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<strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stoes<br />
of England<br />
An exciting new collection of cultural<br />
tours for <strong>the</strong> discerning traveller
The Portland Collection at <strong>the</strong> Harley Gallery. Photo: Welbeck Estates<br />
HMS Victory, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Photo: Visit Britain/Visit Hampshire<br />
Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. Photo: Marketing Manchester<br />
Bess of Hardwick, Long Gallery Hardwick Hall. Photo: Damiandude/CC The Round Table, Winchester Ca<strong>the</strong>dral. Photo: Visit Britain / Daniel Bosworth Scafell Pike, Lake District National Park. Photo: Visit Britain / Joe Cornish<br />
2 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
<strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stoes<br />
of England<br />
An exciting new collection of cultural<br />
tours for <strong>the</strong> discerning traveller<br />
e<br />
RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Photo: © Royal Horticultural Society<br />
I am delighted to<br />
present <strong>Telling</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>Stories</strong> of<br />
England, a new<br />
programme of<br />
tours showcasing<br />
<strong>the</strong> very best of<br />
English heritage,<br />
culture and<br />
countryside.<br />
Supported by national tourism agency<br />
Visit England, <strong>the</strong>se uniquely crafted,<br />
content-rich tours will intrigue and<br />
engage travellers who want to take<br />
home something more from <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
tour experience.<br />
On <strong>the</strong> following pages you will<br />
find sample itineraries from our<br />
programme, plus a full guide to <strong>the</strong><br />
range of tours we can deliver for you.<br />
Our tours have been designed by <strong>the</strong><br />
people who know England best.<br />
In this brochure, we focus on England’s<br />
Arts and Culture, History and Heritage<br />
and its great Houses and Gardens.<br />
Through collaborative partnerships,<br />
we also offer activity holidays and<br />
holidays to Wales, Scotland, Nor<strong>the</strong>rn<br />
Ireland and <strong>the</strong> Isle of Man, giving <strong>the</strong><br />
US travel agent a full UK cultural and<br />
countryside offer.<br />
Parks, 49 Country Houses, 25 Castles<br />
or Ancient Monuments, 27 Gardens,<br />
12 Ca<strong>the</strong>drals, 45 Museums,<br />
7 Major Libraries, 8 Art Galleries<br />
and 6 Historic Battlefields.<br />
We focus especially on <strong>the</strong><br />
connections between <strong>the</strong> US and<br />
England, from <strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong><br />
Mayflower Pilgrims, to <strong>the</strong> lives of <strong>the</strong><br />
American Heiresses who saved <strong>the</strong><br />
English country house, <strong>the</strong> Kennedys in<br />
Britain and <strong>the</strong> lives of US Servicemen<br />
and women in England.<br />
We are pleased to tailor our tours<br />
to your needs or curate bespoke<br />
programmes to your requirements.<br />
At UK Countryside Tours we are<br />
passionate about England’s stories<br />
and on behalf of our guides, partner<br />
institutions and ground-handling and<br />
hospitality partners, we look forward<br />
to discussing how we can help you<br />
develop your travel programmes and<br />
welcome your clients to <strong>the</strong> stories we<br />
want to share with <strong>the</strong>m.<br />
Jim Dixon, Director,<br />
UK Countryside Tours<br />
We offer escorted group travel<br />
designed and led by recognised<br />
experts. Our programme covers<br />
10 World Heritage Sites, 7 National<br />
ish<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com / 3
Tour Starting points<br />
Arts And Culture<br />
PAGE<br />
1 Art Treasures of North 6<br />
East England<br />
2 Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England’s 7<br />
Christian Heritage<br />
3 Along <strong>the</strong> Pilgrims’ Way 7<br />
4 Celebrating <strong>the</strong> Arts<br />
in Sou<strong>the</strong>rn England 7<br />
5 England’s Music<br />
Powerhouse 7<br />
6 Sou<strong>the</strong>rn England’s<br />
Christian Heritage 8<br />
7 The Literary Landscape<br />
of Cambridge 8<br />
8 The Myths & Legends<br />
of Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England 8<br />
9 Great Lives 9<br />
10 Landscapes and<br />
Literary Lives 10<br />
History and Heritage<br />
11 Mayflower 400 12<br />
12 England’s Bloody 13<br />
Borderland<br />
13 The Story of English 13<br />
Rural Life<br />
14 Horses, Steam and 13<br />
Great Estates<br />
15 Girl Power 13<br />
16 In <strong>the</strong> footsteps of 14<br />
King Alfred<br />
17 The Story of Cold 14<br />
War Britain<br />
18 Computing in Britain 14<br />
19 Historic Herefordshire 14<br />
20 A Seafaring Nation 15<br />
21 England’s Dark Ages 16<br />
22 Over Here 17<br />
23 Guarding <strong>the</strong> Shores 17<br />
of England<br />
24 A Glorious Century 17<br />
of War and More<br />
25 Radical Thinkers 18<br />
Houses and Gardens PAGE<br />
26 The Gardens of 20<br />
Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England<br />
27 The Country House in 21<br />
Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England<br />
28 The Country House 21<br />
in Sou<strong>the</strong>rn England<br />
29 Retracing <strong>the</strong> 21<br />
Enlightenment<br />
30 The Glorious Gardens 21<br />
of South West England<br />
31 Natural Treasures 22<br />
32 The ‘Dukeries’ 22<br />
33 The Glorious Gardens 22<br />
of Eastern England<br />
34 Cultivating 23<br />
Extravagance<br />
35 Great Heiresses 24<br />
36 RHS Royal Chelsea and<br />
Hampton Court Palace 25<br />
Study at Chatsworth<br />
37 Statements in Stone 27<br />
38 The Stately Home 28<br />
39 Into Arcadia 28<br />
40 Gardens & Landscapes 28<br />
of <strong>the</strong> English Country<br />
House<br />
41 The Making of English 29<br />
Landscape<br />
42 Modern and Contemporary 29<br />
Art in England<br />
Glasgow<br />
Exet<br />
er<br />
Card<br />
iff<br />
30<br />
Edin<br />
inburg<br />
burgh<br />
31<br />
Newc<br />
astle<br />
Live<br />
rpool<br />
Manc<br />
hest<br />
er<br />
19<br />
Here<br />
eford<br />
Bristol<br />
12<br />
Durham<br />
1 & 2<br />
5 & 17 & 25<br />
15<br />
Chat<br />
swor<br />
th<br />
37-42<br />
8<br />
N<br />
29<br />
Oxford<br />
Winchest<br />
er<br />
27<br />
Leed<br />
s<br />
26<br />
York<br />
Birmingh<br />
ingh<br />
am<br />
11<br />
32<br />
Nott<br />
ingh<br />
am<br />
Camb<br />
ridge<br />
00<br />
33<br />
18<br />
22<br />
28<br />
20 & 21 & 24<br />
36 9<br />
34<br />
London<br />
3 & 10 & 16 35<br />
4<br />
Chichest<br />
hest<br />
er<br />
7<br />
Tour starting point<br />
Tour number<br />
Norwich<br />
6<br />
23<br />
Dover<br />
13 & 14<br />
Key to icons used in tour descriptions<br />
The different tour types:<br />
Libraries Science & Museum or Farming<br />
Technology Art Gallery Museum<br />
USA Connections<br />
Level of activity:<br />
Industrial Historic Castle Historic Military Site<br />
Heritage Church<br />
House or Museum<br />
Traditional Garden Scenic Prehistory Medieval Theatre or<br />
Buildings<br />
Landscape<br />
History Concert<br />
• Immersion, deliver rich content about one region of<br />
England, staying in a single location.<br />
• Journey, travel throughout England, moving tour base two<br />
or three times during <strong>the</strong> tour period.<br />
Mildly active: getting on and off <strong>the</strong> coach and<br />
walking a short distance on well surfaced paths.<br />
Moderately active: walking in <strong>the</strong> countryside<br />
/ parkland estate of a country estate – walking<br />
moderate distances on unsurfaced paths.<br />
Active: walking up hills, or destinations involving lots<br />
of steps, uneven surfaces, sturdy shoes needed.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
Arts and<br />
culture<br />
tours<br />
Come with us on a journey and discover<br />
<strong>the</strong> essence of Englishness through an<br />
exploration of <strong>the</strong> cultural landscape<br />
that shaped and reflects <strong>the</strong> unique<br />
character of England.<br />
Uncover folklore and fable, explore <strong>the</strong> origins<br />
of England’s Christian heritage, or immerse yourself<br />
in <strong>the</strong> creative genius of England’s greatest writers -<br />
<strong>the</strong> choice is yours. Everything in our programme<br />
is one of a kind, crafted by experts who share your<br />
passion for cultural enrichment, with unrivalled access<br />
to <strong>the</strong> best libraries, galleries and private collections.<br />
From Chaucer to Darwin, or Jane Austen to <strong>the</strong><br />
Beatles, our tours bring alive <strong>the</strong> best of England’s<br />
art treasures, great thinkers and musical heritage.<br />
&<br />
Lindisfarne Gospels.<br />
Photo: Visit County Durham<br />
To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com Arts and Culture / 5
Art Treasures of<br />
North East England<br />
Castles, chateau and ca<strong>the</strong>drals – ancient Durham’s<br />
hidden treasures<br />
Highlights<br />
TOUR<br />
1<br />
Immerse yourself in <strong>the</strong> treasures of<br />
one of Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England’s most historic<br />
• Immerse yourself in <strong>the</strong> captivating<br />
cities. Learn how Durham’s strategic role<br />
city of Durham, with its winding<br />
cobbled streets, vibrant cafés and<br />
in defending <strong>the</strong> Scottish border, led to<br />
prestigious university.<br />
immense powers being conferred to <strong>the</strong><br />
• Discover Durham Ca<strong>the</strong>dral - <strong>the</strong> cradle “Prince Bishops” who raised armies, and<br />
of Christianity in Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England, levied taxes. Witness <strong>the</strong> legacy of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
a place of learning for more than<br />
wealth and power writ large in <strong>the</strong> region’s<br />
1000 years.<br />
palatial architecture, its reputation as a place<br />
• Enjoy an exclusive tour of <strong>the</strong> Bowes of learning, its libraries and its art works.<br />
Museum, home to <strong>the</strong> iconic Silver Swan<br />
- an 18th century musical automaton, This tour will visit some of <strong>the</strong> country’s<br />
which has been admired by visitors from finest buildings, traditional market towns<br />
around <strong>the</strong> world for over 200 years.<br />
and encounter <strong>the</strong> rugged beauty of <strong>the</strong><br />
Durham Dales. We will enjoy privileged<br />
access to <strong>the</strong> University’s outstanding<br />
modern art collection and behind<br />
<strong>the</strong> scenes tours with conservators<br />
at The Bowes Museum, <strong>the</strong> magnificent<br />
French style chateau built by John and<br />
Josephine Bowes in <strong>the</strong> 19th century<br />
Tour Type: Immersion to house one of <strong>the</strong> most exceptional<br />
Entry and Departure Point: collections of fine and decorative<br />
Manchester Airport art in Europe.<br />
Tour Director and specialist contributors: Jim Dixon<br />
Jim is <strong>the</strong> founder of UK Countryside Tours, he will be supported on this<br />
tour by:<br />
Jan Williams Jan is an award-winning Blue Badge Guide, based in <strong>the</strong><br />
North East of England with extensive experience of guiding for study<br />
groups and special interest groups. Jan is passionate about <strong>the</strong> North East<br />
and holds professional memberships of The British Guild of Tourist Guides<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Institute of Tourist Guides. Jan is also a Trainer and Examiner for<br />
<strong>the</strong> Institute of Tourist Guides.<br />
6 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
The Bowes Museum. Photo: Visit County Durham<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
Enjoy a walking tour of Durham<br />
City, before enjoying an in-depth<br />
tour of <strong>the</strong> Ca<strong>the</strong>dral, a UNESCO<br />
World Heritage Site. Later visit<br />
historic Crook Hall and Gardens,<br />
