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Springtime
in Andalucia
Palaces, Gardens & Fine Arts
April
19-29, 2009. 11 days, 9 nights
Land Price: $6195; Single Supplement: $1195
An Exceptional Value Tour. Maximum 20 members
WITH ITS WORLD-FAMOUS PALACES, cathedrals,
and whitewashed hilltop villages, its olive groves, lush vineyards,
and majestic mountains—Andalucia is a place guaranteed to provide
vivid memories for years to come. The region’s striking Moorish
influence is everywhere in evidence, from the Alcazar and Giralda
in Seville, to the Mezquita and Medina Azahara in Cordoba, to the
Alhambra and Generalife in Granada. We enjoy extended stays in these
three ancient cities where life is lived with gusto and flair. We’ll
savor tapas and gazpacho, thrill to an evening of flamenco, delight
in a guided tour of private, ornately tiled courtyards ablaze with
spring blossoms, and have ample time at Seville’s Museo de Bellas
Artes to take in a collection of Spanish masters that ranks second
only to the Prado’s.
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CÉLIA RIBEIRO
Portuguese-born Célia Ribeiro graduated with a degree in Tourism Science from the University of Lisbon. Fluent in English, French, and Italian, she has been leading tours throughout her own country, as well as elsewhere in Europe, since 1990. Specializing in Portuguese and European art—and, in her own words, 'deeply in love' with her profession—Celia joined the COOPERSMITH'S team for the 2006 tour season, and was acclaimed, and adored, by everyone.
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Springtime
in the Cotswolds
& the Malvern Gardening Show
May
2-10, 2009. 9 days, 7 nights
Land Price: $3995; Single Supplement: $495
A Repeat Performance Tour. Maximum 18 members
SEVEN
DAYS BASKING IN THE BEAUTY OF SPRING GARDENS, while based at one
of Britain's most acclaimed country house hotels: such is the setting
for this all-new, unpack-once tour. Corse Lawn House, located in
the picturesque, historic corner of southern England known as the
Cotswolds, was named 'Country Hotel of the Year' by the prestigious
Good Hotel Guide in 2005. It will be our home, exclusively, for
the duration. The itinerary features a wide variety of public and
private gardens and manor houses-among them Lawrence Johnson's iconic
Hidcote Manor, Major Wills' timeless Misarden Park, Simon Biddulph's
romantic Rodmarton Manor, and Barbara and Ian Pollard's dazzling
Abbey House Gardens. A day at the Malvern Spring Gardening Show,
the Royal Horticultural Society's first event of the season, celebrated
for its spectacular floral displays, puts the finishing touch on
a glorious week.
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JANE HENSON
Blue Badge Guide Jane
Henson, born in Somerset England, has been leading
tours throughout the British Isles for over a decade.
Among her many interests and areas of specialization
are gardens, stately homes, cathedrals, genealogy,
and the evolution of the English countryside. An
avid hiker, Jane is also a contributor to the prestigious
Good Gardens Guide.This will be her fifth season
with COOPERSMITH's, having built up quite a following
over the first three years..
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Scottish
Highlands & Islands
& the Chelsea Flower Show
May
10-22, 2009. 13 days, 11 nights
Land Price: $5595; Single Supplement: $995
SCOTLAND ONLY (Days 2-11):
Land Price: $4895; Single Supplement: $685
A Repeat Performance Tour. Maximum 18 members
SCOTLAND
IS A LAND OF HIGH DRAMA: rainbows arching over craggy mountains
whose peaks seem forever blanketed in moody clouds; fairy tale-like
castles punctuating the shores of sky blue lochs; centuries-old
towns and cities fashioned from granite and crafted to last forever.
We’ll acquaint ourselves with some of northern and western Scotland’s
most noteworthy gardens and castles, while traveling at a leisurely
pace through an awe-inspiring landscape that seems custom-made for
artists and photographers. We begin in Glasgow, one of Europe’s
most up-and-coming cultural centers; enjoy six days in the western
Highlands and Inner Hebrides; and conclude with a day at London’s
inimitable Chelsea Flower Show, the Wimbledon of horticultural events,
where the world’s top garden designers come to show off their latest
work. [Tour members wanting to forgo the flower show may end their
tour in Glasgow.]
