Dyffryn Fernant, an extraordinary garden created by owners Christina Shand & David Allum since 1996. The garden, nestled between the Preselli Hills and the rugged Pembrokeshire coastline, draws its inspiration from its ancient surroundings.

A few of its many highlights include the walled Front Garden, showcasing seasonal container planting; an orchard, with its unique long herbaceous border; the courtyard, a mix of exotic architectural foliage and succulents; and the lush bog garden. It is a delight.

We won’t rush away, but when we do leave, we’ll make our way to Melin Tregwynt, a traditional woollen mill in continuous operation since at least 1841. Now in their third generation, the Griffiths family have been weaving here since Henry Griffiths bought Melin Tregwynt for £760 in 1912. Today, they continue to fly the flag for British manufacturing.

We’ll have lunch in their cafe and visit the mill to watch some weaving, before continuing to Crug Glas, a country house and working farm near St Davids, and our home from home for the final three nights.

As always, we’ll arrive in good time to unpack and relax before drinks and dinner at Crug Glas.

Today's driving is about 70 miles/110 km

D6 Tuesday 8 June

St Davids & the Islands

Today is a day off from gardens, as we devote it to the westernmost tip of Pembrokeshire, its history, its nature and, if you have the urge, a little bit of shopping too!

We begin the day in St Davids, exploring Britain's smallest city. It is a remarkable place and, despite its modest size, was an important centre of pilgrimage for centuries. St Davids Cathedral, a masterpiece of 12th century ecclesiastic architecture, and the remains of its medieval Bishop's Palace are well worth a visit.

We’ll have plenty of time to explore and have lunch before we head down to the Lifeboat Station at St Justinian’s for an exhilarating ride in one of Voyages of Discovery’s fast RIBs. The exact voyage will depend on conditions and the most suitable trip available, but if we can, we’ll take the two-hour Skomer Island trip to see the Puffins and much more besides.

After returning to land, we’ll drive north to Porthgain for the early evening in this interesting, tiny former industrial harbour, and Fish & Chips at The Shed. The Shed is something of an institution in these parts and, whilst Fish & Chips are neither compulsory nor the only thing on the menu, they are, very possibly, the best Fish & Chips you’ll ever have!

Today's driving is about 25 miles/40 km

D7 Wednesday 9 June

Upton Castle & Picton Castle

Our final full day begins with a visit to Upton Castle, a 13th-century Norman castle built to defend the northern approaches to Pembroke. Tucked away in the Pembrokeshire countryside, its gardens combine some 35 acres of woodland, an 18th-century walled garden and a rose garden, and the relaxed atmosphere of a much-loved private garden.

We’ll continue the day at nearby Picton Castle, starting with lunch in their excellent Courtyard Cafe, a slightly bizarre Spanish-Welsh combination, but go with it; it somehow works!

The gardens at Picton, an RHS Partner Garden, boast one of the most diverse plant collections in Wales. It has ancient woodlands, a beautiful Walled Garden, and a colourful Jungle Garden; it also has a nationally important collection of rare ferns.

We’ll drive home through Pembroke to see Pembroke Castle. Built by the Normans in 1093, it is one of Wales’ most impressive castles and birthplace of Henry VII, the first Tudor King.

And early to Crug Glas for a relaxing evening and our end-of-tour dinner.

Today's driving is about 80 miles/130 km

D8 Thursday 10 June

Singleton Botanical Gardens

After breakfast and loading the minibus, we begin our journey to Heathrow, stopping in Swansea to visit Singleton Botanical Gardens. Originally the estate of the wealthy Vivian family, it was bought by the Swansea Corporation for use as a public park. In 1926, the gardens opened as the ‘Educational Gardens’ until 1991, when they were renamed as the Botanical Gardens Swansea. They contain a renowned double herbaceous border, glasshouses and many mature trees of national importance.

It makes for a gentle conclusion to the tour before we continue east to Heathrow, where the tour will end late in the afternoon at the Sheraton Heathrow Hotel.

Today's driving is about 260 miles/415 km