Nottingham 2025

Our 5 day summer trip this year took place between the 9th and 13th June, and 40 travellers boarded the coach at Llantwit train station car park and headed off for what they hoped would be a relaxing holiday!! Of course, most people know by now that it would be more of an endurance test than a holiday!

We had a few last minute cancellations, and a few regulars who couldn`t make this trip, and we missed all of them. However, we had 5 new faces this year who were all very welcome. At this point, we must say a huge thankyou to Barbara, who couldn`t make the trip, but who made 4 tins of delicious welsh cakes for us to take. They were very much appreciated by all.

Our first stop was at Webbs of Wychbold, a garden centre which boasts a huge range of products and facilities, and a 5 acre riverside garden which was free to wander around. Refreshments were available and after a couple of hours we set off again and headed to our hotel .  Warners Thoresby Hall is a grade 1 listed, impressive stately house with views over Robin Hood`s famous Sherwood Forest.  After settling in to our deluxe rooms, we headed down to the restaurant for a 3 course dinner and evening entertainment.

The morning of Tuesday, 10th June, was free to explore the hotel and all its facilities, including a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, and spa/beauty treatment rooms. Alternatively, a stroll around Thoresby Park was on offer, where there were some lovely little independent shops situated in the courtyard, selling beautiful gifts and plants. In the afternoon, we visited Felley Priory, one of Nottingham`s best kept secrets, with a tranquil 2.5 acre garden and a wonderful nursery selling  rare and unusual plants as well as cottage garden favourites. Many plants found their way onto the coach for the journey back to the hotel.

Wednesday saw us visiting 2 independent nurseries with gardens that show how the plants they sold can be used in our own gardens. The first was Norwell Nurseries owned by Andrew and Helen Ward, who made us feel  very welcome and provided us with tea, coffee and home-made cakes. Andrew gave us a tour of the garden and his enthusiasm, knowledge and passion knew no bounds! He told us the story of how the garden was created, how areas were changed to accommodate certain plants that weren`t thriving, and gave us many ingenious ideas and tips to take away and try out for ourselves. Even more plants headed off to the coach at the end of the visit!

We then visited Morton Nursery a short distance away, a traditional working nursery covering 3 acres with a beautiful display garden. Again we were made very welcome by the owner Gill who has run the nursery for 54 years, and we were given a tour of the garden and provided with more tea, coffee and a selection of delicious cakes! As if we needed more plants, there seemed to be quite a few more on the coach by the time we left for the hotel, much to the amusement of Dave, our long-suffering, wonderful coach driver.

On Thursday morning, we made our way to Hardwick Hall, an Elizabethan house filled with rich furnishings and tapestries. `Bess of Hardwick` built the house and developed the surrounding estate in the 1500s. Her descendants, the Dukes of Devonshire, lavished their attention and money on nearby Chatsworth. Their success preserved Hardwick and their interests elsewhere saved it from significant alteration. It is a beautiful building, with gardens consisting of orchards, mixed borders and a herb garden.

In the afternoon, we went to Clumber Park, a beautiful expanse of parkland, heath and woods. Once the country estate of the Dukes of Newcastle, the house was taken down in 1938 but there are glimpses of its grand past to explore. The walled kitchen garden spans 4 acres and boasts the longest glasshouse in the National Trust, which is home to 2 national collections of rhubarb and apples. The entrance to Clumber Park has a double avenue of 1,296 lime trees stretching for 3 miles, and it is still the longest in Europe.

After our last delicious breakfast at Thoresby Hall on Friday morning, we checked out ready to start our journey home. Dave did a magnificent job of packing the compartments with all our suitcases and a ridiculous number of beautiful plants! Halfway home we stopped at Hanbury Hall in Worcestershire, a William and Mary style country retreat, set in 400 acres of parkland, hosting an extensive collection of ceramics and amazing, original wall paintings. The original formal gardens have been faithfully restored and complement the relaxed later gardens with orchards, an orangery and walled garden. 

We arrived back in Llantwit at 6pm and it took quite a while for the coach to be unloaded and the plants reunited with their new owners! Thankyou to everyone who came on the trip and we hope it was enjoyable, even if it probably was rather tiring! A huge thankyou to Pencoed Travel and in particular to Dave, our kind, helpful driver who looks after us all.