a 13th century Grade I listed<br />
medieval hall, close to <strong>the</strong> city’s<br />
busy market place.<br />
See Durham University's modern<br />
art collection with Henry Dyson,<br />
Keeper of Fine Art, followed by <strong>the</strong><br />
University’s Oriental Museum <strong>the</strong><br />
only museum of its kind in <strong>the</strong> north<br />
of England.<br />
Discover <strong>the</strong> palatial residence of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Prince Bishops at Auckland<br />
Castle, with 1000 years of history,<br />
<strong>the</strong> centre piece of a much older<br />
sacred Christian landscape.<br />
Visit market town, Barnard<br />
Castle and <strong>the</strong> Bowes Museum<br />
to discover not only its unique<br />
collections, but also <strong>the</strong> romantic<br />
story which led a wealthy<br />
businessman and his French wife<br />
to create this exceptional chateau.<br />
Continue to privately owned<br />
Rokeby Park, an outstanding<br />
Neo-Palladian villa set<br />
picturesquely in <strong>the</strong> Durham Dales.<br />
Explore Raby Castle, one of<br />
England’s best-preserved castles,<br />
home to <strong>the</strong> medieval Earls of<br />
Westmorland. Finally, visit High<br />
Force waterfall, inspiration to many<br />
artists including J.M.W. Turner.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com<br />
Durham Ca<strong>the</strong>dral. Photo: Visit County Durham The Royal Pavillion, Brighton. Photo: Tony Hisgett /CC-BY 2.0
Durham Ca<strong>the</strong>dral. Photo: Visit County Durham The Royal Pavillion, Brighton. Photo: Tony Hisgett /CC-BY 2.0<br />
Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England’s<br />
Chstian Hetage<br />
The Land of <strong>the</strong> Prince Bishops<br />
On <strong>the</strong> edge of <strong>the</strong> Roman empire, <strong>the</strong> buffer zone between<br />
England and Scotland, North East England emerged as a seat<br />
of creativity and learning. Discover <strong>the</strong> land<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Prince Bishops and ancient Saints,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Holy Island of Lindisfarne, and <strong>the</strong> story<br />
of <strong>the</strong> magnificent Lindisfarne Gospels.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
TOUR<br />
2<br />
Along <strong>the</strong> Pilgms’ Way<br />
Retracing 3000 years of English history<br />
Follow <strong>the</strong> route of <strong>the</strong> Pilgrims’ Way as it winds through<br />
early settlements, sacred sites, literature and myth from<br />
Winchester to Canterbury, linking ca<strong>the</strong>drals, castles<br />
and <strong>the</strong> beautiful rolling countryside of <strong>the</strong><br />
South Downs National Park in<br />
quintessential Sou<strong>the</strong>rn England.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
TOUR<br />
3<br />
Canterbury back-water. Photo: Visit Kent The Beatles Yellow Submarine by Gambarrotti. Photo: Flickr CC<br />
Celebrating <strong>the</strong> Arts<br />
in Sou<strong>the</strong>rn England<br />
Brighton Pavilion to Bloomsbury<br />
Explore <strong>the</strong> story of how <strong>the</strong> arts bloomed in Sou<strong>the</strong>rn<br />
England, from early Roman mosaic masterpieces, to stately<br />
homes and magnificent art collections, traditional rural arts<br />
and crafts, and <strong>the</strong> bohemian creativity<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Bloomsbury group, set against<br />
<strong>the</strong> rolling hills of <strong>the</strong> South Downs.<br />
TOUR<br />
4<br />
England’s Muc Powerhouse<br />
The beat of <strong>the</strong> Beatles and more<br />
Celebrate <strong>the</strong> musical heritage of Liverpool and<br />
Manchester. Discover <strong>the</strong> city which inspired <strong>the</strong> Beatles,<br />
and trace <strong>the</strong> evolution of <strong>the</strong> popular music<br />
scene from <strong>the</strong> 19th century music halls<br />
to <strong>the</strong> Hacienda as Manchester became<br />
“Madchester” in <strong>the</strong> 1980s and 1990s.<br />
TOUR<br />
5<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com Arts and Culture / 7
Canterbury Ca<strong>the</strong>dral. Photo: Visit Kent Robin Hood. Photo: Ezekiel Bone / Experience Nottinghamshire<br />
Sou<strong>the</strong>rn England’s<br />
Chstian Hetage<br />
England’s greatest ca<strong>the</strong>dral<br />
Follow in <strong>the</strong> footsteps of St Augustine as he brought<br />
Christianity to England. Hear <strong>the</strong> story of murdered<br />
Archbishop Thomas Becket, which turned Canterbury<br />
into one of Europe’s foremost pilgrimage<br />
centres, linking <strong>the</strong> ca<strong>the</strong>dral<br />
and city to <strong>the</strong> fortunes of Kings,<br />
Queens and country.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
TOUR<br />
6<br />
The Literary Landscape<br />
of Cambdge<br />
100 libraries and <strong>the</strong> landscapes of<br />
Eastern England<br />
Some of <strong>the</strong> greatest writers, poets and thinkers lived in,<br />
studied at or visited this historic University city.<br />
Through town and gown, immerse yourself<br />
in <strong>the</strong> places that inspired <strong>the</strong>m. Visit one of<br />
<strong>the</strong> greatest collections of literature in <strong>the</strong><br />
world and dine at a Cambridge College,<br />
and meet <strong>the</strong> literary greats of today.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
The Myths & Legends<br />
of Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England<br />
TOUR<br />
TOUR<br />
7<br />
8<br />
M.R. James, a ghostly story teller. Photo: Visit Kent<br />
Where fact and fable mix<br />
Some of England’s myths and legends are known world-wide,<br />
but o<strong>the</strong>rs are not so familiar. Discover warrior kings, noble<br />
outlaws and mysterious witches – including <strong>the</strong> well known<br />
legends of Robin Hood and <strong>the</strong> less well known heroes<br />
and villains. Visit Sherwood Forest and Nottingham<br />
Castle and <strong>the</strong> medieval city of Lincoln to<br />
discover <strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong> Lincoln Imp, also<br />
viewing <strong>the</strong> Magna Carta at <strong>the</strong> magnificent<br />
Lincoln Ca<strong>the</strong>dral.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
8 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England & To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
Great Lives<br />
Dickens, Darwin and Churchill – <strong>the</strong>ir homes,<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir writings and <strong>the</strong>ir legacy<br />
Highlights<br />
TOUR<br />
9<br />
• Explore <strong>the</strong> big skies of <strong>the</strong> historic<br />
Kent landscape, which inspired classic<br />
Dickens works and <strong>the</strong> artist J.M.W. Turner.<br />
• Visit Chartwell, Sir Winston Churchill’s<br />
family home, enjoy a private tour of his<br />
house, garden and remarkable art studio.<br />
• Tour Cambridge, historic city and world<br />
class university, with punting on <strong>the</strong> river<br />
Cam and dinner at Darwin’s college.<br />
Experience unrivalled access to Darwin’s<br />
letters, and some of <strong>the</strong> 2500 specimens<br />
that he sent back from HMS Beagle.<br />
Tour Type: Immersion<br />
Entry and Departure Point:<br />
London Heathrow Airport<br />
Journey on this two centred tour with<br />
three of England’s great thinkers, Dickens,<br />
Darwin and Churchill - geniuses whose<br />
creative minds give <strong>the</strong>m a unique place<br />
in our consciousness. Stand where <strong>the</strong>y<br />
wrote, spoke and created some of <strong>the</strong> most<br />
famous stories in England’s history.<br />
Discover Victorian Rochester, <strong>the</strong> inspiration<br />
for many of Charles Dickens’ famous novels.<br />
Visit Chartwell, Sir Winston Churchill’s<br />
family home, and discover not only an<br />
extraordinary political career, but also<br />
a lifelong passion for art and writing.<br />
Stand in <strong>the</strong> study where Charles Darwin<br />
wrote 'On <strong>the</strong> Origin of Species'.<br />
In Cambridge, follow in Darwin’s footsteps,<br />
visiting <strong>the</strong> College he attended, seeing<br />
some of <strong>the</strong> plant and animal specimens<br />
he collected on HMS Beagle and viewing<br />
his correspondence housed at <strong>the</strong><br />
University Library, culminating with<br />
a dinner in Christ’s College.<br />
Tour Director: Jim Dixon<br />
Jim is <strong>the</strong> founder of UK Countryside Tours, as well as a contributor to<br />
The Times newspaper Nature Notebook.<br />
With expertise in all aspects of British landscape and heritage, Jim has<br />
previously held significant roles at <strong>the</strong> Royal Society for <strong>the</strong> Protection of<br />
Birds, Natural England and <strong>the</strong> Peak District National Park, where he served<br />
as Chief Executive Officer for twelve years from 2003 to 2014. In addition,<br />
Jim led <strong>the</strong> UK National Parks partnership for four years in which he was<br />
appointed to <strong>the</strong> World Commission on Protected Areas.<br />
Christ’s College Cambridge (Inset: Charles Darwin at Cambridge). Photo: Visit Cambridge<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
Explore <strong>the</strong> scenic Kent Coast,<br />
visiting <strong>the</strong> Dickens family summer<br />
retreat, Bleak House. Visit seaside<br />
town Margate, and world-class<br />
gallery <strong>the</strong> Turner Contemporary.<br />
Return via <strong>the</strong> viewpoints of <strong>the</strong><br />
White Cliffs of Dover.<br />
Visit historic Rochester, with<br />
imposing Ca<strong>the</strong>dral and Norman<br />
Castle, taking in Gads Hill House,<br />
where Dickens lived from 1856.<br />
Visit Chartwell, home of Sir<br />
Winston Churchill, with a private<br />
tour of <strong>the</strong> house, gardens<br />
and art studios.<br />
Stand in <strong>the</strong> study of Charles<br />
Darwin’s Down House and explore<br />
Lullingstone Castle and World<br />
Garden, <strong>the</strong> home of modern day<br />
planter hunter and horticulturalist<br />
Tom Hart Dyke.<br />
Take a walking tour of Cambridge,<br />
visiting <strong>the</strong> Darwin Memorial<br />
Garden followed by chauffeured<br />
punting. Visit <strong>the</strong> Darwin<br />
Correspondence project at <strong>the</strong><br />
University Library for a privileged<br />
tour of <strong>the</strong> Darwin archive.<br />
Tour <strong>the</strong> Botanic Garden and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Herbarium, to see published<br />
floras, field notebooks and actual<br />
specimens. Enjoy a final dinner<br />
in <strong>the</strong> old Combination Room at<br />
Christ’s College, Cambridge.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com<br />
Arts and Culture / 9
Landscapes and<br />
Literary Lives<br />
From Pemberley to Jane Eyre, discovering <strong>the</strong><br />
landscapes which inspired England’s greatest writers<br />
Highlights<br />
TOUR<br />
10<br />
When we read a landscape through <strong>the</strong><br />
eyes of an author, <strong>the</strong> words and stories of<br />
• Visit Thomas Hardy’s birthplace<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir greatest characters stay with us as we<br />
and <strong>the</strong> charming cottage home where<br />
encounter those landscapes ourselves.<br />
Jane Austen lived at <strong>the</strong> end of her life.<br />
• Explore some of England’s most beautiful On this journey from <strong>the</strong> South to <strong>the</strong> North<br />
countryside - from <strong>the</strong> rolling Downs to of England, we visit elegant towns, timeless<br />
<strong>the</strong> rugged beauty of <strong>the</strong> Lake District. villages and rugged uplands, travelling in<br />
• Discover <strong>the</strong> bleak Pennine moors which <strong>the</strong> footsteps of Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen<br />
were <strong>the</strong> back cloth to Bronte classics and <strong>the</strong> Bronte sisters through England’s<br />
