This is the original Itinerary from 2021.

Although the dates and properties are correct, the order of properties visited on each day were changed.

Day 1 – Monday 11 April 2022
We depart by coach from York for Devon, stopping en route for lunch (not included). On arrival at our hotel a welcome drink followed by dinner is served in the evening.

Day 2 - Tuesday 12 April 2022 
We visit Saltram House, which overlooks the River Plym in a rolling landscape park. Saltram was home to the Parker family from 1743, when an earlier mansion was remodelled to reflect the family’s increasingly prominent position. It's magnificently decorated, with original contents including Chinese wallpapers and an exceptional collection of paintings (several by Sir Joshua Reynolds). It also has a superb country house library and Robert Adam’s Neo-classical Saloon. The garden is mostly 19th century, with a working 18th-century orangery and follies, beautiful shrubberies and imposing specimen trees providing year-round interest.

We continue to Coleton Fishacre, the holiday home of the D'Oyly Carte family. The magical 30 acre garden gives enticing glimpses out to sea, paths weave through glades past tranquil ponds, and tender plants from the Mediterranean, South Africa and New Zealand thrive in the moist and sheltered valley. This most evocative of holiday homes, built in the Arts and Crafts style, is imbued with 1920s' elegance. A light, joyful atmosphere fills the rooms and music plays, echoing the family's Gilbert and Sullivan connections.

Day 3 – Wednesday 13 April 2022 
In the morning we visit Cotehele, near Plymouth, a Tudor house with many stories and legends, festooned with tapestries and adorned with textiles, arms and armour, pewter, brass and old oak furniture; a magical experience awaits us where little has changed over the years. Outside, we can explore the formally planted terraces, the Valley Garden, which includes a medieval stewpond and dovecote, and Cotehele Quay, home of the restored Tamar sailing barge Shamrock. Lunch is available here (not included).

In the afternoon we visit the oldest property in our tour, Buckland Abbey, which started life as a peaceful Cistercian monastery in 1278. For over 250 years, the monks who farmed the vast estate lived in the peaceful solitude of the Tavy valley. Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries saw Buckland sold to Sir Roger Grenville, who began to modify the abbey into a house and home, and later it was sold again to privateer Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. In the course of our tour we will therefore walk in the footsteps of monks, sailors and servants, as we journey from a Tudor chamber to a cosy Georgian dining room.

Day 4 – Thursday 14 April 2022 
We depart for a visit to Castle Drogo, which has undergone extensive renovation and has now been restored to its former glory. This dramatic, granite building, towering over the River Teign Gorge, was built by Sir Edwin Lutyens for the millionaire Julius Drewe and combines the grandeur of a medieval fortress with the comforts of the 20th century. Included is a guided tour of the house which tells the story of Drewe’s dream of a family home and his life of achievements, as well as the family’s tragic loss. After our tour there will be time to explore the formal garden, which has a magnificent rhododendron collection, herbaceous borders and a rose garden.

In the afternoon we visit Knightshayes Court - one of the finest examples anywhere of the Gothic Revival country house. The extraordinary “medieval romantic” interiors give an atmospheric insight into grand country living and the celebrated garden features a water lily pool, topiary, specimen trees, rare shrubs, seasonal colour and an impressive Victorian kitchen garden which supplies fresh, organic fruit and vegetables to the property’s restaurant. Lunch is available here (not included).

Day 5 – Friday 15 April 2022

We begin today at Compton Castle, a rare surviving medieval fortress with high curtain walls, towers and a portcullis, set in a landscape of rolling hills and orchards. Compton Castle is a bewitching mixture of romance and history and has been home to the Gilbert family for nearly 600 years, including Sir Humphrey Gilbert - half-brother to Sir Walter Raleigh. We can wander round the medieval kitchen, great hall, solar and sub solar.

In the afternoon we visit Buckfast Abbey. Originally founded as a Benedictine house in 1018, the abbey joined the Cistercian order in 1147, was rebuilt in stone and went on to become wealthy and powerful. When six monks arrived to restore it in 1882 they uncovered the 12th century foundations and rebuilt it in that architectural style. The complex today is unique in being the only English medieval monastery to have been restored and used again for its original purpose. The mosaic floors and altar are particularly impressive.

Day 6 – Saturdayday 16 April 2022 
We depart for home today but before we leave Devon we have time to visit a final NT property at Killerton. The Georgian house displays a magnificent collection of 18th- 20th century costumes in period rooms (originally known as the Paulise de Bush collection) and in the course of our guided tour we will learn of Killerton’s 400 years of history. Afterwards there will be time to explore the gardens where countless trees and shrubs thrive.

We then continue our journey north, arriving back in York in the evening.