THE BEST OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND
Day 1 - (Sun.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight. Day 2 - Arrival in London, England. (Mon.) Uniformed Globus Hosts are available to help you make the most of your stay. Day 3 - London. (Tue.) After a hearty English breakfast, morning sightseeing with a Local Guide includes all the famous landmarks: Knightsbridge with Harrods, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall's mounted horseguards and the Prime Minister's Downing Street, and Buckingham Palace. Highlights are a visit to ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL and the ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held. Free time in the afternoon for independent activities or to join an optional excursion to Windsor Castle or the Tower of London with its fabulous Crown Jewels. (FB) Day 4 - London'Stratford-upon-Avon. (Wed.) Meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and depart at 8:30 a.m. for a lovely day of sightseeing. Admire the ORNAMENTAL GARDENS of Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace; drive through Runnymede, site of the sealing of the Magna Carta; take a stroll in Oxford to see the colleges where Britain's elite receives its outstanding education; pay tribute to one of the giants of recent history at Sir Winston Churchill's burial place in Bladon. Arrive in Stratford-upon-Avon in good time to take your pictures of Anne Hathaway's Cottage and visit SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHPLACE. Before dinner join your Tour Director for a toast to happy touring with a congenial group. (FB,D) Day 5 - Stratford-upon-Avon - Bath. (Thu.) A particularly scenic day. Enjoy vistas of the Cotswold Hills as you motor to the Elizabethan village of Broadway. On past Cheltenham and Gloucester to Wales for a drive through the beautiful Wye Valley and pictures of the romantic ruins of 12th-century Tintern Abbey. Cross the 3,240-foot Severn Road Bridge, and in elegant Georgian Bath, see the amazing excavations of the ROMAN BATHS with time to explore further on your own. (FB,D) Day 6 - Bath - Brighton. (Fri.) This morning try to unravel the mystery of prehistoric STONEHENGE on the drive across Salisbury Plain. Stroll through the picturesque city of Salisbury with its magnificent cathedral, the ultimate in Early English Gothic. See the town of Arundel, dominated by its huge castle, home of the Duke of Norfolk, before arriving in the Regency seaside resort of Brighton. A unique highlight: a tour of the exotic ROYAL PAVILION, the lavish oriental palace built for the Prince Regent in the early 1800s. (FB,D) Day 7 - Brighton - London. (Sat.) Start the day with time for a walk along the seafront promenade. Enjoy a visit to Tunbridge Wells, a lovely English town, on your way to magnificent moated LEEDS CASTLE, which Lord Conway called "the loveliest castle in the world." Take a leisurely stroll in the landscaped gardens, and admire the lavish state apartments where international summit meetings have been hosted. Return to London around 4 p.m. How about asking your Tour Director to reserve seats at a West End show tonight" (FB) Day 8 - (Sun.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (FB) |
