EHS Holiday to Somerset and Devon

Forty intrepid gardeners from EHS set off for a 4-day holiday on Saturday 13th June 2026. The week before was full of rainy days so we were anticipating a rather wet time! In the event the sun shone all four days and we had a splendid time enjoying fabulous gardens and interesting places based at a very comfortable hotel. We were also blessed with Malcolm as our coach driver from Westrings, Chichester. We could not have asked for a more kind, courteous and highly competent professional who managed to navigate us safely through one or two challenging gates and car parks.
After a short comfort break our first stop was Hestercombe gardens near Taunton where we had 50 acres of amazing landscaping to explore and several garden rooms including a parterre and water featured ponds and waterfall.

Sunday was a full-on day with a visit to Kilner Court, Shepton Mallet with an absolutely stunning garden set against a backdrop of a magnificant Viaduct.

In the afternoon we visited Wells cathedral with its wonderful architecture and were lucky enough to hear their choir rehearsing, a real treat! The group was split into 2 for a visit to the Bishops Palace and garden and we were lucky enough to have a very knowledgable retired bishop as our guide, who showed us not only the palace but also the famous bubbling ponds or wells.

On Monday we travelled to the RHS Rosemoor garden, living up to its name the roses were spectacular and at least one of our number could not resist buying one! We were guided around this jewel of an RHS garden by a most experienced, gardener and landscaper. On the way back to our hotel we made an interesting stop at the Dartington Crystal factory with irresistible shopping opportunities!

Our last visit was to the immaculately kept historic Forde Abbey, formerly the home of Cistertian monks. We were again expertly guided around and stopped to admire the stunning Mortlake Tapestries woven about 300 years ago depicting the lives of St Peter and St Paul. The 30 acre gardens were a delight and we were surprised to come across the current owner Alice Kennard helping the gardeners plant a new perennial border. Another surprise was the appearance of a 120 foot fountain in the gardens which made for rather a close wet encounter for some of us!

Overall the holiday was made really special with an excellent choice of garden venues and in the company of a very friendly group of EHS gardeners. We are looking forward to holidaying again with old friends and making new ones in June 2027 when the plan is to visit the Yorkshire dales.

Dr Vicki King
EHS Holiday Group Leader