England Birds & Gardens

This unique, double-themed tour combines birding and gardens in a delightful part of the world, southern England, at a very enchanting time of year, in late April. We visit some of the finest gardens in a country where gardening is a way of life - from the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, the renowned World Heritage Site, to the horticultural seat at Wisley, Christopher Lloyd’s Great Dixter, the garden rooms at Sissinghurst as well as Nymans (or equivalent), the Castle gardens at Caerhays, the amazing colours at Compton Acres, the rediscovered gardens of Heligan, and Tresco’s amazing Abbey Garden. We wend our way through the southern coastal counties of England, from Kent through Sussex and Hampshire to Devon and Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly. We blend our garden visits with stops at several productive and rewarding nature reserves, RSPBs and National Parks, from Dungeness in Kent to Arne, Radipole Lake and Portland Bill in Dorset, and Yarner Woods and Dawlish Warren in Devon and Cornwall. We will see a fine cross section of England’s birdlife: Bearded Reedlings and Common Shelduck in wetlands, Gray Wagtails and European Dippers along waterways, Eurasian Hobby over heathland, nesting seabirds at Portland Bill, and Dartford Warbler in furze stands and Woodlark in newly regenerating forest. A very special and exciting tour led by experts in both gardens and birds!

Highlights
• Acclaimed gardens with varied designs and styles in the green rolling English countryside, and excellent birding in the well-established network of nature reserves and national parks that occur across England.
• April is a delightful month to be in England; mild and pleasant, fine evenings. The start of the breeding season for birds, and delightful spring & early summer flowers in gardens.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival
Our Tour begins after dinner in the lobby of our hotel near Heathrow where our leaders will meet the group to discuss the upcoming trip and the next day’s activities.

Day 2: Kew RBG and Wisley RHS
Our first garden visit is to the recently proclaimed World Heritage Site, the RBG at Kew, 300 acres of themed gardens, special collections and wildlife trails. In spring, literally millions of spring bulbs adorn the gardens and woods, including the last burst of displays of bluebells, trees in blossom, wonderful shows of rhododendrons and azaleas, and spring bedding displays. In the Cherry Walk, thousands of scillas planted beneath its trees can be stunning, along with the total of more than 900,000 wild daffodils, crocuses and snake’s head fritillaries planted between the Lilac Garden and the Magnolia Collection. Kew is a major scientific research centre, with ongoing investigation into plant conservation issues worldwide; currently, one of the most exciting sights is a tree, the Wollemi Pine, thought to be extinct for 2 million years but recently discovered alive and well and thriving in Australia. Fewer than 100 of these magnificent trees survive in their secret location in New South Wales, and a propagation programme ensures the survival of the species and lessens the threat to trees in the wild. Wollemi Pine was known from fossil records dating back 90 million years; the discovery has been equated with finding a dinosaur alive today. Our stroll through woodlands and along the well-reeded ponds at Kew should turn up several woodland birds, including Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and waterbirds such as Mandarin Duck, Tufted Duck and such oddities as Egyptian Goose.
In the afternoon, we visit the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden at Wisely. Wisley is reputedly Britain’s best loved garden with 97ha (240 acres) offering a fascinating blend of the beautiful with practical and innovative designs and cultivation techniques. For many, it is the beauty and tranquility of the garden that captures the imagination, with its richly planted borders, rose gardens and the exotica of the glasshouses, but a closer look reveals the real value of Wisley. In the trials fields, the finest flowers and vegetables are identified from the countless new introductions. Elsewhere in the garden, cultivation techniques, such as composting or pleaching, are tried and tested, and a series of model gardens answers the needs of a variety of planting conditions and circumstances. Night in Kent.

