A full day today, as we make our way west to “Jane Austen Country” the county of Hampshire. It was i

This tour is geared towards visitors who wish to see the CLASSIC sites of England, all too often seen briefly on 'whistle stop' day trips from London. By spending a few nights in the countryside, enjoying evenings out among the locals, there's so much more time to explore your surroundings. You are invited to get off the beaten track, see thatch roofed villages, oast houses and charming market hampton inn hotels towns as well as the iconic sites, hopefully away from the mad tourist throng. Enjoy a 'Small Group Touring' experience hampton inn hotels not available to 'daytrippers' herded on large, impersonal coaches rushing back to London each evening.
Our goal is to also appeal to fans of CLASSIC literature, as we use the country's rich literary heritage as our theme. See Canterbury Dover, Stonehenge, Salisbury Bath, Stratford Oxford hampton inn hotels but also Dickens' Rochester, Jane Austen's Chawton and Winchester, famed Sissinghurst Gardens, some  Harry Potter  film sites and more. CLASSIC scenery, CLASSIC tradition, CLASSIC history…join hampton inn hotels us for a real CLASSIC tour!
We depart our Central London meeting point at approximately 09:00 and travel via the old coaching route, tracing the path of Chaucer's hampton inn hotels Pilgrims. This was an area of London also well known to Shakespeare and Dickens.
Our first stop is Charles Dickens'  Rochester . This gem of a city, with its cathedral and Norman castle, overflows with Dickens's sites, places mentioned in his books such as 'Miss Havisham's house' and Dickens himself lived here for a time.
Later,  Dover Castle , where we'll find a wealth of history from the mediaeval times of Henry V through to modern times with the WWII secret wartime tunnels. Interestingly, hampton inn hotels Dover Castle was recently hampton inn hotels used as a filming location for Philippa Gregory's novel  The Other Boleyn Girl .
This morning we will spend quality time in Chaucer's mediaeval city of  Canterbury . Meander the charming high street, filled with charming shops and cafes, and of course pay respects inside of the historic cathedral.
Later, visit Vita Sackville-West and Sir Harold Nicholson's world famous garden of  Sissinghurst . Here, we'll find a Tudor tower complete with Vita's writing workshop, a walled herb garden, hampton inn hotels mixed border hampton inn hotels gardens, an oast house museum, a white garden and a cottage hampton inn hotels garden. Writer and friend to the 'Bloomsbury hampton inn hotels Group,' Vita's home usually has Virginia hampton inn hotels and Leonard Woolf's printing press on display.
Spoilt hampton inn hotels for choice as to how we spend the rest of our day, Kent is steeped in literary heritage! In consultation with your guide, explore based on the particular interests of the individuals aboard. Local sites on offer include Henry James' quaint fishing port of Rye, Kipling's home or the Tunbridge Wells area with connections to Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen and Winnie the Pooh's Ashdown Forest.
A full day today, as we make our way west to "Jane Austen Country" the county of Hampshire. hampton inn hotels It was in the quaint village of  Chawton  that Jane Austen spent the majority of her later years, where she completed most of her most famous works,  Sense Sensibility  and  Pride Prejudice  amongst others. Once inside her cottage, we are in her world.
Winchester  is a place well known to several authors – this is Thomas Hardy's 'Wintoncester' and the final resting place for Jane Austen in Winchester Cathedral. A walking tour of this original Saxon capital of England will introduce you to the general sights, including England's oldest public schools too.
Bath , the city of Georgian splendor and Roman antiquity, is our base for tonight. Upon arrival, your guide will be on hand for an orientation walking tour of Jane Austen's city. This place was enjoyed by the social set of the 18th and 19th centuries, a setting for Jane Austen amongst many other writers; Austen fans will immediately recognize several streets and squares from her novels such as  Northanger Abbey and  Persuasion . You can also see places where the author herself lived.
The remains of the day is open so you can explore Bath as you please. We highly recommend hampton inn hotels time in the Roman Baths and Pump Rooms,  the Jane Austen Centre  or you could simply wander the lovely hampton inn hotels tea rooms and antique shops – the choice hampton inn hotels is yours!
Our first destination is the medieval village of  Lacock , which has hardly changed in the past 200 years. With its magnificent abbey, half timbered cottages and greystone houses, it provides a perfect hampton inn hotels setting. This lovely place, where TV ariels, telephone wires and advertising are banned, has been used as a film set for many popular films such as the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle production of  Pride and Prejudice , the BBC series of  Cranford  and  Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone .
