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[email protected]ionalfriends.co.uk
Telephone Enquiries
+44(0) 1223 244 555
[email protected]
[email protected]
Telephone Enquiries: +44(0) 1223 244 555

Cotswolds, Country Pub Lunch & Blenheim Palace

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Free Cancellation & Full Refund available on this product up to 7 days before travel.
Applies to all bookings made from 10th March 2020. 

Experience off the beaten track exploration on this small group day trip from London and Oxford. With your expert guide, we'll discover the beautiful Cotswold Hills and magnificent Blenheim Palace, stopping to enjoy a lunch in a beautiful country pub. 

  • Small group day trip - maximum 16 people per tour
  • Visit the villages of Burford, Bibury, Bourton on the Water and Stow on the Wold
  • Enjoy a delicious lunch with a drink included 
  • Entry to Blenheim Palace & Gardens
  • Available every Saturday (April to October)
  • Departures available from London and Oxford 
Our day trip from London begins with a drive to the gentle rolling limestone hills of the Cotswolds, driving down single track narrow country lanes in our minibus, exploring the back roads and little winding valleys. With an expert guide on board, we will learn of the rise and fall of the wool trade in this region and how it left behind a landscape untouched by the modern world, featuring small honey coloured stone villages and hidden green valleys with babbling streams. 
 
We visit popular Bourton on the Water with its collection of stone bridges, bustling Stow on the Wold with its vibrant market square, and Bibury with its photogenic collection of houses known as Arlington Row. Our smaller vehicles are able to travel up the narrow Coln Valley on single track roads, passing fields of sheep and sleepy hamlets. Our next stop is delightful Burford with stone houses cascading down to the River Windrush, see Woolsack tombs in the historic churchyard before we stop for a delicious lunch in a traditional country pub. Sit back and relax in an ancient stone hostelry and experience centuries-old tavern life in a world where a gentle, slower pace is the norm.
 
We continue our drive through more Cotswold scenery to stately and opulent Blenheim Palace, the largest privately owned house in the country and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. We tour the grand interior and walk amongst the lavish formal gardens and the breathtaking landscaped grounds by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, featuring its impressive lake and the famous Column of Victory. There will be time to visit the Churchill Museum and see the room where he was born in 1874. Marvel at this awe-inspiring building, created to rival Versailles, and soak in the wonderful views before our small group day trip ends, and we return to London. 

 

  TimeDestination
Depart
Arrive		 07:45am
10:00am		 Central London
Tour of Cotswolds villages begins 
  12:30pm Lunch in Burford - example menu below
Depart
Arrive		 2:00pm
2:30pm		 Tour of Cotswolds villages ends
Blenheim Palace
Depart
Arrive		 4:30pm
6:30pm		 Blenheim Palace 
London Victoria 

Please note that all timings above are estimated and assuming normal traffic conditions. Due to the changeable nature of road conditions, we cannot guarantee a precise time when you will get back to London, it is usually between 6-7pm.

On the return to London your driver will drop you at Victoria Train Station in the city centre. This is one of the largest transport stations in London, with excellent connections to all parts of London and beyond.

 

If you have any dietary requirements you must inform us of this before the tour. The pub we would normally use is the Lamb Inn, Burford, however this is subject to change.

The Lamb Example Lunch Menu - one course & one soft drink per person

Pan Roast Chicken Breast, served with Potato Cake, Roast Carrots & Tarragon Cream

OR

Chef's vegetarian special of the day; examples below

Caramelised polenta cake, served with aubergine caviar, confit shallots, rocket & Parmesan (v) OR Goats Cheese and Sun Blush Tomato Croquettes (v)

  

Please ensure you arrive at your allocated departure point at least 10 minutes before your departure time.

 

TimeDeparture point
  07:15am Outside The British Museum main entrance on Great Russell Street (MAP). 
Nearest tube stations are Holborn or Tottenham Court Road.
  07:30am Outside the Hard Rock Hotel main entrance, Marble Arch (formerly the Cumberland Hotel). (MAP) 
Nearest tube station is Marble Arch
  07:45am Outside Holiday Inn Kensington Forum, 97 Cromwell Road (MAP) (wait on Cromwell road by the bus stop, not outside the hotel entrance)
Nearest tube station is Gloucester Road 

 

TimeOxford departure 
 09:15am Outside the Oxford Visitor Information Centre, 15-16 Broad Street (MAP) 

This tour is not available to book online, please email [email protected]


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