Coopersmith's Day Seven: Fourth Full Day of Tour - Overbury Court, Lunch Stop in Tewkesbury, Maps for Many, and Whitcombe House

August 21, 2015

Once again, we visited two gardens adjacent to each other, with a bus ride to and from Tewksbury this time for a meal stop in between. At Overbury Court, our group was accompanied around the property by the Head Gardener. He was informative and willingly answered questions at the end of the 30-minute tour.

For more about Overbury Court, see: http://www.overburyestate.co.uk/about-us/history/.

The village church was part of the tour. In this case, the entire village is under the management of the Head Gardener with the aid of his assistants.

After touring Overbury Court, we traveled to Tewksbury for a meal stop. As in other towns, not having any suggestions about where to go and no wi-fi to use for finding recommendations online, we stopped in the first place that looked interesting. We also needed to find restrooms since there were none for our use at Overbury Court. According to the Head Gardener, Jane needed to make an arrangement with the owners for that, and she had not. She also needed to know how to make out the check for the group fee. She asked the Gardener if she should make it out to the charity. Jane was writing checks as we toured. It was all very peculiar, in my experience. Everything seemed to be done on the fly.

I noticed some TripAdvisor recommendations on a bulletin board inside a bar/restaurant near where the bus dropped us off in Tewkesbury and, based on favorable reviews, decided to have lunch there.

Photo: A bland curry dish. Not my favorite.

Photo: Classic Fish and Chips

After lunch, we had a little time to see Tewksbury Abbey on our own.

Then, it was back on the bus to return to the same village we had come from that morning, this time to see the garden of the cousin of the owner of Overbury Court.

We were graciously welcomed for tea, even though our group had arrived a half-hour earlier than expected. One of the ladies preparing tea apologized for not having everything ready, but we were so early, she said. I felt uncomfortable. Apparently, Jane didn't know the schedule of appointments very well.

On the way back to Corse Lawn, I began to wonder who planned this tour and why Jane was chosen to lead it. The pace wasn't "relaxed"; it was lazy, with far too much time allocated to passive activities - bus travel, meal stops, and teas - instead of gardens. And Jane added no value whatsoever, as far as I could see; she demonstrated neither subject matter expertise nor organizational skills. My energy and enthusiasm was drained. I needed a day away from the tour - soon.

This night, I ordered "small plates" in the bistro. John had appetite for a three-course dinner, which I was glad to learn could be served in the bistro as well as the dining room.