Cambridge & East Anglia Mansions & Villages

Cambridge & East Anglia Mansions & Villages

Discover Spectacular Houses in this Forgotten Corner of England

Themes

  • Historical

  • Artists

  • Royal Connections

Associations

  • The Royal Oak Foundation
  • NTHP

Cambridge & East Anglia Mansions & Villages

Discover Spectacular Houses in this Forgotten Corner of England

Prices From $5,140p/p

The region of East Anglia is filled with natural beauty, charming villages and historic wool towns that have changed little since Tudor times, with their timber-framed buildings and crooked streets. On this insightful tour we explore some of these wonderful locations and discover magnificent houses rich in history and architecture such as elegant Holkham Hall and the breathtaking Jacobean mansion of Blickling.

Special extras included in your itinerary
• Guided tour of Audley End
• Afternoon tea at Orchard Tea Garden
• Guided walking tour of Cambridge
• Guided tour of the Fitzwilliam Museum
• Guided ‘Constable’ walking tour
• Mississippi Paddle Steamer cruise
• Out-of-hours guided tour of Holkham Hall
• Private guided tour of Houghton Hall
• Lunch at Sandringham
• Themed evening talk by a guest speaker

Day 1
Monday: Arrival

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

Meals: Dinner

Day 2
Tuesday: Audley End and Orchard Tea Garden

Our first visit is to Audley End, one of the finest Jacobean houses in England with an impressive great hall, magnificent state apartments and a carefully restored service wing which gives a glimpse of life ‘below stairs’.

From here we visit the Orchard Tea Garden in Grantchester for afternoon tea. The Orchard was first planted in 1868 and the tradition of taking afternoon tea here began purely by chance with a group of Cambridge students in 1897 and has continued ever since.

Later we check in to the University Arms Hotel, our base for the next four nights.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3
Wednesday: Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum and Wimpole Estate

We make our way to Cambridge. Renowned for its world-famous university, this historic city is home to many fascinating sights which we discover on our guided walking tour, including the majestic college buildings.

Afterwards we visit the Fitzwilliam Museum. The art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge contains a vast collection of treasures from paintings and armor to ceramics, furniture, textiles, sculptures and manuscripts.

Our final stop is the working estate of Wimpole. The impressive mansion, at the heart of the estate, boasts some unique interior flourishes. The wonderful library was specially built to house an enormous collection of books that went on to form the core of the early British Library.

Later, we enjoy dinner together at a bistro in Cambridge.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 4
Thursday: Oxburgh Hall and Anglesey Abbey

This morning we discover Oxburgh Hall. This romantic moated manor house has been home to the Catholic Bedingfield family since the 15th century and charts their precarious history from medieval austerity to neo-Gothic Victorian splendor. Look out for the 16th-century priest’s hole as well intricate embroidery crafted by Mary, Queen of Scots.

We then make our way to Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill. The house’s interior is a vestige of 1930s luxury, complete with rich furnishings, silver, paintings, books and rare clocks. Outside, discover an exceptional array of sculptures in the landscape gardens.

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

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 5
Friday: Saffron Walden, Flatford and Lavenham

We travel first to Saffron Walden, a charming medieval market town with many historic buildings including the half-timbered Guildhall.

Our next stop is the charming hamlet of Flatford, the inspiration for some of artist John Constable’s most famous paintings. Here we enjoy a guided walking tour, discovering the lovely views and locations that Constable painted including Flatford Mill, immortalized in The Haywain.

The last visit of the day is to Lavenham, a remarkably well-preserved Tudor village that was one of the richest towns in England during the 15th century thanks to the woollen-cloth industry.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 6
Saturday: Mississippi Paddle Steamer and Felbrigg Hall

We make our way to the picturesque village of Horning where we enjoy a scenic cruise of the Norfolk Broads on the Mississippi Paddle Steamer. A unique and beautiful landscape of shallow lakes and rivers, these spectacular waterways are scattered with pretty market towns and villages along the shoreline.

We continue to Felbrigg Hall, one of East Anglia’s finest country houses. Felbrigg’s interior is a lavish blend of sumptuous furniture, ornate plasterwork and William Wyndham II’s painting collection, gathered on his Grand Tour of Europe.

From here, we make our way to the Pheasant Hotel where we stay for the next three nights.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 7
Sunday: Holkham Hall and Blickling Hall

This morning we enjoy a private guided tour of Holkham Hall, an elegant 18th-century country mansion constructed in the Palladian style for Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester. The hall is currently home to the 8th Earl of Leicester. The spectacular Marble Hall was inspired by the Temple of Fortuna Virilis and the Pantheon in Rome, while the magnificent State Rooms boast superb collections of ancient statuary, original furniture, tapestries and works of art.

Blickling Hall is one of Britain’s finest Jacobean houses. In decorative terms it’s a wonderful house to explore because of its plasterwork and superb 18th-century Long Gallery. Discover Blickling’s collections and learn about the National Trust’s ambitious new conservation project to secure the future of one of the most significant book collections in the country.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 8
Monday: Sandringham Estate and Walsingham Abbey

We visit the house, gardens and museum of the Sandringham Estate, the country retreat of Her Majesty the Queen. Built in 1870, Sandringham has been the private home of four generations of British monarchs. The interiors are home to many exhibits such as an important collection of oriental arms and armor. The museum, housed in the former coach houses and stable block, holds extraordinary collections of Royal vehicles, rare ceramics, photographs and memorabilia. We enjoy lunch here during our visit.

Later we visit Walsingham Abbey, famous for the spectacular remains of a medieval priory. A place of pilgrimage since the 11th century, the priory was destroyed during Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries. We have time to wander through the tranquil gardens scattered with medieval ruins and explore the unspoilt woodland and landscape parkland.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9
Tuesday: Houghton Hall and Ely Cathedral

We start with a private guided tour of Houghton Hall, one of England’s finest Palladian houses. Built in the 1720s by Great Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, the Hall boasts sumptuous state rooms lavishly endowed with pictures, statuary and fine furniture while outside is an award-winning five acre garden and contemporary sculpture park.

Afterwards we visit the historic Fenland city of Ely and the magnificent Ely Cathedral. Founded as a monastery in 673, work on the present building dates from the early 1080s. A remarkable example of both Romanesque and Norman architecture, its most famous feature is the central Octagon Tower.

Later, we return to the Macdonald Windsor Hotel where we enjoy a farewell dinner together.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 10
Wednesday: 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*
• 2 nights at the Macdonald Windsor Hotel
• 4 nights at the University Arms Hotel
• 3 nights at the Pheasant Hotel
• Welcome drink
• Full English breakfast each day
• 3-course table d’hôte dinner on 7 nights at the hotels (with after-dinner tea and coffee)
• 1 dinner at a bistro in Cambridge
• 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

Nights One and Nine – Macdonald Windsor Hotel, Windsor

Nights Two to Five – University Arms Hotel, Cmabridge
The University Arms is a historic hotel situated in the heart of Cambridge. Recently renovated, the style of this boutique hotel reflects classic Edwardian interiors with contemporary design. Hotel amenities include a fitness room, library, bar and Parker’s Tavern, a quintessentially English brasserie.

Nights Six to Eight – Pheasant Hotel, Kelling
The privately-owned Pheasant Hotel is a charming Georgian country house hotel set in two acres of landscaped gardens in the peaceful north Norfolk countryside. All bedrooms are beautifully presented and the hotel also offers a Garden Room Restaurant and lounge bar.