The Cotswolds is what many people think England ought to look like… extraordinary ancient, honey-coloured limestone villages with tiny shops and inns, sheep grazing in stone-walled fields, rolling hills, forests, fields, falconry – and more sheep. A country-lover’s dream.

Your guide will collect you from your central London hotel and together you will explore all the things that make The Cotswolds so special.

For extraordinary reasons, ordinary people were building their cottages and houses in stone from the 1200’s in this region, at a time when most towns and villages were built in wood and as a result are long gone. A visit to this area of England is very much trip into the past.

• The famous thatched cottages of Chipping Campden
• Upper and Lower Slaughter
• Stow on The Wold
• Broadway
• Snowshill
• Tiny Lanes and rolling hills
• Lunch in an ancient pub
• Excellent antique shops

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Combine the dreaming spires of Oxford or the quirky majesty of Blenheim Palace with a visit to the ancient villages and countryside of The Cotswolds.

Your guide will collect you from your central London hotel for your private guided tour and together you will explore either;

OXFORD
“The city of dreaming spires”, home to the oldest university in the English-speaking world. Ancient, unchanged and dripping with history, Harry Potter fans will even recognise locations from the films.

• The Old Covered Market
• The Radcliff Camera
• The Bodlean Library
• The quad and interior of one of the Colleges*
• Visit Christ Church Chapel, which is also Oxford Cathedral
• A walk through the cobbled back streets
• Lunch in a characterful old pub

*Interior visits to a College are dependent on their opening times, which are not published until a few days before. This is something we will double-check before our tour so we know exactly what time is best to visit on a given day.

OR if not Oxford, then allow a magnificent baroque palace to tempt you instead…

BLENHEIM PALACE
Seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.  Surrounded by idyllic lakes, lawns and landscape, Blenheim is a feast in every way.

•  Stroll the Capability  Brown designed gardens 
• The Palace interior with commentary by Blenheim’s own guides
• The Winston Churchill Museum and the bed he was born in
• Family photos past and present
• An Art collection and tapestries to rival many in the world
• The Palace scandals the interior guides WON’T tell you!
• Time allowing – a visit to Winston Churchill’s grave in Bladon

After a simple lunch we’ll spend the afternoon visiting some of the most beautiful countryside in England.

THE COTSWOLDS is what many people think England ought to look like… as evidenced by most British period dramas – many of which are filmed in this area. For extraordinary reasons, ordinary people were building their cottages and houses in stone from the 1200’s in this region, at a time when most towns and villages were built in wood and as a result are long gone. A visit to this area of England is very much trip into the past.

• The famous thatched cottages of Chipping Campden
• Upper and Lower Slaughter
• Stow on The Wold
• Broadway
• Snowshill
• Tiny Lanes and rolling hills
• Lunch in an ancient pub
• Excellent antique shops

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The Bard’s hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon is situated just on the Northerly edge of the famously beautiful countryside known as The Cotswolds.  A fantastic combination for a full and memorable day.

Your guide will collect you from your central London hotel for your private guided tour and together you will visit;

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

• Shakespeare’s Grave – complete with curse and missing head!
  
• Shaksespeare’s birthplace & home to his father’s glove making business
• The school where Master Shakespeare was a student
• Other Shakespeare family houses and connections 
• The idyllic country cottage where he wooed Anne Hathaway
• Wander the streets of Stratford with their old Tudor buildings
• Swans and canal barges on the beautiful River Avon
• Tales of Shakespeare, his family & his move to London
• Lunch in a famous fish and chip shop

After lunch, you’ll travel on down through The Cotswolds:

• The famous thatched cottages of Chipping Campden
• Upper and Lower Slaughter
• Stow-on-The-Wold (complete with village stocks)
• Broadway
• Snowshill
• Tiny Lanes and rolling hills
• Excellent antique shops

The above is just a sample of what is possible, if the weather is wonderful, you could perhaps have lunch in the garden of a lovely old pub, visit antique shops in the area, or see a falconry exhibition.

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A full day of experiences both magical and literary and a fantastic day out for children.

Your guide will collect you from your central London hotel for your private guided tour and together you will visit;

WARWICK CASTLE, the former home of the Earls of Warwick is not just a beautiful ‘stately home’. It is a proper ‘keep ‘em out or lock ‘em up’, haunted (yes, really!) medieval fortress on a hill, complete with battlements, towers and dungeons. In 1978, Madam Tussaud’s bought the castle and set up wax figure tableaux to illustrate the historical figures (and ghosts) connected with the castle. A real family destination very much aimed at a younger audience.

• Great for kids – lots of ‘experiences’ aimed at younger visitors
  i.e. Falconry and Jousting exhibitions
• Walk The Battlements (only for the fit!)
• Visit the Oubliette, where prisoners where ‘forgotten’
• See the Great Hall and family apartments
• Spooky dungeon experience (extra fee)
• Special tower experience for budding princesses (extra fee)

From a fairytale castle you’ll move on to visit the birthplace of a real life literary legend.

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, 

• See Shakespeare’s Grave – complete with curse!
  
• Shaksespeare’s birthplace & home to his father’s glove making business
• The school where Master Shakespeare was a student
• Other Shakespeare family houses and connections 
• The idyllic country cottage where he wooed Anne Hathaway
• Wander the streets of Stratford with its Tudor buildings
• Swans and canal barges on the beautiful River Avon
• Tales of Shakespeare, his family & his move to London

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