Individual Guided Tours of London and the UK by Private Car Driven by Blue Badge Guides
Tour Suggestions - from Bath
Tour Prices
Touring Suggestions by Region
Whether or not you have tired of the capital, why not get a break in “real” England? Only 100 miles/160km west of London is the Englishman’s own image of unspoilt England: the countryside and villages of the Cotswold Hills, the townscapes of Bath and Bristol, the stylishness of their stone buildings, and any number of prehistoric remains, and stately homes and gardens. A stay in Bath or the Cotswolds serves well for touring any of the places on this page.
Bath
Where better to come as a tourist than the first purpose-built resort in the world? Three hundred years ago, the city was remodelled as a playground for the rich and famous to enjoy the prosperity of Britain’s empire under the Georgian monarchs. Find out what it was like to see and be seen in the Las Vegas of the 18th century! The legacy of wide sidewalks and architectural triumphs in mellow stonework has earned Bath World Heritage Site status. All that and the most important Roman remains north of the Alps, in the form of the 2000-year-old Roman Baths, still filled by gushing hot springs.
Where better to come as a tourist than the first purpose-built resort in the world? Three hundred years ago, the city was remodelled as a playground for the rich and famous to enjoy the prosperity of Britain’s empire under the Georgian monarchs. Find out what it was like to see and be seen in the Las Vegas of the 18th century! The legacy of wide sidewalks and architectural triumphs in mellow stonework has earned Bath World Heritage Site status. All that and the most important Roman remains north of the Alps, in the form of the 2000-year-old Roman Baths, still filled by gushing hot springs.
Today’s visitors also like to trace the footsteps of Jane Austen, enjoy the splendid antique shops, relax in one of the luxurious hotels, bathe in the modern spa complex, or just shop and people-watch in the city with perhaps the highest standard of living outside London.
Use Bath as a centre to visit the nearby showpieces of classic unspoilt England, like Castle Combe with its stone roofscapes and wool trade heritage, or Lacock, the location of choice for many a period drama as well as Harry Potter films.
The Cotswolds
An area of unbelievable beauty with sleepy villages, charming little market towns, splendid churches, graceful manor houses. Quintessential England, which the modern world passed by.
An area of unbelievable beauty with sleepy villages, charming little market towns, splendid churches, graceful manor houses. Quintessential England, which the modern world passed by.
Wherever you go in the Cotswolds, you will hardly be out of view of honey coloured stone manor houses, and sheep: thanks to their wool, this was the most prosperous area of England in medieval times. Your guide may offer a circular tour of the northern area – perhaps Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden and Broadway, with the option of the Arts and Crafts garden of Hidcote, or even a foray to Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. A more southerly circuit could include Burford, made fashionable by Charles II and his horse racing companions; Bibury, so picturesque that Henry Ford wanted to take some of it to Michigan; and Tetbury with its antique shops, at the back door of the Prince of Wales’s estate.
Stonehenge and Salisbury
The 5000 year old World Heritage stone circle of Stonehenge is the most popular destination in this area. This is Europe’s biggest and most famous prehistoric site and your guide will help you get inside the mind of stone age man in order to appreciate the history and mystery of the place. Not far away is the beautiful cathedral of Salisbury, a masterpiece of Early English Gothic architecture, with the tallest intact medieval spire in Europe at 404ft/124m. Its many treasures include the best preserved and most legible of the few remaining copies of Magna Carta from the year 1215. Salisbury itself is an attractive country town where you can browse the market held every Tuesday since 1227
The 5000 year old World Heritage stone circle of Stonehenge is the most popular destination in this area. This is Europe’s biggest and most famous prehistoric site and your guide will help you get inside the mind of stone age man in order to appreciate the history and mystery of the place. Not far away is the beautiful cathedral of Salisbury, a masterpiece of Early English Gothic architecture, with the tallest intact medieval spire in Europe at 404ft/124m. Its many treasures include the best preserved and most legible of the few remaining copies of Magna Carta from the year 1215. Salisbury itself is an attractive country town where you can browse the market held every Tuesday since 1227
Somerset
This is a county of lush green hills and picturesque villages, dotted with attractions like Cheddar with its deep gorge and caves where the world-famous cheese was originally made… and of course it can still be sampled and bought. Discover mysterious Glastonbury, now site of the famous music festival and a New Age rendezvous, famed for being the legendary entry to the kingdom of the fairies, the cradle of Christianity in England, and the reputed burial place of King Arthur. He lies in the impressive ruins of the Abbey which was once the most important religious community after Westminster. Continue to nearby Wells, “England’s smallest city”, boasting the oldest street in Europe, the most perfect medieval cathedral, and a moat where the swans ring a bell to be fed.
This is a county of lush green hills and picturesque villages, dotted with attractions like Cheddar with its deep gorge and caves where the world-famous cheese was originally made… and of course it can still be sampled and bought. Discover mysterious Glastonbury, now site of the famous music festival and a New Age rendezvous, famed for being the legendary entry to the kingdom of the fairies, the cradle of Christianity in England, and the reputed burial place of King Arthur. He lies in the impressive ruins of the Abbey which was once the most important religious community after Westminster. Continue to nearby Wells, “England’s smallest city”, boasting the oldest street in Europe, the most perfect medieval cathedral, and a moat where the swans ring a bell to be fed.
Historic houses
Few areas offer such a choice of ancestral homes open to the public, groaning with wonderful artefacts, set in delightful grounds. For example: Longleat, built to impress Elizabeth the First; Wilton, with magnificent 17th century interiors by Robert Adam; Bowood, where oxygen was first discovered; and Stourhead, stuffed with curiosities and artworks brought back from the Grand Tour of Europe. All still inhabited by the aristocratic families that built them.
Few areas offer such a choice of ancestral homes open to the public, groaning with wonderful artefacts, set in delightful grounds. For example: Longleat, built to impress Elizabeth the First; Wilton, with magnificent 17th century interiors by Robert Adam; Bowood, where oxygen was first discovered; and Stourhead, stuffed with curiosities and artworks brought back from the Grand Tour of Europe. All still inhabited by the aristocratic families that built them.
Gardens
From the glorious vistas of Stourhead to the intimacy of Peto’s garden at Iford, the ‘rooms’ of Hidcote to the roses of Kiftsgate, the choice is endless for the garden enthusiast.
From the glorious vistas of Stourhead to the intimacy of Peto’s garden at Iford, the ‘rooms’ of Hidcote to the roses of Kiftsgate, the choice is endless for the garden enthusiast.