Jane Eyre and Wu<strong>the</strong>ring Heights<br />
most outstanding landscapes, and<br />
and finally visit Chatsworth House, <strong>the</strong> experience how <strong>the</strong> spirit of <strong>the</strong>se inspiring<br />
splendid baroque palace at <strong>the</strong> heart<br />
places drove <strong>the</strong>ir creativity.<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Peak District National Park, <strong>the</strong><br />
inspiration for Jane Austen’s Pemberley. You will peep into <strong>the</strong>ir homes, from humble<br />
cottages to grand houses, from tranquil<br />
rural idyll to <strong>the</strong> wild intensity of <strong>the</strong><br />
Yorkshire moors – and find powerful new<br />
insights and associations with familiar works.<br />
At each location enjoy distinctive rural<br />
heritage, folk customs and celebrated<br />
regional foods, from Dorset cider, to<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Grasmere gingerbread. Share your journey<br />
Immersion<br />
with expert guides who share <strong>the</strong>ir insights<br />
Entry and Departure Point: and passions and favourite readings from<br />
London Heathrow Airport selected works bringing each location<br />
to life in <strong>the</strong> words of <strong>the</strong> author.<br />
Tour Director: Helen Jackson<br />
A professional curator and heritage advisor, previously held Chief<br />
Executive positions at <strong>the</strong> Campaign for National Parks, and Museums,<br />
Libraries and Archives South East. As a heritage specialist she has a<br />
particular passion for England’s distinctive regional landscapes and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
unique associated cultural heritage. She is currently a Secretary of State<br />
appointed member of <strong>the</strong> South Downs National Park, a member of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Heritage Lottery Fund’s South East of England Committee, and is<br />
a trustee of several museums, arts and wildlife charities.<br />
10 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
Thomas Hardy’s Cottage, Dorchester. Photo: Visit England / Visit Dorset<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
Visit Jane Austen’s House<br />
Museum at Chawton, where Jane<br />
wrote Mansfield Park, Emma and<br />
Persuasion, and nearby Chawton<br />
House Library. Travel to Dorset<br />
through <strong>the</strong> New Forest to Hardy’s<br />
Wessex, visiting <strong>the</strong> thatched cottage<br />
in woods near Dorchester where<br />
Hardy was born.<br />
Heading north, we stop off in<br />
Shropshire to admire A.E. Housman’s<br />
‘blue remembered hills’, <strong>the</strong>n on to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Lake District National Park, muse<br />
of <strong>the</strong> romantic poets, ending <strong>the</strong> day<br />
at Lake Windermere.<br />
Visit Dove Cottage, and Rydal Mount,<br />
Wordsworth’s Lake District homes.<br />
Explore Ambleside and Stock Ghyll<br />
Force, one of England’s most loved<br />
waterfalls.<br />
Journey to <strong>the</strong> brooding moors of<br />
Yorkshire, which framed <strong>the</strong> powerful<br />
passions of <strong>the</strong> Bronte sisters.<br />
Visit Haworth Parsonage for a<br />
bespoke tour of <strong>the</strong> house,<br />
its private library and <strong>the</strong> village<br />
where <strong>the</strong> sisters wrote Jane Eyre<br />
and Wu<strong>the</strong>ring Heights.<br />
Explore North Lees Hall in <strong>the</strong> Peak<br />
District National Park - which inspired<br />
Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Thornfield Hall’<br />
in Jane Eyre. Finally spend time at<br />
magnificent Chatsworth House,<br />
<strong>the</strong> inspiration for Jane Austen’s<br />
‘Pemberley’ in Pride and Prejudice,<br />
close to <strong>the</strong> market town of Bakewell,<br />
where she wrote parts of <strong>the</strong> novel.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
History and<br />
hetage<br />
tours<br />
will tell you a story of English<br />
History which goes beyond<br />
<strong>the</strong> fabric of <strong>the</strong> castles,<br />
battlefields, and titled leaders.<br />
From <strong>the</strong> Roman conquest to Cold War Britain we<br />
will shine a light on learning and creativity, passion<br />
and conflict, ambition and sacrifice. We tell of <strong>the</strong><br />
failures and successes of <strong>the</strong> people great and<br />
small who toge<strong>the</strong>r made <strong>the</strong> story of England.<br />
Working with England’s leading historians, we<br />
will show how past events are relevant in modern<br />
times, how strong leaders rose to <strong>the</strong> challenge<br />
of uncertain times and made decisions good or<br />
bad that changed <strong>the</strong> course of a nation’s history.<br />
&<br />
Bamburgh Castle.<br />
Photo: Visit Northumberland<br />
To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com<br />
We<br />
History and Heritage / 11
Mayflower 400<br />
The journey to <strong>the</strong> American Declaration of Independence<br />
Highlights<br />
In 1620 <strong>the</strong> Mayflower set sail from<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
Plymouth, England carrying 102 English<br />
• Sit in <strong>the</strong> pews from which <strong>the</strong><br />
families worshipped and where<br />
Separatists seeking a new life on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r Enjoy a costumed interpreted tour<br />
<strong>the</strong>y determined to commit <strong>the</strong>mselves side of <strong>the</strong> Atlantic. Their struggle to found of Scrooby Manor and visit to local<br />
to a simpler life.<br />
a new colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts Churches in <strong>the</strong> villages of Scooby,<br />
12 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
Babworth and Austerfield, ending<br />
• Enjoy a costumed interpretive visit to is an iconic moment in American and<br />
at Gainsborough Old Hall.<br />
Scrooby Manor, home of William Brewster, world history.<br />
where secret prayer meetings were held.<br />
Travel to Lincoln to view <strong>the</strong> Magna<br />
This tour takes you on journey to <strong>the</strong><br />
Carta and Lincoln Ca<strong>the</strong>dral,<br />
• Witness <strong>the</strong> cells at Boston Guildhall, heart of <strong>the</strong>ir story, as you follow <strong>the</strong><br />
before journeying on to Boston,<br />
where <strong>the</strong> Separatists were imprisoned Mayflower Pilgrims through rural villages, where we will see <strong>the</strong> cells in which<br />
after <strong>the</strong>ir first attempt to leave England.<br />
coastal towns and bustling sea ports. We <strong>the</strong> Pilgrims were held in 1607.<br />
• Go aboard a full-size replica of <strong>the</strong><br />
will visit Scrooby, <strong>the</strong> quiet nor<strong>the</strong>rn English<br />
Visit Harwich and <strong>the</strong> docklands<br />
Mayflower and have lunch at <strong>the</strong><br />
village which shaped <strong>the</strong>ir characters,<br />
of Ro<strong>the</strong>rhi<strong>the</strong>. Go aboard a fully<br />
Mayflower Inn, <strong>the</strong> oldest pub on <strong>the</strong><br />
sit in <strong>the</strong> pews of <strong>the</strong> Church where <strong>the</strong>y operational replica of <strong>the</strong> Mayflower<br />
Thames.<br />
worshipped and visit <strong>the</strong> Boston prison cells to gain a sense of <strong>the</strong> ship which not<br />
• Stand on <strong>the</strong> steps of Plymouth Harbour where <strong>the</strong> Pilgrims were held following<br />
only carried <strong>the</strong> Pilgrims to America<br />
from which <strong>the</strong> Mayflower Pilgrims finally<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir first attempt to leave England.<br />
but which remained home for many<br />
set sail on <strong>the</strong>ir great journey to <strong>the</strong><br />
of <strong>the</strong>m during <strong>the</strong> first winter in <strong>the</strong><br />
New World.<br />
Covering North Nottinghamshire, Boston, New World.<br />
Harwich and Plymouth, this tour will help<br />
In Southampton, learn about <strong>the</strong><br />
you see <strong>the</strong> trials and tribulations <strong>the</strong><br />
provisioning of <strong>the</strong> Mayflower and<br />
Pilgrims experienced before <strong>the</strong>y finally set Speedwell and see <strong>the</strong> ships’ original<br />
Tour Type: Journey<br />
sail for <strong>the</strong> New World. Along <strong>the</strong> way we<br />
will visit traditional inns and public houses<br />
that have been in existence since long<br />
before <strong>the</strong> Pilgrims set sail, and highlight<br />
departure point before being forced<br />
by bad wea<strong>the</strong>r to turn back to<br />
Plymouth fur<strong>the</strong>r down <strong>the</strong> coast.<br />
Stop in Bayard’s Harbour on <strong>the</strong><br />
Entry and Departure Point: <strong>the</strong> many connections that link <strong>the</strong> history river Dart at Dartmouth where <strong>the</strong><br />
Manchester Airport<br />
and heritage of our two countries.<br />
two ships were forced to moor up<br />
for repairs.<br />
Tour Director: Jennifer Spencer<br />
Jennifer is a senior tourism professional having worked for six years as<br />
<strong>the</strong> CEO of Experience Nottinghamshire where she led a successful<br />
team developing and promoting <strong>the</strong> tourism sector. She now works<br />
as a consultant to <strong>the</strong> tourism and arts sectors, where she uses her<br />
considerable experience to support arts and heritage initiatives. She<br />
is also Director of New Art Exchange, on <strong>the</strong> Board of <strong>the</strong> Galleries of<br />
Justice and a member of <strong>the</strong> fundraising board for Maggies Nottingham.<br />
Visit <strong>the</strong> Mayflower museum in<br />
Plymouth and finally stand on <strong>the</strong><br />
steps from which <strong>the</strong> Mayflower<br />
departed English shores on 16<br />
September 1620. Our tour will<br />
culminate with a special private<br />
dinner in Nancy Astor’s house on<br />
Plymouth Hoe.<br />
TOUR<br />
11<br />
“The Embarkation of <strong>the</strong> Pilgrims” by Robert Walker Weir. Photo © Google Art Project<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com<br />
Bamburgh Castle. Photo: Visit Northumberland Suffolk Punch Horses, Gressenhall Farm. Photo: Norfolk Museums Service
Bamburgh Castle. Photo: Visit Northumberland Suffolk Punch Horses, Gressenhall Farm. Photo: Norfolk Museums Service<br />
England’s Bloody<br />
Borderland<br />
An ancient land rich in history<br />
Discover <strong>the</strong> beautiful border country between England<br />
and Scotland - witness to some of <strong>the</strong> bloodiest battles<br />
in British History. Hadrian’s Wall, Bamburgh Castle<br />
and <strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong> ruthless raiding warriors <strong>the</strong><br />
Border Reivers are <strong>the</strong> highlights of this tour<br />
set within <strong>the</strong> beautiful Northumberland<br />
National Park.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Horses, Steam and<br />
Great Estates<br />
Rural Life in Eastern England<br />
Discover how human hands have worked and shaped<br />
<strong>the</strong> unique farmed landscapes of Eastern England,<br />
from <strong>the</strong> Great Estates of North Norfolk to <strong>the</strong><br />
man-made landscape of Cambridgeshire’s watery fens.<br />
Visit outstanding museums and historic<br />
buildings, try your hand at working <strong>the</strong> heavy<br />
horses and discover <strong>the</strong> ingenuity of early<br />
steam powered farm machinery.<br />
TOUR<br />
TOUR<br />
12<br />
14<br />
The Story of English<br />
Rural Life<br />
From <strong>the</strong> 1850’s to <strong>the</strong> modern age<br />
Explore <strong>the</strong> English farming landscape from <strong>the</strong> golden<br />
age of <strong>the</strong> heavy horse, to <strong>the</strong> introduction of steam power,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> mechanisation of <strong>the</strong> modern age.<br />
See unique historic landscapes; from <strong>the</strong> chalklands<br />
