This is for June next year, I'm looking for a nice rose garden or estate garden in the East Midlands, within a 45 minute drive of Kibworth.
Another question: We are trying to get from East Midlands UK to Granville Normandy. It looks like the easiest way is flying from Luton or Heathrow to Jersey then taking the ferry to France from there. Just want to make sure I am not missing something. Return would be ferry to Jersey then fly to Dublin.
I've bought five ferry tickets between Normandy, the Channel Islands and Southern England--all for travel between late May and September. Two of those ferries were canceled. I'd recommend a transportation option that doesn't involve a ferry unless your itinerary is flexible. On the other hand, if you want to spend some time on Jersey, which is very nice, it might be worth the risk of a multi-mode trip including a ferry.
I'm not knowledgeable about alternative transportation options, but some other posters should be able to make suggestions. It would probably help them to know your specific starting point, however.
There are now new companies on the Channel Islands route with different ferries apart from the catamarans formerly run by Condor. The conventional ships will be more resilient than the cats, which had legal wave height limitations
DFDS, not Condor, are now running the St Malo to Jersey route.
The flights are equally prone to delays, sometimes due to storms, sometimes for the opposite reason of poor visibility.
Manche Iles Express run the ferries to Granville with catamarans. Unlike Condor you hear very little about them and their reliability.
For Granville I wonder about flying into Rennes with easy jet from London Gatwick or Manchester.
Rose gardens as such are rather out of fashion, but most major gardens will have lots of roses in June. Try greatBritishgardens.co.uk and search for your are, or just google rose gardens near Kibworth.
If you can stretch out to an hour, Belvoir Castle has a good rose garden, as well as other types of gardens. It is possible to just book the gardens without the house if you wish. Stop in one direction in Melton Mowbray.
I like the Belvoir Castle idea since just the gardens could be added to a day trip to Lincoln Cathedral. The gardens plus the castle is probably a whole day in itself. Usually overdone, opulent interiors like this castle has turn me off.
The trip idea is just adding days in Kibworth and days in Granville visiting friends to a longer Ireland trip. If the itinerary included London or Paris it would be more straightforward. Basic plan is flying Aer Lingus MSP>>DUB>>BHX first day, return home DUB>> MSP, then figure out the Normandy stuff separately. I looked at Rennes but that likely means renting a car, which isn’t out of the question. There are only a couple trains/day, or a long bus ride. The shorter ferry ride was more appealing.
Not sure what the schedule comment means. Does easyJet not publish all routes 11 months in advance?
It's about 55 minutes drive, but there is Easton Walled Garden which could eassily be done on the way to Lincoln Cathedral.
It has some roses (click through the other images) as well as a range of other flowers and particularly sweet peas. It is open 10-4 but closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. It gets consistently good reviews on Trip Advisor and has a cafe
Thanks, I like the Easton gardens idea also.
I’ve driven down the A1 past these gardens and the castle but had no time to stop anywhere.
It appears from a map that Jersey to Granville is a short ferry trip and fairly protected from waves. I guess it isn’t that protected.
EasyJet don’t release their schedule that far in advance and there are often changes. The exact day of release is not the same each year. Best to follow them on social media or get an account then they will email.
It’s a big day because you usually get the best fares by booking as soon as possible so many people are waiting for the release date.
I like the Easton gardens idea
The Gardens aren't on the typical tourist itinerary and aren't that well known outside the local area. They have been lovingly restored over the last 20 years and are worth visiting.
Sailings from St Malo are daily, but the ship is based there so they are normally around 6am to 8am, with a few extra afternoon sailings.
The trains from Paris to Granville are reasonably frequent as are the Rennes to Caen trains.
The issue is that few of the trains from Paris stop at the junction station of Folligny. Looking at paper schedules the way to do the journey by train would be round 3 sides of a square- Rennes to Le Mans, a Caen bound train as far as Surdon or Argentan train, then change for Granville.
Lengthy and counter intuitive but that is the way to do it.
If you rent a car Granville to St Malo is about a 90 minute drive. Because the sailings are so early I would advise doing that the previous night and turning the car in then.
Google maps shows that Europcar, Avis and Sixt are in St Malo.
There are two trains a day from Granville to St Malo changing at Dol and another changing to a bus at Pontorson (which seems to be the bus from Mont St Michel).
There is also a ferry with Brittany ferries from St Malo to Portsmouth, for flights on Aer Lingus from Southampton to Dublin, as another option.
Much closer to Kibworth (a small town in rural Leicestershire north of Market Harborough - Kibworth's main claim to fame is Dave Crouch and Crouch Recovery, a huge family owned heavy vehicle towing and rescue company with huge bright orange tow trucks/wreckers) is Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens.
From their description of the Gardens:
"The Gardens at Kelmarsh Hall are designated by English Heritage (Historic England) as Grade II*, a garden of national significance.
The gardens surrounding the Hall are known for their relaxed charm and ‘haphazard luxuriance’.
The Gardens are open to for visitors to enjoy during our seasonal opening from April – October 2025.
All areas of the Historic gardens are open for exploring, including our wonderful Walled Garden, Long and Double Borders, Sunken Garden,
Philadelphus Garden and Fan Rose Garden.
We also open up our Lakeside, Wilderness and Woodland Walks when available.
In the Woodland, our Fairy Walk can also be found!"
https://kelmarsh.com/the-gardens/
Less than a 20 minute drive from Kibworth going through the nice canalside market town of Market Harborough to Kelmarsh.
