Telling the Stories Brochure

Great Lives
Dickens, Darwin and Churchill – their homes,
their writings and their legacy
Highlights
TOUR
9
• Explore the big skies of the historic
Kent landscape, which inspired classic
Dickens works and the artist J.M.W. Turner.
• Visit Chartwell, Sir Winston Churchill’s
family home, enjoy a private tour of his
house, garden and remarkable art studio.
• Tour Cambridge, historic city and world
class university, with punting on the river
Cam and dinner at Darwin’s college.
Experience unrivalled access to Darwin’s
letters, and some of the 2500 specimens
that he sent back from HMS Beagle.
Tour Type: Immersion
Entry and Departure Point:
London Heathrow Airport
Journey on this two centred tour with
three of England’s great thinkers, Dickens,
Darwin and Churchill - geniuses whose
creative minds give them a unique place
in our consciousness. Stand where they
wrote, spoke and created some of the most
famous stories in England’s history.
Discover Victorian Rochester, the inspiration
for many of Charles Dickens’ famous novels.
Visit Chartwell, Sir Winston Churchill’s
family home, and discover not only an
extraordinary political career, but also
a lifelong passion for art and writing.
Stand in the study where Charles Darwin
wrote 'On the Origin of Species'.
In Cambridge, follow in Darwin’s footsteps,
visiting the College he attended, seeing
some of the plant and animal specimens
he collected on HMS Beagle and viewing
his correspondence housed at the
University Library, culminating with
a dinner in Christ’s College.
Tour Director: Jim Dixon
Jim is the founder of UK Countryside Tours, as well as a contributor to
The Times newspaper Nature Notebook.
With expertise in all aspects of British landscape and heritage, Jim has
previously held significant roles at the Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds, Natural England and the Peak District National Park, where he served
as Chief Executive Officer for twelve years from 2003 to 2014. In addition,
Jim led the UK National Parks partnership for four years in which he was
appointed to the World Commission on Protected Areas.
Christ’s College Cambridge (Inset: Charles Darwin at Cambridge). Photo: Visit Cambridge
Outline Itinerary
Explore the scenic Kent Coast,
visiting the Dickens family summer
retreat, Bleak House. Visit seaside
town Margate, and world-class
gallery the Turner Contemporary.
Return via the viewpoints of the
White Cliffs of Dover.
Visit historic Rochester, with
imposing Cathedral and Norman
Castle, taking in Gads Hill House,
where Dickens lived from 1856.
Visit Chartwell, home of Sir
Winston Churchill, with a private
tour of the house, gardens
and art studios.
Stand in the study of Charles
Darwin’s Down House and explore
Lullingstone Castle and World
Garden, the home of modern day
planter hunter and horticulturalist
Tom Hart Dyke.
Take a walking tour of Cambridge,
visiting the Darwin Memorial
Garden followed by chauffeured
punting. Visit the Darwin
Correspondence project at the
University Library for a privileged
tour of the Darwin archive.
Tour the Botanic Garden and
the Herbarium, to see published
floras, field notebooks and actual
specimens. Enjoy a final dinner
in the old Combination Room at
Christ’s College, Cambridge.
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
Arts and Culture / 9