London, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon
and the Yorkshire Moors
12 days/11 nights
Inquire about out Book Club Reading Package and Detailed Travel Itinerary
for your book club
Picture it. Reading, like travel, allows us to discover worlds we might otherwise never experience. Books have the power to transport us to another place or time ... something we could all use right now.
Read it. In 2020, Che Bella Tours prepared a series of books and movies about London and the English Countryside. Our book club met every month on Zoom, which set the stage for this trip of a lifetime.
Live it. We read, we Zoomed and now our Book Club is off to Britain! This itinerary is specifically planned to bring literature alive as we experience “in person” the places, scenes, characters, history, authors and cuisine featured in the books. We do have a few spots available. Would you like to join us? We can provide you our complete book and movie list, or just come and enjoy the trip. It's going to be a fun group.
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Please join Tour Director Sandy Gregory for this wonderful adventure through England, or contact us to help you create your own independent travel experience with our Concierge Travel Services.
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London and the English Countryside Tour:
4 nights London 3 nights Oxford 1 night Haworth 2 nights York 1 final night in London |
DAY 1: |
Your greeter will be waiting for you outside of baggage claim to take you to our hotel. Please book your flights so you arrive in London sometime in the morning so you can be transferred to the hotel, check your bags and enjoy an included afternoon tea. You will be able to check into your room at 2:00, where you’ll have a few hours to freshen up.
This evening, we’ll meet our private guide for our walking tour of Bloomsbury. The Bloomsbury area contains some of the finest squares, gardens and parks in the whole of London. These streets are steeped in the history of writers, artists, Intellectuals, philanthropists, free-thinkers and radicals.
Our evening will end with included Welcome Dinner.
Your tour price includes a 3-day London Pass and Oyster Card. The London Pass is included in your tour price and gives you skip the line entrances. Included is the Oyster Card, an electronic travel card that is pre-charged with a credit value for the days you are in London.
Overnight in London, 4 nights with breakfast
This evening, we’ll meet our private guide for our walking tour of Bloomsbury. The Bloomsbury area contains some of the finest squares, gardens and parks in the whole of London. These streets are steeped in the history of writers, artists, Intellectuals, philanthropists, free-thinkers and radicals.
Our evening will end with included Welcome Dinner.
Your tour price includes a 3-day London Pass and Oyster Card. The London Pass is included in your tour price and gives you skip the line entrances. Included is the Oyster Card, an electronic travel card that is pre-charged with a credit value for the days you are in London.
Overnight in London, 4 nights with breakfast
DAY 2: A DAY IN LONDON |
We’ll begin our tour at Westminster Abbey. This beautiful Gothic church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and owns the most important collection of monumental sculpture anywhere in Britain. The Abbey’s history is made up of famous Kings and Queens, as well as renowned poets and priests – even heroes and villains were embroiled in its past!
After our Abbey tour, our guide will continue the story with a stop at St. Margaret’s Church, where, on the 12th of September in 1908, Winston Churchill married Clementine.
We’re then on to Parliament Square to see the statue of Winston Churchill and learn more about Parliament as we make our way to 10 Downing Street, the official residence of every British Prime Minister since 1735. Behind its black door, the most important decisions affecting Britain for the last 275 years have been made.
After Downing Street, it will be time to stop nearby for a pub lunch (not included).
After lunch, we’re on to the Churchill War Rooms. Your tour includes skip the line entry to the secret underground headquarters of the War Cabinet during WW2. This part of the tour is best explored via their excellent audio guide. This way, you will be able to tour the site at your leisure. Spend an hour or spend the rest of the afternoon.
The rest of the day and evening are at your leisure. Here are a few suggestions:
• The British Library. When it comes to size, the British Library wins big. The collection is so vast that if a visitor looked at five items a day, it would take 80,000 years to view the entire collection. The Magna Carta, the Gutenberg Bible, Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebook and original Beatles manuscripts are just a small sampling of the unique books and sacred texts on display.
