Personalised Luxury Tour - Dickens, Chaucer and Kent ULGB09

Personal Highlights:

• A tour of Rochester with a Dickens expert
• A private visit to Canterbury Cathedral
• A tour of Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s Home
• Enjoying the sights of Royal Tunbridge Wells

Day 1 Depart USA

You board your Business Class flight for the overnight trip to London and the beginning of your exploration of Kent

Day 2 Arrival in Britain

You arrive in the morning and after completing customs formalities you are met by your driver and taken to the city of Dover where you see the famous White Cliffs and take a tour of Dover Castle before having a light lunch at a local pub. You are then driven to your hotel near Dover where you have a chance to relax before dinner.

Day 3 A Day with Dickens

After breakfast your driver will take you to the town of Rochester where you meet up with a local Dickens expert. Rochester was Dickens' home and the location of many of the scenes in his novels. Your first stop will be the Hoo peninsula, the marshes where Pip met Magwitch in "Great Expectations", and the church where Pip's family were buried. You return to Rochester to view Restoration House which was the model for Miss Faversham's house, also in Great Expectations. You will see other places with Dickens connections and have lunch at The Leather Bottle Pub which is full of Dickens' memorabilia. You will spend some time at the Dickens Center before returning to your hotel in the late afternoon.

Day 4 A Pilgrimage to Canterbury

Today you head to Canterbury, long associated with Geoffrey Chaucer who's "Canterbury Tales" were written towards the end of the fourteenth century and portray the funny and sometimes ribald nature of the pilgrimages to Becket's tomb. Becket was an Archbishop who was assassinated in 1170 by four knights due, in part to the power struggle between archbishops, the abbots from a nearby Benedictine abbey and King Henry II. The cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England and the seat of the Primate of all of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury. This position is also the titular head of all Anglicans and, in America, Episcopalians. After touring the Cathedral including Becket's tomb you will head to the Kentish coast for lunch and a drive around the peninsula before returning to your hotel.

Day 5 Tunnels, Railways and Wine

After leaving your hotel, your first stop will be Samphire Hoe located at the bottom of the famous White Cliffs of Dover and the newest part of England. If you were wondering what they did will all the chalk they dug from beneath the channel for the Chunnel, wonder no more. It was dumped as a large landfill over 60 acres in size and now provides a wildlife refuge and a sea wall for ocean walks. Your next stop will be Hythe where you board a steam train of the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway which runs for 14 miles along the Kent Coast. You will take half the journey which will take you about thirty minutes. You will disembark at New Romney which is the base of the railway and will be able to see how these classic rains are maintained. Your driver will be waiting after your visit to take you to Godinton House where you have a chance to tour this ancient home with its Jacobean Style and medieval hall. Five hundred Years of history. You will then head to Chapel Down Winery one of the wineries that dot the Kentish Countryside. You will visit the vineyards and then have a lunch with wine at the Bistro. You then proceed to Royal Tunbridge Wells and your hotel.

Day 6 A Day at Leisure

Today is yours to do as you please. You may choose to spend the time exploring the hotel's fourteen acres of grounds and lakes or get a treatment at the Spa. The town is a few minutes walk away and is famous for "The Pantilles" the colonnaded shopping area with many luxury stores and unique local shops. Given the hotel's superb location it is possible to walk the grounds in the morning, go into town for shopping and return to the Spa for a treatment. Should you decide to lunch in town on your own, we have arranged with the hotel for you to have afternoon tea instead of lunch. Enjoy.

Day 7 Chartwell and Hever Castle

After breakfast you head for Chartwell, Sir Winston Churchill's home and the place where he died. It is a very personal home with many of the ponds having been created by Sir Winston and many of the brick walls built with his own hand. We will see where he liked to paint and to write and the whole house is virtually untouched since his passing. Many people comment that they expect him to walk into a room at any moment. After your tour you will go to a pub in the village of Hever for some real English food. After lunch you visit Hever Castle which was the birthplace of Ann Boleyn. Early in the 20th Century it was bought by William Waldorf Astor and restored to its full glory. You have a chance to visit the Castle before returning to your hotel.

Day 8 Leeds Castle and Penshurst Place

You start your day with a visit to Leeds Castle considered one of the most beautiful in England. Dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, the castle was at one time owned by six Queens upon the deaths of their husbands. Later it was in private hands especially in the 20th Century where it was, up until her death in 1974, owned by Lady Baillie, daughter of a US Whitney heir and an English aristocrat. She was the one that turned it into the stunning showplace it is today. Your next stop will be Penshurst Place, which has been in the Sidney family for Centuries. Although it has splendid gardens we will spend time exploring the house, particularly the Baron's Hall which was the communal living space for all the staff of the house in the 14th Century. It is considered the best preserved in all of England. You will also visit the Queen Elizabeth Room so named because it was the room where Queen Elizabeth I held her royal audiences during her many visits to Penshurst.

Day 9 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