We have come to recognise that the casual visits on Sunday afternoons and the coach parties don’t give us much possibility of engagement with interesting and interested visitors.
I thought about the great pleasure of walking the garden with a friend, with time to discuss aspects of the design and planting in the garden, to contemplate successes and failures, plans for the future and what needs changing. (See here) And maybe just having a sit and having a good look. When people come on a busy Sunday it would hardly be possible to do this with any visitor, nor is it possible when people come in a group or coach party. ‘Showing’ a group of people round the garden is not what I have in mind.
So we are offering a bespoke visit for a maximum of two people.
We would offer tea and an afternoon visit to the garden with us.
Then, if you were content with rather basic conditions (open plan, proper toilet, double bed, small kitchen, but no shower) the visitors could stay on site in the Railway Carriage.
Otherwise there are plenty of local hotels and B&B’s where you could stay. You could even go really swish and book self catering in the Chickenshed
Then, the following morning you will have the garden completely to yourselves.
We will need to charge for this: £120 for the garden visiting part, £40 for the stay in the Railway Carriage.
Though if you believe that you have something special to offer us as a visitor you could try bargaining with us.
We wouldn’t expect or want a great number of takers, but we hope this will be a rewarding experience for us and our visitors. What do you think??
Sign me up. I will haggle with home made cake / pork pie. A Friday / Sat / Sun gig would suit very well
I meant Fri / Sat or Sat / Sun
Kathy, you are a friend with special privileges. (Though weekends are out!) Email me? Xxxxx
Six hours with one or both of you for a mere £100 is exceptional value! 🤓 (Well that’s what “an afternoon” is). Seriously, it’s a good idea and I’d certainly be interested. Though I’d raise the haggling stakes from pork pie and cake to a decent wine and Rev. James (and cake of course).
Rev What???
O – beer! Have to say, our afternoon begins at 2pm and ends at 5pm……
Can’t wait to see what kind of response you have to this. My fingers are crossed that it will turn out well.
Much approval on Facebook, which is encouraging. Thank you for your help with it. Xxx
Great idea! I would love to come. Sounds a perfect antidote to the strange world we now inhabit!
That’s encouraging. I think we have to try it and see how it goes!
People seem very enthusiastic about your idea of bespoke visits.Well, we are all different! I hope to visit your garden one day but I would not enjoy the bespoke visit you describe at all. You have described yourself as a shy person. Well, some visitors are shy too. I would find it intimidating to be shown around by you (with your reputation for strong opinions!) however friendly you intend to be. I would feel under pressure to make intelligent and relevant remarks and would probably be struck dumb in such circumstances, or make trivial inappropriate comments, even though I suspect our attitudes to design and garden issues are quite similar. I like to go around a garden without talking and preferably on my own so I can ponder over all the details at my own pace and absorb the atmosphere. Yes, it is nice to visit a garden with a gardening friend but on your bespoke visit we would unavoidably be strangers and I would find the situation awkward and stressful.
Sometimes when I have visited famous gardens the owner or head gardener has been present but I always prefer to avoid engaging them in conversation. I would love a visit to Veddw when the garden was closed to other visitors, or only a limited number of other visitors were present. (Perhaps you could provide a simple plan and brief notes of particular design features and the thinking behind them?) I would be very willing to pay extra for such a privileged access to the garden, but you would not need to be there to accompany me! I suppose I am saying that I would enjoy the second day of your proposed bespoke visit but would prefer to skip the first. Nothing personal intended here – I am just a bit unsociable.
I wish you success with your bespoke visit plans. As you say, you don’t need many takers and it seems as if plenty of people, more extrovert than me, would like to take up the offer.
The clue is in the title – bespoke. We’d be happy for you to visit on your preferred terms, and we already have a plan of the garden. I entirely sympathise with how you feel and do believe the ideal way to experience a garden is either alone or with someone close who shares a perspective. You may be interested in this post – https://thinkingardens.co.uk/articles/go-it-alone-by-rory-stuart/
Thank you for commenting.
kevin and i are in! when and if it’s ever safe for us to get all the way to wales somehow, someday…
Someday!!!!!! XXxxxx