Day 1
On arrival in London you will be met and transferred
to your 5* hotel. Following check-in the remainder of
the afternoon is at leisure to relax and familiarise
yourself with your hotel and the surrounding area.
This evening is free for you to enjoy dinner at leisure.
Day 2
This morning enjoy a sightseeing tour of London with
your experienced guide. Amongst London’s principal
buildings and monuments see Westminster and the Houses
of Parliament, Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column,
Buckingham Palace and the Mall, Tower Bridge and St
Catherine’s Dock.
Enjoy lunch in one of the oldest pubs in London before
an afternoon of continued sightseeing that could take
in any number of attractions including the Tower of
London, the National or Tate Galleries, St Paul’s
Cathedral or Westminster Abbey. Alternatively spend
the afternoon in the wonderful shopping areas of London,
Covent Garden, Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent
Street.
This evening enjoy a London theatre performance of
your choice.
Day 3
Meet with your driver and transfer to the city of Bath
founded in 1 AD. The Romans were drawn to this site
to relax by Britain’s only Hot Springs and to
take advantage of their reputed healing powers. The
Great Bath, which is still fed today by a Roman lead
conduit, was originally decorated with intricate Roman
mosaic pavements. After the Romans withdrawal from England
around 410, the city was sacked by the Saxons and did
not revive for many years.
Arrive at your hotel in the Royal Crescent which occupies
the two central buildings in the world’s finest
crescent. Following check-in you will have some time
to familiarize yourself with your surroundings and have
a bite to eat before meeting with your guide for an
afternoon walking tour.
The Bath that you will see this afternoon, with its
squares, crescents and terraced town houses, was constructed
largely during the renaissance that Bath enjoyed in
the Georgian era. Today Bath is an important centre
for the arts and culture, with many museums, exhibitions,
concerts and performances scheduled throughout the year.
Some of the colourful sights of Bath that you may wish
to visit with your guide include: Bath Abbey - A masterpiece
of Gothic architecture. The Abbey churchyard is surrounded
by 18th- century buildings with the Roman Baths Museum
located in the Abbey Courtyard. Roman Baths Museum and
Pump Room - The museum holds a fascinating collection
of objects dropped into the baths by pious Romans. The
Jane Austin Centre - The Jane Austin Centre is a new
permanent exhibition, which tells the story of Jane
Austin’s experiences in Bath and the effect that
living in the city had on her writing. Sally Lunn's
- a restaurant and museum situated in the oldest house
in Bath, it is named after the 17th-century baker who
first created the famous buttery tea bun, synonymous
with Bath afternoon tea.
Return to your hotel and the evening is at leisure
Day 4
Meet with your driver and head for Cornwall where the
beautiful coastline is dotted with lighthouses and tiny
coves. A stop will be made on route in Exeter, Devon’s
bustling capital city.
Built on a high plateau above the River Exe, Exeter
city is encircled by substantial sections of Roman and
medieval walls and you will find that the street plan
has not changed much since the Romans first laid out
what is now the High Street.
You will have free time for lunch and perhaps enjoy
a visit to Exeter Cathedral which is one of the most
glorious in Britain or simply stroll along the narrow
alleys and cobbled streets which invite leisurely exploration.
Then continue your drive south skirting the edge of
Dartmoor National Park’s 368 square miles of natural
beauty and rugged grandeur before arriving at the Nare
Hotel (or similar), surrounded by National Trust land
and a perfect location to explore the attractive Roseland
Coastline.
Following check-in at the hotel the remainder of the
afternoon and evening is at your leisure.
Day 5
Lands End, St Ives, St Michael’s Mount are names
synonymous with Cornwall, and today you will have a
chance to see them all.
Departing from your hotel with your driver and guide,
head into the true countryside, with your first stop
being Marazion. Here enjoy fine views of St Michael’s
Mount and Penzance across the bay. After a brief stop,
continue to Lands End, where England's westernmost point
on the mainland, plunges into the sea at the end of
the Cornish Peninsula.
Here you may walk around the rocky plateau and, if
the day is clear, enjoy the fine views of the steep
granite cliffs and rugged coastal scenery. For generations
of British mariners, sighting Land's End meant the end
of a long, often arduous journey; watching it fade from
view over the stern meant the beginning of unknown adventures
to come.
Take advantage of some free time to explore the many
shops or perhaps indulge in a bite or two of Cornish
cream fudge. You may mail a postcard from England's
'last mailbox' or take some photos of the sign indicating
the distance across the Atlantic to New York or to John
O'Groats, Britain's most northerly point.
Then set off for St Ives, on the North Coast, passing
Rosamunde Pilcher’s birth place of Lelant en-route.
Explore with your guide and visit the Tate gallery recently
opened here in honour of those generations of artists
that have called St Ives home. Also visit the Barbara
Hepworth Museum without which a visit to St Ives would
be incomplete.
Take time for lunch at your leisure and to explore
the numerous galleries and quaint shops before returning
to your hotel over the Cornish moors, strewn with granite
outcrops and mining villages and inspiration for many
a good pirate or smugglers story!
Evening at leisure
Day 6
Depart the Hotel this morning and head for the ancient
city of Salisbury home to one of the finest medieval
cathedrals in Britain. Enjoy a stop on route in Sherborne
where few other towns in Britain have such a wealth
of unspoilt medieval buildings. Here you will have some
free time for lunch and to explore the town where Edward
VI founded the famous Sherborne School in 1550, saving
intact the splendid Abbey Church, the almshouse and
other monastic buildings that might otherwise have been
demolished after the Dissolution.
After your free time continue your drive up through
the west county until arriving in Salisbury and the
White Hart Hotel, a striking 17th Century building with
an elegant classical facade, lying just opposite Salisbury
Cathedral.
Following check-in the rest of the afternoon and evening
is at leisure.
Day 7
Meet with your guide this morning for a walking tour
of Salisbury dominated by its magnificent cathedral
and soaring spire which towers 404 feet high. Walk through
the spacious and tranquil Cathedral close, a beautiful
walled precinct of splendid houses dating from medieval
times to the 18th Century, before visiting the octagonal
Chapter House. Here you can see one of the four copies
of the Magna Carta on display.
Enjoy lunch before meeting with your driver back at
the hotel for your transfer to Berkshire and Cliveden
Hotel regarded widely as the finest hotel in the UK.
It was the home of the renowned Astor family for four
generations, and prior to that of three dukes, an earl
and a prince. In 1893 William Waldorf Astor bought the
estate and today, there are reminders everywhere of
his taste as a prodigious collector.
You will also have the opportunity to stop at Stonehenge
on route to Cliveden.
Check-in at the hotel and the remainder of the day is
yours to enjoy the facilities of the hotel.
Day 8
Transfer from Cliveden House Hotel to London Heathrow
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