• Historic Saville Row, including Churchill's tailors, hat maker and favorite cigar shop
• Trafalgar Square is the home of the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery
• The British Museum and Sir John Sloanes Museum
• The Victoria and Albert Museum. The world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design houses a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. It has lots of great fashion exhibits as well as furniture, metal working and sculpture. It’s not a far walk to Herrods, where you can see the famous Egyptian escalators, browse the incredible bookstore, and see an entire department dedicated to pet accessories. Herrods has a fantastic market and food court with gold-dusted dates, Ladurée macarons, steak, oysters, a caviar bar, fish bar, truffles, rotisserie and a wonderful market.
The rest of the afternoon is yours to enjoy at your leisure.
Overnight in London
After our Abbey tour, our guide will continue the story with a stop at St. Margaret’s Church, where, on the 12th of September in 1908, Winston Churchill married Clementine.
We’re then on to Parliament Square to see the statue of Winston Churchill and learn more about Parliament as we make our way to 10 Downing Street, the official residence of every British Prime Minister since 1735. Behind its black door, the most important decisions affecting Britain for the last 275 years have been made.
After Downing Street, it will be time to stop nearby for a pub lunch (not included).
After lunch, we’re on to the Churchill War Rooms. Your tour includes skip the line entry to the secret underground headquarters of the War Cabinet during WW2. This part of the tour is best explored via their excellent audio guide. This way, you will be able to tour the site at your leisure. Spend an hour or spend the rest of the afternoon.
The rest of the day and evening are at your leisure. Here are a few suggestions:
• The British Library. When it comes to size, the British Library wins big. The collection is so vast that if a visitor looked at five items a day, it would take 80,000 years to view the entire collection. The Magna Carta, the Gutenberg Bible, Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebook and original Beatles manuscripts are just a small sampling of the unique books and sacred texts on display.
• Historic Saville Row, including Churchill's tailors, hat maker and favorite cigar shop
• Trafalgar Square is the home of the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery
• The British Museum and Sir John Sloanes Museum
• The Victoria and Albert Museum. The world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design houses a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. It has lots of great fashion exhibits as well as furniture, metal working and sculpture. It’s not a far walk to Herrods, where you can see the famous Egyptian escalators, browse the incredible bookstore, and see an entire department dedicated to pet accessories. Herrods has a fantastic market and food court with gold-dusted dates, Ladurée macarons, steak, oysters, a caviar bar, fish bar, truffles, rotisserie and a wonderful market.
The rest of the afternoon is yours to enjoy at your leisure.
Overnight in London
DAY 3: HAMPTON COURT PALACE |
This morning our motorcoach will take us on a 40-minute drive to Hampton Court Palace - the mighty House of Tudor. We’ll meet our guide for our private 2.5-hr. tour, which will include the Tudor Kitchens and Henry VIII’s apartments.
Transfer back to London. Lunch and the rest of the day is on your own to enjoy one of the optional activities you might have missed yesterday.
Transfer back to London. Lunch and the rest of the day is on your own to enjoy one of the optional activities you might have missed yesterday.
DAY 4: A DAY IN LONDON |
The Royal Parks and Palaces: Understanding the British Monarchy
Through a thousand years of history, the British monarchy has moved from the center of power to ceremonial periphery, a movement vividly illustrated by the style and geographical placement of the remaining royal palaces and the parks that surround them. While these parks remain opulent reminders of the power and sway of the monarchy, they largely remain as historical and ceremonial reminders of how Britain has evolved from absolute monarchy to a democracy.
During this private morning tour, we’ll learn about some of the most important parks and palaces in the city, including St. James’s Park, St. James’s Palace, Hyde Park and Clarence House and Buckingham Palace, where we'll see the changing of the guard.
We are then on to the former headquarters of MI6 for included lunch, where, in the 1950s, Guy Burgess handed over top-secret papers to his Russian handler.
The London Spy World. Discover this great city from the shadows and enter the dark and dangerous world of intelligence gathering and the secret agent. Our guide will begin his commentary during our lunch. While his full career details cannot be revealed, he is a former politics and economics lecturer, specializing in military and security affairs. On our walking tour, we will learn about Britain’s top intelligence agencies and the different roles they play in protecting the country. We’ll see the home of MI6, the headquarters of MI5 and visit the public ‘dead drop’ sites where spies exchanged top-secret information. We’ll discover the locations used by Intelligence Services to recruit their agents, and be shaken and stirred by the stories of some of Britain’s most infamous traitors and double agents.