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ALAN CROSS
Born and raised in Scotland,
Alan Cross graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree
in law. After working for many years as an investment banker
in Argentina, Brazil, the Bahamas, France, and the US, he
returned to the UK in 1991, to obtain his credentials as
a Blue Badge Guide. Now a resident of London, Alan regularly
leads tours of Scotland and England, specializing in castles,
gardens, history, music, and the arts. This will be his
fourth year with COOPERSMITH'S, having led two previous
tours of eastern Scotland to rave reviews.
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Springtime in Ireland
Gardens, Castles & Landscapes
May
22-June 3, 2009. 13 days, 11 nights
Land Price: $5395 Single Supplement: $895
An Exceptional Value Tour. Maximum 20 members
A COUNTRY IN THE MIDST OF A RENAISSANCE, Ireland offers dramatic scenery, a long and fascinating history, witty, convivial people, and dozens of world-class gardens. Among the many picturesque castles and gardens we’ll visit are Powerscourt, a grand Palladian-style manor renowned for its exquisite statuary and garden architecture; the Duke of Devonshire’s romantic Lismore Castle Gardens; the Knight of Glin’s storybook Glin Castle; Helen Dillon’s world-famous Dublin townhouse garden; and Mount Usher, a plant-lover’s paradise and home to over 5,000 different species, including an extensive collection of magnolias, camellias, and rhododendrons. We’ll enjoy first-class and deluxe accommodations, including a superb Victorian seaside hotel and an enchanting country inn; savor gourmet dinners in delightful surroundings; and be the exclusive guests for lunches and afternoon teas with a variety of garden and castle owners.
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MARIANNE GORMAN
Dubliner Marianne Gorman
obtained her degree in French and Spanish from University
College Dublin. She has worked for Irish Television, lived
in Paris for four years while acting as assistant director
of the Irish Tourist Office, and led tours for numerous
museum and botanical garden societies. In her words "intensely
involved in all things botanical," Marianne has created,
with her husband, their own Robinsonian-type garden. She
led for COOPERSMITH'S for the first time in 2007, to unanimous
applause.
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Gardens, Castles & Country House Hotels
Of Wales, Welsh Borders & the West Country
June
14-24, 2009. 11 days, 9 nights
Land Price: $7395; Single Supplement: $1095
A Silver Anniversary Tour. Maximum 15 members
THREE OF GREAT BRITAIN’S FINEST MANOR HOUSE
HOTELS—Bodysgallen Hall in Llandudno, Corse Lawn House near
Tewkesbury, and the Bath Priory, all with elegant furnishings, wonderful
gardens, first-class spa facilities, and outstanding cuisine—provide
our luxurious “homes away from home” on this Silver Anniversary
Tour. We’ll revel in gardens that are world-class, by any measure—Bodnant,
Powis Castle, Iford Manor, and Sudeley Castle, among others—and
be invited in for tea, lunch, or drinks at a number of exclusive
estates. Other highlights include premiere seats at a Royal Shakespeare
Company production in Stratford-upon-Avon, a private tour of the
opulent Number 1 Royal Crescent in Bath, and a visit to the estate
where Prince Charles is said to have proposed to Lady Diana.
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JANE HENSON
Blue Badge Guide Jane
Henson, born in Somerset England, has been leading
tours throughout the British Isles for over a decade.
Among her many interests and areas of specialization
are gardens, stately homes, cathedrals, genealogy,
and the evolution of the English countryside. An
avid hiker, Jane is also a contributor to the prestigious
Good Gardens Guide.This will be her fifth season
with COOPERSMITH's, having built up quite a following
over the first three years..
