Hands
On Country Tour
This template for a custom day tour from London is the basis of some
our most popular tours.
It basically has a bit of everything, history, great scenery, chocolate
box villages and time to get out of the bus and experience what you
are seeing.
As with all our example custom tours, this is just an idea to build
upon. The great thing about a custom tour is that you choose when
you want to go and how long you spend at each destination |
Thatched
Cottage at Avebury |
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Hands
On Country Tour Template
Starting Out
We feel that 08:00 is a good time to start the day. We would hope
to be clear of London having a brief 10 minute coffee and comfort
stop by about 9 a.m. We would have had a distant view of Windsor Castle
already and the driver will have started his commentary on the day,
including the history of Windsor and royalty.
Marlborough
By around 09:30 we will have left the motorway and be in the countryside.
We have left the Thames Valley, thatched roofs begin to appear, as
do the characteristic Limestone walls and houses. Chalk downs and
dry valleys are the norm.
We pass through Savernake Forest, (an old royal hunting park) along
an old coaching route between London and Bath. Old Inns pepper the
road and Marlborough, an old coaching town has a mixture of medieval
and Georgian buildings. The High Street is the widest in England to
allow the coach and horses to turn and you can still see the large
entrances to the yards of the hotels, big enough for the carriages
to go through.
On exiting Marlborough we pass through Marlborough College, found
in 1843, it is now one of England's foremost private boarding schools.
Avebury
Shortly after leaving Marlborough we arrive at Avebury. The Marlborough
Downs here are the source of the largest stones at Stonehenge, about
20 miles south.
Avebury is a larger henge than Stonehenge. Relatively unvisited, you
can walk among and touch the stones here, unlike Stonehenge. |
The
driver will provide insights into the Neolithic way of life, demonstrate
ley lines, a great preparation for Stonehenge.
Avebury also has a Saxon village within it, complete with Dovecote,
thatched cottages and pubs, Manor House, historic church and much
else besides.
We leave Avebury passing Neolithic burial mounds and the largest man
made hill in Europe about 11 a.m. heading for Lacock, our lunch stop
about 30 minutes way. We pass white horses carved in the chalk hillside
and pass through Sandy Lane, a picture book small village of thatched
houses.
We make a brief stop for a panoramic view into the Avon Valley, with
Lacock at the bottom of the hill
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Avebury
Stone Circle |
Lacock
Lacock is an old wool town where all the buildings in the village
are more than 200 years old. It is not a museum piece, but a living
working village with school, post office, church, tithe barn, bakery
and several pubs. |
Jane
Austen and some scenes from Harry Potter films were shot here.
Adjacent to the village is Lacock Abbey, one of the few abbeys to
survive the Reformation in Tudor times.
Most people take lunch in the George Inn, a 13th century Inn complete
with stocks and medieval fireplace, a highlight of the day. Tea rooms
in the Stables are a popular alternative. |
George
Inn Lacock |
Caen
Hill Locks
We leave Lacock around 1 p.m. and head towards Stonehenge. |
Shortly
after leaving Lacock we make a brief stop to inspect Caen Hill Locks.
Built in the early 19th century, just before the railways the Kennet
and Avon canal links the Thames and Avon's rivers, enabling coast
to coast river travel from London to Bristol.
Perhaps we'll see a narrowboat using the locks that climb Caen Hill.
on the 2-3 hour ascent or descent.
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Caen
Hill Locks |
Stonehenge
We now take to the country lanes, many of them single track, passing
through villages before climbing onto Salisbury Plain. |
After
driving through a British Army tank range we arrive at Stonehenge
about 2:15 p.m.
Back into the land of mainstream tourism now, most people take around
45 minutes to make their visit to Stonehenge.
The visit to Avebury in the morning will have prepared you to undertand
the Stonehenge monument beyond being a pile of rocks on a windswept
plain.
We leave Stonehenge about 3 p.m.
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Stonehenge
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Salsibury
There is still time to take a short but sweet drive to Salisbury arriving
around 15:30. Just time for a quick look around Salisbury Cathedral
and one of the best preserved Magna Carta documents. Leaving Salisbury
at 16:15 we'd hope to be in Central London around 2 hours afterwards. |
| Private
Tours - Price Menu & Terms |
Passenger
Capacity |
Part
Day*
Short Range
7-8 Hours |
Full
Day*
Long Range
10 Hours |
Main
Booking Conditions |
| Mini
Van With Driver/Guide |
|
1-3
|
£295 |
£370 |
$US
100 Deposit
Full refund up to 60 days before day.
Price not inclusive of admissions |
| Mini
Bus With Driver/Guide |
|
5-8
|
£350 |
£425 |
No
deposit, credit card secures day.
Pay on day.
Price not inclusive of admissions |
|
16
|
£425+£25
Each Passenger Over 8
(e.g. 11 passengers = £500) |
* A
short day is 7-8 hours, enough time to visit locations like Windsor or Hampton
Court relatively close to London at leisure or a visit to Stonehenge/Salisbury
or Stratford Upon Avon a couple hours travel from London.
A long day, around 10 hours enables you to visit places like Bath or Glastonbury
or combine popular destinations like Stonehenge, Cotswolds & Bath or
Oxford with Stratford Upon Avon and Warwick Castle. (See example tours for
guidance) |
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