Curious Traveler: Great West Way

Wednesday, May 3

Today is the day your adventure begins. Do you have all your bags packed? Head to the airport 3-hours prior to your departure to ensure time to check your bags, get through security and find your gate. Have a safe flight, and we’ll see you in London!

Thursday, May 4

Welcome! London is calling! Once the group has cleared customs, you will proceed to meet your transfer coach and make your way to the city and enjoy a panoramic tour en route. Enjoy a stop for some tea/coffee & scones before visiting the magnificent Tower of London. Next stop is your hotel where you will check in and look forward to meeting with Christine for Afternoon Tea! 

Highlights (included):  Panoramic Tour, Coffee Stop, Admission to the Tower of London, Afternoon tea welcome with Christine. 

Overnight – London

Dinner: This evening dinner is at your leisure and not included. 

Friday, May 5

Stroll along on a guided walking tour of London after breakfast with your tour leader.  Watch the spectacle of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Enjoy some free time in the city before meeting up again in the evening for dinner. 

Dinner this evening is a truly unique experience on a private Gourmet Bus Tour around the city.  

Highlights (included) Gourmet bus dinner, half-day walking tour. 24-hour Hop On Hop off Tour bus ticket. 

Overnight – London

Saturday, May 6

Leaving London today we travel towards the Great West Way and what better way to see it than on a train!  Your luggage will be collected and transferred to your next hotel room for you so you only worry about getting yourself onto the train. 

On arrival in Bath, you will go on a little foodie adventure around the local artisanal outlets in the city finishing off at your hotel where you will stay for the next two nights. 

Prior to dinner, take a trip to celebrate one of the most famous past residents of Bath, Jane Austen, with a private visit to the Jane Austen Center. 

Highlights (included):  Train to Bath, Food Tour, Jane Austen Center, Dinner

Overnight – Bath

Sunday, May 7

This morning, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and a roam around the streets of Bath. This afternoon, along with Christine, you will have a very special experience with lunch in the historic neoclassical Pump Room Restaurant, whose previous patrons include Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, before visiting the historic Roman Baths! 

This evening dinner is at leisure to explore the delights of this beautiful city, maybe enjoy an evening at the Thermae Bath Spa and experience the modern baths?

Highlights (included):  Lunch at the Pump Room, Admission to the Roman Baths

Overnight – Bath

Dinner: This evening dinner is at your leisure and not included. 

Monday, May 8

Prepare to be awed by the beautiful Cotswolds!

Chavenage Manor in Tetbury is our next stop, where we’ll have a guided tour of the historic house which has been used in many TV shows such as Poldark, Agatha Christie (The Mysterious Affair at Styles), Lark Rise to Candleford and Tess of the D’Urbervilles to name a few. Following the tour, we will have lunch at the house before making our way to Malmsbury to check in at our hotel.

Highlights (included):  Lunch and tour at Chavenage Manor

Overnight – Cotswolds

Tuesday, May 9

After breakfast, take a tour to see some of the most beautiful hidden villages of the Cotswolds!  To make this most enjoyable, you will be taken in a couple of smaller vehicles to get around the small roads. Photo opportunities galore await as you wander around these chocolate box villages. Free time will be given to enjoy lunch at your leisure in a local pub or cafe, whichever you prefer! 

Highlights (included):  Villages of the Cotswolds Tour

Overnight – Cotswolds

Wednesday, May 10

Following breakfast, leave the Cotswolds and proceed with much excitement to Highclere Village, the home of Highclere Castle of course, and more latterly known as the main filming location of the much loved Downton Abbey! There is a lot more to this castle and you will learn all about that while attending their Living in a Castle Tour. Did you know that the castle was the ancestral home of the Earls of Carnarvon, one of which was the main backer for the excavation of the pyramids in Egypt and was the first to see inside?  

Highlights (included):  Visit to Highclere Castle for their Living in a Castle Tour and talk, Dinner

Overnight – Newbury

Thursday, May 11

Today,  make your way to the beautiful Windsor with its spectacular castle, the longest-occupied Royal Castle in history. Enjoy a guided tour of the castle with an expert guide before meeting up to check into your hotel. Windsor has lots of fantastic shops to explore and some quirky buildings to look at too! Take a walk down to Eton and see the famous college before returning to the hotel to prepare for your dinner finale! 

This evening – a spectacle awaits you! The farewell event is a private dinner at the historic Windsor Guildhall! Built in 1689, the Guildhall was the wedding venue for HRH Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005, and also that same year  Elton John married his partner David Furnish there. 

Highlights (included): Windsor Castle Tour, Gala Farewell dinner at Windsor Guildhall

Overnight – Windsor

Friday, May 12

Say Goodbye to England today.  Private transfer is provided from your hotel to Heathrow airport. Fly home with memories that will last a lifetime and know that the next time you watch some of your favorite British TV shows on PBS you’ll have memories of seeing the locations in person and a desire to come back and see more!