SHAKESPEARE'S LAND & THE COTSWOLDS
HEART OF ENGLAND
3 days / 2 nights - Wednesday to Friday

DEPARTURE DATES & PRICES FOR YEAR 2008

Tour Code
Depart London
Return London
HOE
Wednesday
Friday
Guaranteed departures
Every Wednesday from 16 April to 05 November 2008.
Price: £360 pp twin share / £375 single room / £235 child sharing room
What your tour price includes
  • Your accommodation for 2 nights while on the tour is included in your tour price, and this includes both full breakfasts and dinners
  • Your price also includes all entrance fees to attractions, transportation, services of driver/guide-companion and all taxes and tips other than those you may wish to give your guide
  • Airport transfers and accommodation pre and post tour is not included but can be reserved at a specially discounted price.
This tour departs EVERY WEDNESDAY from central London hotels below:
The Chiswick Hotel, Chiswick
The Holiday Inn Forum
The Grosvenor Thistle, Victoria Station
The Corus Hotel, Hyde Park
The Royal National, Bedford Way
08.00 (underground Turnham Green)
08.20 (underground Gloucester Road)
08.30 (underground Victoria Station)
08.35 (underground Lancaster Gate)
08.45 (underground Russell Square)
  • Clients should wait by the concierge desk.
  • We can collect you from your individual hotel if you are not at one above but this attracts a supplementary cost of £15 (per party) for a central London hotel.
  • Return drop-off are to any central London hotel.

TENTATIVE ITINERARY

NIGHTSTOP
Day One - Wednesday
 
We leave London, with our first port of call being the ancient town of Beconsfield and see the nearby Mayflower Barn - a Quaker Meeting House built from timbers of this historic ship. Beconsfield is Britain's richest neighbourhood and home to countless celebrities. You'll hardly believe the homes you'll see here! Less then an hour's drive through the picture post card Chiltern Hills lies mediaeval Oxford, 'city of the dreaming spires'. Here you'll enjoy a guided walk through the colleges. Literature fans will delight to see the places associated with C S Lewis, Tolkein, 'Alice in Wonderland', and even Harry Potter's 'Hogwarts'! Next on our perfect day we'll see Winston Churchill's tomb at Bladon and visit his remarkable birthplace Blenheim Palace.
Cotswolds

 Day Two - Thursday

Stratford-upon-Avon with its Shakespearean sites is first on today's visits. Stratford can be busy, being England's most popular tourist destination outside of London, but as we're staying close by, we'll arrive early and leave before the large tour coaches arrive! There'll be free time to explore this interesting town before we visit the lesser-known house of Shakespeare's mother and take a most informative tour learning about life in the 1500's. This afternoon sees us at the incredible Warwick Castle where there will be ample time to explore both the castle and the mediaeval town itself. The prehistoric Rollright Stones are also on today's agenda, and we'll use the time we've saved by not having to dash back to London to see the picturesque Kenilworth Castle.

Cotswolds

 Day Three - Friday

Our morning see us exploring the very best of the Cotswolds. With our small vehicle we'll get where larger coaches can't and avoid the commercialised 'honey-pots'. Naturally we'll not miss seeing the most famed market towns like Chipping Camden, but we think you'll enjoy the hidden, less visited villages somewhat more! Then to the preserved village of Lacock. This lovely place, where TV ariels, telephone wires and advertising are banned, has been used as a film set in everything from 'Pride and Prejudice' to 'Harry Potter'. Fittingly, the local abbey was where George Fox Talbot pioneered photography.

Our final visit of the day, and tour, is at Avebury. This incredible World Heritage prehistoric temple site is more impressive for many than even Stonehenge. You'll also see the mysterious Silbury hill.

We return to London arriving at approximately 18.00. Your accommodation is not included tonight.

This tour may be combined with our four-day In Search of Arthur, or with other of our tours departing on a Saturday.

>>Go back to tours departing from London


Note: On departures between November and March alternative sites are visited where National Trust properties are closed.

 

 

RESERVATIONS

Handpicked Holidays - The Back-Roads Touring Co. Specialist

Phone: 02 9592 6555 | Outside Sydney metro: 1300 30 85 16

Email: backroads@handpickedholidays.com.au

Travel Agent Licence: 2TA5829 | Travel Compensation Fund No. 9165