London & Southern England

Welcome to the British capital and transfer to your hotel in the heart of Bloomsbury.

The Bloomsbury Hotel

Explore London on foot strolling through Covent Garden with its wonderful markets and restaurants to the National Gallery which tells the story of European art, masterpiece by masterpiece. Head to the Wallace Collection, which displays the wonderful works of art collected in the 18th and 19th centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. This evening you have the option of attending a performance at the Royal Opera House (additional cost).

The Bloomsbury Hotel | Meals: B

Head for Oxford by way of the rolling countryside of Buckinghamshire. Arrive into the university city of Oxford later this afternoon.

Old Bank Hotel | Meals: B

Meet your local guide who will introduce you to the numerous literary giants, historical figures and world-famous architecture that has made this university city so famous on a walking tour ending at the prestigious Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, founded in 1683 and containing objects of ancient and contemporary art and archaeological artefacts.

Old Bank Hotel | Meals: B

Embark on a visit to historic Blenheim Palace, one of the grandest private residences in Britain, and the birthplace and home of Sir Winston Churchill. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a magnificent example of English Baroque architecture with the beautiful grounds designed by Capability Brown. After a guided introduction to the palace, there is time to explore on your own.

Old Bank Hotel | Meals: B

Travel southwest today to the spa town of Bath.

The Gainsborough Bath Spa | Meals: B

Discover the beautiful Georgian city of Bath, often regarded as one of the loveliest cities in all of England. From its beginnings as a Roman camp in the first century AD, Bath emerged, in the 1700s, as a fashionable spa resort. Visit the Roman Bath complex and splendid Bath Abbey, with its magnificent stained-glass windows, honey coloured stone and fine Gothic-style fan vaulting. And be sure to admire the magnificent Palladian architecture for which the city is renowned as you stroll past the terrace houses of the Royal Crescent and the Circus.

The Gainsborough Bath Spa | Meals: B

Leave Bath behind you as you travel eastwards. Stop along the way at Highclere Castle, one of Britain's most spectacular Victorian castles, famously known as Downton Abbey. Discover the lavish rooms where most of the period drama was set and picture the characters taking tea in the drawing room, feasting in the dining room or celebrating in the main hall. Afterwards, explore the beautiful parklands and meander through the stunning gardens and woodland. Afterwards, continue to your glorious manor house hotel in the heart of Sussex.

Gravetye Manor | Meals: B

Discover 700 years of history at nearby Hever Castle, a delightful medieval moated property where Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, grew up. In the early 1900s, it was purchased by the Astor family, who restored the then-dilapidated building to its former glory. The splendid rooms contain fine furniture, tapestries, antiques, an important collection of Tudor paintings and two prayer books inscribed and signed by Anne Boleyn herself. If you are travelling during the summer months you may choose to attend a performance at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival (additional cost).

Gravetye Manor | Meals: B

Transfer to London Heathrow for your onward flight.

Meals: B