of Norfolk to <strong>the</strong> rolling hills of Shropshire<br />
to <strong>the</strong> moors of Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England and enjoy<br />
encounters with working horses and steam<br />
driven machinery.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Journey<br />
Girl Power<br />
The women who made Britain great<br />
Explore 2000 years of history through <strong>the</strong> stories of<br />
Boudicca, Bess of Hardwick and Emmeline Pankhurst<br />
and o<strong>the</strong>r strong, courageous and challenging<br />
women - warriors, thinkers and activists<br />
who helped weave <strong>the</strong> story of England.<br />
TOUR<br />
TOUR<br />
13<br />
15<br />
The Old Kitchen, Holkham Hall . Photo: Visit Britain / Iain Lewes Bess of Hardwick, The Long Gallery Hardwick Hall. Photo: Damiandude / CCTrust<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Journey<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com History and Heritage / 13
Round Table at Winchester Ca<strong>the</strong>dral. Photo: Visit Britain / Daniel Bosworth Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. Photo: Marketing Manchester<br />
In <strong>the</strong> Footsteps<br />
of King Alfred<br />
Military leader, scholar and statesman<br />
Explore <strong>the</strong> life of King Alfred <strong>the</strong> Great – revered as <strong>the</strong> greatest<br />
Briton - and Winchester, England’s first royal city. Military leader,<br />
but also a man of huge learning, Alfred was a great statesman.<br />
During his celebrated reign he fought brutal wars with <strong>the</strong><br />
Vikings, but was also able to establish <strong>the</strong><br />
foundations of <strong>the</strong> English nation through<br />
new laws, cities, trade and an English<br />
language and culture.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Computing in Btain<br />
A journey from Turing to tomorrow<br />
TOUR<br />
TOUR<br />
16<br />
18<br />
The Story of Cold War<br />
Btain<br />
The USA’s “unsinkable aircraft carrier”<br />
This tour explores how, as divisions between East and West<br />
hardened after World War II, <strong>the</strong> green fields of traditional<br />
England came to co-exist with <strong>the</strong> gargantuan aircraft, early<br />
warning systems, reactors and radio telescopes of an exotic<br />
new order, and how a secret world of nuclear<br />
readiness was built beneath and around <strong>the</strong><br />
patterns of everyday life.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Histoc Herefordshire<br />
England’s rural idyll<br />
TOUR<br />
TOUR<br />
17<br />
19<br />
Jodrell Bank, Cheshire View of Symond’s Yat. Photo: Visit Britain / Adrian Houston<br />
Bletchley Park’s programmable computers were <strong>the</strong> greatest<br />
secret of Britain’s success in World War II – and <strong>the</strong>ir role in<br />
codebreaking kept <strong>the</strong>m secret for ano<strong>the</strong>r thirty years.<br />
Explore how, with <strong>the</strong> War’s end, this hidden experience<br />
prompted an explosion of innovation leading to <strong>the</strong><br />
mass computer literacy drive of <strong>the</strong> 1980s<br />
and discover <strong>the</strong> research projects that will<br />
shape computing in <strong>the</strong> next generation.<br />
Explore <strong>the</strong> stunningly beautiful Wye Valley close to<br />
<strong>the</strong> border between England and Wales. Visit Hereford<br />
Ca<strong>the</strong>dral, home to <strong>the</strong> Mappa Mundi, try your hand at cider<br />
making, experience <strong>the</strong> thrill of race horses on <strong>the</strong> gallops<br />
and see <strong>the</strong> best beef cattle in <strong>the</strong> world – <strong>the</strong> Hereford<br />
- grazing this timeless rural landscape.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Journey<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
14 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England & To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
A Seafang Nation<br />
Exploring England’s maritime heritage<br />
Highlights<br />
TOUR<br />
• Discover an awe-inspiring<br />
collection of ships and museums<br />
at Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard and<br />
visit <strong>the</strong> most complete dockyard of sail<br />
at Chatham.<br />
• Stand at <strong>the</strong> centre of time at Greenwich.<br />
• Marvel at Henry VIII’s warship, <strong>the</strong><br />
Mary Rose, lost with all hands in 1545,<br />
recovered from <strong>the</strong> seabed in 1982.<br />
• Walk <strong>the</strong> decks of Nelson’s Victory<br />
and see <strong>the</strong> coat he wore when fatally<br />
wounded at <strong>the</strong> battle of Trafalgar.<br />
• Discover stories hidden beneath <strong>the</strong><br />
streets of London, exploring <strong>the</strong> World<br />
War II bunker where Churchill led Britain<br />
to victory.<br />
Tour Type: Immersion<br />
Entry and Departure Point:<br />
London Gatwick Airport<br />
20<br />
HMS Cavalier, Chatham Historic Dockyard. Photo: Visit Kent / HMS Victory, Portsmouth Dockyard. Photo: Visit England, Visit Hampshire<br />
Maritime trade and naval power have always<br />
been critical to England’s story, from early<br />
pre-historic and Roman settlers to Drake’s<br />
golden age of exploration, and <strong>the</strong> flowering<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Royal Navy. England’s national<br />
identity has been powerfully shaped by our<br />
coastal and maritime history and heritage.<br />
We will see historic ships, dockyards,<br />
coastlines and uncover <strong>the</strong> real stories<br />
of iconic maritime conflicts such as <strong>the</strong><br />
Battle of Trafalgar and <strong>the</strong> D-Day landings.<br />
We visit world class maritime heritage sites,<br />
including UNESCO World Heritage sites at<br />
Greenwich Royal Observatory, <strong>the</strong> ’home<br />
of time’, and London’s National Maritime<br />
Museum; Portsmouth Historic Dockyard,<br />
still situated within a working Naval Base;<br />
and Kent’s impressively conserved Chatham<br />
Historic Dockyard.<br />
We will also explore <strong>the</strong> coastline and local<br />
character of Sou<strong>the</strong>rn England, delighting in<br />
picturesque harbours, local food specialities<br />
and <strong>the</strong> music of traditional sea shanties.<br />
Tour Director: Helen Jackson<br />
A professional curator and heritage advisor, previously held Chief<br />
Executive positions at <strong>the</strong> Campaign for National Parks, and Museums,<br />
Libraries and Archives South East. As a heritage specialist she has a<br />
particular passion for England’s distinctive regional landscapes and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
unique associated cultural heritage. She is currently a Secretary of State<br />
appointed member of <strong>the</strong> South Downs National Park, a member of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Heritage Lottery Fund’s South East of England Committee, and is<br />
a trustee of several museums, arts and wildlife charities.<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
Explore Churchill’s War Rooms,<br />
which remain as <strong>the</strong>y were in 1945.<br />
Cruise along <strong>the</strong> River Thames to<br />
Greenwich for a unique perspective<br />
on <strong>the</strong> city’s rich maritime history.<br />
Spend a full day at <strong>the</strong> Royal<br />
Museums Greenwich, a UNESCO<br />
World Heritage Site, and home to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Royal Observatory Greenwich,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> tea clipper Cutty Sark.<br />
Vist Chatham Historic Dockyard,<br />
<strong>the</strong> world’s most complete dockyard<br />
of <strong>the</strong> age of sail. Discover <strong>the</strong> site’s<br />
rich maritime heritage and enjoy a<br />
private tour of <strong>the</strong> (famously haunted)<br />
Commissioner’s House.<br />
See Dover’s famous Bronze Age<br />
Boat – discovered in 1992 and<br />
thought to be some 3000 years old<br />
and Dover’s famous white cliffs.<br />
Visit Fort Nelson, one of <strong>the</strong> five<br />
defensive forts built to protect <strong>the</strong><br />
Portsmouth naval base. We discover<br />
<strong>the</strong> story of D-Day from planning and<br />
build up to <strong>the</strong> landings in Normandy<br />
in 1944.<br />
Spend a full day in Portsmouth,<br />
home to HMS Victory and <strong>the</strong> Tudor<br />
Mary Rose, one of three operating<br />
bases in <strong>the</strong> UK for <strong>the</strong> British Royal<br />
Navy. Explore <strong>the</strong> historic Georgian<br />
dockyard buildings, take a harbour<br />
tour for a sea-view of <strong>the</strong> city.<br />
Finally enjoy dinner aboard HMS<br />
Warrior, Britain’s first iron-hulled,<br />
armoured warship.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com History and Heritage / 15
Imperial War Museum Duxford. Photo: Visit Britain / Britain on View<br />
England’s Dark Ages<br />
From Cultural Climax to Conquest - Anglo-Saxon England up to 1066<br />
Highlights<br />
TOUR<br />
21<br />
Known as ‘The Dark Ages’, <strong>the</strong>re are five<br />
centuries in England’s history that very<br />
• Discover <strong>the</strong> most exceptional<br />
cultural and physical treasures<br />
few explore. Yet, from <strong>the</strong> 6th to <strong>the</strong> 11th<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Saxon era with medieval expert century this country was a creative hub,<br />
Dr Janina Ramirez, including <strong>the</strong><br />
producing some of <strong>the</strong> best minds,<br />
Sutton Hoo treasures, England‘s<br />
art and literature in <strong>the</strong> Western World.<br />
Tutankhamun’s tomb.<br />
With that most seminal of dates – 1066 –<br />
• Explore both Saxon and Viking capital <strong>the</strong> Norman Conquest would rewrite<br />
cities, and <strong>the</strong> battle sites of Hastings history and transform <strong>the</strong> nation.<br />
and Stamford Bridge which saw <strong>the</strong><br />
end of <strong>the</strong> Saxon era in England at <strong>the</strong> On this journey which takes us from <strong>the</strong><br />
time of <strong>the</strong> Norman Conquest.<br />
south to <strong>the</strong> north of England, we will<br />
• Discover early Christian treasures from discover <strong>the</strong> vibrant world of <strong>the</strong> Anglo<strong>the</strong><br />
Lindisfarne Gospels to <strong>the</strong> earliest Saxons, and see for ourselves <strong>the</strong>ir exquisite<br />
Saxon church in England and visit <strong>the</strong> craftsmanship and learning from Bede<br />
Holy Island of Lindisfarne which was<br />
and Beowulf, to <strong>the</strong> bloody fields of<br />
home to St Cuthbert.<br />
Hastings and Stamford Bridge. We will visit<br />
<strong>the</strong> great libraries, ca<strong>the</strong>drals and castles<br />
of England’s most historic cities,<br />
and will also take time to visit simple<br />
churches, remote priories and little known,<br />
but incredibly significant locations.<br />
You will see <strong>the</strong> first stained glass window,<br />
Tour Type: Immersion <strong>the</strong> earliest English epic, and <strong>the</strong> finest<br />
Entry and Departure Point: illuminated manuscript ever made.<br />
London Heathrow Airport<br />
Tour Director: Dr Janina Ramirez<br />
Janina is a cultural historian, broadcaster and author based at <strong>the</strong><br />
University of Oxford with a passion for communicating ideas about <strong>the</strong><br />
past. Her research began with a degree in English literature at Oxford,<br />
followed by an MA and PhD at <strong>the</strong> Centre for Medieval Studies in York on<br />
<strong>the</strong> art, literature and culture of Anglo-Saxon England. She has presented<br />
a number of acclaimed series for <strong>the</strong> BBC including ‘Treasures of <strong>the</strong><br />
Anglo-Saxons’, ‘The Viking Sagas’, ‘The Private Lives of Medieval Kings’<br />
and <strong>the</strong> ‘Hundred Years’ War’.<br />
16 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
