Start with the #1 attraction in London - The London Eye. Your European Discovery escort will point out some of the significant sites of London.
In a comfy big capsule that holds 30 people, we will see London from above.
This is looking down on Parliment. On a clear day you can see for 25 miles.
The "Eye" is right on the Thames and beautiful as the sun goes down.
Here is what the view looks like if you are on the Eye after dark.
After our view of London and orientation, we go out to a wonderful local restaurant together. The food is delicious and you pick what you want from the menu.
The food is fabulous and we get a little taste of everything for starters and then choice of a huge menu.
The next day we meet our Blue Badge local guide and start with the great mansions in Green Park.
Then we stroll past the ancient St. James castle
Here at St. James you can get right next to one of the guards and get your photo with NO crowds.
There is also a changing of the guard here, again with no crowds so you can see them close up.
Here is the changing of the guard on the mall in front of Buckingham Palace
Here is our fabulous guide Tom talking about the palace and the queen(he has met her!)
Buckingham Palace in the spring
After we stroll by Buckingham Palace we will walk up St. James park and along Birdcage Walk
Here is a nice view of Big Ben and the parliment building with the London Eye in the background
We will then head to 1000 year old Westminster Abbey
Front view of Westminster Abbey. We will have an incredible tour through the abbey talking about the great history of England with the people that are buried there.
Henry VII's chapel, Westminster Abbey, looking east.
After Westminster, we will head up towards Trafalgar square.
We will then stop for a great Pub lunch.
After lunch we will go to St. Pauls cathedral built by Sir Christopher Wren after the great fire of London. This is also where Diana and Charles were married.
Outside St. Pauls
The dome of St. Pauls
The beautiful arches and pillars holding up the dome.
After St. Pauls, we will catch a bus over to ancient castle/fortress of the Tower of London
We will leave our guide on the outside of the Tower but you can go inside and tour.
We will finish the day with a lovely and fun cruise down the Thames river.
The next day is a completely free day in London. This tour guest chose to go out and tour the tennis facilities at Wimbledon.
If you are a medieval or Da Vinci Code fan, you could visit the Temple Church
If you enjoy beautiful gardens and ancient palaces, you could go out to Hampton Court.
You could also take a quick train and visit the home of the queen, Windsor castle and the village of Eton.
If you wanted to stay in London and like ancient displays, the British Museum is a must.
The next day we head to the beautiful georgian town of Bath
After we settle in, we take a city walking tour with the Mayors guide
On the city tour we get a great overview of the Georgian architecture and Roman roots of the city of Bath.
It includes going up to the beautiful Royal Crescent where the royalty and aristocrats had homes for the "season".
Here is a full picture of the Royal Crescent
While you are in Bath, taking in the Pump room with its water is a fun if not "tasty" experience.
A highlight of Bath are the ancient Roman baths built and used while the Romans occupied this part of Britain.
Bath is lovely in the evening with a stroll along the Avon.
Here is the Bath Abbey lit up at night.
Stonehenge - The next day we will head out on our "5000 years of British history" day driving around SW countryside. We will start with the ancient site of Stonehenge.
It is hard to believe that these ancient stones were put her so many thousands of years ago.
Our guide will give us "the real scoop" about the builders of these ancient sites and how they built it.
And of course, a group photo here will be required!
I also like to bring along the "wishing rods" to test the powers of the groups members with relation to the ancient stones.
After Stonehenge we will visit the stones of Avebury. Much more accessable and less crowded, this stone circle is much bigger than Stonehenge.
After Avebury(and lunch) we will visit the beautifully preserved village of Lacock. Many English period dramas are filmed here including Pride and Prejuduce.
Another beatiful view of Lacock's main street.
Lacock also has a beautiful abbey which is the home of the invention of photography in addition to a filming location of Harry Potter.
Our last stop will be the town and cathedral of Salisbury.
Here is the beautiful Salisbury Cathedral. One of the most beautiful medieval cathedrals in England.
It has one of the tallest spires in Europe on any cathedral and we will go inside and see how they built it almost 800 years ago.
This is the inside of Salisbury. It is an amazing structure and it also stores one of the original copies of the Magna Carta.
The next day we take our short drive to the Cotswolds. On the way we stop and visit the grandest palace in England(not owned by the queen); Blenheim Palace. It is also the birthplace of Winston Churchill.
The gardens are also very beautiful at Blenheim.
After our visit to Blenheim, we will arrive shortly to our adorable Cotswold village of Broadway. This is the main street.
We will check into our absolutely lovely B&B and settle in to one of the most beautiful places in England.
The rooms are all unique and very comfy and cozy even though the building was built in 1625.
We will head to a pub in a small quaint village for dinner; the food is absolutely incredible. I think it matches the restaurants in London easily.
Perfectly done asparagus risotto was the special.