The evening is on your own.
Overnight in London
Through a thousand years of history, the British monarchy has moved from the center of power to ceremonial periphery, a movement vividly illustrated by the style and geographical placement of the remaining royal palaces and the parks that surround them. While these parks remain opulent reminders of the power and sway of the monarchy, they largely remain as historical and ceremonial reminders of how Britain has evolved from absolute monarchy to a democracy.
During this private morning tour, we’ll learn about some of the most important parks and palaces in the city, including St. James’s Park, St. James’s Palace, Hyde Park and Clarence House and Buckingham Palace, where we'll see the changing of the guard.
We are then on to the former headquarters of MI6 for included lunch, where, in the 1950s, Guy Burgess handed over top-secret papers to his Russian handler.
The London Spy World. Discover this great city from the shadows and enter the dark and dangerous world of intelligence gathering and the secret agent. Our guide will begin his commentary during our lunch. While his full career details cannot be revealed, he is a former politics and economics lecturer, specializing in military and security affairs. On our walking tour, we will learn about Britain’s top intelligence agencies and the different roles they play in protecting the country. We’ll see the home of MI6, the headquarters of MI5 and visit the public ‘dead drop’ sites where spies exchanged top-secret information. We’ll discover the locations used by Intelligence Services to recruit their agents, and be shaken and stirred by the stories of some of Britain’s most infamous traitors and double agents.
The evening is on your own.
Overnight in London
DAY 5: |
We’ll leave London this morning and take the two hour drive to Bletchley Park. MI6 called it Station X. The Germans didn’t know it existed. In 1938 the head of the Secret Intelligence Section (MI6) bought the Bletchley grounds to house the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS). Here descended some of the greatest minds in the realm: mathematicians, linguists, chess players, and more. At its peak, Bletchley Park became celebrated as the place where a dedicated team of 12,000 silent warriors - mainly mathematicians, crossword puzzle addicts and dedicated back-up crew (with a huge leg-up at enormous cost from the Polish Resistance) - cracked the Nazi’s Enigma code.
Lunch will be on your own at Bletchley Park before we head to Oxford
Included dinner in Oxford.
Overnight in Oxford, 3 nights.
Lunch will be on your own at Bletchley Park before we head to Oxford
Included dinner in Oxford.
Overnight in Oxford, 3 nights.
DAY 6: |
We’ll begin our day at Oxford College, where you will learn about the history of the city, the university an its famous alumni. We’ll go inside the oldest college dining hall, chapel, cloisters, quadrangles, the Bodleian Library, New College and Divinity School.
The rest of the afternoon and evening is yours to enjoy this rich city.
You might want to think about visiting Christ Church. As you walk up to the entrance, you’ll stroll passed beautiful manicured gardens before entering the impressive building.
Christ Church in Oxford Evensong. In many Anglican cathedrals and other large churches, especially in England, evensong is sung by clergy and choir as a choral liturgy.
Overnight in Oxford.
The rest of the afternoon and evening is yours to enjoy this rich city.
You might want to think about visiting Christ Church. As you walk up to the entrance, you’ll stroll passed beautiful manicured gardens before entering the impressive building.
Christ Church in Oxford Evensong. In many Anglican cathedrals and other large churches, especially in England, evensong is sung by clergy and choir as a choral liturgy.
Overnight in Oxford.
DAY 7: BLENHEIM PALACE |
Just a few miles north of Oxford is Blenheim Palace, the home of the Duke of Marlborough and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
Private tour of the Palace State Rooms focusing on Winston at Blenheim. There will be time for you to roam freely in the palace before your tour of the Formal Gardens. Covering the Water Terraces, Italian Garden, Secret Garden, Rose Garden and Churchill Memorial Garden, discover the highlights of our award-winning Formal Gardens with an experienced guide.
Included 3-course lunch in Blenheim’s stunning L’Orangery restaurant
3:00. Transfer back to Oxford to enjoy the rest of the day and evening at your leisure.
Punting. A punt is like a gondola. You can rent one for an hour and glide past many of Oxford’s famous sights. Punting takes a bit of getting used to if you haven’t done it before, as it requires using a long pole to propel your boat along by pushing off from the riverbed and steering it at the same time. It’s really fun and oh-so-British.
