Tour Details
Christine van Blokland is a 3-time National Daytime Emmy Nominee, 3-time Society of American Travel Writers Honoree and multiple Regional Emmy Award Winner. As the host, writer and executive producer of PBS’ Curious Traveler, Christine has taken viewers around the world to get curious about the world’s great histories, mysteries, culture, art, architecture and quirky characters. Each episode asks and answers the Who? What? Where? Why? When? and How? of each destination.
In addition to Curious Traveler, Christine also has a monthly series on USA Today Travel called Take Me Away. She also gives travel lectures with the Smithsonian Associates program and appears on national and local stations as a travel expert, including HSN. She is also a proud member of Mensa.
Now filming Season 5, Curious Traveler has featured Brussels, Paris, London, Rome, Vienna, Montenegro, Hong Kong, Wales, Guanajuato, Québec City, Stockholm, Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Venice, Edinburgh, Montreal, Oslo … and of course, England’s Great West Way!
Before Curious Traveler, Christine spent 20 years as a feature reporter at ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS, PBS and Tribune stations across the country. She covered everything from Broadway shows and Disney World to American Idol and the Grammy Awards. Her favorite celebrity interviews are Bill Murray, Julie Andrews and Kermit the Frog.
Christine caught the travel bug early on. Born in Scotland, she traveled across Europe, Canada and parts of Africa by the age of 16. She has a degree in Broadcast Journalism with concentrations in Religion and Fine Arts from the University of Florida and also studied Classical Animation at Vancouver Film School. Her travel motto is “Never stop learning,” although, she’ll never learn how to pack lightly.
Your trip includes:
- Daily breakfast (except day 1), dinners and lunches (24 meals total).
- 10 nights in 4-star hotel accommodations with private facilities.
- Private airport transfer on arrival and departure.
- Welcome Afternoon Tea.
- Train and coach transfers as specified below. Luggage transfer from point to point.
- All guiding services and gratuities where specified.
Transportation
Airport Transfers
- Arrival and departure days
Trains
- London to Bath Day 3
Coach Services
- London – day two out to Greenwich
- Bristol – Day 6 for 5 full days back to Windsor – service starts Day 5
Boat
- Boat trip from Greenwich back to Westminster
- Windsor Cruise
Porterage
- Baglift/drop in each hotel
Day 1: Saturday, September 25 – London
Arrival in England
London is calling! After your transfer into the city, drop your luggage and hit the streets of the metropolis to start your discovery. Be a Londoner for the day as you walk the famous streets, ramble in the parks, do some shopping or use your hop-on, hop-off ticket to start exploring!
Make sure to visit the Tower of London. Just across from the Tower are the old walls of Londinium (where London got its name/the original Roman fort). This was featured in the ‘Curious London’ episode of Curious Traveler.
In the afternoon, meet with Christine for a traditional English Afternoon Tea in your hotel with views overlooking the Mews of Buckingham Palace! Enjoy the evening at your leisure.
Highlights (included): 48 Hour City hop-on hop-off bus tour, admission ticket to the Tower of London, Afternoon Tea.
Overnight – London
Hotel: Red Carnation Rubens at the Palace.
Day 2: Sunday, September 26 – London
In the morning, we’ll meet with our local London guide. We’ll take in some of the famous sights of the city including Buckingham Palace and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Hear some curious history about the city’s iconic stores such as Selfridges and Fortnum and Mason as featured in the ‘Curious London Shops’ episode.
After a fish and chips lunch, we will take a short coach ride to the borough of Greenwich on the banks of the Thames. Known for its maritime history and home to the Cutty Sark and O2 Arena, this area is a bit of a hidden gem. Enjoy the amazing views of London from this location at the Royal Observatory, the site of the Greenwich Meridian Line.
Returning to our hotel in the afternoon, we take to the water for the trip back to Westminster with views of London in ways not otherwise possible.
Dinner this evening is a truly unique experience on a Gourmet Bus Tour around the city!
Highlights (included): Morning walking tour, fish and chips lunch, Greenwich afternoon visit including entrance to the Royal Observatory, Gourmet bus dinner with wine pairing.
Overnight – London
Hotel: Red Carnation Rubens at the Palace.
Day 3: Monday, September 27 – London to Bath
Today, we depart London and travel towards the Great West Way. What better way to see it than on a train? We will have your luggage collected and transferred to the hotel for you so you only need to worry about getting yourself onto the train.
On arrival in Bath, we will enjoy a light lunch at our hotel before we meet our local guide and follow in the footsteps of ancient masons with a Masonic Architecture walking tour. We’ll return to the hotel to check-in. This evening, we will enjoy a private tour of the Jane Austen Centre, a very short walk from our hotel. We will be met by THE most photographed man in Bath! His name is Martin, or rather Mr. Bennet, from Pride and Prejudice and he is the official Meeter and Greeter from the center. Enjoy the evening at your leisure.
Highlights – Train to Bath, Masonic Architectural Tour, Jane Austen Centre Visit.
Overnight – Bath
Hotel: MGallery Francis Hotel
Day 4: Tuesday, September 28 – Bath
Bath’s culinary history awaits you this morning. With a food guide, we’ll wander around the city and see and sample some of its famous produce as we visit its cheesemongers, tea-houses, and of course, award-winning bakeries. You can’t leave Bath without trying the famous Sally Lunn Bun!
