Cotswold Castles & Gardens

Itinerary:

Thursday
Depart Leyland at 08.00hrs for our journey to the Cheltenham Chase with a lunch stop at the National Memorial Arboretum en-route, depart at 14.00hrs to continue our journey to the hotel, arrive to a warm welcome while your case is taken to your room.

Friday
Today's excursion takes us Painwsick Rococo gardens, the only surviving garden of the Rococo period open to the public. Today it's a place to explore and get up close to nature while you take in the spectacular views of the Cotswold countryside and magical follies, a great opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the past and visualise the flamboyant frivolity of the 1700's. In the afternoon we continue to Chavange House, a quintessential English manor house built of beautiful mellow Cotswold Stone with links to Poldark and famously where Cromwell stayed in 1648.

Saturday
This morning takes us to the city of Gloucester, with time to explore and obtain lunch perhaps visit the magnificent cathedral or the historic Gloucester Quays. This afternoon we visit the Regency spa-town of Cheltenham, walk down the promenade, considered one of the most beautiful in the country with it's tree-lined avenue flanked by smart shops and cafes.

Sunday
Today we head into the heart of the Cotswolds to visit Sudeley Castle, a Tudor jewel with 1,000 years of history and wonderful formal gardens, the final resting place of Tudor Queen, Katherine Parr the 6th and surviving wife of Henry VIII. Following our visit take a scenic drive of the Cotswolds with a short stop in the quintessential English village of Broadway to admire chocolate-box thatched roofed cottages, continue to Stow-on-the-Wold, crammed with fine Cotswold stone buildings, a varied selection of shops, chic bistros, inns and cosy tea-rooms.

Monday
Check out of our hotel following breakfast for the journey home with a lunch stop at the Trentham Shopping Village en-route (doesn't include entrance to Trentham gardens). Re-join the coach at 14.00hrs to continue our journey home.