Stratford and a Shakespearean New Year

Make your own way to our hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, where you will meet our Tour Manager, enjoy dinner and a relaxing evening.

This morning we will be joined by a local guide who will take us on a panoramic, sight-seeing tour of Stratford and the surrounding area. We will pass Anne Hathaway’s cottage, the home of Shakespeare’s wife-to-be. From here we head back into Stratford-upon-Avon which is a medieval market town steeped in culture and history, and is the birthplace of William Shakespeare, born here in 1564 in a half-timbered house on Henley Street.   Our sight-seeing tour ends at Shakespeare’s birthplace, a small cottage on the high street of Stratford-Upon-Avon which we will be able to explore. We then continue to Shakespeare's schoolroom and guildhall, where you will have time to explore the buildings. You can also participate in the Tudor lesson, write with quills, and hear about the medieval paintings, priests’ chapel and the court of record. The rest of the afternoon is free to explore before our coach returns to the hotel for our evening meal.

Today, we travel by coach to Cheltenham where we enjoy a one-way trip on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway. The train travels along part of the route of the former Western Railway’s main line. We arrive in Broadway where you will have some free time in this quaint picture postcard village.  After some free time, we return to our hotel ready for our New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner.

Today is yours to spend at leisure, doing as much or as little as you like. Relax in the hotel or explore Stratford-upon-Avon and walk along the river, taking in the pretty half-timbered buildings of this medieval market town. Dinner is served at the hotel this evening.

After breakfast we say goodbye to our Shakespearean setting and depart at leisure. Please note: We cannot guarantee that all rail journeys will be steam hauled. The running order of the itinerary will be confirmed in your final travel documents.