Sutton Hoo Clasp. Photo: British Museum, Photo Dr. J. Ramirez<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
Travel from London to Hastings<br />
and explore <strong>the</strong> battlefield where<br />
William <strong>the</strong> Conqueror defeated<br />
Harold Godwinson.<br />
Visit <strong>the</strong> British Museum, home to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Sutton Hoo treasures, one of<br />
<strong>the</strong> most spectacular discoveries<br />
in British archaeology. Then to <strong>the</strong><br />
British Library, to see manuscripts<br />
of Beowulf and <strong>the</strong> 8th century<br />
Lindisfarne Gospels.<br />
Travel to Tamworth, <strong>the</strong> ancient<br />
capital of Anglo Saxon Mercia,<br />
to see <strong>the</strong> Staffordshire Hoard,<br />
<strong>the</strong> biggest collection of Anglo-<br />
Saxon jewellery ever discovered.<br />
Visit <strong>the</strong> spectacular 13th century<br />
York Minster and <strong>the</strong> Ca<strong>the</strong>dral<br />
Library, including <strong>the</strong> famous<br />
York Gospels.<br />
Travel to Stamford Bridge, where<br />
<strong>the</strong> first major battle of 1066 ended<br />
in victory. Journey onto Jarrow,<br />
visiting Bede’s monastery to see<br />
<strong>the</strong> first stained glass window and<br />
<strong>the</strong> oldest complete Anglo-Saxon<br />
Church in England.<br />
Explore Durham Ca<strong>the</strong>dral, with<br />
special access to manuscripts from<br />
<strong>the</strong> Ca<strong>the</strong>dral’s remarkable library.<br />
Journey to <strong>the</strong> Holy Island of<br />
Lindisfarne. A tranquil, beautiful<br />
and remote place to end your tour<br />
and stunning place to contemplate<br />
<strong>the</strong> achievements of <strong>the</strong> Anglo-<br />
Saxons.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
Imperial War Museum Duxford. Photo: Visit Britain / Britain on View<br />
Over Here<br />
The story of US servicemen in Britain<br />
TOUR<br />
22<br />
Guarding <strong>the</strong> Shores<br />
of England<br />
TOUR<br />
23<br />
War Rooms below Dover Castle. Photo: Visit Kent<br />
Hundreds of thousands of US servicemen arrived in<br />
Britain in 1942 ready for <strong>the</strong> great push against Hitler’s<br />
Nazi Germany. This was one of many occasions<br />
when American service personnel, <strong>the</strong>ir families,<br />
culture and beliefs built a profound connection<br />
with Britain. Discover <strong>the</strong>ir stories on a<br />
journey via <strong>the</strong> American Military cemeteries,<br />
England’s only dedicated American Museum<br />
and <strong>the</strong> American Air Museum in Duxford.<br />
Kent’s frontline country<br />
The white cliffs of Dover have always been at <strong>the</strong> forefront<br />
of <strong>the</strong> defence of <strong>the</strong> realm. Roman coastal forts,<br />
Norman defensive castles and Tudor naval docklands<br />
have left <strong>the</strong>ir mark on this beautiful rolling<br />
countryside. Napoleon and two World Wars<br />
saw fur<strong>the</strong>r fortification of <strong>the</strong> region once<br />
known as Hellfire corner.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
A Gloous Century<br />
of War and More<br />
Crecy to Agincourt:<br />
exploring late medieval England.<br />
TOUR<br />
24<br />
The Hundred Years War between England and<br />
France raged during <strong>the</strong> most dramatic century<br />
in both nations’ history. From <strong>the</strong> 14th to <strong>the</strong><br />
15th centuries, two countries that had been<br />
bound by language, culture and blood since<br />
1066, broke apart and found <strong>the</strong>ir own identities<br />
in <strong>the</strong> wreckage.<br />
As England became a nation in its own right,<br />
it discovered <strong>the</strong> beauty of its language through<br />
Chaucer, stunning English Gothic architecture<br />
at Gloucester, and a new military identity bound<br />
to Edward III and Henry V, two of England’s<br />
greatest rulers. We will explore this birth of a nation<br />
through secret castles, breath-taking ca<strong>the</strong>drals<br />
and powerful landscapes that have changed <strong>the</strong><br />
course of history.<br />
Windsor Castle. Photo: Visit England<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Journey<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com History and Heritage / 17
Radical Thinkers<br />
Manchester, cotton and <strong>the</strong> birth of industry<br />
Highlights<br />
Nicknamed ‘Cotton City’, or Cottonopolis,<br />
Manchester once sent cotton goods around<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
• Tour Chetham’s library, where<br />
Karl Marx met Friedrich Engels and visit <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong> world. Out of <strong>the</strong> world’s first industrial city<br />
site of <strong>the</strong> notorious ‘Peterloo Massacre’. came remarkable men and women, whose<br />
• Enjoy a drinks reception at Gaskell<br />
capacity for radical thought drove <strong>the</strong> industrial<br />
House, where novelist and social reform revolution and challenged social injustice.<br />
campaigner Elizabeth Gaskell wrote<br />
We discover <strong>the</strong> fascinating heritage of<br />
Cranford and North and South.<br />
railways, canals and cotton mills; contrasting<br />
• Discover Manchester’s finest museums and<br />
<strong>the</strong> lives of <strong>the</strong> cotton workers with <strong>the</strong><br />
galleries, including <strong>the</strong> Museum of Science<br />
imposing architecture of Manchester Town<br />
and Industry, <strong>the</strong> award winning Whitworth<br />
Art Gallery and <strong>the</strong> unique Lowry Gallery. Hall. We will dine in <strong>the</strong> hotel where Rolls met<br />
Royce and browse <strong>the</strong> shelves of <strong>the</strong> oldest<br />
• Step back in time at Quarry Bank Mill – <strong>the</strong><br />
most complete and untouched industrial free public library in <strong>the</strong> world, where Marx<br />
heritage community in <strong>the</strong> UK.<br />
met Engels.<br />
• Take tea in <strong>the</strong> parlour of <strong>the</strong> Pankhurst With <strong>the</strong> help of leading authorities in industrial<br />
Centre, home to suffragette Emmeline heritage and political history we will deepen<br />
Pankhurst, where <strong>the</strong> campaign for Votes<br />
our understanding of why Manchester not<br />
for Women began.<br />
only led <strong>the</strong> industrial revolution, but also<br />
bore witness to <strong>the</strong> rise of <strong>the</strong> Co-operative<br />
movement, Trade Unionism and <strong>the</strong> struggle<br />
for votes for ordinary people.<br />
Today, Manchester is a modern, vibrant<br />
Tour Type: Immersion metropolitan centre and this tour offers <strong>the</strong><br />
Entry and Departure Point: opportunity for retail, <strong>the</strong>atre and musical<br />
Manchester Airport interludes in addition to its heritage highlights.<br />
Tour Director and specialist contributors: Jim Dixon<br />
Jim is <strong>the</strong> founder of UK Countryside Tours, he will be supported on this<br />
tour by:<br />
Professor Hannah Barker: Hannah is a leading historian in Victorian<br />
social history and Manchester’s cotton past. She is Director of <strong>the</strong> John<br />
Rylands Research Institute, Professor of British History at <strong>the</strong> University of<br />
Manchester and Chair of Manchester Histories, a charity which works to<br />
transform lives in Greater Manchester through histories and heritage.<br />
Jonathan Schofield: One of Manchester’s awarding winning blue badge<br />
guides and <strong>the</strong> author of <strong>the</strong> complete guide to Manchester.<br />
18 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
TOUR<br />
25<br />
Castlefield Basin. Photo: Marketing Manchester / Helmshore Cotton Machines. Photo: David Dixon / CC<br />
Begin at <strong>the</strong> Museum of Science and<br />
Industry, on <strong>the</strong> site of <strong>the</strong> world’s<br />
first passenger railway station; enjoy<br />
its outstanding collections dedicated<br />
to Manchester’s textile trade. Enjoy<br />
a private charter on <strong>the</strong> historic<br />
Bridgewater Canal.<br />
Take a walking tour of <strong>the</strong> city, taking in<br />
<strong>the</strong> grandiose Manchester Town Hall,<br />
Chetham’s Library and St Peter's<br />
Fields, site of <strong>the</strong> 1819 Peterloo<br />
Massacre, later explore <strong>the</strong> award<br />
winning Whitworth Art Gallery.<br />
Visit Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire –<br />
<strong>the</strong> most complete surviving example<br />
of a designed industrial revolution<br />
community, guided by Professor<br />
Hannah Barker. Later enjoy a drinks<br />
reception at Gaskell House.<br />
Tour <strong>the</strong> dramatic Pennine<br />
landscape north of <strong>the</strong> city, whose<br />
hilly geography underpinned <strong>the</strong><br />
development of <strong>the</strong> cotton trade.<br />
Visit Marsden, where <strong>the</strong> UK’s longest<br />
canal tunnel cuts below <strong>the</strong> moors.<br />
Visit <strong>the</strong> Lowry Gallery set at <strong>the</strong><br />
heart of <strong>the</strong> Salford Quays docklands<br />
- famous for works depicting life in<br />
North West England. Finish our tour<br />
taking tea in <strong>the</strong> parlour of Pankhurst<br />
House, <strong>the</strong> home of Suffragettes<br />
Emmeline and Christobel Pankhurst.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
Houses and<br />
gardens<br />
tours<br />
will unveil <strong>the</strong> English country<br />
house from timber framed manorial<br />
halls, to <strong>the</strong> outstanding treasure<br />
houses of England, revealing <strong>the</strong><br />
lives of <strong>the</strong> people who owned,<br />
designed and worked <strong>the</strong>re.<br />
Our passionate experts, will help you read political<br />
allegiance, social values and even treasonous<br />
plotting in both interiors and garden design.<br />
We will share with you <strong>the</strong> beauty of England’s<br />
glorious gardens in all <strong>the</strong>ir rich diversity -<br />
celebrating <strong>the</strong> restraint of clipped hedges, <strong>the</strong><br />
flamboyance of Victorian colour, <strong>the</strong> grandeur of<br />
sweeping vistas and intimate cottage planting.<br />
With head gardeners, garden design experts<br />
and garden historians <strong>the</strong>se tours will enrich<br />
your understanding of <strong>the</strong> great plant hunters<br />
and global connections that make each<br />
English garden a unique masterpiece.<br />
&<br />
Holkham Hall Saloon.<br />
Photo: Visit Britain / Iain Lewis<br />
To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com<br />
We<br />
Houses and Sub Gardens header / 19
The Gardens of<br />
Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England<br />
Innovative, hardy and sustaining, in association with<br />
<strong>the</strong> Royal Horticultural Society<br />
Highlights<br />
TOUR<br />
26<br />
The majestic settings of Yorkshire’s<br />
countryside and its historic cities have<br />
• Discover three of England’s<br />
most important 18th century landscapes inspired ambitious designed landscapes<br />
– Studley Royal, Castle Howard and as well as intimate private gardens.<br />
Harewood House.<br />
On this tour we have a week in which to<br />
• Explore a feast of architectural<br />
explore garden history from <strong>the</strong> medieval<br />
masterpieces from medieval Gothic<br />
through ‘Capability’ Brown landscapes<br />
through English baroque to neo-classical,<br />
Victorian and contemporary.<br />
to <strong>the</strong> contemporary sculpture park.<br />
We will meet <strong>the</strong> curators, owners and<br />
• Opportunities throughout to pose<br />
questions directly to garden makers gardeners who undaunted by a nor<strong>the</strong>rn<br />
and owners whilst sampling home-made climate made and make Yorkshire’s<br />
traditional foods.<br />
gardens great.<br />
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) will<br />
provide a behind <strong>the</strong> scenes visit to <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