The lovely, historic city of  Gloucester  has many wonderful literary connections. Gloucester Cathedral and the King's School have enjoyed a recent surge in popularity since each was used as locations for 'Hogwarts.' Gloucester also features as a setting for Beatrix Potter hampton inn hotels and Humpty Dumpty can claim his origins here.
Stratford-Upon-Avon  is a charming town besides its famous Shakespeare connections, but of course hampton inn hotels we'll see some of the iconic sites such as The Birthplace and the charming local church, burial place for the Bard. Again, by spending the night, we can take in the local treasures avoiding hampton inn hotels the 'daytrippers' who have to rush back to London.
Dinner is not included this evening for flexibility's sake and the opportunity, hampton inn hotels dependent upon schedules, to attend the theatre at the  RSC . There's a wonderful viewing tower and highly rated restaurant so worth a visit even if not attending a performance! See what's on at the RSC .
Our main destination for today is the 'city of the dreaming spires'  Oxford . This is the jewel in the literary crown. The Dean of Mathematics at Christchurch College was one Charles Dodgson, better known as 'Lewis Carroll' and one finds 'Alice' everywhere here. See the ancient pub in the town centre where the Inklings hampton inn hotels (CS Lewis, Tolkien…) met to talk and drink. And, of course, contemporary literature is represented by Colin Dexter's detective 'Morse' and there is Harry's 'Hogwarts' to discover too. A walking tour of the city will introduce you to these highlights and to many others.
LOGISTICAL NOTE: This itinerary is a 'sampler' tour visiting several regions of England so involves a bit more driving than the 'solo region' itineraries but is still a Small Group Touring Experience, any longer drives are broken up and balanced by ample 'off the beaten track' explorations – and NO back and forth daily to London!
Add London to your package: hampton inn hotels  London accommodation, airport transfers, London city tours, London attraction passes and London transport passes are separate from our short tour but can be added to your overall package as you wish. Contact Special Group Tours  online or at 1-866-725-5250 for full details.
London offers heaps of options for visitors! On a general interest, SGT highly recommends a visit to  St Paul's Cathedral .  Avoid the queues/lines and pre-book your tickets via us.  We can also assist you with pre-booking  The Tower of London  and other top attractions. The London Museum and Museum of Costume are lesser known fine choices.
We recommend beginning hampton inn hotels your literary adventure with a visit to the  British Library   where you can see preserved manuscripts including Beowulf, Sir Gawain, Magna Carta plus works by Austen, Bronte, hampton inn hotels Dr Johnson and others.
Go past some writer's hampton inn hotels homes, locations used as famed settings such as Bankside, Brick Lane, and the 'Olde Curiosity Shoppe.' There are former author homes now opened hampton inn hotels as museums for Dickens, hampton inn hotels Carlyle, Dr Johnson and Keats. There's the Cheyne Walk area of Chelsea, the residence of choice for George Eliot, Oscar Wilde, Thomas Carlyle and others, the Bloomsbury of Virginia Woolf and friends, Keats' Highgate North London hampton inn hotels neighborhood, Dr Johnson's Fleet Street, Borough of Chaucer and later Dickens, the Bankside neighborhood of Shakespeare, now current home to the new Globe Theatre… We recommend taking advantage of the world famous London theatre during your stay, there's the famed West End, Shakespeare's Globe  several 'off West End' gems too.
Please note: All attraction opening times are correct at time of printing this website. While we will do our utmost to include all of the properties mentioned as central visits, we reserve the right to change an attraction should it become impossible to deliver a planned visit due to unforeseen changes in opening days or times.
Services of a driver/guide for 6 touring days, accommodation for 5 nights while on the tour including breakfast daily and 3 dinners. Your price also includes all entrance fees to attractions, transportation and all taxes and tips other than those you may wish to give your guide.
Airport transfers, accommodation pre and post tour, London city tours, hampton inn hotels London attraction passes and London transport passes are not included but can be added to your package as you wish. Ask us for details.
Filed Under: Tours Tagged With: Bath , British literature hampton inn hotels , Canterbury , Chaucer , Classic England , Dover , Globe Theatre , Jane Austen , Literary hampton inn hotels England , oxford , Shakespeare , Special Group Tours , Stonehenge , Stratford-Upon-Avon , travel to England , Virginia Woolf , Vita Sackville-West
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