| Contents: | HALF DAY TOURS FULL DAY TOURS – DESTINATIONS FULL DAY TOURS – THEMES MULTI-DAY / OVERNIGHT TOURS DAY TOURS TO FRANCE AND BELGIUM AIRPORT STOPOVERS / LAYOVERS |
|
There are many superb destinations that you can visit whch are within easy reach of Central London. Listed below are some popular sights – do feel free to ask about others. Chartwell
Hever Castle An idyllic setting. Queen Anne Boleyn’s (King Henry VIII’s second wife) childhood home and later the home of William Astor. Leeds Castle A fairytale setting on a lake, associated with many Queens of England. Penshurst Place Birthplace of Philip Sydney, courtier to Q. Elizabeth I. Tudor country house, formal gardens and toy museum. Sissinghurst Perhaps the most famous garden in England created in the 1930s amongst the surviving parts of an Elizabethan mansion. Thames Valley Pretty villages (Cookham, Marlow) and locks on the river: Toad of Toad Hall country. Waddesdon Manor Baron de Rothschild’s fabulous Renaissance-style chateau and 18th C collections. West Wycombe Sir Francis Dash wood’s (founder of the Hellfire Club) theatrical Italianate home and rococo landscape garden. Windsor Castle 900 year old favourite official residence of Her Majesty the Queen. Visit the magnificent State Apartments and St. Georges Chapel. There are many combinations of visits possible on day trips. Click on one of the links below for suggestions or see prices page for popular combinations. Please contact Marksman Tours to discuss other options. Bath
Brighton A seaside resort with the exotic oriental Royal Pavilion built for King George IV. Browse in The Lanes for antiques or enjoy one of the tea shops. Also see nearby Arundel Castle dating from the 11th C now with wonderful works of art and home of the Duke of Norfolk.
Canterbury England became Christian in Kent in 597AD. Stroll through the medieval city streets and see the magnificent Cathedral, the world-renowned Pilgrimage centre of the Middle Ages where Thomas a Becket was murdered in 1170. See a 7th C Saxon church. Combine this with a visit to Leeds Castle, Sissinghurst, Chartwell or Dover. Cotswolds Explore charming villages such as Bourton-on-the-Water, Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold, the Slaughters and Chipping Campden with their honey-stone walls and thatched roof cottages, rolling hills, Roman villas and stately homes. Dover Castle The keys to the Kingdom. With its 2000 year old Roman lighthouse, Henry VIII’s keep and the secret WWII wartime tunnels, this is a great day out. Combine with other sites in Kent. Hampton Court Palace Famous home of King Henry VIII and his wives. Easily combined with other destinations to make a memorable full day tour. Kent Gardens, homes, castles, pretty villages, rolling hills and country churches. Sites include Hever & Leeds Castles, Chartwell, Penshurst Place. Capture the essence of a typical English gardens by visiting, for example, Great Dixter or Sissinghurst. See Rudyard Kipling’s home, Bateman’s in the Sussex Weald. Mooch around the antique shops or enjoy a typical afternoon tea! Oxford, Blenheim Palace and Woodstock Oxford is the oldest university in the UK. Visit its colleges and university buildings, see where Harry Potter was filmed and the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland. Visit the Churchill family home, Blenheim, see Churchill’s grave, take tea in the charming village of Woodstock or rent a punt in Oxford and glide along the river. Portsmouth and Portchester Castle This Historic Dockyard is home to two flagships: Nelson’s HMS Victory and King Henry VIII’s Mary Rose which sank nearby in 1545. Visit the D-Day museum home of the Overlord Tapestry and Portchester Castle with its well-preserved Roman and medieval defences. Rochester and Chatham Rochester, with its many Charles Dickens associations, also has a fabulous 11th C castle, a medieval cathedral and a beautiful high street. Experience the historic Royal Naval dockyard at Chatham. Salisbury Home of a graceful 13th C cathedral with the tallest spire in Britain. The Magna Carta is on view in the magnificently carved Chapter House. Combine with Stonehenge and Wilton House, still the ancestral home of the Earl of Pembroke with glorious 17th C State Apartments and a stunning picture collection, including the Van Dyck series painted for these rooms. Stratford-on-Avon Shakespeare’s town: visit his birthplace, Ann Hathaway’s cottage, the church where he was christened, see the theatres and the lovely half-timbered houses of the town, relax on the river banks and feed the swans. See some of the surrounding villages in the Cotswolds that he visited. Combine with: Warwick Castle An impressive stronghold with the oldest parts dating back to the 900s. See the Earl of Warwick, the “Kingmaker” readying himself for battle during the Wars of the Roses, creep into the dungeon, walk on the walls and in the gardens, see “a Royal Weekend Party” in the Private Apartments attended by Queen Victoria’s son, grandson and Winston Churchill. Combines well with a trip through beautiful Cotswold villages. Winchester was Alfred the Great’s capital of England and the cathedral founded there in 1079 is where Jane Austen is buried. Combines naturally with a visit to Salisbury. Windsor Castle In addition to the castle, explore the town and Eton with its famous College. Early Christianity Early Christianity Countryside and Charming Villages Gardens North West in the Cotswolds: Snowshill Manor; Batsford Park, especially the arboretum and bamboo garden and Hidcote Manor, designed by the American Major Johnston, in the English Cottage gardens style. West of London: Cliveden, former home of the Astors, set on cliffs 200ft above the Thames; Dorney Court and Hampton Court Palace, with several different garden areas, including the recently restored parterre, laid out as the 17th C original, formal and water gardens, delightful spring garden and maze.
South: Broadlands, home of the Mountbattens, landscaped setting by the river Test and Mottisfont Abbey, famous for its rose gardens. Homes of the Famous Prehistory Stonehenge, Avebury and Old Sarum Stately Homes and Castles Castles Stately Homes such as Blenheim Palace, (Duke of Marlborough); Waddesdon Manor (Baron de Rothschild) and Knole (Tudor mansion, Sackville-West family). |
|
| Go to the top of the page
Tailor Made Multiday / Overnight Touring Example of a 3 day West Country and Cotswolds tour DAY TOURS TO FRANCE AND BELGIUM Belgium – Bruges
Northern France Paris If you have a long layover at Heathrow or Gatwick, or you need to transfer from one airport to the other, and have some available time (and energy!) for sightseeing or wish to relax in the English countryside, perhaps visiting a garden, I’ll tailor-make a timed itinerary for you and get you back to the airport on time for your connecting flight.For Heathrow: Hampton Court Palace, Thames-side villages, Windsor Castle, Gardens or London, perhaps shopping too, or London AND country if enough time.For Gatwick: Brighton, Arundel Castle, Petworth House, Chartwell, Hever Castle, Wakehurst Place Garden, Gardens or London, perhaps shopping too, or London AND country if enough time.
|
|
