Cross from Newhaven at 08.30 arriving in Dieppe, France at 13.45, then drive just 20 minutes to our first garden visit at Jardin Shamrock, a fabulous garden renowned for its hydrangeas. Stay for three nights in a beautiful chateau hotel. There will be a welcome dinner this evening.

Visit the rose gardens and park of the Chateau of Mesnil Geoffroy, which has over 2,500 rose bushes (1,100 different varieties) surrounding the elegant 18th-century chateau.

Continue on to Chateau de Miromesnil and its garden and chateau. In 1850 Guy de Maupassant, the famed French writer, was born here and the Chateau contains much of his memorabilia.

Drive along the coast visit Le Vasterival at St Marguerite sur Mer in the morning. This is known as one of the best gardens in the country. Protected by the lie of the land, the garden benefits from a micro-climate which has allowed one of the finest plant collections in France to be put together.

Return to the hotel for dinner.

It is a scenic drive to Jardin de Valerianes before a light lunch (not included) at a nearby cafe to Jardins Agapanthe, our next visit.

Monsieur Alexandre Thomas trained as a landscape designer and has created this unusual garden in just over an acre. Topiary is everywhere. It is easy to get lost in this paradise. White, violet, blue and green are his preferred colours. He adores agapanthus – hence the garden’s name.

Return to the hotel for dinner.

There is an optional visit to the fabulous gardens at Etretat.

Meander your way through the Normandy countryside, to the pretty harbour town of Honfleur – a great place for a wander and lunch.

This is now the Calvados liqueur region. Calvados liqueur is made from apples and is produced by many farms in the area and it is possible to visit a number of places to see production and taste and buy the finished product.

Travel west to Bayeux and stay for two nights in a beautiful villa hotel in Arromanche, right on the coast and at the D-Day beaches.

Enjoy a battlefields tour of the Normandy beaches, starting at Pointe du Hoc. There are excellent museums with informative guides for a day of discovery and interest.

Then progress to Omaha Beach, which was the famous ‘dog’ beach scene of the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’.

Finally, visit the famed Pegasus Bridge, where there was a glider assault to seize the key crossing sites. There is also a good museum here.

We shall have a final dinner this evening.

Spend the morning in Bayeux . Or perhaps visit one of the newest gardens in Normandy, the Jardins Albizia, to the south of Bayeux. These gardens offer a superb variety of botanical wealth, including France’s largest collection of clematis.

Take the afternoon ferry, departing from Caen at 16.30 and arriving in Portsmouth at 21.30. Depart for home.