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English
Gardens
Country Inns & Stately Homes
June
29-July 9, 2009. 11 days, 9 nights
Land Price: $4895; Single Supplement: $595
An Exceptional Value Tour. Maximum 20 members
ONE
OF ENGLAND’S MOST SCENIC REGIONS—THE DALES AND MOORS of North
Yorkshire—has become known in recent years as “James Herriot
Country.” It is also home to many of Great Britain’s most glorious
gardens and celebrated treasure houses. We’ll visit a number of castles
and stately homes, as well as smaller, more intimate residences where
we will be the personal guests of the owners. Highlights of the tour
include Castle Howard, the grand setting for Brideshead Revisited;
Harlow Carr, the Royal Horticultural Society’s showcase garden for
the North of England; and Newby Hall, whose luxuriant herbaceous borders
on a colossal scale are worth the trip to England by themselves! A
three-night sojourn in historic York—site of the UK’s loveliest
cathedral and some of its most intriguing museums—is preceded
and followed by extended stays at two delightful, highly acclaimed
country inns.
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ALAN CROSS
Born and raised in Scotland,
Alan Cross graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree
in law. After working for many years as an investment banker
in Argentina, Brazil, the Bahamas, France, and the US, he
returned to the UK in 1991, to obtain his credentials as
a Blue Badge Guide. Now a resident of London, Alan regularly
leads tours of Scotland and England, specializing in castles,
gardens, history, music, and the arts. This will be his
fourth year with COOPERSMITH'S, having led two previous
tours of eastern Scotland to rave reviews.
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Gardens, Homes & Haunts
Of
English Artists, Writers & Horticulturists
July
12-22, 2009. 11 days, 9 nights
Land Price: $4995; Single Supplement: $495
A Repeat Performance Tour. Maximum 18 members
THIS
PEAK BLOOMING-SEASON JOURNEY THROUGH ENCHANTING EAST ANGLIA and the
verdant Southeast of England adds a new and unique dimension to the
garden tour genre. Nearly all the gardens we visit have either been
designed by, or else are intimately connected with famous painters,
sculptors, novelists, architects, or horticulturists. From the homes
and haunts of Jane Austen, Christopher Lloyd, and Charles Dickens,
to those of Vita Sackville-West, Virginia Woolf, and Vanessa Bell,
we'll see some of the most memorable examples of garden design and
plant selection anywhere. We'll also be treated to world-class works
of art at Henry Moore's sculpture park, Petworth House's Turner collection,
Knole House's state rooms—filled with paintings by Gainsborough,
Van Dyck, and Reynolds—and the Cass Foundation's fabulous outdoor
gallery of 21st-century British sculpture.
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JANE HENSON
Blue Badge Guide Jane Henson,
born in Somerset England, has been leading tours throughout
the British Isles for over a decade. Among her many interests
and areas of specialization are gardens, stately homes,
cathedrals, genealogy, and the evolution of the English
countryside. An avid hiker, Jane is also a contributor to
the prestigious Good Gardens Guide.This will be her fifth
year with COOPERSMITH'S, where she has gained an enthusiastic
following.
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Champagne
& Alsace-Lorraine:
An Embarrassment of Riches
September
24-October 4, 2009. 11 days, 9 nights
Land Price: $7295; Single Supplement: $1195
A Luxury Edition Tour. Maximum 16 members
TUCKED AWAY IN FRANCE’S NORTHEASTERN CORNER are two off-the-beaten-path regions known for their ancient picturesque towns and villages, luxuriant vineyards, world-class museums, and celebrated wines. This journey starts out in Troyes, historic capital of the counts of Champagne; moves on to Strasbourg, a sophisticated French cultural hub with German influences, whose medieval city center has been classified as a World Heritage site; and concludes in Reims, home of the great Champagne houses and one of Europe’s most awe-inspiring cathedrals. We’ll be pampered in superior accommodations in three highly-rated hotels, savor gourmet meals and wine- and Champagne-tastings, take part in a private cooking class with a prominent French chef, enjoy a drive along the romantic Route de Vin, with its storybook villages, and visit Andre Le Notre’s incomparable formal gardens at Vaux-le-Vicomte.
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CÉLIA RIBEIRO
Portuguese-born Célia Ribeiro graduated with a degree in Tourism Science from the University of Lisbon. Fluent in English, French, and Italian, she has been leading tours throughout her own country, as well as elsewhere in Europe, since 1990. Specializing in Portuguese and European art—and, in her own words, 'deeply in love' with her profession—Celia joined the COOPERSMITH'S team for the 2006 tour season, and was acclaimed, and adored, by everyone.
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