Day 1: Following your home taxi collection we join our luxury tour coach and head to the stylish Crown Plaza hotel in Reading making suitable stops enroute. Tea and coffee will be served on arrival whilst your luggage is taken to your room.
Day 2: This morning we have a ride to the magnificent Blenheim Palace. Set in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, Blenheim Palace is considered to be one of the finest baroque houses in the country. It was a gift from Queen Anne and a grateful nation to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, in recognition of his famous victory over the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Inside the Palace you will find a superb collection of tapestries, paintings, porcelain and furniture in the magnificent State Rooms. Sir Winston Churchill was born in the Palace in 1874 and a permanent exhibition about him is located next to his birth room - both are included in the Palace tour. A state-of-the-art visitor experience is open in the heart of the Palace called 'Blenheim Palace: the Untold Story'. Dramatic moments from the last 300 years of history at Blenheim Palace are brought to life through animatronic figures and innovative film and projection technology, seen through the eyes of the servants. Surrounding the Palace are over 2,000 acres of beautiful 'Capability Brown' parkland, lakes, fountains and formal gardens. A miniature train connects the Palace to the Pleasure Gardens. An impressive lake crossed by a bridge leads up to Blenheim Palace giving what must be one of the most picturesque and photographed scenes in the UK.
Leaving Blenheim we pay a brief visit to nearby Bladon village, perhaps most notable for being the burial place of Sir Winston Churchill. Whilst here, why not enjoy a drink at The White House pub, said to have been frequented by Sir Winston Churchill himself.
Day 3: We take you into London today to visit the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum. The Cabinet War rooms were emergency accommodation provided for Winston Churchill and the War Cabinet against air attacks during the Second World War. You will see the original 21 historic rooms where the Defence of the Realm was planned. Few places in the world transport you back to the Second World War quite so effectively as Churchill War Rooms, where every corner and corridor has a story to tell. Walk in the footsteps of Churchill and glimpse what life would have been like during the tense days and nights of the Second World War.
Also included is the Churchill Museum, which charts his entire life. Through original personal items and artefacts of the time, find out about Churchill's remarkable 90-year life, from his lonely childhood to his military career, two periods as Prime Minister and beyond in this award-winning interactive museum.
Day 4: Today we head into Kent where we visit the beautiful Chartwell House, the family home of Sir Winston Churchill. You will see the rooms as they were in Churchill's time, down to the daily papers and famous cigars. The hillside gardens reflect Sir Winston’s love of the landscape and nature. Winston and Clementine Churchill bought Chartwell in 1922 and it would be their family home for the next forty years. Here Churchill was a politician and statesman, but also a husband, father, writer, painter and garden planner. The rooms in the house remain much as they were when he lived here, with pictures, books and personal mementoes while a special exhibition gives deeper insight into his life through 50 objects.
Chartwell’s hillside gardens reflect his love of landscape and nature and include the lakes he created.
From here we make our way to historic Windsor for some time at leisure. Crowned by stunning Windsor Castle, the largest and oldest inhabited castle in the world, and official residence of His Majesty the King, the wonderful town of Windsor has a rich mix of history, culture, and heritage.
Day 5: This morning after breakfast we sadly depart our hotel and head back to Norfolk making suitable stops en route. Upon arrival, our door to door taxi service will be waiting to take you home.
Holiday Information:
4 Nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast
Price: £725pp
Double for Sole Occupancy: £120pp (Hotel has no single bedded rooms)
Insurance: TBC (Insurance not currently available)
Tour Reference: AWE4897
Deposit Required: £50pp
Balance Due: 8 weeks prior to departure