Our suggested itinerary features four nights on half board basis at the 4* Bridgewood Manor in Chatham, with all excursions and guided tours included, an executive coach throughout and the services of a Blue Badge guide for three days.
Tailor make this tour - call us on 020 7064 4970
Day 1 - Hever Castle
Board our private executive coach at your designated pick up points - visit Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn and dating back as far as 1270 - check in at the 4* Bridgewood Manor in Chatham.
Day 2 - Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral & Leeds Castle
Guided tour of the UNESCO listed city of Canterbury taking in the city walls - Canterbury Cathedral, dating back to 597AD when St Augustine established his seat in Canterbury, was the site of Archbishop Thomas Becket’s murder in 1170 and ever since the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims, as told famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's ‘Canterbury Tales’ - Leeds Castle, set in 500 acres of beautiful parkland and offering over 1,000 years of history, has Norman foundations, a medieval gatehouse, a Tudor tower and a 19th century country house, all of which were substantially refurbished in the 20th century by the last private owner of the castle, Lady Baillie, the heiress to an American fortune.
Day 3 - Sissinghurst Castle Garden & Great Dixter House & Gardens
The National Trust’s Sissinghurst Castle Garden is developed around the surviving parts of an Elizabethan mansion and provide outstanding design and colour throughout the season - Great Dixter House and Gardens was once the family home of the late Chrsitopher Lloyd who devoted his life to creating one of the most experimental, exciting and constantly changing gardens of our time.
Day 4 - Dover Castle, White Cliffs of Dover Visitor Centre & Walmer Castle
Guarding the Straits of Dover, English Heritage’s Dover Castle is one of the mightiest of fortresses in Western Europe and occupies a site that has witnessed more than 2,000 years of history - the National Trust’s White Cliffs of Dover Visitor Centre introduces us to five miles of spectacular coastal scenery through imaginative displays and interpretation - English Heritage’s Walmer Castle and Gardens was transformed from a Tudor castle into the elegant home and residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
Day 5 - Ightham Mote
The National Trust’s Ightham Mote is a superb moated manor house and garden dating from 1330 whose main features span many centuries and include the Great Hall and Tudor Chapel with painted ceiling.
4* hotel
All excursions & guided tours included
Half board accommodation
Blue Badge guide in Kent
Executive coach throughout
One free place per 10 paying passengers
Hever Castle
UNESCO listed Canterbury
Canterbury Cathedral
Leeds Castle
Sissinghurst Castle Garden
Great Dixter House & Gardens
Dover Castle
White Cliffs of Dover Visitor Centre
Walmer Castle & Gardens
14th century Ightham Mote
Four nights on half board basis at the 4* Bridgewood Manor in Chatham. Ideally located for easy access to the places visited in the itinerary, the hotel boasts a nice bar area, restaurant and leisure centre with indoor pool. All rooms are en-suite.
Single room supplement £79
Insurance
Entrance fees to places of interest (NT properties free to NT members)
Gratuities
Remember this itinerary is just our suggestion. Tailor make this tour exclusively for your group to suit your members’ budget or preferences. You could:
- incorporate visits to Chartwell, Churchill’s home from 1924, or the National Trust’s Smallhythe Place, an early 16th century half timbered house.
- stay at a 3* hotel
- with fewer or different excursions
- for more (or fewer) days
- bring your own specialist lecturer
- include all entrance fees & gratuities
