TOP TEN MATINÉE EXPLORERS

DOWNTON ABBEY COUNTRY

This is not Highclere Castle but the Oxfordshire Cotswolds where the outdoor scenes are filmed. We begin at midday with a two-course carvery lunch with coffee at an old barn with sweeping views across the Windrush Valley. After lunch we enjoy a coach tour of the Downton Abbey villages ‘finishing with a visit to Yew Tree Farm where Lady Edith’s daughter was looked after.

Enjoy a Blue Badge guided tour of Downton Abbey Country. From the old Roman road we will see sleepy little Shilton where Mr. Bates went to work when he left Downton Abbey and Lady Sybil eloped with her chauffeur Tom. Along the way we also see the Repatriation Memorial Garden for fallen service personnel who are brought home via RAF Brize Norton. Beautiful Bampton is the filming location for Downton itself: here we see Isobel Crawley’s house, the Downton Cottage Hospital and that cottage that gave Mrs Patmore so much trouble.

Cogges Manor Farm at Witney is so old that the first owner is pictured on the Bayeaux Tapestry! The clocks stopped here more than a hundred years ago and in Downton this is Yew Tree Farm - where Lady Edith’s secret child is raised. Watch a short film about Downton Abbey on location, explore the lovely old farmhouse kitchen that appears in the series and treat yourself to refreshments in the café before heading for home at 4.30pm.

Available Weds to Saturday

Adults & Seniors: £34

Begin in Newmarket at midday with a two-course carvery lunch with coffee in a newly refurbished racing hotel. After lunch by coach up and over the dramatic swoop of the town gallops and out into handsome countryside dominated by this sport of kings. We stop in beautiful Bury St Edmunds for a gentle meander in the ancient Abbey Gardens - it’s not a long walk at all - just far enough for some fresh air to rekindle the appetite for tea.

The Blue Badge guide coach tour includes Newmarket town centre to see Tattersalls, Europe’s leading bloodstock auctioneers and the Jockey Club. We enjoy long views from the coach as we drive up and over the gallops where the racehorses are exercised each day. From the top we get a good look into the yard of the late, great trainer Henry Cecil before driving through some gorgeous countryside full of studs and stables where we also see an ancient packhorse bridge.

From Spring to late Summer Bury St Edmunds is a riot of colour with flowers cascading from window boxes and hanging baskets. We take a very gentle stroll into enchanting floral gardens to see the picturesque ruins of the ancient abbey by the River Lark and buy tea at the cathedral before heading home at 4.30pm.

Available Mon-Sat March-Oct

Adults & Seniors: £29

GALLOPS & GARDENS

PIANOLAS, PILOTS & PIRATES

Arrive at midday to enjoy a two-course lunch with coffee, (included) in the jolly buntinghung Mess Hall of the First World War aerodrome at Stow Maries near Maldon in Essex. We explore life in the Royal Flying Corps a century ago enjoy an entertaining coach tour with a top notch Blue Badge guide of a remote and lonely kingdom with a long tradition of smuggling and piracy and finish with tea & cake, also included at a quaint yachting town on the River Crouch.

Stow Maries was a Downton Abbey sort of world - the Officers Mess had indoor bathrooms and a special room just for the silver while the lower ranks slept in tents and made do with outdoor privies. After lunch we’ll visit the little museum and explore the hangar where enthusiastic and happy chaps tinker with old aeroplanes. This is also an important wildlife sanctuary - a haven for birds and wild flowers. You might have seen the Stow Maries Owl Man on Countryfile and Spring Watch – we’ll show you a short film of his work.

Next a panoramic coach tour of hauntingly beautiful landscapes beneath massive skies as we explore the smuggling and piracy history of the moody salt marshes of the Dengie Hundred. On the quayside at Burnham on Crouch we round the day off with tea & cake at the Royal Burnham Yacht Club and head home at 4.30pm.

Available daily March - end Oct

Adults & Seniors: £37

Bradford on Avon is the last outpost of the Cotswolds. A town of just 10,000 souls straddling both river and canal it is immensely picturesque, and neither as well known nor as crowded as Bath. We begin with a two-course carvery lunch at midday and include a few steps to enjoy the heart of Bradford followed by an entertaining coach tour and time for tea in the National Trust village of Lacock before heading home at 4.30pm.