Day 3: Dungeness Nature Reserve and Great Dixter
Kent hosts several excellent nature reserves, protecting marshland, rich deciduous woodlands, shallow lakes and ponds. This morning we visit Dungeness, one of the oldest nature reserves in England, established in 1929. Wetland areas support breeding Northern Lapwing, Common Redshank, Yellow Wagtail, and birds of prey such as Eurasian Kestrel and Western Marsh Harrier. Waterfowl include Greylag Goose, the ancestral species for domesticated geese. Reedbeds hold Reed and Sedge Warblers and Common Reed Bunting. Brushy areas echo to the songs of Greater and Lesser Whitethroats, Garden Warbler and Yellowhammer, whilst ponds lure Little Egret, Pied Avocet, Great Crested Grebe and Common Terns. There are several hides here, and from these we should locate Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Common Pochard, Eurasian Curlew, Whimbrel and parties of Barn and Bank Swallows. The area around the lighthouse is a noted area for Black Redstart and Northern Wheatear, and migrants and overshoots from nearby Europe, and we may be lucky enough to locate a few specialties.
In the afternoon, we visit Great Dixter, the family home of the late renowned gardener and author Christopher Lloyd. The garden is planted around the medieval buildings, with the arrangement of colours, forms and texture of the plants so well orchestrated that house and garden appear as a beautiful painting. Bring lots of film - although you may be too entranced to take pictures! Night in Kent.

Day 4: Sissinghurst and Nymans or equivalent
In the morning, we visit the garden at Sissinghurst Castle. The 'garden rooms' style of plantings is one of the most described and emulated in the British Isles. It was the joint creation of poet and writer Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband Harold Nicholson. Their work transformed the ruins of this Elizabethan mansion into a remarkable must-see garden. The White Garden, the Purple Garden, the Rose Garden, the Herb Garden, the Lime Walk, and the Cottage Garden - scent and colours to be personally savoured.
April should see stunning displays of camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas, and Nymans Garden has world famous collections that often show extraordinary displays of colour. Nymans is special for its beautiful, theatrical design, a fine plant collection gathered from around the world, from China to Chile, and an elevated position offering wonderful views over Sussex. Here there are Rose, Rock and Heather gardens, an Arboretum, giant champion trees, and bulb meadows in the Wall Garden full of Narcissus and Fritillary and grassy banks covered in Crocus. Night in Sussex.

Day 5: New Forest
We head through Hampshire to the New Forest, an area of pasture, woodland and heaths and noted particularly for breeding raptors. Our main interest is locating the enigmatic Dartford Warbler, as well as Common Redstart, Woodlark, Firecrest, Red Crossbill and hunting Eurasian Hobby. Night in Dorset.

Day 6: Arne & Compton Acres
This morning we visit the RSPB site at Arne, a fine stand of pines and heathland alongside Poole Harbour, and a very rich area for birds, including Dartford Warbler, Black-tailed Godwit, Tree Pipit, Common Shelduck and Little Egret, and we walk the easy trails through the woodland with its huge population of Sika Deer.
We next visit the gardens at Compton Acres, landscaped to provide magnificent vistas over Poole Harbour. The wooded valleys nurture tender plant species for year round interest, and the landscape includes both Italian and Japanese Gardens. Night in Dorset.

Day 7: Lodmoor, Radipole Lake, Portland Bill and Dawlish Warren
Today we visit the RSPB’s excellent wildlife sites at Lodmoor, Radipole Lake and Portland Bill. Radipole Lake is renowned for its breeding populations of Bearded Reedlings and Cetti’s Warblers, which we will certainly hear, and with luck see clearly. Portland Bill is a peninsula jutting out into the English Channel, and is a prime location for migrants and for passing seabirds; it also has nesting Common Murres, Razorbills, Northern Fulmars and Peregrines. We then drive across Dorset and part of Devon to Dawlish in time for a walk out along Dawlish Warren for shorebirds such as plovers, godwits and whimbrel, perhaps with fly-by Brent Goose and Common Scoter. Night in Devon.

Day 8: Dartmoor
Today we visit the RSPB site at Yarner Woods on Dartmoor, an area of riparian woodland and heathland that supports Lesser and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Stonechat and a good variety of other species including Gray Wagtail, Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher. We also drive onto the heather-covered upland moorland of Dartmoor, where Eurasian Curlew, Common Buzzard, Whinchat and Northern Wheatear nest. Night in Cornwall.

