Trip Advice for an English Garden Themed Trip

The drive from Bath to East Grinstead gives a few options, ignore the one that goes on the M4 and choose the one that goes via Warminster on the A36, A303 and M3, it is a bit more scenic at the beginning, and goes past Stonehenge.

If you're looking for somewhere to stop half way the Coach and Horses in Sutton Scotney is pleasant, and we call in there when we make a similar journey to Sussex from Somerset.

To visit Iford, we normally get the train to Bradford on Avon, and walk. Bradford is simple to get to on the train from Bath, and the circular hike below is pleasant. Bradford is very pretty and has loads of nice tea rooms and restaurants, the Bunch of Grapes does brilliant food.
https://theoutdoorguide.co.uk/walking-routes/walks-by-region/south-west-england/walks-in-wiltshire/two-valleys-wiltshire/

Wells is also very near Bath, the Bishops Palace has pretty grounds, and Wells itself is very underrated and worth a visit. As well as the Cathedral, aforementioned Bishops Palace, it has Europe's oldest continuously occupied street. No train to Wells but you can drive or get the bus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicars%27_Close,_Wells

Consider also Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens in London although I'm guessing you may have seen these before.

Enjoy your trip it sounds wonderful!

In London, there’s the Garden Museum, at what used to be a church. Besides the exhibits both inside and outside, the cafe is really nice for lunch. The onsite bread and pastry chef there was particularly talented, and the museum was a worthwhile stop two years ago.

The Garden Museum is right next to Lambeth Palace and Lambeth Bridge, almost across from the Houses of Parliament. It couldn’t be more central.

I have also only ever walked to Iford from Bradford on Avon which is a lovely walk if you have time and you’re fit enough. It’s a very short train ride from Bath.

If you are down in Bruton and you don’t mind spending a lot of money then the Newt Gardens are absolutely worth visiting. This is a full day out and then some but entry is only via an expensive annual membership. The garden at Hauser and Wirth is beautiful but won’t take that long to see.

You’ll be fine driving! It’s worth it to see all these places that not very accessible otherwise.

Bath to East Grinstead is quite a long drive. I go that way often because my brother lives in that area and I live in Bristol. I would stick to the motorway to be quite honest and just get there. Going another a route will take longer and you’ll pass through a lot of towns requiring you to be very vigilant about speed cameras, roundabouts and all the rest. Motorway driving is easier. The M25 is pretty always busy but you just have to sit it out.

The Hauser & Wirth garden at Bruton can be reached by direct trains from Bath (very other hour) plus a short walk - best to go through a gate to get off the road. (These trains continue to Weymouth on the south coast).

The garden at Dyrham Park (NT) - as short drive N of Bath on the A46 - is well worth seeing.

I take it you’ve visited Kew gardens in London, since you don’t mention it . Also research the barbican conservatory.

Lots of good points above.

I would book the Bath train in advance - apart from any costs savings, booking a seat is recommended as the train can get quite full.

We drive an automatic car at home, so we always rent one when travelling as it's one less thing to think about.
You should alllow at least 1.5 hours for the drive to LHR, possibly longer, as part of the route (M25) is notorious for holdups.

The Garden Centre by the entrance to Lambeth Palace is in a deconsecrated church (St Mary's) and houses the tomb of John Tradescant and his son, 17th century gardening pioneers. It is quite small, but very pleasant.

The center court at the Garden Museum, viewable from tables in the cafe, also unexpectedly has the tomb of Admiral Bligh, formerly Captain Bligh, of “Mutiny on the Bounty” fame. Attractive plants in the courtyard.

https://www.opengardens.co.uk/open_gardens.php?id=1415

This is something else to consider. For Open Gardens people in a neighbourhood come together to open up their private gardens for visitors. Some serve tea and cakes as well. There is an event in South Bristol on the same weekend and you can browse the site to see if you’re near any others. It’s really interesting and if you love gardening it’s a great chance to talk to other people who also love gardening. It’s very inspiring because these are real people’s gardens.

Driving in the UK is really not that difficult. I've been doing it off and on when I travel there, and I've never had any real problems.

The key things to remember are to obviously keep left (duh). 😊 But seriously, it's easy to forget. Sometimes I'll forget at the very beginning and start to pull out on the wrong side, but then I'll remember and I won't have any problems after that. I've heard of some people that put a sticker or tape on the steering wheel and write "keep left"on it, so that might help if you are worried about it.

The other thing you want to be aware of is the roundabouts. There are a lot of roundabouts in the UK, some with multiple lanes. It's going to seem a little weird because you're going left into the roundabout as opposed to right like we do in the States. Keep your GPS handy, and hopefully your car will have CarPlay or something similar so that you can watch your car as it goes into the roundabout. If you get in the roundabout and are confused, just keep driving around in the circle until you figure it out. That has happened to me a couple of times; usually in the multiple 3+ lane roundabouts. The single lane roundabouts are no problem as long as you can remember to keep to the left.

