secret garden tea tours
small group tours with an emphasis on afternoon tea
England Daily Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive at London’s Heathrow
Make your way to Windsor (1 night)
Windsor Castle (Independent Tour)
Welcome dinner
Day 2
Travel to Bath (2 nights)
Roman Baths
Afternoon Tea
Day 3
Hop on Bus Tour of Bath
Free time to explore and shop
Bath Abbey Bell Tower Tour
Afternoon Tea at historic tea room
Spa Experience- optional
Day 4
Private Tour of The Cotswolds
Afternoon Tea
Drop off in Stratford-Upon-Avon
(2 nights)
Day 5
Hop on and off bus tour
Shakespeare's Birthplace
Anne Hathaway's Cottage
Shakespeare's New Place
Afternoon Tea at themed tea room
Day 6
Travel to Stoke-On-Trent (1 night)
Pottery Museum
World of Wedgwood Factory Tour, Museum and outlet shopping
Afternoon Tea
Day 7
Burleigh Factory Tour
Shop china factory outlets
(Burleigh, Churchill, Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, Emma Bridgewater and more!)
Afternoon tea
Travel to London (5 nights)
Each day in London will have a suggested/guided itinerary, however everyone can choose what they would like to do and meet at our planned location for afternoon tea.
Day 8
Portobello Road Market
Kensington Palace/Hyde Park
Royal Albert Hall
Afternoon Tea on a vintage bus
Day 9
Tower of London/Crown Jewels
Tower Bridge
The View from The Shard
Whimsical Afternoon Tea
Shakespeare's Globe Theater
Thames River Cruise
Day 10
Covent Garden Antique Market
Changing of the Guard/Buckingham
Westminster Abbey
Walk St James Park, The Mall, Trafalger Square, National Gallery
Afternoon Tea - Fortnum and Mason
London Eye (Observation Wheel)
Day 11
Free time to explore:
Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum, St Paul's Cathedral
Free time to shop: Harrods, Liberty of London, Selfridges, Oxford Street
or opt to shop a large antique market
Farewell Evening Tea at The Ritz
Day 12
Tour ends after breakfast
Days 8,9 and 10 are great nights to enjoy a show. We suggest getting advance tickets if you wish to see any of the big shows (like Hamilton and Harry Potter) but there are usually tickets available for most shows that you can get at the discount ticket booth which we can visit when we get to London.
England Details
Meals
We will begin each day with breakfast in our hotel. Most days, the classic “Full English Breakfast” will be served, or you can select from a buffet.
Lunch will be on your own, but most days a light snack will suffice, since our big meal each day will be afternoon tea. The tea rooms we visit will vary greatly in style and ambience. Comparing and contrasting the very different styles and experiences is one of the delights of the trip!
Dinners, other than the welcome meal on the first night and the final evening tea at the Ritz will be on your own, although you'll rarely want more than a light supper. You might wish to relax in your room with a snack or try a quaint spot you discovered that day. In London, there are dozens of restaurants within a few blocks of the hotel.
Lodging
The fine hotels we have selected are centrally located to make it easy for you to enjoy all the action without having to take a taxi.
Our London hotel will be just a couple of minutes walk from a Tube station, making all of London easily accessible.
All prices are based on double occupancy. If you do not have a roommate accompanying you on the trip, you will be matched with another un-paired traveler.
There will be two twin beds in a room, unless otherwise requested in advance. There are a limited number of single rooms available (on a first request basis) for an additional fee.
Tour Venues
All listed locations and activities are included in the tour price. You will have a London Pass which gives you access to many, many tourist attractions in the city. If there are things you'd like to see or do that are not on our official itinerary, let us know and we will do our best to make it happen.
In Bath, there is an optional experince at Thermae Spa, a beautiful, contemporary facility that uses that same source of water that brought the ancient Romans to this area, so be sure to bring a swimsuit If you do not wish to partake of "the waters", let us know in advance and we will deduct $50 from your final payment, but we encourage everyone to experience this amazing place. In Europe, body shape and size is virtually ignored, so having a bikini-ready figure is definitely not a requirement.
If touring the pottery museums and shopping the outlets for bone china teaware are not your thing, we can send you off on an adventure elsewhere in England for the two days via train and make all the arrangements for your accommodations. You can meet us in London to continue the group tour.
Let us know how we can make this your dream trip to England!
Transportation
When you arrive at Heathrow, just grab a cab or rideshare to our hotel in Windsor. It's a short 20 minute drive, and they'll deliver you right to the door of the hotel.
We will have private minibus transport between cities, or may take the train so we can experience the amazing British rail system. Hop-on-hop-off narrated bus tours will be utilized in Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon and we'll have a private bus shuttle us to the pottery factory tours and outlets. There is limited space for luggage aboard the bus, so plan to travel as light as possible. We want to make sure there is plenty of room for all the treasures you'll find at the pottery/china outlets!
In London, we will travel like locals with transport cards for the Tube and busses. It really is the most effective way to move about the city, and we will give you a quick lesson on how to navigate the Underground, as well as including exact instructions for getting to each venue. You'll be confidently zipping around like a native Londoner in a day!
The tour ends at the hotel, but the nearby Tube station has a direct train to Heathrow, or you can opt to go via taxi or rideshare.
Shopping
This shopping element of our tours is one of the most popular parts of travelling with us. We take you to some awfully tempting places! How to get things home is always a big question.
We suggest using the double suitcase method. When leaving home, you place your carry on sized suitcase, filled with your clothing inside the next size suitcase of a nested set. This way you aren't burdened with a) an extra luggage fee or b) two bags to maneuver around the airport. And you will probably be within the luggage guidelines for the bus. When packing to return home, you then have an empty case to fill with your treasures. Use clothing to protect fragile items and divide the weight between the two cases or buy a roll of bubble wrap there.
The cost of a flying with a second suitcase is less than shipping fees in most cases, but a number of the places we'll shop are happy to ship your purchases for you, and some offer free shipping for sizeable purchases. There is a UPS shipping station not far from our hotel too.