Overnight in Oxford
Private tour of the Palace State Rooms focusing on Winston at Blenheim. There will be time for you to roam freely in the palace before your tour of the Formal Gardens. Covering the Water Terraces, Italian Garden, Secret Garden, Rose Garden and Churchill Memorial Garden, discover the highlights of our award-winning Formal Gardens with an experienced guide.
Included 3-course lunch in Blenheim’s stunning L’Orangery restaurant
3:00. Transfer back to Oxford to enjoy the rest of the day and evening at your leisure.
Punting. A punt is like a gondola. You can rent one for an hour and glide past many of Oxford’s famous sights. Punting takes a bit of getting used to if you haven’t done it before, as it requires using a long pole to propel your boat along by pushing off from the riverbed and steering it at the same time. It’s really fun and oh-so-British.
Overnight in Oxford
DAY 8: |
Morning departure for a 1-hour drive to Stratford-upon- Avon. Our guide will meet us at 10:00 for a 2-hour private tour of Shakespeare’s Stratford Upon Avon.
We’ll be introduced to the most famous sights and the life and times of Shakespeare, and learn what may have influenced Shakespeare and his works, including the historical era which he lived in.
You’ll have time on your own to explore and then we’ll meet back for included lunch. We’ll be true Brits today and enjoy included traditional Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings. The British love beef, and particularly for lunch on a Sunday. The Sunday Roast came to prominence during the reign of King Henry VII in 1485 and the Yeoman of the Guard–the royal bodyguard–have affectionately been known as “beefeaters” since the 15th century because of their love of eating roast beef. Sunday Roast is the very heart of British food and cooking.
After lunch, we’ll be transferred 2.5 hours to the village of Haworth.
Overnight in Haworth, Holdworth House Hotel. 1 night including breakfast
Dinner tonight is on your own - if you still have room after Sunday Roast
We’ll be introduced to the most famous sights and the life and times of Shakespeare, and learn what may have influenced Shakespeare and his works, including the historical era which he lived in.
You’ll have time on your own to explore and then we’ll meet back for included lunch. We’ll be true Brits today and enjoy included traditional Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings. The British love beef, and particularly for lunch on a Sunday. The Sunday Roast came to prominence during the reign of King Henry VII in 1485 and the Yeoman of the Guard–the royal bodyguard–have affectionately been known as “beefeaters” since the 15th century because of their love of eating roast beef. Sunday Roast is the very heart of British food and cooking.
After lunch, we’ll be transferred 2.5 hours to the village of Haworth.
Overnight in Haworth, Holdworth House Hotel. 1 night including breakfast
Dinner tonight is on your own - if you still have room after Sunday Roast
DAY 9: YORKSHIRE MOORS: BRONTE COUNTRY AND ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL |
The literary heritage in Northern England is plentiful and it’s easy to see how these beautiful surroundings inspired such great works of art.
We’ll enjoy a private morning tour of the lovely village of Haworth, and learn about the everyday lives of the Bronte sisters, including Haworth Church, their home, now the Bronte Parsonage Museum, and the village itself. You’ll have time for lunch (not included) and time in the town.
After lunch, we head to Thirsk and The World of James Herriott. Stepping through the famous red door of 23 Kirkgate, Thirsk is to step inside the World of James Herriott, the fully-restored site of his original 1940s home and veterinary practice (known in his books as Skeldale House, Darrowby) set in the heart of stunning Herriott Country. Explore this magical time-capsule, where the world’s most famous vet and one of the most popular writers of the twentieth century lived, worked and wrote his much-loved stories based on his experiences as a young veterinary surgeon working among the farming community of North Yorkshire.
We’ll drive through the dramatic moorland and finish our day in York, an ancient city which has known everything from Roman rule to life as a Viking capital. Its winding streets are full of traditional shops, cozy old pubs, delicious Victorian style tearooms and brilliant museums.
We’ll start our evening with an introduction to York, including Exhibition Square, where it is possible to see 2000 years of history just by turning in a circle; King’s Manor, York’s royal palace; York Minster Discover, the largest Gothic building in Britain; Barley Hall, a 15th century merchant’s house and finish with Included Dinner in The Shambles, York’s most famous and best-preserved medieval street.