Day 9: Abbey Gardens, Isles of Scilly
Barring adverse weather, we fly by helicopter to the island of Tresco in the Isles of Scilly, to visit the Abbey Garden. Due to its unique geographic location, the Abbey Garden is able to nurture a diversity of plants greater than that of the Southern Mediterranean. Expect to see date-palms, giant, lipstick-red flame trees, Lobster Claws, pelargoniums ... a global horticultural tour encapsulated into just 17 acres.
Alternatively, if we cannot visit Tresco, we will visit Trebah with its ravine setting for glades of tree ferns, hydrangeas and rare species, down to a private beach on the Helford River. Night in Cornwall.

Days 10-11: Lost Gardens of Heligan, Caerhay's Castle Gardens, and the Lizard
Considered to be Europe’s largest garden restoration project, the Lost Gardens of Heligan are fascinating because of their “lost and found” saga. The fact that the product of a team of 100 gardeners of a once great estate could so quickly fall into ruins, but then be rediscovered and restored like a giant garden puzzle, makes for a great garden mystery story. Here you will learn the Victorian way of growing pineapples in an alien habitat! The walks through the woodlands and meadows are pleasant and often filled with birds.
Caerhay's Castle gardens house the national collection of magnolias which we may catch in full bloom still in early May. It is also a showcase of spring bulbs and other ornamental flowering trees and shrubs, as well as parkland and woodland walks. A detour to a fast running stream should net us Eurasian Dipper.
We visit the Lizard, the most southerly peninsula in England, to search for the very few Red-billed Choughs that now nest in England. On our return to London, time permitting, we may drop in to another garden, perhaps Hestercombe House, an 18th century Georgian landscape garden containing ponds, a grand cascade, a gothic alcove, a Tuscan temple arbour, a mausoleum, and a rustic "witch house". A new Edwardian garden was laid out by Gertrude Jeckyll and Edwin Luytens in the early 1900s. We then drive back towards London in the afternoon of Day 11. Day 10; Night in Cornwall; Day 11; Night near Heathrow.

Day 12: Departure
Our tour ends after breakfast in time for catching flights back home.

Featured Birds:
• Pied Avocet
• Eurasian Dipper
• Dartford Warbler
• Pied Flycatcher
• Gray Wagtail
• Cetti's Warbler
• Eurasian Stonechat

Featured Gardens:
• Kew Gardens
• Great Dixter
• Lost Gardens of Heligan
• Compton Acres
• Abbey Garden
• Wisley RHS
• Sissinghurst
 

Tour Dates: April 17 - 28, 2013

Duration: 12 days

Price: TBA

Tour Starts & Ends: London

What To Expect

• Mild, pleasant weather
• Tour price includes all meals, accommodation, entrance fees, and transport while on the tour
• Helicopter flight between Tresco and Penzance
• Easy to moderate walking, short drives, comfortable vehicles; one long drive.
• 6 to 12 participants with two leaders

Driving distances will usually be short, with a couple of longish drives as we travel east – west. Walking will be mostly relatively easy and leisurely, with moderate walks at Yarner Woods, The Lizard and Portland Bill. Comfortable walking shoes will be fine. The weather should be mild and pleasant, but it can be cool and windy, and we can expect rain at some time during the tour so an umbrella or waterproof clothing is recommended. The excellent system of nature reserves in England should ensure a good list of species of birds and other wildlife, and we make good use of them, concentrating on the specialties in each. Our visits to gardens will be relaxed and we should have ample time to appreciate each one.
Each evening, the list of birds and other wildlife will be reviewed, and plans for the next day will be discussed.
 

Previous checklists from our England Birds & Gardens tour:

2010 England Birds and Gardens Tour (pdf)
2007 England Birds and Gardens Tour (pdf)
2005 England Birds and Gardens Tour (pdf)