Wrens Churches, the Art of London &
Six The Musical with Ian Swankie

Day 1

We meet our tour manager and depart by private executive coach from our designated pick up points. En route to our hotel we visit the National Trust’s Basildon Park property near Reading. This beautiful Palladian mansion is filled with fine pictures and furniture and is noted for its original delicate plasterwork, elegant staircase and unusual Octagon Room. We continue to the 3* Clarendon Hotel at Blackheath for a two night stay. A welcome dinner is included in our hotel this evening.

 Day 2

We are met by our guide Ian Swankie at our hotel this morning. Our morning guided walking tour of London focuses on Wren’s churches. From 1660, until the early 18th century Sir Christopher Wren dominated London’s architecture in a way unthinkable today. In an age when there were no professional architects, his name is synonymous with English Renaissance architecture, in particular the city’s buildings’ of faith. He was multi-talented, a professor of astronomy, a geometrician fascinated by the visual world, inventive and he loved problem solving. Nothing was impossible! During our tour we see St Mary Abchurch. First mentioned in the 12th century, but like many of the City churches, almost certainly of much earlier origin, the church was one of 107 that existed in the square mile before the Great Fire of 1666. The church was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in the 1680s. His mason was Christopher Kempster, one of Wren’s key masons in the construction of St Paul’s Cathedral. The main feature of the church is the magnificent array of wood carvings, the finest in any City church. They include carvings of fruit and flowers and a gilded pelican in piety, all by the great Grinling Gibbons, on the reredos behind the altar. We continue to St Lawrence Jewry Church, located next to the Guildhall in London. The building like so many, was destroyed during the Great Fire and restored by Sir Christopher Wren. It is one of Wren’s most expensive projects, and this can be seen in the rich interior of white and gold. Wren’s 17th century interior is perfectly augmented with a huge modern organ made by Johannes Klais Orgelbau. This is thought to be one of the greatest organs in the world today. A superb stain-glass windows depicts Sir Christopher Wren and Grinling Gibbons, his master carver, along with Edward Strong, his master mason. We then visit St Stephen’s Walbrook Church. Walbrook is named after the source of water which brought life to the area, The Walbrook, a stream on which the Roman soldiers built a series of baths and a temple to Mithras. Rebuilt after the Great Fire, some see this church as Christopher Wren’s major city church, after St Paul’s Cathedral.Please note that we won’t know for certain which churches we can access until nearer the tour departure date. If we can’t visit any of the above mentioned 3 churches, we will visit alternative City churches associated with Sir Christopher Wren.

This afternoon we visit Tate Britain, the home of British Art, where we will be guided by Ian Swankie around highlights of the collection from the 1500s to the present day. We will see many famous works, and several surprisingly interesting lesser-known ones. This evening we take our Category A seats at the Vaudeville Theatre to see Six The Musical. Created by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, prepare to lose your head and experience the Tudor Wives’ lives as they turn back the clock and take to the stage to reclaim their crowns and retell their stories of love, loss and the infamous ex they all have in common! Join Aragon, Boleyn, Seymour, Cleves, Howard and Parr, backed by their fiercely all-female band, the Ladies in Waiting, and Get Down to a royal retelling of the sassiest story in British Her-story!

Day 3

After checking out of our hotel we visit St Paul’s Cathedral. Completed in 1710, this Grade I listed building was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren as part of a major rebuilding programme initiated in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London. Located on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London, this iconic Anglican cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. During our visit we walk in the footsteps of royalty and political leaders on the Cathedral Floor, and explore the Crypt where our nation's heroes are buried. Whilst at the Cathedral, we enjoy a guided ‘Cathedral Floor and Crypt’ tour. In addition to the cathedral floor and the crypt, we also see the Geometric Staircase and the Quire which aren’t usually open to the public. We then spend some time at leisure for lunch in London. Taking carefully selected comfort stops en route, we return back to our original pick up points.

We stay two nights at the 3* Clarendon Hotel at Blackheath (www.clarendonhotel.com). Offering commanding views across open grassland to the Royal Greenwich Park, facilities at the hotel include a restaurant and bar. All rooms are ensuite and feature a hairdryer, television, telephone, and tea & coffee making facilities. A set 3 course dinner without drinks is included in our hotel on the first evening, whilst the second night is on a bed and breakfast basis.

Single room supplement £99

Insurance (including Covid cover) £26

Entrance fee to Basildon Park (free to National Trust members)

Gratuities

Dinner on Day 2

Lunches

Donations at any churches or cathedrals visited

All excursion travel & guided tours included