• 3 nights in unique & traditional accommodation
• All transport and fuel costs.
• Services of your driver/guide companion.
• All mini-coach transportation
• Full English cooked breakfast daily.
• 2 x three-course evening dinner

• Entrance fees to attractions visited as follows:

1. Kirby Hall
2. Bosworth
3. Kenilworth Castle
4. Harvard House
5. Lord Leycester Hospital
6. Christ Church Hall
7. Sudley Castle
8. Hampton Court Palace

Enjoy this 4 day tour discovering Tudor England and the lives of King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I .  On route explore some of Britain's most spectacular stately homes, royal castles and of course the highlight and Henry's favoured residence, Hampton Court Palace . Your guide will bring these sites to life as you relive past lives and times.

Tour Itinerary

Day 1- Burghley House, Kirby Hall and Kenilworth

Departing London we travel back in time, our first stop in South Lincolnshire at Burghley House, a sumptuous stately home of the first Elizabethan age dating back to 1587. Today, eighteen state rooms are opened publicly and boast wonderful paintings, furniture and fine art. Then on to Kirby Hall, another of England’s greatest Elizabethan and 17th-century houses, dating back this time to 1570 and once owned by Elizabeth's Lord Chancellor. Remaining in tact throughout the centuries, Kirby Hall’s Great Hall offers exceptionally rich and opulent period decor whilst the great gardens, now partly restored, were once described in the 17th century as ‘ye finest garden in England’. Finally, to the battlefield which marked the ascendancy of the Tudors over the House of York.  It’s an interesting site and we’ll take a guided walk of the battlefield. Overnight we stay near to Kenilworth Castle Ruins, which although dates back to pre-Tudor times has strong connections with Tudor family.

Overnight Stratford-upon-Avon in accommodation dating back to Tudor times! (Dinner Included).

Day 2 - Stratford-Upon Avon and Warwick

Today, we esxplore Tudor literature, medicine and take a look at how the common folk lived. And waht better place to do it than Stratford upon Avon and nearby Warwick.  As we visited homes connected to Shakespeare we not only learn about the great Bard himself but also about daily life during the late Tudor period.  We’ll also see Harvard House which was the home of Katherine Rogers, mother of John Harvard, whose bequest made possible the foundation of Harvard University. Dating back to 1596, it is a fine example of an Elizabethan town house and also the home of the Museum of British Pewter.  Nearby, in Warwick, we’ll visit the Lord Leycester Hospital and the picture book dissolved Warwick Guilds.

Overnight Stratford-upon-Avon. 

Day 3 -  Oxford, the Cotswolds and Sudley Castle

Today we make the short journey south to Oxford where many of the colleges were endowed during the Tudor period by such as Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII . We will see Christchurch, originally known as Cardinal College, and then King Henry VIII’s college.  Next we journey through the beautiful rolling Cotswolds stopping at Northleach, a typical village of the area, to see the chapel built to commemorate the marriage of Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York. Then to Sudley Castle, a place with connections running through the Tudor Dynasty: it was the home of three queens, houses the marble tomb of Katherine Parr, the wife of Henry VIII who survived (!) and a place where scandal left its impression on the young mind of the future Queen Elizabeth I . 

Overnight Cotswolds (Dinner Included)

Day 4- Hampton Court Palace and Hever Castle

Today we begin at the imposing ruins of the first abbey to be dissolved by Henry VIII. Then, we visit the jewel in the Tudor crown, Hampton Court Palace , where we'll take time to explore in detail before lunching here beside the Thames. The gardens, kitchen and external architecture are all absolute gems. Finally we journey in to Kent "the Garden of England" to visit Hever Castle which is arguably the prettiest of all Tudor palaces and certainly redolent with its history. This was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth, and later given to another of Henry’s wives, Anne of Cleeves as part of her divorce settlement.

Return to London early evening.

Optional Extras

• Pre or post tour accommodation.
• Private or rail airport transfers.
• Make your mini-tour part of an extended London city break.

Dates and Rates

Departs London every Monday throughout 2010 season.

Prices are per person land only based on 2 people sharing a twin room.Single supplements apply.  For other currencies please ask.