Luxury Guided Tour - Land of Squires and Spires ULGB08

Personal Highlights:

• A welcoming massage in a modern spa in a house visited by Queen Elizabeth I
• Visiting the Diana Museum and seeing her final resting place at her ancestral home
• A backstage tour and performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
• An enjoyable lunch in the delightful Cotswold village of Broadway

Day 1 Depart USA

You board your Business Class flight for the overnight trip to London and the beginning of your Northamptonshire discovery.

Day 2 Welcome to England and Fawsley Hall

Upon arrival in England you are met by your driver who will then take you north to the Northamptonshire countryside going from the 21st Century and back into another age. You start on a motorway, then scenic country roads then a one lane road leading to your country house which has hosted Queen Elizabeth I and other notables over the years. Upon arrival you have a massage to rejuvenate you before enjoying a light lunch. You have a chance in the afternoon to take a walk through the countryside before having a fine meal and heading for a well–earned rest.

Day 3 Althorp and Sulgrave Manor

You journey out today to visit some country estates in the vicinity of your hotel. Your first stop will be Althorp, for five centuries the home of the Spencer family but more recently known as the final resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales. You will visit the converted stable blocks turned into a Diana Exhibition by her bother the current Earl. You will then visit Sulgrave Manor which was the ancestral home of George Washington. After Lunch you will visit the nearby church where a stained glass window brought from the Sulgrave Manor in 1830 shows the Washington crest which was clearly an inspiration for the Stars and Stripes.

Day 4 The Town that Shakespeare Built

While the town of Stratford surely existed before the birth of William Shakespeare it was that event and the later building of the Royal Shakespeare Company that put the town on the map, particularly for tourists. After visiting his birthplace and the home of Anne Hathaway, his future wife, you will visit the Royal Shakespeare Company complex where we have set up a backstage tour. After lunch you will attend a matinee performance of one of Shakespeare's plays before returning to your hotel.

Day 5 A Walking Tour of the Hallowed Halls of Oxford

After breakfast you are picked up by your driver and taken to the town of Oxford, a place dominated by its University. You will have a privately guided tour of the main areas of the University. Dubbed the "City of Dreaming Spires", the university has always had an ethereal air. As an example, for the ten miles that the Thames flows through Oxford it is named the "Isis." The University can be excused its eccentricity, however since it has graduated 5 Kings, 40 Nobel Prize Winners and 25 British Prime Ministers. Either as students or dons (or both) the school embraced Oscar Wilde, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Lewis Carroll. During your tour you will visit the Ashmolean Museum, founded in 1683 and the Bodleian Library which, while established in 1602 has certain buildings dating back to 1488. In more modern times, the film "Shadowlands" (about C.S. Lewis) and parts of the Harry Potter series have been filmed here along with the Inspector Morse TV series.

Day 6 Berkeley Castle and the Villages of the Cotswolds

Today you will visit Berkeley Castle which has been occupied by the same family since its construction 850 years ago. It was here that the Barons of the West gathered before going to Runnymede to force King John to sign the Magna Carta. After a tour of the castle you drive through some of the backroads of the Cotswolds passing through (and stopping at, if you choose,) picturesque towns with delightful names such as Chipping Norton, Stow-on-the-Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh. You will stop for lunch at a delightful restaurant located in the picturesque town of Broadway a scenic inn before returning to your hotel.

Day 7 Warwick Castle and the Scenic Drive to Sussex

Your first visit of the day will be to Warwick castle considered to be the finest medieval castle in England. You'll get a tour of the castle including the Ghost's Tower where the ghost of Sir Fulke Greville, killed by an unruly manservant in 1628, is said to roam. After the castle visit you will head south stopping for lunch along the way before arriving at a charming 16th Century hotel in Sussex. You have an intimate farewell dinner in the oak-beamed dining room and review your past week's activities.

Day 8 Return to USA

Your driver will be ready to drive you to the airport for your return flight to the US.

Services Included

• 1st Class rail travel as indicated on the itinerary
• Superior Rooms at the properties indicated in the accommodations area (We reserve the right to substitute a property of equal quality in advance of departure should the designated hotel be unavailable)
• Private Transfers to and from the airport or rail station at destination
• All meals as indicated on the itinerary by B=Breakfast, L=Lunch and D=Dinner
• Private guides for city explorations and private driver/guide while traveling.
• Entrance fees to all museums, attractions and other venues as indicated on the daily itinerary
• Baggage handling at all hotels
• All applicable taxes and service fees

Services Not Included

• International airfare (round-trip from hometown departure gateway to destination)
  
• Beverages with included meals (unless otherwise indicated on itinerary page)
• Any meals not indicated on the Itinerary page
• Items of a personal nature e.g. minibar, film, postcards etc.
• Gratuities to Guides and Driver/Guides (we provide suggested guidelines for your selected destination in your pre-departure material)
• Any passport or visa fees or government departure taxes (It is the traveler’s responsibility to secure the latest information regarding passports and visa requirements)

Available Year Round