Visit the Upper Adur Valley in West Sussex - dotted with pretty villages and beautiful views. Include a very good hotel carvery meal or opt for free time to do your own thing for lunch in lovely Steyning. In the afternoon we visit one of the most glorious new gardens in England where we round off a memorable day out with tea and home made cake.
Meet our guide at the Old Barn Garden Centre on the A24, south of Horsham, at 10.30am to buy morning coffee. The River Adur, which flows from Henfield to the sea at Shoreham, was once a busy trading route enriching the inland ports of Bramber and Steyning where sea-going ships moored. Enjoy our entertaining and scenic coach tour. From Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tales for children who slam doors, chew string and tell lies to Jonathan Creek’s windmill and how Steyning annoyed William the Norman so much that he invaded England! We also discover an extraordinary and vast country estate left to return to the wild.
For lunch we alight in the moreish little town of Steyning - quaint and full of interesting shops. There are a couple of pubs and tea rooms to buy lunch. In the afternoon we’re off to the Sussex prairies! From a farmhouse in a sleepy country lane a short path through a vegetable garden and a dappled woodland where pigs graze leads to a rather magical place - the unique Sussex Prairie Garden. Huge, dazzling beds are choc full with romantic clouds of boldly coloured perennials and tall plants form great swathes of colour. This joyful kingdom sits in an eight acre grassy field cradled by the rolling South Downs. You look up from inside the bowl, above a ring of mature oaks, to the Iron Age Fort known as the Chanctonbury Ring.
The owners spent 12 years working with the Dutch pioneer of the prairie style and have made their own Prairie Garden on the family farm. After a introduction with one of the owners you can wander through this wonderland. Not only are there no Keep off the Grass signs there are actually little paths encouraging to walk into and through the borders! And, as you might imagine from the name, it’s all on the flat. There’s local art on show in the long cosy barn and tea and delicious home-made cake included in your tour fee. You’ll be ready to head home at 4.45pm.