But really, after the first few minutes it will seem very natural. In fact, usually when I come back to the States, I have to do the whole thing in reverse and remember to drive on the right.

Also, make sure you keep to the speed limit. The UK uses a number of ways to track speed , including average speed cameras. These cameras monitor a stretch of road, recording a vehicle's number plate at two points to calculate the average speed. If the time taken is too short, an offence is recorded. So it pays to be careful about that.

Also, just in case you did get a ticket, it will usually come after your trip. The government will send it to the owner of the car, which would be the rental agency, and they will in turn forward it to you. They will also notify the government of your address so that you can receive an official summons. However, you will be charged a fee by the rental agency, so you might want to check that in your paperwork to see how much that fee is, just in case.

I received a ticket two years ago for driving in a bus lane (It was raining at the time and I didn't see the sign) and had to pay £40 to the rental agency for the privilege of receiving the ticket from them. However, I lucked out. The amount of the fine that I would have owed the UK was low enough that I guess they didn't consider it worth it to send me the official summons. 😊

Have you thought about Hever Castle Gardens from East Grinstead?

This sounds like a lovely trip. If you're looking for other gardens to visit in Sussex, I would also suggest West Dean Gardens: https://www.westdean.ac.uk/gardens

It's also very close to the Weald and Downland Living Museum which is a wonderful open-air museum with historic buildings.

Thank you all for the thoughtful recommendations, really appreciate it. There are so many beautiful gardens in England, it's hard to pick some and leave out others. We just keep a running list for future trips. Hever Castle is definitely on the list of possible places to visit as time allows. On past trips, we have found it helpful to keep the itinerary a little bit loose to allow for last minute substitutions and adjusting plans based on the weather forecast. We have visited the Garden Museum in London twice, and wholeheartedly agree with your recommendation.
I think we prefer the slower more scenic drives, after all we are on holiday. We are now thinking that Chawton might be a nice
stopping point on our way to East Grinstead and would allow us to see the Jane Austen House. If anyone has visited it, would it take more than an 60-90 minutes to see the exhibits there?
And lastly, I'm thinking we may need to leave Graveye Manor by 9am to allow plenty of time for traffic and returning of the rental car.

Jane Austen's house is not very big, I would say 90 minutes is definitely more than sufficient.

The garden at Monk's House, Virginia and Leonard Woolf's home in Rodmell, near Lewes, in East Sussex is worth seeing. It's a nice pairing if you're going to Charleston, Vanessa Bell's home. Both have lovely gardens.

I recommend a visit to Clifton Nursery. It was suggested after a Little Venice London Walk. It’s the oldest nursery in London and just beautiful. It’s not far from Regents Park. I strolled around visited the gift shop and cafe. It’s very easy to miss - just a green awning between two townhouses. Then it opens up to this lovely secret garden sanctuary.

When visiting Chawton, try to visit on a day when Jane Austen's house and Chawton House (her brother's/the Knight's estate) are both open. Even if Chawton House isn't open, you can walk to the graveyard and chapel; however, might as well go when the house itself is open. I agree with the comment that the Austen House is about a 90-minute visit.

Iford Manor was the filming location of the Willingden bridge in the TV series Sanditon, and Dyrham Park stood in for the exterior of Sanditon House, Lady Denham's estate.

@Stacie - thank you for the suggestion of Clifton Nursery - adding to our itinerary!

As I mentioned in my earlier post, We drive an automatic car at home, so we always rent one when travelling as it's one less thing to think about.
You should alllow at least 1.5 hours for the drive to LHR, possibly longer, as part of the route (M25) is notorious for holdups.
Then there's the time to return the car and check in - do you have to do that 3 hours in advance?
I'd be leaving the hotel earlier.

@Lin Our flight departs LHR to the US at 2:30pm, so yes I'd say we need to be at the airport 3 hours ahead (11:30am). Leaving East Grinstead at 9am would allow us 2-1/2 hrs to drive to LHR and return the rental car and get into the terminal. Would you estimate that is ample time, or should we be leaving East Grinstead at 8am? Your advice is greatly appreciated, thank you!

as far as the driving part of the question, you may use the M23 - which goes past Gatwick airport - and the southwest part of the M25.

It will be a Saturday so less concern about rush hour, but both the M23 and the southwest quadrant of the M25 are notorious for accidents and incidents. If everything is clear as a whistle, maybe an hour to an hour and a half. If anything goes skew whiff you add up to another hour.

Particularly difficult can be around Junction 9 for Leatherhead and Junction 10 for the A3.

You don't know how long returning the car will take (be sure you have taken photos) or any delays getting in on the shuttle.

If I were in your shoes I'd probably leave earlier than later. And be prepared for a late breakfast at the airport if all is smooth as glass...

I assume you have rejected coming two weeks earlier for the (admittedly JAMMED) Chelsea Flower Show?

@Tim - We attended the Chelsea Flower Show a few years ago. It's a wonderful event, but we decided to explore more of Somerset and Sussex this go around.