After dinner, a walk down the streets of Broadway are a perfect end to a day.
You can even take a walk in the fields with the "locals".
This is taken looking up the street from our B&B. No big tour groups can stay in this village because there are no places for them. You will feel like you have it to yourself at night.
The next day we will do our "village wander", starting with Chipping Camden and then on to Snowshill.
Snowshill also has a beautiful lavender farm.
This is just a typical field around this area we will see during our drive.
Another shot of the Snowshill lavender farm.
Once at Snowshill we will visit the eclectic Snowshill manor museum. The tour group knows this as the "wierd museum" and you will see why.
It's gardens, however are not strange at all and quite lovely.
More in the Snowshill garden.
After lunch we will continue to wander the quaint villages. This is Stanway.
Front of Stanway manor. If it is open, they have a great water garden in the back.
On to the villages of Upper and Lower Slaughter.
This is Lower Slaughter with it's beautiful old water mill and home of our ice cream stop.
Two tour guests enjoying a relaxing break.
The next day, we head to York but we make a stop at the best preserved medieval castle in England; Warwick Castle.
In addition to the castle itself, Warwick has some lovely gardens including the Peacock garden, complete with several live peacocks wandering the grounds.
Warwick also has a great Birds of Prey exhibit and show.
Inside the castle there are several exhibits that include wax figures that help show what life was like in the castle.
This was a special wax figure exhibit in the hall. They are so lifelike it is amazing!
The next day we will take a morning tour of the city of York with our private Blue Badge guide starting with the stunning York Minster; once of Englands great cathedrals. This is the choir.
This is the front face of York Minster as the sun is going down.
On our tour, we will walk on the ancient medieval wall that surrounds the old city of York.
York has some fabulous examples of old Tutor syle halls and houses.
These are the ruins of St. Mary's abbey which was destroyed by King Henry VIII
No tour of York would be complete without going down the Shambles; one of the oldest market streets in York.
This is the ancient guild hall built in the traditional manor.
This is a section of the medieval wall where you can see that it is built on the old Roman wall. At the base are old Roman coffins discovered when excavating parts of York. York is unique in having many periods of British history visible in the city fabric. It is usually the favorite city on the tour.
Betty's Tea House; one of my favorite spots for High Tea. Even enjoyed here by the male visitors!
The next day is the long but beautiful drive to Oban in Scotland. This is a rest break along the way.
This is a view standing on the front porch of our B&B looking at our mini-bus and the bay.
The ferry(also taken in front of our B&B) takes cars and people to the islands around Oban.
Again, the views and the relaxing atmosphere also make Oban a popular stop on our tour. Here a couple is enjoying the sunset on a bench across the street.
The next day is a "free day in the Highlands". This is the view from the top of the town of Oban.
If the weather is nice, a tour of the islands of Mull and Iona is perfect. This is Iona which is considered the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland. The abbey is in the background.
The abbey on Iona.
Another possibility is to visit some castles in the area. This is the home of the Duke of Argyle - Inveraray Castle. This is the seat of the Campbell clan and still occupied by the current young Duke.
Another great option is to tour some of the famous Scotch Whisky distilleries in this part of Scotland. Oban has a very nice one indeed complete with tastings.
The next day we will make the drive through the Highlands and in particular Glencoe. This is castle Stalker right outside Oban.
Once of my favorite views. This is the Glencoe valley from the lookout point of the ancient MacDonald clan. We will stop at the visitor center and learn about the Glencoe Valley and the massacre.
One of the most beautiful spots in all of Scotland just for us and our little tour group!
Another photo from this small little easy walk in the Highlands.
And of course, there are plenty of castles to see in Scotland if you love old ancient ruins.
We will arrive into Edinburgh in the late afternoon and the next day we will take a morning tour of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh with our great Scottish guide Eddie.
His stories of the characters in Edinburgh make this both a historic and entertaining tour.
Looking up the Royal Mile with the Camera Obscura at the end by the Castle.
An example of the stories is depicted in this gate. Jamie Balfour who is a hardworking accountant by day....
but a serious party goer at night. :-)
We will finish our tour with the famous Edinburgh Castle.
There are many different buildings that are part of the castle. We will have an introduction to the history from Eddie and then you are free to wander and explore.
A view of the city of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth from the top of the castle.
A beautiful day at the top level of the castle. You can see the gun in the background which fires every day at 1:00 and is stunningly loud.
We say good-bye to Eddie inside the castle so we can explore on our own; including the Crown Jewels of Scotland.
The afternoon is free. This is Rossyln chapel which we can visit if we would like - also made famous by the Da Vinci Code.
Another possibility is golf. There are several fun ancient courses near Edinburgh.
We will finish with a fabulous dinner down by the water in Leith and say good-bye to two incredible weeks in England and Scotland.