After lunch we take just a few steps to see the town lock up on the bridge and the gold Olympic post box for a local 2012 hero. Bradford grew wealthy from the wool trade and a generous share of the profits went on exquisitely carved corbels and town houses in buttery ashlar stone. The Saxon church is a rare survivor famous for two soaring stone angels. Sit back and relax for a coach tour to enjoy an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We take an attractive route to enjoy the Bath skyline before dipping into the valley to see the highlights of the Georgian city - all from the coach - the Royal Crescent, Queen Square and beautiful Pulteney Bridge with the River Avon cascading over the weir. We stop to buy tea the National Trust village of Lacock where the new houses are 18th century. Cottages and inns dating back to the 15th century form a breathtaking backdrop.

Available all year Mon-Sat

Adults & Seniors: £28

THE WILTSHIRE GOLDEN TRIANGLE

Light on the feet but rich on the senses, we begin in picturesque

Old Pevensey where William the Conqueror landed in 1066.

Including a 2 course lunch with coffee and a gentle walking tour to

explore this picturesque village. We follow that with an

exhilarating panoramic coach tour and finish with tea in

Eastbourne. Arrive at 11.45am for lunch at midday and head home

by 4.30pm

This day includes a Blue Badge guide and:

• A two course lunch with coffee

• Gentle walking tour of Old Pevensey

• Panoramic coach tour to the South Downs and Beachy Head

• Free time for tea in Eastbourne

Available Mon - Sat Apr to Oct

Adults: & Seniors: £28

THE SUSSEX SEASIDE

This great day out can be booked for any time of the year but is

ideal to keep you warm and entertained in the colder months.

A coach tour through beautiful Essex country villages is followed

by an afternoon visit to the Chocolate Lady for tea, a talk and a

demonstration of chocolate making. 10.30am to 4.30pm.

This day includes:

• A top notch Blue Badge guide throughout

• A coach tour through beautiful Essex countryside and villages

• Free time for lunch in Saffron Walden

• Afternoon visit to the Chocolate Lady for tea, a talk and

   a very entertaining demonstration of chocolate making

Available Monday to Saturday all year

Adults & Seniors: £27

BATTLE OF BRITAIN COUNTRY

This day out is built around a tasty group lunch - two courses with

coffee, in a fine country pub at Benenden in Kent, after which we

explore the beautiful Kent countryside by coach and visit lovely

Cranbrook - the capital of the High Weald.

This day runs from midday to 4.30pm and includes:

• A top notch Blue Badge guide throughout

• A two course lunch with coffee

• A short walking tour around Benenden

• Coach tour through the High Weald

• Guided tour of Cranbrook with free time to buy tea

Available Weds to Fri all year

Adults & Seniors: £32

THE HEAVENLY HIGH WEALD

We begin this day with a two course lunch with coffee in the very

heart of Colchester where we can show you the best of Britain’s

oldest recorded town all within short compass. We take a coach

tour out into the Essex countryside and visit the charming museum

at Tiptree Jam Factory. This day runs midday to 4.30pm.

This day includes:

• A two course lunch with coffee

• A gentle and flat walking tour of Colchester

• A visit to the Firstsite gallery

• Sweeping coach tour of the Essex Countryside

• A visit to the Tiptree Jam Factory

Available weekdays all year

Adults & Seniors: £31

GEMS, JAMS & BOUNCING BOMBS

Enjoy exhilarating views from the White Cliffs of Dover without

climbing any cliffs or hills! Start at midday with a two course lunch

with coffee and then enjoy a scenic drive through some of Kent’s

most beautiful coastal countryside with an entertaining and top

notch Blue Badge guide. We also visit Walmer - the prettiest of the

Kent seaside castles. The day runs from midday to 4.30pm.

This day includes:

• A two course lunch with coffee in an attractive 4* hotel

• Views from the White Cliffs to enjoy the views

• A visit to Walmer Castle

Available daily from April to end Sept and Wed to Sun in Oct

Adults: £36 Seniors: £35

EH Members: £27/£28

THE WHITE CLIFFS & WALMER CASTLE

Explore the delights of the honey coloured Cotswolds beginning

with a two course carvery lunch with coffee at midday. We visit the

village that William Morris lauded as the prettiest in all of England

and we end up in Gaol - the quirky and interesting Old Prison back

at Northleach where tea and shortcake is also included.

This day runs from midday to 4.30pm and includes

• A top notch Blue Badge Guide throughout

• A scenic coach tour of the beautiful Cotswolds countryside

• Visits to Cirencester and the idyllic village of Bibury

• A visit to the Old Prison in Northleach

• Tea/Coffee and a slice of Victoria sponge

Available daily except Sundays

Adults & Seniors: £32

THE HONEY COLOURED COTSWOLDS

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