Spring Tour Recap: Provence & England
We had a very busy spring here at Wingback Travel! In April we led two back-to-back Essence of Provence tours and in May we were off to London for our Gardens of England with the Chelsea Flower Show tour. As always, we feel so lucky to travel with such fun and friendly people. Read on to see where we went and what we did.
The Essence of Provence
Our Essence of Provence shares our favorite places of Provence with travelers: antique markets, charming villages, gardens in bloom, a few historical sights, and the best of Provencal cooking.
Top left: Enjoying first-class train travel from Paris to Provence!
Top right: Laura Leeker (Wingback Travel’s founder and a PhD in Art History) gives a guided walking tour of Arles on the first day of our tour.
Bottom left: enjoying one of many delicious meals under the Provencal sun!
Bottom right: enjoying a little shopping break at Souleiado, a shop specializing in traditional Provencal fabrics
Our second Essence of Provence tour was for a private group of friends. We arranged a special visit with the owner of a private and historic garden for this group.
Left: We shopped til we dropped!
Right: Enjoying a private watercolor class with local artists .
Painting in the shadows of Paul Cezanne! We had so much organizing a private watercolor class with local artists John Springer and Pauline Bétrancourt for this group. Everyone left with a little souvenir of their own interpretation of the Mont St Victoire.
Gardens of England with the Chelsea Flower Show
In May it was off to England to explore the gardens of the Cotswolds! We arranged special visits to England’s “Big Three” gardens, Sissinghurst (early hours), Hidcote (after hours), and Great Dixter. We were also very lucky to have the opportunity to visit Highgrove, the garden of King Charles III as well as several other private properties with the owners themselves. We ended in London and the member-only preview day at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Note: Our Gardens of England with the Chelsea Flower tour will return in May 2028. Bookings for this tour will open in early 2027. Please add your name to our mailing list for early access - this tour always fills up quickly!
The fourth-generation owner greeted us at Rodmarton Manor, one of the best examples of an Arts & Crafts style house and garden in England.
Top left: One of our lovely guests sporting a very nice bag (wink, wink) on a private visit to Sissinghurst before the public opening.
Top right: The owner of a garden showing us around her family’s lovely estate.
Bottom left: It is always a pleasure to explore Sezincote with Head Gardener Greg.
Bottom right: All of our garden tours in England are led by the owners themselves, by head gardeners, or by other local experts.
Ross Harper (left) and Wingback Travel’s founder, Laura Leeker (right).
Thank you to all of our guests who traveled with us this spring!
We feel incredibly lucky and grateful to share our journeys with such fun and friendly travelers. We are often asked how we do this, keeping everyone happy (and on time!) for our week-long trips. The truth is that whether we know our guests beforehand or not, we always feel like we are traveling with friends and it is a pleasure to share these special places with our guests. If you have not joined us on a trip yet, we would absolutely love to welcome you in the future.
Until next time,
Laura