nor<strong>the</strong>rn showcase – <strong>the</strong> Harlow Carr<br />
Botanical Gardens. Local recipes have<br />
evolved to sustain hard working gardeners<br />
and we will also enjoy traditional homebaked<br />
Yorkshire cuisine during our visits.<br />
We will be based in <strong>the</strong> elegant spa town<br />
of Harrogate.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Entry and Departure Point:<br />
Manchester Airport<br />
Tour Director: Caroline Holmes<br />
Caroline is a garden historian, international lecturer, author of<br />
11 books who designs landscape <strong>the</strong>mes including <strong>the</strong> planting in<br />
The Poison Garden at The Alnwick Garden. Recipient of <strong>the</strong> Herb Society<br />
of America’s The Elizabeth Crisp Rea and The Gertrude B. Foster Awards<br />
for Excellence in Herbal Literature, Caroline is Course Director for <strong>the</strong><br />
University of Cambridge’s International Summer Programmeme creating<br />
and leading modules studying English houses and gardens.<br />
20 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
RHS Harlow Carr Gardens. Photo: © Royal Horticultural Society<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
Visit to Dacre Banks and<br />
Summerbridge Gardens. Situated<br />
in <strong>the</strong> beautiful countryside of<br />
Nidderdale, <strong>the</strong> gardens are linked<br />
by an attractive valley walk.<br />
Experience Fountains Abbey<br />
‘<strong>the</strong> largest folly in Christendom’<br />
and Studley Royal for a day<br />
of spectacular landscape and<br />
medieval architecture.<br />
Explore RHS Harlow Carr Botanical<br />
Gardens, with a special focus<br />
on Plant Hunter Reginald Farrer.<br />
Then onto Birstwith Hall,<br />
to meet <strong>the</strong> owner of this charming<br />
private garden.<br />
Experience <strong>the</strong> space and serenity<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Yorkshire Arboretum, a 120<br />
acre garden of trees from around<br />
<strong>the</strong> world. Then onto Vanbrugh’s<br />
architectural masterpiece Castle<br />
Howard set in <strong>the</strong> first example of<br />
<strong>the</strong> English serpentine style.<br />
Visit <strong>the</strong> grand estate of Harewood<br />
to view an outstanding Capability<br />
Brown landscape, restored Victorian<br />
terraces and walled garden.<br />
Discover internationally renowned<br />
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, where<br />
<strong>the</strong> undulating landscape provides<br />
<strong>the</strong> perfect setting for contemporary<br />
sculpture displays. Then onto<br />
Wentworth Castle Gardens to<br />
enjoy its 18th century follies and<br />
restored Victorian conservatory.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com<br />
The Cascade House, Chatsworth. Photo: Chatsworth House Trust
Temple of <strong>the</strong> Four Winds, Castle Howard. Photo: Visit Britain / Mike Kipling The Cascade House, Chatsworth. Photo: Chatsworth House Trust<br />
The Country House<br />
in Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England<br />
Loyalty, treason and America<br />
England from 1685 was marked by revolution, civil wars,<br />
imperial warfare, <strong>the</strong> Atlantic slave trade and American<br />
independence. Encounter <strong>the</strong> reflections of <strong>the</strong>se events<br />
in <strong>the</strong> gardens and houses of Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England,<br />
and witness <strong>the</strong> fine line between loyalty<br />
and treason expressed in architecture,<br />
monuments and Georgian political gardening.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Retrang <strong>the</strong><br />
Enlightenment<br />
TOUR<br />
TOUR<br />
27<br />
29<br />
The Country House<br />
in Sou<strong>the</strong>rn England<br />
Sex, war and politics<br />
Visit <strong>the</strong> great houses of 18th century dilettantes, soldiers<br />
and politicians and explore landscapes, follies and exquisite<br />
interiors. Discover great palaces and small manor houses,<br />
heroic military campaigns translated into garden features<br />
and follies and statuary which teasingly satirise<br />
18th century morality and politics.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
The Gloous Gardens<br />
of South West England<br />
TOUR<br />
TOUR<br />
28<br />
30<br />
Italian Garden Blenheim Palace. Photo: Visit Britain / Blenheim Palace Lukelands. Photo: Caroline Holmes<br />
An English Grand Tour<br />
England’s gentler climate<br />
Retrace <strong>the</strong> meeting of arts and sciences - <strong>the</strong> beautiful and <strong>the</strong><br />
practical - during <strong>the</strong> Enlightenment. Find Arcadia realised<br />
by Richard Wilson, designed by Robert Adam, rationalised<br />
in <strong>the</strong> intelligent landscapes of Lancelot ‘Capability’<br />
Brown, fuelled by experimentation and<br />
symbolised in <strong>the</strong> paintings of Joseph Wright<br />
of Derby - from <strong>the</strong> world’s first factory on<br />
<strong>the</strong> River Derwent to <strong>the</strong> architecture and<br />
landscapes of Kedleston and Chatsworth.<br />
Rugged countryside and magnificent coasts make <strong>the</strong><br />
West Country one of England’s most picturesque regions.<br />
The milder climate is ideal for gardening and plants from<br />
around <strong>the</strong> globe thrive. Explore ancient estates,<br />
with fine houses and castles on <strong>the</strong> way,<br />
discovering champion trees, <strong>the</strong> real<br />
Downton Abbey and <strong>the</strong> landscapes which<br />
inspired Agatha Christie’s crime fiction.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com Houses and Gardens / 21
Scafell Pike, Lake District National Park. Photo: Visit Britain / Joe Cornish Herringbone Brickwork Otley Hall. Photo: Caroline Holmes<br />
Natural Treasures<br />
A journey through England’s National Parks<br />
Discover England’s finest landscapes, diverse countryside<br />
and strong rural character, and <strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong> visionary<br />
individuals and campaigning groups who have ensured<br />
<strong>the</strong>y have been saved for future generations. Visit nature<br />
reserves and precious habitats from <strong>the</strong> ancient woodland<br />
of <strong>the</strong> New Forest to <strong>the</strong> craggy peaks of <strong>the</strong><br />
Lake District.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Journey<br />
The Gloous Gardens<br />
of Eastern England<br />
TOUR<br />
TOUR<br />
31<br />
33<br />
The ‘Dukees’<br />
The great houses of Central England<br />
In a beautifully scenic area of central England four of <strong>the</strong><br />
greatest ducal estates in England sit adjacent to each o<strong>the</strong>r.<br />
Discover <strong>the</strong> fascinating story of how <strong>the</strong>se estates came into<br />
being, insights into <strong>the</strong> rich history of <strong>the</strong> families who lived<br />
and worked on <strong>the</strong>m, with behind <strong>the</strong> scenes<br />
access to reveal how <strong>the</strong>se heritage<br />
properties survive in <strong>the</strong> 21st century.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
TOUR<br />
32<br />
The Portland Collection. Photo: Welbeck Estates<br />
The cradle of <strong>the</strong> constitution to contemporary<br />
expressions of individual taste<br />
On <strong>the</strong> altar of St Edmund’s Abbey <strong>the</strong> rebel Barons swore<br />
an oath that King John should sign <strong>the</strong> Magna Carta.<br />
400 years later, Bartholomew Gosnold sailed on Godspeed<br />
to ‘discover’ Cape Cod. Based in Bury St<br />
Edmunds, this tour has time to explore its<br />
ruins, <strong>the</strong>atre and brewery as well as <strong>the</strong><br />
glorious gardens nurtured by <strong>the</strong> rich soils<br />
of Eastern England.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
22 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England & To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
Cultivating<br />
Extravagance<br />
Sussex, a county of culture, architecture and horticulture,<br />
where <strong>the</strong> world seed-bank meets architectural Xanadu<br />
Highlights<br />
TOUR<br />
34<br />
• Delight in England’s most exotic<br />
regal folly, <strong>the</strong> Royal Pavilion, Brighton.<br />
• Wonder at <strong>the</strong> work of <strong>the</strong> Millennium<br />
Seed Bank, which stores seeds of every<br />
UK native plant and towards 25% of <strong>the</strong><br />
world’s species. Closely associated with<br />
<strong>the</strong> Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, it is <strong>the</strong><br />
finest in <strong>the</strong> world.<br />
• Visit restored Gravetye Manor, in <strong>the</strong><br />
company of Head Gardener Tom Coward,<br />
and see <strong>the</strong> influence of American<br />
species on <strong>the</strong> English Garden.<br />
• Discover <strong>the</strong> fruits of <strong>the</strong> Arts and Crafts<br />
Movement in architecture, furniture<br />
and furnishings.<br />
Tour Type: Immersion<br />
Entry and Departure Point:<br />
London Heathrow Airport<br />
We invite you to revel in <strong>the</strong> architectural<br />
and horticultural extravaganzas of Sussex.<br />
The Royal Pavilion, Brighton, is undoubtedly<br />
<strong>the</strong> most exotic where <strong>the</strong> styles of India and<br />
China meet in a colourful collaboration, but a<br />
cornucopia of delights to feast both <strong>the</strong> eyes<br />
and appetite will be enjoyed at West Dean,<br />
Gravetye Manor and Parham House.<br />
We will focus on <strong>the</strong> needs of global<br />
conservation at <strong>the</strong> Millennium Seed Bank<br />
at Wakehurst Place, and enjoy <strong>the</strong> Arts<br />
and Crafts mantra of beauty and utility<br />
consummately expressed at Standen House.<br />
We will enjoy Edwardian exuberance in <strong>the</strong><br />
gardens at West Dean, whilst <strong>the</strong> interior<br />
is testament to Edward James’ patronage<br />
of <strong>the</strong> surrealists, a world of kaleidoscopic<br />
colours bursts on to <strong>the</strong> scene from <strong>the</strong><br />
leaves and flowers of trees and shrubs<br />
at Sheffield Park.<br />
Quiet confidence is exuded by <strong>the</strong><br />
Elizabethan Parham House, whilst <strong>the</strong><br />
symmetry of English baroque on <strong>the</strong> west<br />
façade at Petworth provides <strong>the</strong> perfect<br />
<strong>the</strong>atre for its Brownian landscape.<br />
Tour Director: Caroline Holmes<br />
Caroline is a garden historian, international lecturer, author of<br />
11 books who designs landscape <strong>the</strong>mes including <strong>the</strong> planting in<br />
The Poison Garden at The Alnwick Garden. Recipient of <strong>the</strong> Herb Society<br />
of America’s The Elizabeth Crisp Rea and The Gertrude B. Foster Awards<br />
for Excellence in Herbal Literature, Caroline is Course Director for <strong>the</strong><br />
University of Cambridge’s International Summer Programmeme creating<br />
and leading modules studying English houses and gardens.<br />
The Royal Pavillion, Brighton. Photo: Tony Hisgett /CC-BY 2.0<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
Visit Gravetye Manor, former home<br />
of Edwardian garden writer William<br />
Robinson. Then onto Standen<br />
House, a Philip Webb designed<br />
exemplar of <strong>the</strong> Arts and Crafts<br />
Movement.<br />
Explore Petworth House, home of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Egremont family, with worldclass<br />
art collections including<br />
paintings by J.M.W. Turner of <strong>the</strong><br />
‘Capability’ Brown landscape.<br />
Later visit Parham House, one of<br />
England’s finest Elizabethan houses.<br />
Visit <strong>the</strong> leafy landscape of<br />
Sheffield Park, before moving<br />
on to Wakehurst Place, where<br />
<strong>the</strong> architecture ranges from<br />
Elizabethan to contemporary.<br />
Discover West Dean, to enjoy both<br />
Arts and Crafts and <strong>the</strong> Surreal,<br />
and later visit nearby Weald and<br />