Very tasty cakes and meals, very nice gardens, particularly helpful staff with disabled visitors. Pretty nice roses too.
Thanks Nigel, I love interesting stuff w/o the tour buses and queues like your recommendation. There's no question that England does country estates and gardens better than anyone.
Perhaps quibbling with this statement, "Kibworth's main claim to fame is Dave Crouch and Crouch Recovery."
Don't forget about Michael Wood's Story of England.
I’ve had an email from EasyJet today. Booking up to September 2026 opens on July 22nd.
Looking at a modification, and return to the original idea, splitting up with different but parallel itineraries. A little less sloppy.
Using Virgin Atlantic points instead of Avios eastbound, flying together nonstop to Paris on Air France, separating and wife training to Granville, with me not leaving CDG and connecting to BHX. A non-Schengen to non-Schengen CDG connection.
After East Midlands visit, I fly to Jersey for 3 nights, hope at least one of those days there is ferry service Granville to Jersey for a reunification, then together fly to Dublin to meet friends and see Ireland. Flying home from Dublin using Avios on Aer Lingus.
Follow up:
Plans ultimately changed, France dropped entirely. Flying to Dublin (7-1/2 hours on a single aisle A321, give me strength), then flying to BHX/Birmingham, then flying home from Heathrow on a Wednesday. Intention was to see Windsor Castle the day before but it’s closed Tuesdays.
So now seeing Windsor Castle Monday and have an empty Tuesday. Where can I go that day, day tripping from Windsor with car?
Not interested in or already seen:
Oxford
Stonehenge
Hampton Court
Anything London
Legoland
Possibilities:
Just walk around Windsor town
Blenheim Palace
Bath
Salisbury
Runnymede and Magna Carta site (seems thin)
Other suggestions?
Also, how is this for a gift for our British hosts?
It's local, it's new. Although a little weird to have a cookbook with many things not locally available to buy. Or a cutting board shaped like the state of Minnesota, that's another option.
Of the ones you've listed, I would go to Blenheim Palace. If you need some additional suggestions I would look south towards Hampshire- so Winchester and/or the New Forest.
It's true there's not much around Runnymede but walking along the Thames is nice.
I'd agree that of the places listed, I'd go for Blenheim and also that you might want to look at going into Hampshire. Another possibility could be the Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth. Or, if you went north you could get to Bletchley Park. Windosr is pretty well located, it depends on what interests you.
Referring to the original question about gardens, there are also gardens within Windsor Great Park to explore- https://www.windsorgreatpark.co.uk/explore/the-gardens/
I know little or nothing about indigenous American cooking, but our supermarkets in the UK are well stocked with ingredients from around the world.
I would be pretty confident that you could make a good stab at such recipes in the UK, even in very provincial towns like mine.
I don't know about Minnesota but in WA the question of indigenous Americans is one which permeates my travel plans- it's an underlying and not especially hidden theme.
It's also deep in the psyche of my Church in WA- one that certainly interests me. I would find such a book intruiging. But then I'm not your hosts!!
How well do you know your hosts?
If you know they have an interest in food or indigenous American culture it seems appropriate, but if not it risks sitting on a shelf gathering dust. If you do decide to give the book it would be helpful if you also provide a set of baking cups. These aren’t that common over here, and having to convert recipes from cups to weights can be a bit annoying.
Similarly with the cutting board, do your hosts have any connection to Minnesota? If not it might be a bit odd? Everyone is different but if I received one I would offer profuse thanks and then wonder what on earth I was going to do with it. :-)
For gifts for hosts I always tend to stick with things that can be consumed or have a short ‘shelf life’. Is there a local food or drink you could easily carry?
Thanks for the replies. Interesting that no one suggested Salisbury or a second day in Windsor. We can pick up Bletchley Park on the way down.
Normally I bring a bag of wild rice but that isn’t really enough for a multiday stay. If I have time I try to get native harvested because it isn’t blacked from over parching so stays a green color and remains tender. Commercial wild rice is parched to a black color so ends up crunchy, they do that so the kernels don’t fragment in transport but it isn’t an authentic taste. https://www.wikihow.life/Harvest-Wild-Rice
Good idea on the measuring cups. I never have enough cutting boards so I could always use another one. Also the host wife has Canadian relatives and the book covers the whole continent.
Salisbury is a possibility- I think using the Park and Ride may be the best idea if you drove there- https://www.salisburyreds.co.uk/salisbury-park-ride-services
Have you been to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard? - apparently about 90 minutes from Windsor, so not much further than Salisbury.
Someone from Canada (for a one day visit!!) gave me a book about the historical Railroads of Canada and some S'More Fudge (as we knew each other fairly well by then through off forum correspondence) and treated me to a very good breakfast as it was a silly o'clock start. I was deeply touched, as it was utterly unexpected and so generous.
Are your hosts interested in the history of Minnesota (a more general book)?, or is there some state food or drink you could bring them? Looking at Wikipedia I'm not getting much inspiration for things that would actually travel well- except I find the Slovene/Croatian/Scandinavian influences mentioned on Wikipedia interesting and also iron miner's pasties (as in Cornish pasties) (don't know if either is true or not). Maybe the simplest is take them to a meal at their favourite restaurant?
I could tell you what gift from Minnesota would be ideal for me, but that would be very personal and totally irrelevant to your circumstances.
