Comments or questions? Post on our Slow Europe Facebook Page.
Highgrove House and the Duchy Home Farm
HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) is also the Duke of Cornwall and owns the Duchy of Cornwall, a private estate of over 54,000 hectares spread across 23 counties, mostly in the southwest of England. This estate was created in 1337 by Edward III and is passed on to the eldest son of the current Queen/King. The income from this estate funds Prince Charles's public and charitable work.
In 1980 Prince Charles purchased Highgrove House, near Tetbury in the southern Cotswolds, to be his family Home. It is now the home of TRH Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall (Prince Charles and Camilla). He also purchased surrounding farmland and created the Duchy Home Farm, which in 1986 he converted to be an organic farm.
Highgrove House is a few miles south of Tetbury, in the village of Doughton on the A433 road to Bath. From the road you see the large iron gates leading to the house and the tall stone garden walls along the road. Westonbirt Arboretum is a bit further down the road.
Duchy Originals
Duchy Originals are food products made by the Duchy Home farm and sold through the Waitrose supermarket. In the Cotswolds you will find Waitrose in Stroud, Cirencester, Cheltenham and Witney. Their products include jams, cookies, drinks, desserts, hair and body products - most with organic ingredients. website
Highgrove Shop
Highgrove shops in Tetbury and Bath sell lovely things for the home and garden - ceramics made in Stoke-on-Trent, wooden toys, handcrafted garden tools, organic food products, etc. Expensive, but the shops are worth visiting. Tetbury - 10 Long Street, Bath - 38 Milsom Street. You can shop online. website
The Veg Shed
The Veg Shed in Tetbury closed May 2013.
Tour the Royal Garden
It is not easy, but you can tour the Highgrove Gardens. Join an organized group doing a tour or purchase tickets by phone. Tours are run when the Duke and Duchess are not in residence.
The tours are given by enthusiastic volunteers and last about two hours. The group of around 25 people start by viewing a video welcome from Prince Charles, then make their way through the open meadows, woodlands and gardens that surround Highgrove House. After the tour you can have tea in the Orchard Room, where the tour started. There is also a shop there, similar to the Highgrove shop in Tetbury.
A friend of mine in England phoned for tickets as soon as they went on sale early in the year but the first tour date was in August. We did the garden tour and it was well worth the wait. These gardens are exceptional.
During the tour you see most of the gardens and even go into gardens beside the residence. These gardens would be interesting at any time of year. The wildflower meadows are cut in mid-July, around Saint Swithun's day. website
Blog Post: Two Teas and Two Gardens - Our tour of Highgrove Garden.
Books
Prince Charles wrote two books about Highgrove - "Highgrove: Portrait of an Estate" (2002) and "The Garden at Highgrove" (2001). They are available from Amazon in the US and the UK. His latest book "Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World " was published in 2010.
Resources
The Prince of Wales | Duchy of Cornwall
Highgrove Gardens | Highgrove Shop
Duchy Originals - Organic food products available at Waitrose supermarkets.
Duchy of Cornwall Holiday Cottages - Vacation rentals in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, plus two in Wales, owned by Prince Charles (HRH The Prince of Wales).
Articles about Highgrove Garden
The Times, Tour Prince Charles's Highgrove gardens, March 2009 (no longer online)
Telegraph, Highgrove, the Cedar House Rules, March 2008
Slow Travels - Two Teas and Two Gardens - Our tour of Highgrove Garden.
Notes
TRH - Their Royal Highnesses | HRH - His Royal Highness
