Luxury Day Tours out of London with Michael
There is more to England than just its capital city and who better to guide you around the wealth of medieval cathedrals, castles and magnificent stately homes, than Michael, your Blue Badge tour guide. A luxury V Class Mercedes and separate driver will collect all of us from your central London hotel and take you on the tour of your choice.
Get a taste of the very essence of English rural life, from Oxford with its twelfth-century university, to the mystical Stonehenge, that is over 5,000 years old. Of course, you can always tell us about your own passions and we will design a sightseeing tour especially for you; I can even arrange extended tours with overnight stopovers. Read on for inspiration or fill in the contact form at the bottom to arrange your own tour.
A DAY IN THE COTSWOLDS – 9 HOURS
The Cotswolds district is the quintessential bucolic English haven, with its old stone cottages and cobbled streets, its wealth having derived from the medieval wool industry. Take a step back into old England, visiting some of the protected villages and small towns,...
OXFORD and BLENHEIM PALACE – 9 HOURS
Discover Oxford, home to one of the World’s oldest universities and the setting for many Hollywood blockbusters such as The Golden Compass, several of the Harry Potter films and smash hit TV series Inspector Morse. Explore the many secrets and delights within the city walls and College buildings. The history continues outside Oxford, visiting Blenheim Palace in the town of Woodstock, the ancestral residence of the Dukes of Marlborough for over three hundred years. Visit Winston Churchill’s birthplace with its magnificent state apartments and meander through 2000 acres of beautiful landscaped gardens designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown
STONEHENGE and SALISBURY CATHEDRAL – 9 HOURS
This World Heritage site has been in existence for over 5000 years. We know when, but we don’t know why and by whom it was built. Visit this ancient monument and allow me to explain its secrets and mysteries. From here we will visit the 13th century cathedral of Salisbury, with England’s tallest church spire and the world’s oldest working clock. We will also see one of only four remaining copies of Magna Carta, that predates the building it self, and discover why the cathedral was built on only four feet thick foundations and how it has survived for over 700 years.
CHARTWELL and HEVER CASTLE – 9 HOURS
We begin our tour at Chartwell, country home of Sir Winston Churchill from the 1920s until his death. He famously remarked that ‘a day away from Chartwell was a day wasted’. It was where he would stay for much of the time with his family, gardening, writing, painting and entertaining his many friends. Michael will take you on a guided tour of the house containing many personal mementoes and the gardens that he created, including a boundary brick wall that he actually built himself!
WINDSOR CASTLE and HAMPTON COURT – 9 HOURS
Windsor Castle is one of HM The Queen’s official residences, and one of the jewels in the crown of England’s heritage. Located about 20 miles west of London, it was established as a defensive fortress by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, making it the oldest inhabited castle in the world. By the 13th century the castle had become an alternative home for the kings and queens of England because of its location on the River Thames, making it accessible from London.
ENGLISH GARDENS – 9 HOURS
“If you want to be happy for a lifetime, plant a garden.” – Old Chinese proverb. – This proverb may well have been written with the English in mind, such is their passion for both their own green space and visiting larger country gardens, for inspiration and tranquility.
It’s not however just the English who enjoy visiting these beautiful spaces, with tourists from all over the world also wanting to experience the same pleasures. Not surprisingly, the English Garden was awarded the top prize for making the greatest contribution to tourism in the Visit England Awards for 2012.