- England Explored -
 

 

This has to be perhaps one of  the best weekend trips from London you could choose. A  two day motor tour of the Cotswolds bookended by a visit to Shakespeare's birthplace at one end and the lovely regency city of Bath at the other. An overnight stay here means the chance to relax, enjoy a trip to the famous Roman Baths, dinner and perhaps even see what’s on at the beautiful Georgian Theatre Royal in the city. Returning to London we stop off at the neolithic marvel that is Stonehenge.

 

If you are travelling from Heathrow (preferably early evening) we can schedule this trip so as to drop you at the airport on our return the following day, (providing we can either accommodate your luggage in the car or have it forwarded from the hotel in London). Southampton, for those travelling by ship is also an additional possibility. Otherwise we simply return you to your place of stay in London

 

 

Stratford

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​Home to the Bard himself and Shakespeare's Birthplace Museum, Stratford on Avon sits comfortably on the river for which it is named. Obviously the principle reason for travelling here is to see Shakespeare’s birthplace and you can indeed visit his fathers house to stand in the very room in which he was born. The town itself is very pleasant and other related attractions include Anne Hathaway’s cottage where one gets an intimate view of how life was lived at the time.

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The Cotswolds

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The Cotswolds is quintessential England, the English countryside of the minds eye. Eight hundred square miles with the total population of a small town, it is dotted with small villages, quaint churches, large country houses and laced with lovely country lanes.

It spans neatly the distance between Stratford-Upon-Avon and Bath and makes for a beautiful and relaxing country drive of two to three hours although that may extend if we choose to stop at a village pub or to photograph some of it’s beautiful views.

Designated an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) since 1966 the Cotswolds has signs of human habitation from neolithic times through the Romans to medieval England.

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Bath

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Bath is a beautifully preserved regency treasure, nestling in a valley on the river Avon. Here the Roman baths of Aquae Sulis were rediscovered in the 18th century and the town became the home of high society, under the guidance of Beau Nash, the regency dandy who set the fashion and manners of the time. Think Mr Darcy goes to Bridgeton and you’ve got the gist of it, indeed Jane Austin herself did live at Bath for some of her life. The Theatre Royal is a beautiful example of Georgian Theatre and runs a fascinatingly varied programme throughout the year.

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Stonehenge

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Stonehenge needs no introduction, being perhaps the most famous Neolithic site in the world. The excellent visitor centre gives a glimpse into the distant lives of the ancients, who through the most incredible toil, built a monument to span the millennia. While modern science reveals more of their world every day, we can only stand and wonder at the perseverance and motives that drove a people without the wheel, draft animals or metals, to erect such an incredible celestial calendar, mausoleum and cathedral to their mysterious beliefs. English Heritage provide a constant bus service to take us through the Neolithic landscape, past Bronze Age long barrows, to our encounter with the massive, ancient and mysterious stones themselves. Here the landscape offers us a fascinating clue to the inspiration that gave our ancient ancestors the power to achieve what they did.