Oxford & the Home Counties

Oxford & the Home Counties

Picturesque Houses & Gardens

Oxford & the Home Counties

Picturesque Houses & Gardens

Prices From $5,140p/p

The pastoral landscapes of the Home Counties that surround London provide a beautiful backdrop to some of Britain’s most impressive homes. We uncover the fascinating stories of these magnificent places with their wonderful mix of architectural styles and fine treasures within, and explore spectacular landscape gardens and parkland. Our tour is complemented by a stay at Hartwell House Hotel, a stunning stately home and one of the Historic House Hotels of the National Trust.


Special extras included in your itinerary
• Guided tour of Chiswick House
• Guided tour of Strawberry Hill House
• Private guided tour of Kiftsgate Court Gardens
• High tea at Cliveden House Hotel
• Guided tour and lunch at Waddesdon Manor
• Guided tour and refreshments at Sezincote
• Guided walking tour of Oxford
• Guided tour of Houghton Lodge
• Themed evening talk by a guest speaker

Day 1
Sunday: Arrival

On arrival at Heathrow airport, a private transfer will take you to our overnight hotel, the Castle Hotel Windsor – MGallery. In the evening, join the group for a welcome drink, followed by dinner.

Meals: Dinner

Day 2
Monday: Chiswick House and Strawberry Hill House

We travel to west London to enjoy a guided tour of one of the most stunning examples of 18th-century British architecture, Chiswick House. The Roman-style Palladian villa was designed by the third Earl of Burlington and architect and designer William Kent. Admire the stunning ceilings of the upstairs rooms as well as the beautiful velvet wallpaper.

Our next stop is Strawberry Hill House, a magnificent Gothic Revival villa created by author Horace Walpole in the 18th century to house his vast collection of treasures. Elegant and eccentric, it is Britain’s finest example of this style of architecture and we have the chance to see the highlights of both the house and garden with a guided tour.

Later we check in to the Hartwell House Hotel & Spa, one of the National Trust’s Historic House Hotels and our base for the next four nights.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3
Cliveden Gardens and High Tea at Cliveden House Hotel

Set high above the River Thames with far-reaching views, Cliveden’s glorious gardens and majestic woodlands have uniquely captured the grandeur of a bygone era. From the formal Parterre and elegant Water Garden to the Italianate Long Garden with quirky statuary and topiary plus a historic maze, these impressive gardens have a special charm.

In 1837, Cliveden was purchased by Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland, to be used as a home away from London. The house is now a luxury hotel and after our gardens visit, we savour the quintessentially British pastime of high tea here.

Meals: Breakfast, High Tea, Dinner

Day 4
Wednesday: Waddesdon Manor and Nether Winchendon House

This morning takes us to Waddesdon Manor. Built by the wealthy Rothschild family, Waddesdon is a renaissance-style chateau that looks as though it’s been transported to the gentle Buckinghamshire countryside from France’s Loire Valley. Along with a guided tour of the sumptuous interiors, we also enjoy lunch here.

Afterwards we visit Nether Winchendon House, an enchanting medieval and Tudor manor house set in seven acres of tranquil gardens. From its medieval origins, this extraordinary house has evolved into an exciting mix of styles with curling Tudor chimneys, crenellations, tall Gothic windows, a 12th-century Great Hall and 16th-century Dining Room. Since the mid-16th century, Nether Winchendon has had continuous family occupation and remains a family home to this day.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5
Thursday: Sezincote and Kiftsgate Court Gardens

We start the day at Sezincote, where we enjoy a guided tour of this unique and exotic palace followed by refreshments. In the early 1800s, Charles Cockerell, who had worked for the East India Company, commissioned his architect brother, Samuel, to design and build an Indian house in the Mogul style of Rajasthan. Assisted by the artist Thomas Daniell, the result is a unique combination of Hindu and Muslim architecture with a weathered-copper onion dome, minarets and curving orangery while outside is a romantic Indian fantasy of temples, grottoes and waterfalls with a landscape reputedly designed by Humphry Repton.