We’ll enjoy a private morning tour of the lovely village of Haworth, and learn about the everyday lives of the Bronte sisters, including Haworth Church, their home, now the Bronte Parsonage Museum, and the village itself. You’ll have time for lunch (not included) and time in the town.
After lunch, we head to Thirsk and The World of James Herriott. Stepping through the famous red door of 23 Kirkgate, Thirsk is to step inside the World of James Herriott, the fully-restored site of his original 1940s home and veterinary practice (known in his books as Skeldale House, Darrowby) set in the heart of stunning Herriott Country. Explore this magical time-capsule, where the world’s most famous vet and one of the most popular writers of the twentieth century lived, worked and wrote his much-loved stories based on his experiences as a young veterinary surgeon working among the farming community of North Yorkshire.
We’ll drive through the dramatic moorland and finish our day in York, an ancient city which has known everything from Roman rule to life as a Viking capital. Its winding streets are full of traditional shops, cozy old pubs, delicious Victorian style tearooms and brilliant museums.
We’ll start our evening with an introduction to York, including Exhibition Square, where it is possible to see 2000 years of history just by turning in a circle; King’s Manor, York’s royal palace; York Minster Discover, the largest Gothic building in Britain; Barley Hall, a 15th century merchant’s house and finish with Included Dinner in The Shambles, York’s most famous and best-preserved medieval street.
DAY 10. THE YORKSHIRE MOORS - DRACULA! |
In 1885 the Russian Schooner, The Demeter, was hit by a wild storm and ran aground in Whitby harbor on Tate Hill Sands. Mysteriously all the crew were dead including the captain, who was lashed to the helm. The instant the Demeter ran aground, a huge black dog was seen to leap ashore and run up the 199 steps towards Whitby abbey. The dog was known to be one of the many forms into which a vampire could transform itself. Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula had arrived in England!
8:30. Today, we venture into the wild and windswept lands of the North York Moors to market town of Helmsley to explore the town and enjoy a panoramic drive with photo stops.
We are then on to Whitby Harbor for our private Dracula tour and then time at your leisure in the fishing town of Whitby - chance to enjoy lunch (not included) and to discover the towns many attractions.
Dinner is on your own in York.
8:30. Today, we venture into the wild and windswept lands of the North York Moors to market town of Helmsley to explore the town and enjoy a panoramic drive with photo stops.
We are then on to Whitby Harbor for our private Dracula tour and then time at your leisure in the fishing town of Whitby - chance to enjoy lunch (not included) and to discover the towns many attractions.
Dinner is on your own in York.
DAY 11. |
We leave early this morning to take the ½ hr. morning drive to Castle Howard, where we’ll meet our guide for a 2 hour private tour of the castle and the grounds. As part of your Che Bella Tour, we will tour the house privately - BEFORE it is open to the public. The story, Brideshead Revisited, is fiction, but the setting is an early 18th-century English stately home sits majestically above a 10,000-acre estate just north of York. Our guide will not just tell us about the history of the castle, but will uncover the relationship between the estate and the classic story.
This impressive, rambling, eclectic Baroque structure was built by the Howards, a patrician family that has owned the land on which the house stands for over 1,000 years. In 1966, the family built the castle, and a Howard has lived in the house ever since. 40 miles of footpaths. bubbling brooks, ancient monuments and woods carpeted with bluebells are available to you to walk. You will have time to explore the gardens and have lunch at one of the cafés and restaurants before we head back to London.
Tonight: Included Farewell Pre-Theater Dinner and performance.
This impressive, rambling, eclectic Baroque structure was built by the Howards, a patrician family that has owned the land on which the house stands for over 1,000 years. In 1966, the family built the castle, and a Howard has lived in the house ever since. 40 miles of footpaths. bubbling brooks, ancient monuments and woods carpeted with bluebells are available to you to walk. You will have time to explore the gardens and have lunch at one of the cafés and restaurants before we head back to London.
Tonight: Included Farewell Pre-Theater Dinner and performance.
DAY 12. |
Transfers to the airport.