Downland Museum to see a<br />
fascinating range of reconstructed<br />
traditional buildings.<br />
Visit Lewes, to see <strong>the</strong> house of<br />
one of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne<br />
of Cleves, and <strong>the</strong> oldest Sussex<br />
brewery. Travel onto Brighton for<br />
<strong>the</strong> Royal Pavilion - ‘<strong>the</strong> pleasure<br />
domes of Xanadu transported to an<br />
English seaside town’.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com<br />
Houses and Gardens / 23
Great Heiresses<br />
How America saved <strong>the</strong> English country house<br />
and changed English society, taste and design<br />
Highlights<br />
TOUR<br />
35<br />
We explore <strong>the</strong> remarkable story of<br />
American investment at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong><br />
• Bespoke tours of great English<br />
country houses with fascinating<br />
19th century which saved many of <strong>the</strong> great<br />
American connections.<br />
country houses from financial ruin, and<br />
had a lasting impact on English society.<br />
• Explore <strong>the</strong> remarkable lives of <strong>the</strong><br />
influential Americans such as Consuelo American tycoons and ‘dollar princesses’<br />
Vanderbilt, who left a gilded American were part of this phenomenon, and by 1914<br />
childhood for a loveless marriage at over 300 American heiresses had married<br />
Blenheim, and Nancy Lancaster, a<br />
into <strong>the</strong> British aristocracy.<br />
renowned 20th century tastemaker.<br />
We visit some of <strong>the</strong> glorious English<br />
• Discover <strong>the</strong> perfect Georgian city of<br />
country houses rescued or shaped by this<br />
Bath - and <strong>the</strong> picturesque rural delights<br />
wave of ‘Gilded Age’ investment, including<br />
of <strong>the</strong> South Downs National Park and<br />
Blenheim Palace, Highclere Castle,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Cotswolds.<br />
Cliveden and Leeds Castle.<br />
On our journey we will see spectacular<br />
architecture, grand and extravagant design<br />
– and we discover <strong>the</strong> extraordinary life<br />
stories associated with <strong>the</strong> great estates,<br />
from railroad heiress Gloria Vanderbilt at<br />
Blenheim Palace, to Nancy Astor, <strong>the</strong> first<br />
woman to sit as a Member of Parliament.<br />
Throughout you will be accompanied<br />
by expert guides who can share <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
Tour Type: Immersion insights as you explore hidden histories,<br />
Entry and Departure Point: gain new perspectives and experience<br />
London Heathrow Airport <strong>the</strong> best of each location.<br />
Tour Director: Helen Jackson<br />
A professional curator and heritage advisor, previously held Chief<br />
Executive positions at <strong>the</strong> Campaign for National Parks, and Museums,<br />
Libraries and Archives South East. As a heritage specialist she has a<br />
particular passion for England’s distinctive regional landscapes and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
unique associated cultural heritage. She is currently a Secretary of State<br />
appointed member of <strong>the</strong> South Downs National Park, a member of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Heritage Lottery Fund’s South East of England Committee, and is<br />
a trustee of several museums, arts and wildlife charities.<br />
24 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
Hever Castle, once home to Anne Boleyn. Photo: Visit Kent<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
See 900 year old Leeds Castle in<br />
Kent, acquired in 1926 by an Anglo<br />
American heiress, and restyled as<br />
a centre of lavish hospitality for<br />
statesmen, film stars and royalty.<br />
Visit Hever Castle, home of Anne<br />
Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second<br />
wife, and bought in 1903 by William<br />
Waldorf Astor, <strong>the</strong>n America’s<br />
richest man.<br />
Travel west to explore <strong>the</strong> ‘real<br />
Downton Abbey’, Highclere Castle,<br />
one of England’s most beautiful<br />
Victorian stately homes.<br />
Visit Highcliffe Castle, perched<br />
on <strong>the</strong> Dorset cliffs, tenanted by<br />
<strong>the</strong> retail entrepreneur Harry<br />
Gordon Selfridge, before his<br />
fortunes changed.<br />
Travel to <strong>the</strong> historic city of Bath,<br />
a UNESCO World Heritage site,<br />
with time to explore <strong>the</strong> Georgian<br />
streets and elegant shops.<br />
Journey to <strong>the</strong> Oxfordshire<br />
Cotswolds to visit Ditchley Park,<br />
an 18th century house redecorated<br />
from 1933 by American Nancy<br />
Lancaster. Discover <strong>the</strong> decadent<br />
history of palatial Cliveden House,<br />
purchased by William Waldorf Astor.<br />
Explore Blenheim Palace,<br />
Oxfordshire, a stately home of<br />
staggering beauty and treasures,<br />
birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill,<br />
and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
RHS Royal Chelsea and<br />
Hampton Court Palace<br />
The most English of flower shows and <strong>the</strong> Arcadian Thames<br />
in association with <strong>the</strong> Royal Horticultural Society<br />
RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Photo: ©Royal Horticultural Society<br />
Highlights<br />
• Discover <strong>the</strong> horticultural<br />
heritage and legacy of London districts<br />
Chelsea and Hampton from Henry VIII<br />
to <strong>the</strong> modern day RHS Flower Shows.<br />
• Enjoy an exclusive, insider guide to <strong>the</strong><br />
gardens, plantsmen, designers and<br />
landscapes who have shaped London<br />
in collaboration with our RHS experts<br />
and Tour Director.<br />
• Enjoy expert guidance on how <strong>the</strong> flower<br />
shows are judged, what to look out for<br />
and how to ensure you get <strong>the</strong> most out<br />
of your visit to <strong>the</strong> show.<br />
• Gain unique access to <strong>the</strong> RHS library in<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir headquarters. RHS Head of Libraries<br />
is home to <strong>the</strong>ir collection of rare books,<br />
catalogues and botanical art.<br />
TOUR<br />
36<br />
Tour Type: Immersion<br />
Entry and Departure Point:<br />
London Heathrow Airport<br />
The Royal Horticultural Society (The RHS)<br />
was established in 1804 and is <strong>the</strong> world’s<br />
leading horticultural charity. Their vision is<br />
to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and<br />
make <strong>the</strong> UK a greener and more beautiful<br />
place. The RHS has a worldwide reputation<br />
for providing horticultural excellence and<br />
inspiration through <strong>the</strong>ir shows and gardens.<br />
This tour runs in May to coincide with <strong>the</strong><br />
RHS Chelsea Flower Show and July for <strong>the</strong><br />
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.<br />
The RHS library collection will form a key<br />
part of <strong>the</strong> tour experience, currently not<br />
available to <strong>the</strong> general public or any o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
tour company. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, RHS experts<br />
will enhance <strong>the</strong> tour both prior to visiting<br />
<strong>the</strong> flower show and during <strong>the</strong> visit.<br />
Apart from one or o<strong>the</strong>r show, gardens to<br />
be visited include Hampton Court Palace<br />
accessed by boat along <strong>the</strong> River Thames,<br />
Chelsea Physic Garden, <strong>the</strong> Royal Chelsea<br />
Hospital and <strong>the</strong> Garden Museum.<br />
Tour Director: Caroline Holmes<br />
Caroline is a garden historian, international lecturer, author of<br />
11 books who designs landscape <strong>the</strong>mes including <strong>the</strong> planting in<br />
The Poison Garden at The Alnwick Garden. Recipient of <strong>the</strong> Herb Society<br />
of America’s The Elizabeth Crisp Rea and The Gertrude B. Foster Awards<br />
for Excellence in Herbal Literature, Caroline is Course Director for <strong>the</strong><br />
University of Cambridge’s International Summer Programmeme creating<br />
and leading modules studying English houses and gardens.<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
Visit <strong>the</strong> RHS Library Head of<br />
Libraries, for an introductory talk.<br />
A selection of extremely rare books,<br />
catalogues and botanical art will be<br />
available to view. Visit <strong>the</strong> Chelsea<br />
Physic Garden to explore its<br />
collections and iconic history.<br />
Enjoy an early morning tour of<br />
RHS Chelsea Flower Show with<br />
ample time to explore individually.<br />
Visit Hampton Court Palace<br />
to see both <strong>the</strong> gardens and<br />
interiors. Return to London by boat<br />
along <strong>the</strong> Thames.<br />
Take a guided tour of <strong>the</strong> Royal<br />
Hospital Chelsea garden and<br />
interiors. Conceived by Charles II<br />
to house his former soldiers and<br />
designed by Christopher Wren in<br />
‘Wrenaissance’ style.<br />
Visit Lambeth Palace, London,<br />
home of <strong>the</strong> Archbishop of<br />
Canterbury, with extensive gardens<br />
including Cardinal Pole’s White<br />
Marseilles fig planted in 1556<br />
and <strong>the</strong> nearby nearby<br />
Garden Museum.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com Houses and Gardens / 25
study at<br />
Chatsworth<br />
A treasure house of inspiration<br />
A truly immersive<br />
experience<br />
Our tours are inspired by <strong>the</strong> extensive<br />
Devonshire Collection at Chatsworth.<br />
Through this exceptional house, its<br />
collections, garden and wider parkland<br />
estate we will discover stories of intrigue,<br />
power, tragedy and passion. We will also<br />
journey from Chatsworth to see some<br />
of <strong>the</strong> most incredible monuments<br />
of <strong>the</strong> English countryside, great cities<br />
and stunning landscapes.<br />
Chatsworth, Derbyshire. Photo: Chatsworth House Trust<br />
“Chatsworth was built to<br />
welcome guests and to be<br />
seen. Over five centuries,<br />
members of my family have<br />
welcomed guests from around<br />
<strong>the</strong> world, and <strong>the</strong> house has<br />
been open for people to see<br />
round since <strong>the</strong> mid 1600s.<br />
Sixteen generations of my<br />
family have lived here,<br />
and as you will discover eac<br />
h generation has made its<br />
own changes at Chatsworth.<br />
Some I find inspiring, some<br />
bewildering, but all of <strong>the</strong>m<br />
intriguing”.<br />
The Duke of Devonshire<br />
26 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
&<br />
The Duke<br />
To book,<br />
and Duchess<br />
Call toll free:<br />
of Devonshire<br />
1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
Statements in Stone<br />
Architectural icons of <strong>the</strong> English country house<br />
Highlights<br />
• Immerse yourself in Richard<br />
Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington’s library<br />
and original writings and plans such<br />
as First Editions of Palladio’s ground<br />
breaking Quattro Libri dell’Architettura<br />
and Colen Campbell’s Vitruvius Britannicus<br />
in <strong>the</strong> archive at Chatsworth.<br />
• Journey through time from <strong>the</strong> medieval<br />
and English Renaissance, through<br />
Neo-classicism to High Victorian<br />
extravagance and beyond.<br />
• Sit down to our celebration dinner<br />
in <strong>the</strong> dining room of <strong>the</strong> magnificent<br />
Jacobean Tissington Hall, intimate<br />
and ancestral home of our host,<br />
Sir Richard FitzHerbert Bt.<br />
•<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
TOUR<br />
Entry and Departure Point:<br />
Manchester or London<br />
Heathrow Airports<br />
37<br />
The English country house stands out<br />
as an extraordinary architectural<br />
manifestation of cultural ambition -<br />
found <strong>the</strong> length and breadth of England.<br />
England may have been late to <strong>the</strong><br />
