London Tour Guide : Sally Botwright : Out of Town Tours

Oxford

Oxford was the first university in the English Speaking World. Today the university is made up of more than 38 colleges plus halls. It is renowned for its excellent academic record and its magnificent architecture. There are 20,000 students studying at Oxford who have been selected from more than 100,000 applicants. The oldest colleges date back to 13th century. The town is compact and ideal for walking taking in the colleges with their perfect gardens and university buildings including the Radcliffe Camera and Sheldonian Theatre. The Ashmolean Museum is the oldest museum in the world, and the Divinity School’s ceiling is regarded as a masterpiece of English gothic architecture and along with Christchurch was used for filming parts of the Harry Potter films.

Stratford-upon-Avon

Stratford upon Avon – a market town grew into a tourist hotspot because of its associations with one man – William Shakespeare. He was born here and died here. You can visit his birthplace and the church where he is buried. The town sits beside the River Avon in the beautiful Warwickshire countryside. You can enjoy a boat ride or a picnic beside the river or maybe a visit to the theatre to enjoy one of Shakespeare’s plays as this is home to the Royal Shakespeare Company. Two other properties in the town have direct links to William Shakespeare, New Place/Nash’s House and Halls Croft. A short journey out of town will bring us to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, his wife’s family home and Mary Arden’s House, his mothers home.

Oxford and Stratford are a good combination
for a full day tour

Bath

Bath – undoubtedly one of the most attractive cities in England. Founded by the Romans 2000 years ago as a thermal spa, thousands of gallons of natural spring water gush to the surface daily as they have every day and a new addition to the town is Bath thermae spa for the 21st century. In the 18th century, high society came to Bath to take the waters and left behind an elegant Georgian town for us to enjoy today. Because of its history, stunning architecture and beauty, Bath has become a UNESCO world heritage site.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge – 5000 years ago work started here and happened in 3 phases over 100’s of years. It is estimated that it would have taken 30 million hours of labour to construct – what for? Well your conclusions can be as valid as the next person! Stonehenge is also a UNESCO world heritage site.

Bath and Stonehenge are a good combination
for a full day tour