Country Houses and Gardens on foot

Walks with time to make visits

Country Houses & Gardens on foot is a ‘Walk & Touring’ style Foot Trail – the itinerary is created to enable you to have time to visit and explore some of the great houses & gardens of the West Country (South West England) whilst enjoying walks and unhurried time in the countryside. The trail is multi-centred too, staying 3 or 4 nights in each location to give you both a sense of holiday / vacation and touring.

Every trip is customisable to you. Choose rest days and sightseeing days but importantly also a choice of walking lengths and distances. You will liaise with our expert trip planning team to create a trail that’s right for you.

Trail Highlights include:

* Walk down sweeping drives to admire views of some of the South West’s greatest houses, including Stourhead in Wiltshire and Montacute in Somerset
* Experience the fashions, trends and stories of different periods of English history including Elizabethan, Georgian and the Arts and Crafts movement
* Smell the heady scent of beautiful flowers, roses, red campion and lavender
* Enjoy some pretty spectacular trees! Willows, oak and lime
* Take tea – with teapot and shortbread in a wonderful English setting
* Explore former kitchens, banqueting halls, kitchen gardens and topiaries
* Walk on trails through picturesque rural English countryside and villages
* Admire ponds, fountains, water features and water lilies

Ask us for a detailed example itinerary with photographs to learn more. Simply fill out the form to your right and press send.

Getting to the trail

The trail starts to the west of Salisbury in Wiltshire.

The nearest train station for arrivals is at Tisbury, Wiltshire. Travel is approximately 100 minutes from London Waterloo. The journey time by car, about 2 hours from London.

The suggested international airport is London Heathrow which offers an easy transfer, around two hours to the start of the trail. There is also a regional airport at Southampton.

Airport cars often make the most convenient transfer and we can arrange this for you.

About the accommodations

Where you stay is a key part of your Foot Trail & experience. One of the reasons guests choose Foot Trails is for our choice and quality of accommodation.

The country inns and country pubs where you stay are small, personal and friendly with excellent hospitality. Each one is in an English village with comfortable bedrooms and delicious local food and drinks to enjoy with dinner after your walk.

Alison, Foot Trails founder, chooses each inn personally. Centuries old, each building provides a relaxing and authentic setting in which you can kick off your boots and eat dinner at the end of an inspiring day on the trail.

On the Country Houses & Gardens on foot trail you will enjoy a different country inn every three or four days (depending on your itinerary), giving you the opportunity to explore and tour the region before moving on. With the featured 9 night itinerary you would stay in 3 different country inns.

On this particular trail you can enjoy an ancient inn which has been established since Medieval times, an 18th century thatched pub in a village with flagstone floors and a riverside inn & restaurant where bedrooms gaze out on the river & church, once a dye house it has much character and charm.

You will receive full details and website addresses of our suggested accommodation with your itinerary when we confirm availability of your trip.

Prices & availability

This tour is available year round for 6 night or 9 nights.

Your holiday will be planned for you to your dates and for how long you wish to stay. There are no fixed scheduled dates. We strongly advise booking in advance as places each month are limited.

Example budgeting prices:

As a budgeting guide

From £795 per person* for 6 nights
From £1325 per person* for 9 nights

Included:

• Foot Trails expertise, knowledge and Trail Consultant services to plan your Foot Trail, custom made to suit you and the English season.
• Tailored and crafted Walk and Explore Box containing everything you need
• Local Ordnance Survey™ map exerts (waterproof)
• Trail guide cards (waterproof one for each day with easy to follow word instructions)
• Local stories and histories
• Recommended lunchtime stops at country pubs and cafes
• Nature cards for identifying wild flowers, trees and animals
• Seasonal nature guide book
• Sweets (for a boost on route)
• En-suite accommodation in a classic en-suite bedroom (superior upgrades available)
• Breakfasts
• Transport drop off service to the start of your trail when it makes a better walk with our trusted drivers.
• Help and support before your trip

How to book?

Contact us with your preferred dates and we will look after the rest. You can call us on +44 (0) 1747 820626 or use the form to your right to send a message or request an itinerary. We strongly advise booking in advance as places on our tours are limited each month.

We will provide you with a full detailed itinerary and price quote before you book.

From our guests

Foot Trails are featured in respected travel publications from around the globe, including National Geographic Traveller, The Los Angeles Times and Lonely Planet.

Read our reviews on Trip Advisor

“My wife and I found The Foot Trails website and sent an email inquiry to them. We
received an immediate and thorough answer and we were pleased with this company
from that point on. They were able to customize a very specific tour for our vacation in the Cotswolds. They made all our arrangements and provided everything we needed to make our stay fantastic. If you want to take a walking tour in England you should contact Foot Trails.”
Mark, USA

“We’ve used Foot trails 4 times now & would book with them again. Great
organisation which makes the holiday even more relaxing knowing all the planning
& research has been done for you. Foot trails is a company where you can just pick
your destination & that’s all you have to do. They have a standard & stick to it, keep up the good work!”
Fleur & friends, UK

“We picked Foot Trails because we could walk by ourselves, not in a group (no
marches for me!), with guided directions and without backpacking. Foot Trails
delivered exactly what they promised! I also like the company’s eco-consciousness;
our planet-friendly directions survived four days of rain and were less soggy than we were! Definitely hope to do this again in the future!”
Virginia,USA

How do I find my way?

Trails are devised using our local knowledge and rigorously tested and checked. Find your way using either the easy to follow trail cards if you prefer not to map read, or the local Ordnance survey maps provided. Or a combination of both.

Where will I be walking?

Your walks are on public rights of way and a mixture of paths, tracks and trails through woodland, on farm land, village country lanes and countryside. Most walking is away from roads. Everything you need will be provided in your walk and explore pack.

For a more fully detailed example itinerary for this holiday, simply pop your details in the form to the right.