European Renaissance banquet,<br />
but <strong>the</strong>re would be no holding back.<br />
These first grand projects were classically<br />
inspired but uniquely English - unashamedly<br />
dressed-to-impress.<br />
Immerse yourself in this two centre tour<br />
in unlocking <strong>the</strong> stories of <strong>the</strong>se<br />
architectural gems, and tracing <strong>the</strong><br />
movement of ideas, fashions and taste,<br />
through seven of <strong>the</strong> finest and most<br />
significant buildings in England. We will<br />
discover some of <strong>the</strong> most charismatic<br />
architecture of <strong>the</strong> English countryside –<br />
enlivened by a supporting cast of excellent<br />
country inns.<br />
Our base is Chatsworth, one of England’s<br />
pre-eminent stately homes, set within<br />
<strong>the</strong> dramatic landscape of <strong>the</strong> Derbyshire<br />
Peak District.<br />
Tour Director: Stuart Gillis<br />
Stuart is an experienced heritage and culture professional. He is <strong>the</strong><br />
former Chief Executive of Derby Museums, and former Director of <strong>the</strong><br />
UK’s National Waterways Museums - managing collections of national<br />
importance, developing great visitor experiences, and serving on numerous<br />
heritage boards. Stuart is a knowledgeable, passionate and experienced<br />
guide - bringing subjects alive in various fields across England’s history.<br />
The overmantel in <strong>the</strong> Blue Room at Hardwick Hall. Photo: The National Trust Photolibrary / Alamy Stock Photo<br />
Outline Itinerary<br />
See <strong>the</strong> transition from medieval to<br />
Tudor hall in timber framed Little<br />
Moreton Hall, Cheshire. Then onto<br />
Haddon Hall, Derbyshire, to see <strong>the</strong><br />
manorial hall emerge from medieval<br />
into <strong>the</strong> early modern era.<br />
Visit Hardwick Hall to experience<br />
a uniquely English interpretation of<br />
Renaissance architectural language<br />
and <strong>the</strong> transition from ecclesiastical<br />
to secular power. Progress through<br />
<strong>the</strong> building, culminating in <strong>the</strong><br />
State Apartment.<br />
Spend a day at Chatsworth, tracing<br />
its evolution from Elizabethan hall<br />
to Baroque palace to <strong>the</strong> modern<br />
day. Discover <strong>the</strong> legacy of historic<br />
events, political philosophy and<br />
technological innovation.<br />
Journey southwards, through <strong>the</strong><br />
Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO<br />
World Heritage Site and visit <strong>the</strong><br />
Joseph Wright collection at Derby<br />
Museum and Art Gallery. Visit<br />
Keddleston Hall, a spectacular<br />
Robert Adam mansion, experiencing<br />
<strong>the</strong> contrast with Chatsworth.<br />
Experience Victorian exuberance at<br />
Highclere Castle; <strong>the</strong> film location<br />
for <strong>the</strong> hit TV series Downton Abbey;<br />
to see Charles Barry’s Elizabethan<br />
revivalist house. Finally, visit Standen<br />
House and Gardens, in West Sussex.<br />
to experience this delightful Arts and<br />
Crafts family home and garden.<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com<br />
Study at Chatsworth / 27
Lady Georgiana Cavendish, Thomas Gainsborough. Photo: The Devonshire Collection Chatsworth 1699. Photo: Britannia Illustra The "Broad View" walk at Chatsworth. Photo: Paul Melling / Alamy Stock Photo<br />
The Stately Home<br />
Dynasty and <strong>the</strong> making of Modern England<br />
Immerse yourself in <strong>the</strong> story of one of England’s pre-eminent<br />
stately homes, as we follow <strong>the</strong> Cavendish family across<br />
16 generations. We encounter plots, passions, rivals and<br />
friendships, as Chatsworth reveals itself as both a family<br />
home and treasure house of beauty, variety and<br />
remarkable significance.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
TOUR<br />
38<br />
Into Arcadia<br />
The history of landscape in <strong>the</strong> art and strata<br />
of Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England<br />
Our tour takes us to <strong>the</strong> Devonshire Collection at Chatsworth<br />
with Old Master studies and inspirational landscape artworks .<br />
These paintings of an idealised nature, are <strong>the</strong> gateway to our<br />
story, through which our tour unfolds as a remarkable journey<br />
into <strong>the</strong> history of art, <strong>the</strong> pursuit of a classical vision of nature,<br />
and a morality tale of Arcadia, lost and found, in Albion.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Gardens & Landscapes of<br />
<strong>the</strong> English Country House<br />
Enter into <strong>the</strong> living history of <strong>the</strong> English Garden.<br />
With Chatsworth as our focus, we discover <strong>the</strong> historic<br />
sources and tour exemplar gardens in <strong>the</strong> region to discover<br />
<strong>the</strong> ambition, determination, fashion crazes and technological<br />
innovation which shaped <strong>the</strong>se glorious gardens through<br />
<strong>the</strong> last 500 years.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
TOUR<br />
TOUR<br />
39<br />
40<br />
Nicolas Poussin 1627, Et in Arcadia Ego. Photo: The Devonshire Collection<br />
Matlock Tor by Moonlight Joseph Wright. Photo: Yale Centre for British Art /OS<br />
28 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England & To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
Matlock Tor by Moonlight Joseph Wright. Photo: Yale Centre for British Art /OS<br />
The Making of English<br />
Landscape<br />
In a limestone gorge in <strong>the</strong> depths of a global ice age,<br />
a member of a small, Upper Palaeolithic community worked<br />
<strong>the</strong> natural contours of a cave’s wall into <strong>the</strong> heightened,<br />
naturalistic relief of a wild beast. Inspired by Chatsworth’s art<br />
and monuments in <strong>the</strong> land, this tour will uncover a history<br />
of ideas as told in <strong>the</strong> landscapes of Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
TOUR<br />
41<br />
TOUR<br />
42<br />
Modern and<br />
Contemporary<br />
Art in England<br />
Chatsworth is home to one<br />
of <strong>the</strong> great art collections of<br />
England and <strong>the</strong> 12th Duke<br />
and Duchess have embraced<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir own shared passion,<br />
placing contemporary art<br />
at <strong>the</strong> centre of <strong>the</strong>ir vision<br />
for <strong>the</strong> house and garden.<br />
Our tour is set against <strong>the</strong><br />
backdrop of So<strong>the</strong>by’s<br />
Beyond Limits exhibition,<br />
one of <strong>the</strong> most<br />
prestigious platforms for<br />
modern and contemporary<br />
sculpture in <strong>the</strong> UK today.<br />
Tour Type:<br />
Immersion<br />
Michael Craig-Martin; Digital<br />
Portrait of <strong>the</strong> Countess of<br />
Burlington, 2010<br />
Michael Craig-Martin; Digital Portrait of <strong>the</strong> Countess of Burlington, 2010. Photo: The Devonshire Collection The Painted Hall. Photo: Chatsworth House Trust<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com Study at Chatsworth / 29
Peace of mind<br />
UK Countryside Tours is a small, specialist tour operator that will help<br />
you travel beyond <strong>the</strong> boundaries of our great capital city, exploring <strong>the</strong><br />
deeper and more au<strong>the</strong>ntic British regions. We will work hard to ensure<br />
you have a memorable, fulfilling and enjoyable stay.<br />
Our programmes are designed by our friendly team of tour directors,<br />
who are as passionate as we are about <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Stories</strong> of England.<br />
Through a shared interest in special places, art, literature, science<br />
and endeavour, combined with great food and special places to stay,<br />
we hope you will have a rich experience of <strong>the</strong> quintessential Britain.<br />
We work with <strong>the</strong> best suppliers of executive travel to maximise<br />
your comfort and safety whilst travelling. We have selected our<br />
accommodation, itinerary and catering with great care to ensure<br />
that you have a quality, relaxed and exclusive experience that will<br />
enlighten and entertain you.<br />
If we do not feel that <strong>the</strong> tour can go ahead to <strong>the</strong> standard we would<br />
want for reasons outside our control we will cancel, giving you a full<br />
refund of any money already paid to us.<br />
Protecting you<br />
We start from a simple premise. When you travel with us, we take<br />
responsibility for your safety and wellbeing. In return, we expect you to<br />
work constructively with our tour leaders, partners and <strong>the</strong> people who<br />
run <strong>the</strong> places we visit. We also expect you to tell us about anything that<br />
we need to know, such as any medical or o<strong>the</strong>r special needs, that may<br />
affect your experience of travelling with us.<br />
Protecting your money<br />
We ensure our customers are protected with all booking fees being<br />
paid directly into a bonded account. This is managed independently<br />
through Protected Travel Services. This protection lasts from <strong>the</strong> point<br />
that you book your holiday through to <strong>the</strong> point when you return.<br />
You can enjoy every holiday booked through a PTS client knowing<br />
that you have 100% financial protection and full peace of mind at all<br />
times. For more information on how your money is protected please<br />
visit www.protectedtravelservices.com. PTS provide full tour operator<br />
insurance for every one of our guests.<br />
This brochure and <strong>the</strong> ‘<strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England’ tours have<br />
been prepared with <strong>the</strong> support of Visit England’s Discover England<br />
Fund. The three-year £40million Discover England Fund will ensure<br />
that England stays competitive in <strong>the</strong> rapidly growing global tourism<br />
industry, by offering world-class English tourism products to <strong>the</strong> right<br />
customers at <strong>the</strong> right time.<br />
The fund supports <strong>the</strong> growth of one of England’s most successful<br />
export industries, inbound tourism. Tourism is an industry that delivers<br />
jobs and economic growth across <strong>the</strong> English regions - generating<br />
£106 billion a year and employing over 2 million people, with a strong<br />
domestic market. England has seen record tourism spend in <strong>the</strong> past<br />
year from both domestic and international visitors.<br />
The Discover England Fund is managed on behalf of <strong>the</strong> Government<br />
by Visit England working closely with Visit Britain and <strong>the</strong> national and<br />
local tourism organisations.<br />
All of our tours are fully insured and compliant with UK tour operator<br />
legislation, although we would ask you to take out appropriate travel<br />
insurance that ensures that in <strong>the</strong> event of an accident or illness that<br />
you will get access to <strong>the</strong> best medical treatment and that you will be<br />
able to get home safely.<br />
RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Photo: © Copyright Royal Horticulural Society<br />
30 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com
Statue of Alfred <strong>the</strong> Great, Winchester.<br />
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UK Countryside Tours<br />
Unit 2F, Cromford Creative, Cromford Mill, Mill Lane, Cromford, Derbyshire, UK, DE4 3RQ<br />
US Toll Free: 1 844 221 3366 UK: +44 (0)1629 704759<br />
Email: info@ukcountrysidetours.com<br />
www.ukcountrysidetours.com<br />
UK Countryside Tours is registered in <strong>the</strong> UK Company 9923906<br />
32 / <strong>Telling</strong> <strong>the</strong> stories of England<br />
Union Jack Garden, Wentworth Castle<br />
Visit England / Wentworth Castle Heritage Trust<br />
& To book, Call toll free: 1 844 221 3366 or visit www.ukcountrysidetours.com