Spend 11 Days Exploring England

England just might be the ultimate family destination. Start in London with its Tower, cathedrals, museums, sport and the wonderful pubs and West End and then discover the countryside dotted with beautiful villages, castles and incredible walking routes. And don’t miss the historic towns of Bath and York either! It’s really a world packed into a very small area!

Download PDF Itinerary

Sample Itinerary

Day 1
On arrival at one of London’s major airports you’ll be met and transferred to your hotel in the center. Usually, we book hotels near one of London’s iconic green spaces like Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens. The rest of the day is free at leisure.

Days 2/3/4
It is almost impossible to condense all that London has to offer into 3 days! That’s why we use our experience and expertise to narrow your choice down so that we give you the very best experience of the city in a short time. Our selection of possibilities is huge so we work with you to make sure your time spent in this great city is absolutely memorable.

This is just a sampling of what we have:

  • West End theater – we can get you the best tickets!
  • Premier league Football – Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and more!
    Pubs – we will show you the most historic places where Dickens and other great local celebrities were regulars.
  • Harry Potter – we will organize your trip to Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio!
  • Great Walks of London – we either do fully guided walks according to your interests (World War 2/The Blitz; Great Fire; etc) or give you our best set guided paths. One of our favorites is along the Thames river from St Paul’s to the Tate all the way into the city and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament! You can always then continue through St James Park to Buckingham Palace!
  • Museums and most well known sights – whether it’s the Tower of London or the British Museum, Buckingham Palace, The Churchill War Rooms or The London Eye, we’ll organize tickets and if desired your own private local guide!
  • High Tea – a trip to London simply MUST include High Tea! We’ll organize and prepay for it at one of London’s swankiest venues so you just have to arrive very hungry! Ready for a true British culinary adventure?
london

Day 5
Today a complete change of pace! You’ll take the train out to the Cotswolds, one of England’s prettiest areas. The Cotswolds means walking cobbled paths from quaint village to village; exploring castles, enjoying a pint in a traditional pub or tea in a 500 year old building!

On arrival you’ll be met by our guide and transferred to your lovely B&B in a quintessential English village.

Days 6/7
Depending on your preferences, we have designed 3 different styles of travel for your stay in the Cotswolds! As always we are totally flexible so we can mix and match.

  1. For the next 3 days you will walk the Cotswolds! Starting at your B&B, and with your luggage being transferred for you, you’ll walk the gorgeous green valleys and fields of this wonderful area. Along the way you’ll pass through some of the area’s loveliest locations – Bourton – on – the Water, Broadway, Chipping Campden, Stow on the Wold, Painswick, Upper and Lower Slaughter and more. You’ll sleep in quaint B&B’s or 16th century inns and eat local food along the way. The length of your daily walks will be predetermined by you and you can easily walk unguided with our maps or with a guide if you wish.
  2. The above can also easily be done by bike or a combination of bike and walking! How about a day of walking the famous Cotswold Way from lovely Winchcombe village to Sudeley castle?
  3. If you prefer to take it easy, our expert local guides will spend these 3 days showing you the best of the Cotswolds including Blenheim Palace, Broadway Tower, Highgrove Gardens (overseen by the Prince of Wales) and many more. Your guide will also show you to the best pubs and tea rooms, all obligatory stops when in England!

Day 8
Today you will be transferred to the train station and catch the train to York in the North of England. On arrival you’ll be met and transferred to your hotel in the center. Our expert local Yorkshire guide will be waiting to meet you and show off this incredible region!

Days 8/9/10
George VI said “the history of York, is the history of England” and we agree! Our tour will take you on a guided walking tour around this great city — bringing to life the history behind the city from Romans and Vikings to Normans, Tudors, Georgians and Victorians. We will also be able to visit the jewel in the crown – York Minster. There is so much to see and do in this fantastic city – besides the Cathedral (York Minster), The Shambles is possibly the most recognizable walking street in England; Clifford’s Tower just drips with history and we can meander along the city walls – the original walls date back to 71AD!

When you’re tired we have to stop in at Betty’s Tea Room and enjoy their local delicacy — Fat Rascals! And York is also famous for its multitude of candy shops all over the Shambles. It’s hard not to stop in a few times to do some tasting!

Days 9/10
You may want to do more touring in York itself. Be warned though that the area offers a LOT so 2 full days will still leave you wanting much more! We could do a movie/tv themed day out. Well known productions like All Creatures Great and Small, Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax and Bridgerton have many local filming locations. Even Harry Potter has some scenes filmed here!

We could spend a day visiting some of Yorkshire’s most famous old Abbeys (ruins), Priories and Heritage Houses. Places like Fountains Abbey, Bolton Priory and Castle Howard will take your breath away.

Or we can spend a day on the famous Yorkshire Dales – places like Wensleydale, Wharfdale and the market town of Hawes. Stunning countryside, hear stories of times past and enjoy some real local Yorkshire food! You’ll also never be far away from Yorkshire cheese! There are (approximately) over two thousand types of local cheese! You can’t try them all but we will make sure you get a handsome sampling!

Day 11 – Back to London
Sadly today it’s time to take the train back to London and on to your next destination! (We can extend this itinerary further into England or into Scotland on request)