SHAKESPEARE'S
LAND &
THE COTSWOLDS
HEART OF ENGLAND
3 days / 2 nights - Wednesday
to Friday
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 An excellent short tour including all of the 'must-see' icons a first time visitor to London and England wants. Oxford, Stratford, the Cotswolds, Avebury, Lacock, Blenheim Palace and Warwick Castle.
Usually, it takes three separate day tours from London to cover all of these on days tours. If you do it this way, however, over the three days you waste at least eight hours of your precious holiday time sitting
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on a coach travelling the freeway and fighting London traffic going out and coming home - a whole day lost.
Now, doing it the Back-Roads way, you see the main icons AND in the time we've saved not travelling freeways and fighting London traffic every day, you also get 'real England' sights others miss - Kenilworth, the Chilterns, Parish churches, Beaconsfield, the Mayflower Barn, the Avon canal, Hungerford and much more. In addition, you also spend two lovely evenings in a charming, edge of the Cotswolds inn with dinner and a local pub atmosphere to enjoy.
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DEPARTURES EVERY WEDNESDAY FROM MARCH 11 TO NOV 18, 2009
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Tour Code
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Depart London
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Return London
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HOE
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Every Wednesday
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Every Friday
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Normal prices apply to all other departures
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Departs every Wednesday
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Returns every Friday
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Price: £395 pp twin share / £415 single room / £265 child sharing room
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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.
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This tour departs
EVERY WEDNESDAY from central London hotels below:
The Royal National, Bedford Way
The Corus Hotel, Hyde Park
The Grosvenor Thistle, Victoria Station
The Holiday Inn Forum
The Chiswick Hotel, Chiswick
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08.00 (underground Russell Square)
08.20 (underground Lancaster Gate)
08.30 (underground Victoria Station)
08.45 (underground Gloucester Road)
09.00 (underground Turnham Green) |
- Clients should wait by the concierge
desk.
- Tour returns to any of the above central London hotels.
- Pre and post-tour accommodation, sightseeing and transfers available on request. We have allocations all over London for everything from B&B style to 5-star hotels and apartments.
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TENTATIVE
ITINERARY
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NIGHTSTOP |
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Day
One - Wednesday
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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
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Day
Two - Thursday
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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
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Day
Three - Friday
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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. Tour ends upon arrival at any of our central London tour hotels.
This tour may be combined with our four-day In Search of Arthur (2008), or with other of our tours departing on
a Saturday.
>>Go to 2009 tours departing from London
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