This afternoon, we meet up with Christine again for a visit to the Pump Room, a Grade 1 listed building and named for the waters that are pumped into the room from the Baths hot springs. Here, in its decadent restaurant, we will enjoy lunch followed by a tour afterward in the iconic Roman Baths. You’ll have the evening to explore the delights of this beautiful city at your leisure.
Highlights (included): Morning culinary walking tour. Lunch at the Pump Room followed by a tour of the Roman Baths
Overnight – Bath
Hotel: MGallery Francis Hotel
Day 5: Wednesday, September 29 – Bath to Bristol
Today, we take a short drive to our next destination, the maritime city of Bristol. We’ll meet our guide, Anne, who will stay with us until the end of the tour. Bristol’s former city center port is now a thriving cultural hub. Distinguished engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel is a name you will start hearing in this city due to his involvement with the design of the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Britain. He was also a lead engineer on the Great Western Railway! We’ll visit Brunel’s SS Great Britain before we discover some of the famous street art from Bristol native, Banksy, and taste some of its delicious food as we walk through the Corn Exchange – maybe some Pie and Mash as well? Dinner this evening will be in a Bristol Pub.
Highlights (included): Visit the SS Great Britain, Banksy Art Tour, Pieminister Lunch and Pub dinner
Overnight – Bristol
Hotel – Hotel Du Vin Bristol City Centre
Day 6: Thursday, September 30 – Bristol to The Cotswolds
Before we leave Bristol, we will take a tour of the famous Bristol Old Vic Theatre. Called the most beautiful theatre in England by Oscar-winner Daniel Day Lewis, we’ll have a behind-the-scenes look at its 254-year history and learn about some of the theatre royalty that has trod its boards. As we depart and make our way to the Cotswolds, we will see the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge designed by Brunel which is actually the end of the Great West Way. But don’t worry, we’re not leaving the Great West Way just yet! To get a real up-close look, we’ll walk halfway over the bridge with our guide, have a photo stop and then walk back to our coach.
Chavenage Manor in Tetbury is our lunch stop, after which 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.
Highlights (included): Bristol Old Vic Tour, Clifton Suspension Bridge, Chavenage Manor House tour & Lunch
Overnight – Cotswolds
Hotel: The Old Bell Malmesbury
Day 7: Friday, October 1 – Cotswolds
Today we’ll explore some of the Roman histories of this area while driving through Cirencester, which was a very important Roman town. We’ll see many beautiful, little, chocolate box villages in this stunning area of England including Chipping Campden, Moreton in Marsh and Blockley, which were used as locations in the popular Father Brown TV show and Bampton used as the village setting for Downton Abbey.
We’ll meet with Christine for lunch in a beautiful Cotswolds pub. Dinner this evening will be in our hotel.
Highlights (included): Guided tour of Cotswold Villages with lunch
Overnight – Cotswolds
Hotel: The Old Bell Malmesbury
Day 8: Saturday, October 2 – Cotswolds to Newbury
Leaving the beautiful Cotswolds, we make our way to Salisbury to visit the famous Salisbury Cathedral and the Magna Carta. Then it’s on to Avebury. We stop at Avebury Manor and Garden, a National Trust Grade 1 listed early 16th Century and its surrounding gardens. We will also enjoy a light lunch here. We will end the day in the historic market town of Newbury, our base for the next two nights. Dinner at your leisure tonight.
Highlights (included): Avebury Manor and Gardens with lunch, Salisbury Cathedral.
Overnight – Newbury
Hotel: Donnington Valley Hotel Newbury
Day 9: Sunday, October 3 – Newbury
This morning we will visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Stonehenge. Marvel at the feat of human strength it would have been to get these stones in place. After lunch, we visit one of the most beautiful distilleries in the UK that produces the famous Bombay Sapphire Gin. Learn how to identify the botanicals and aromas that you would like in your drink and how to create a unique cocktail! Dinner in a pub in Newbury this evening.
Highlights (included): Stonehenge visit with Audio Guide, Lunch, Visit Bombay Sapphire Distillery, Pub dinner in Newbury
Overnight – Newbury
Hotel: Donnington Valley Hotel Newbury
Day 10: Monday, October 4 – Newbury to Windsor
Our last full day in England will be spent in beautiful Windsor. We have an amazing opportunity to visit a vineyard during their harvest season and this evening we will taste the fruit of their labors with a pre-dinner drinks reception showcasing their first batch of sparkling rose! We’ll then proceed to our hotel to check-in and enjoy a light lunch.
This afternoon, we’ll visit stunning Windsor Castle with our specialist guide. Our grand finale and farewell dinner tonight is in the stunning Windsor Guildhall where we will be joined by a representative of the Great West Way, the organization that created this route.
Highlights (included): Vineyard visit, Guided tour of Windsor Castle, light lunch, finale dinner at Windsor Guildhall
Overnight – Windsor
Possibilities: MGallery Castle Hotel
Day 11: Tuesday, October 5 – Departure
Say goodbye to England today. Private transfers will take you from our hotel to your assigned airport. You’ll fly home with memories that will last a lifetime and a desire to return and see more of what the British Isles have to offer.
Itinerary subject to change