Oxford, Blenheim & the Cotswolds

Oxford • The Cotswolds • Hidcote Gardens • Blenheim Palace • Woodstock

The Bridge of Sighs, Oxford

2022

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

2023

Your tour includes

• Four nights in four-star accommodation • The services of our experienced and insightful tour manager

(B) Daily Breakfast, (D) 2 Dinners Prices are per person. For departure dates, prices and flights, please call or visit our website.

YOUR EXPERIENCES • Guided walking tour of Oxford • Relax on a boat trip along the river

Isis with traditional afternoon tea included • 6 visits including Hidcote Arts and

Crafts garden, Blenheim Palace,

Bourton on the Water, Stow on the

Wold, Woodstock and the Bodleian

Library

During November and December this tour has a slightly different itinerary for our winter departures – please see website for details.

Bursting with history, character and charm, experience the best of the Cotswolds from our base in iconic Oxford. Travel back in time with expert tours of the ‘City of Spires’, explore UNESCO-listed Blenheim Palace, ancestral home of Churchill, and wander the chocolate box villages of the Cotswolds.

Your itinerary

DAY 1 – Arrival in Oxford & River Boat Trip

Near Magdalen College, the riverside and Oxford Botanical Gardens, our base is perfect, with many landmarks within walking distance. This afternoon we enjoy a leisurely tea boat trip along the river Isis from Folly Bridge. Travelling down the University Regatta Course we pass Christ Church Meadows and the University College Boat Houses to vibrant Iffley lock and the water meadows beyond. + Included Experiences – Afternoon tea and river boat cruise

DAY 2 – Oxford Walking Tour & Bodleian Library

We take a guided walking tour of the fine colleges, the Bridge of Sighs and the Bodleian Library – one of the oldest working libraries in the world and setting for some of the ‘Harry Potter’ scenes. After that, you could climb Carfax Tower, visit the Ashmolean Museum, sip a drink in a historic inn or explore the covered market, dating back to 1774. (B,D) + Included Experiences – Guided tour of Oxford and the Bodleian Library

DAY 3 – The Cotswolds & Hidcote Gardens

Known as the ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’ because of its attractive stone bridges that cross the river Windrush, Bourton on the Water is a lovely village to explore. We also call in at Stow on the Wold – at 800ft above sea level it’s the highest of the Cotswolds villages. Look out for St Edwards church, with its doorway flanked by ancient Yew trees, or perhaps enjoy some refreshment at England’s oldest inn, The Porch House. We also pass through beautiful Chipping Camden with its sophisticated terraced high street. Later we drive to the National Trust owned Hidcote Gardens. Created by Lawrence Johnson, it’s one of the most influential Arts and Crafts

Our hand-picked hotel

As this is a single-centre tour, we stay at the same hand-picked hotel in Oxford for 4 nights, with breakfast and 2 dinners.

Mercure Eastgate Hotel, Oxford

HHHH

Gardens in the UK. Let your senses be taken over by each garden room, every one different from the next, and stylishly separated by hedges rather than conventional fences. (B) + Included Experiences – Visits to Bourton on the Water, Stow on the Wold and Hidcote Gardens

DAY 4 – Blenheim Palace & Woodstock

We visit Woodstock, where there’s time to potter the streets of this charming market town and see the classic Cotswold-stone buildings. Later, we immerse ourselves in the lives of 18th-century dukes with a visit to UNESCO-listed Blenheim Palace. There are 300 hundred years of history to discover on our included entry to the house and gardens. Delight in its Baroque architecture and magnificent state rooms looking out onto beautiful formal gardens and extensive parkland, landscaped by Capability Brown. (B,D) + Included Experience – Visit Blenheim Palace & Gardens and Woodstock