Gabled and golden, Rodmarton Manor sits on the Cotswold Escarpment on one of two high commons - Rodmarton and Minchinhampton - which are open to grazing animals for six months of the year. Be prepared to wait in traffic while a cow sits in the road! Vintage Arts & Crafts, the manor was built in the early 20th Century for the Biddulph family, whose descendants still own it. Today the garden is closed to the public, however we have secured a private visit and will have the manor and gardens all to ourselves and enjoy a light lunch on the estate.

Next stop is Broadway Tower, a striking folly built on an old beacon point by 18th-century architect James Wyatt at the request of the garden designer Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. Their client was the Earl of Coventry, who used it as a novelty banqueting house, and it was built in the style of a Saxon tower. On a good day you can see sixteen counties from the top, and we will divide into walkers and e-bikers to see some of the landscape.

We continue the day at Snowshill House & Garden, another outstanding example of Arts and Crafts architecture. Its owner Charles Paget Wade had a distinctly theatrical bent and the house is delightfully mad: he felt that its spirit of place was the perfect backdrop to his collection of objets d'art and bibelots, from snuff boxes to books to breastplates. The garden is equally theatrical, with topiary, terraces and never a dull moment!

Check in to the Lygon Arms, located in the heart of the Cotswolds, nestled in the village of Broadway. Steeped in over 600 years of fascinating history, the Lygon Arms has been a host to royalty as well as notable rebellious figures throughout the centuries – a perfect fit for our group!

Evening at leisure.

LYGON ARMS HOTEL (B, L)