Suggested Itinerary
Day 1 – Compton Verney
Board our private executive coach at your preferred pick up points – stop at a convenient property en route such as Compton Verney art gallery, a Grade 1 listed Robert Adam mansion with an outstanding collection of British, Neapolitan, Germanic and Chinese paintings – continue to the 4* Copthorne Hotel at Merry Hill, near Dudley.
Day 2 – Barber Institute of Fine Arts & Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Barber Institute of Fine Arts is home to a fine art collection by artists such as Monet, Manet, Renoir, Rubens, Rodin, and van Dyck – located close to Birmingham city centre, Birmingham Botanical Gardens has four glasshouses featuring the Tropical rainforest, the Sub-Tropical House with its stunning palms and tree ferns, the Mediterranean House with its citrus plants and bright conservatory-type blooms and the Arid House with desert climate and stunning cacti.
Day 3 – The Coffin Works, Winterbourne House and Garden & Harvington Hall
The Coffin Works explores the social history and cultural changes that have influenced a once highly prestigious Jewellery Quarter firm that produced some of the world’s finest coffin furniture, including the fittings for the funerals of Churchill, Chamberlain and the Queen Mother – Winterbourne House and Garden, one of the best surviving examples of an Edwardian Arts and Crafts suburban villa garden in Birmingham, was lovingly created by the homeowners, Margaret and John Nettlefold, using the books of Gertrude Jekyll as guides and inspiration – Harvington Hall, a moated, medieval and Elizabethan manor house where many of the rooms still have their original Elizabethan wall paintings, contains the finest series of priest hides in the country.
Day 4 – Soho House & Aston Hall
Fashionable Georgian Soho House, the elegant home of industrialist and entrepreneur Matthew Boulton from 1766 to 1809 and once a regular meeting place for some of the greatest minds of the 18th century, features period room interiors with fine collections of ormolu, silver, furniture and paintings – Aston Hall, one of Birmingham’s most treasured buildings, boasts sumptuous interiors from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, including the magnificent Long Gallery and a guided tour explores the role the Hall and its residents played in key moments in history, including the English Civil War.
Day 5 – Ragley Hall
Stop at a convenient property en route home such as Ragley Hall which was designed by Robert Hooke in 1680 and is one of England’s earliest Palladian houses and now the family home of the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford.
Tour Features
4* hotel
Half board accommodation
All excursions & guided tours included
Blue Badge guide Days 2 to 4
Executive coach throughout
One free place per 10 paying passengers
Compton Verney
Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Birmingham Botanical Gardens
The Coffin Works
Winterbourne House & Garden
Harvington Hall
Soho House
Aston Hall
Ragley Hall
Hotel
Four nights on half board basis at the 4* Copthorne Hotel at Merry Hill, near Dudley. Facilities at the hotel include a restaurant, bar, indoor swimming pool and sauna. All rooms are en suite.
Tailor-make this tour
Here are some more suggested places of interest:
- Arbury Hall - the seat of the Newdegate family for over 450 years was gothicised by Sir Roger Newdegate in the 18th century and is now regarded as one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the country
- Charlecote Park - home to the Lucy family for over 900 years, the present house was built in the 1550s and has a fascinating history which includes a royal visit from Queen Elizabeth I
- St Paul’s Square - built as part of Georgian town planning, the church that stands in the centre, known as the jewellers’ church, has box pews that were ‘sold’ to pay for the building of the church with both Matthew Boulton and his business partner, James Watt, being original purchasers
Tour Reviews
Reviews for The Art & Craft of Birmingham & the Heart of England
Date of tour: May 2017
I would like to thank you and your staff for all your help and support for me as a novice tour leader for our NADFAS group. I much appreciated your prompt action over the menus at Jury's Inn. Our tour was highly successful with a good mix of stimulating visits in an area previously unvisited by many of us, led by brilliant guides.
VM, Woodbridge
Date of tour: May 2016
Back home again! The Birmingham trip was a great success! Excellent driver, good hotel, etc. Someone emailed me that she couldn’t believe how much we had seen and done in such a short time! Thank you very much for all your help, especially on the first day, and the wine was much appreciated by all! All the best
VM, East Grinstead
Call us on
020 7064 4970
to tailor this tour
for your group
Tailor make your group tour
Remember this itinerary is just our suggestion. Tailor make this tour exclusively for your group to suit your members’ budget or preferences. You could:
- stay at a 3* hotel
- with less dinners included
- for more (or fewer) days
- include different excursions – see ‘Tailor-make this tour’ tab for suggestions
- bring a specialist lecturer
- include all entrance fees & gratuities
Call us on
020 7064 4970
to tailor make the perfect tour
for your group