From here we head to Kiftsgate Court Gardens, set on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment with lovely views towards the Malvern Hills. The gardens are the creation of three generations of women gardeners, started by Heather Muir in the 1920s. Developed organically with harmonious color schemes, the gardens have many unusual shrubs and plants and are known for the Kiftsgate rose, a scented climbing rose claimed to be the largest rose in Britain.

After dinner back at the hotel, we are treated to a fascinating talk by a guest speaker.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 6
Friday: Oxford and Houghton Lodge

We visit historic Oxford this morning, famous seat of learning. On our guided walking tour, we discover the history of many of the city’s magnificent buildings including the colleges of the famous Oxford University. Following our tour, we have a little free time to enjoy the city at leisure. The University of Oxford Botanic Garden, the Ashmolean (the world’s first public museum) and Bodleian Library are just some of the attractions here.

Next we travel to Houghton Lodge. Home of the Busk family for more than a century, the lodge is one of the finest (and earliest) surviving examples of the cottage ornée style, a genre of ‘picturesque’ Gothic architecture that flourished for about 25 years from 1790. Our guided tour gives us an insight into the history of this unique house. Outside, the lovely gardens feature both formal and informal gardens, a traditional kitchen garden, an orchid house, peacock garden and herbaceous borders.

In the early evening we return to the Castle Hotel Windsor – MGallery where we stay for the last two nights of our tour.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 7
Saturday: Painshill Park

Our final visit is to Painshill Park, an elegant 18th-century landscape garden created between 1738 and 1773 by the Hon. Charles Hamilton. Inspired by Renaissance art and his Grand Tours across Europe, as well as his passion for plants, Hamilton’s vision was to create ‘living paintings’ in a new style of garden. The result is a sequence of breathtaking vistas across the landscape punctuated by mystical follies including a ruined abbey and Gothic temple, a serpentine lake, vineyard, woodland and more.

Back at the hotel tonight we enjoy a farewell dinner together.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 8
Sunday: Departure

A private transfer will take you back to Heathrow airport for your return flight home.

Meals: Breakfast

What’s Included
Return airport transfers from London Heathrow*
3 nights at the Castle Hotel Windsor – MGallery
4 nights at the Hartwell House Hotel & Spa
Welcome drink
Full English breakfast each day
3-course table d’hôte dinner on 6 nights at the hotels (with after dinner tea and coffee)
Services of a tour director throughout your stay
Travel to and from all excursions
All excursion costs
Porterage

*supplement applies for transfers from all other airports

Special extras included in your itinerary
• Guided tour of Chiswick House
• Guided tour of Strawberry Hill House
• Private guided tour of Kiftsgate Court Gardens
• High tea at Cliveden House Hotel
• Guided tour and lunch at Waddesdon Manor
• Guided tour and refreshments at Sezincote
• Guided walking tour of Oxford
• Guided tour of Houghton Lodge
• Themed evening talk by a guest speaker

Nights One, Six and Seven – Castle Hotel Windsor – MGallery
The Castle Hotel is an elegant boutique hotel situated in the heart of the Royal town of Windsor. The historic Georgian building has many fascinating authentic features and lovingly restored décor and offers stylish rooms, a lounge bar and restaurant.

Nights Two to Five – Hartwell House Hotel & Spa
Set in over 90 acres of glorious gardens and parkland, the Hartwell House Hotel & Spa in Buckinghamshire is a wonderful stately home that was donated to the National Trust and is now run as a luxury hotel. The estate’s history stretches back nearly a thousand years while the house itself dates from the 17th century. In the early 19th century the exiled king, Louis XVIII, held court here and, more recently, Bill Clinton addressed the American people from Hartwell’s library. In the grounds stand the ruins of St Mary's Church, a redundant Anglican church now under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.