Thank you for visiting www.coughtoncourt.co.uk in this special year celebrating 600 years of the Throckmorton family’s residence at Coughton Court. This year we will be hosting a range of special events, including the second Throckmorton Literary Festival, our annual Rose Festival, and workshops in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society. Our new website, to be launched soon, will carry further details of all our events and we very much hope you will join us. In the meantime, for visitor information and opening times, please visit the National Trust website for Coughton Court here.

Coughton Court’s stunning Rose Labyrinth is the focus of attention throughout the 2009 Rose Festival, from Wednesday 24^th June to Sunday 5^th July. For opening times please click here. There is a 10% discount available on all rose purchases from the family’s Plant Sales at Coughton throughout the festival. The highlight of the festival are our After-Hours Garden Tours which take place at 6.00pm on Saturday 27^th and Sunday 28^th June. This provides a rare opportunity to enjoy a guided tour of the gardens from one of our Head Gardeners, and to enjoy the peace and stillness of Coughton in the evenings. Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for children. For further details about the tours and the festival in general, please click here. To book tickets for the garden tours, please use our online booking service or call our ticket line on 01789 762542.

Friday 18^th to Sunday 20^th September 2009 The Throckmorton Literary Festival returns for a second year with another exciting line-up of authors. Among the writers in this year’s programme are the former Director General MI5 – now best-selling novelist – Stella Rimington, historian David Starkey, award-winning journalist Kate Adie, novelist Alison Weir, national treasure John Julius Norwich... and many more. Clare McLaren-Throckmorton, Festival Director says: “Over the years extraordinary people from British history have passed through Coughton Court. Now, in the second year of our literary festival, we are delighted to welcome some of today’s most talented writers. We are thrilled with this year’s programme and hope it will inspire, excite and entertain”. Full details of the programme will be available from Monday 6^th July – and you will be able to book online or by telephone from that date. If you would like to receive details about the festival when they are released, please email ticketsales@throckmortons.co.uk with your name, address details, and telephone number.

Roses are also the theme of our next RHS Garden Event on Saturday 18^th July. Peter Beales, leading rosarian, will be on hand to give tips on cultivating, pruning, and dead-heading roses. He will also give a special guided tour of the roses in the Labyrinth at Coughton. Guests will be treated to a light lunch prepared by Mrs McLaren-Throckmorton’s private chef. Tickets are priced £20 for RHS members (please have your membership number to hand when booking by telephone) and £25 for non-members. You can book online here or by telephone, on 01789 762542. Coughton Court Alcester, Warwickshire, B49 5JA Tel 01789 762542 Fax 01789 764369 Email ticketsales@throckmortons.co.uk