Guided Tour of Warwick (+ pub lunch). BOOKING ESSENTIAL

WALK DESCRIPTION: This is a leisurely 6–7-mile linear walk around the town of Warwick, and involves guided tours, a variety of historic sites, parks and gardens, and a late afternoon pub meal. From Warwick station we stroll through Priory Park - a splendid public open space containing some magnificent trees. We then walk down Chapel Street and pass under the town gateway and follow the main street until we reach the Quaker Garden for a brief visit. Shortly afterwards we arrive at Hill Close Gardens, where we will receive refreshments and a guided tour from 11.00 am. These are a series of sixteen hedged pleasure gardens created in 1845, and originally tended by local Victorian townsfolk as a means of escaping crowded town life. Situated beside Warwick racecourse and now grade II listed, the gardens have been lovingly restored and are nationally recognized. After our tour we follow Castle Lane, past the main entrance to the castle and into St. Nicholas Park, where if time permits we will take a loop around the park beside the River Avon before pausing for our lunch break at approximately 1.00 pm. Tea rooms and toilets are available here. After lunch we walk down picturesque Mill Street. At the end of the street is the Mill Garden, a small but perfectly formed half-acre plot on the banks of the Avon, dramatically situated beneath the walls of Warwick Castle. We then retrace our steps until we arrive at the famous medieval timber-framed buildings of the Lord Leycester Hospital, where we will receive our second guided tour. At the rear of the hospital is the 600-year-old Master's Garden which has been respectfully restored. The tour begins at 2.30 pm. and lasts approximately 90 minutes. After our visit we skirt the golf course, passing Saltisford Canal Trust Gardens before reaching the Grand Union canal. A short walk along the canal towpath brings us to the Cape of Good Hope pub where we are booked in at 5.00 pm for our meal. Finally, we follow the canal to Warwick Parkway station for our journey home. Admission to Hill Close Gardens including tour guide, tea/coffee & cake is £12.00 (card payment preferred). Entrance to the Mill Garden is £3.00 (cash only). Admission to the Lord Leycester including guided tour is £11.00 (all prices correct at time of writing). Total fees for the whole day are estimated to be £26.00. (This does not include the cost of your train fare and pub meal).