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Vestra Travel & British Country Tours
2474 Walnut Street #315
Saxony House
BCT: where
value counts
"There is
hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a
little cheaper and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful
prey." John Ruskin
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SOUTHERN ENGLAND I [Our most popular 14 day tour] 7, 10 & 14 day Tours Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent
SUMMARY:
Day 1 - Overnight Plane Ride to England. Day 2 - Chichester / Fishbourne Roman palace. Day 3 - Chichester Cathedral / Bosham Day 4 - Petworth Town, The House, and gardens Day 5 - Portsmouth - HMS Victory Admiral Nelsons flagship Day 6 - Chartwell - Home of Sir Winston Churchill Day 7 - Brighton Royal Pavillion and The Lanes.(7 day tour returns to USA) Day 8 - New Forest and Beaulieu. Day 9 - The South Downs Way, Deep in the country. Day 10 - Arundel, Castle, and cathedral. (10 Day tour returns to USA) Day 11 - City of Winchester and Cathedral Day 12 - Isle of Wight - Osbourne House. Day 13 - Bognor, Pagham, Felpham Day 14 - Homeward to the USA. THE DETAILED ITINERARY Friday - Day 1: Leave the USA on your way to merry old England. Saturday - Day 2: We will meet you at London's Gatwick Airport (or Heathrow if that is your only choice). Realizing you will be tired after your journey, we will give you a couple of hours to take a nap, and freshen up. During the afternoon we will take a very short ride and visit the Roman Palace at Fishbourne.Fishbourne Roman Palace was
discovered by accident during the digging of a water We will return to the hotel in time for dinner. The hotel has an excellent restaurant "Brookes", or you may choose from the many restaurants and pubs within short walking distance. Also located a short walk from the hotel is the Chichester Festival Theatre, one of the primary "out of London" venues where you may see thespians such as Patricia Routledge (Mrs. Bucket). The theatre opened forty years ago under the artistic direction of Sir Laurence Olivier. We will let you know the theatre schedule during your visit should you choose to attend a production.
Sunday-Day 3:
The morning will be for
attending church services, for others the morning will be free.
Today we explore our host city of Chichester.
By whatever road the city is approached, we have splendid views of the cathedral. Once inside the city, one is always conscious of the cathedral. The Close, the Bishop's Palace and the Chichester Cathedral fill up practically a quarter of the ancient Roman city enclosed within the walls. After our visit to the cathedral we will provide free time for you to explore the city and have a meal at one of the many fine eateries. Or you may join our organized walk around the city with our guide explaining points of interest.
Monday - Day 4: On tap today is a visit to Petworth House and gardens.
Tuesday -Day 5:
Wednesday -Day 6: Sir Winston Churchills home at Chartwell will be the focus of our day. See his art studio, kitchen garden, and the famous brick wall.
As a consequence of his father's illness the Prince became the Prince Regent, heralding in the Regency period - the most elegant period in English architecture. After his father's death he assumed the title King George IV.
Friday - Day 8:
After breakfast we will
depart for
Saturday - Day
9:
Lets explore the countryside is
our theme today. We are
Lunch today will be on BCT at one of our favorite country pubs, the George at Eartham, weather permitting we may be able to eat outdoors in their delightful rose garden. Ask Cyril, the bartender, for some darts and try your hand. Maybe some locals will give you a lesson or three.
Sunday - Day 10 Ten day tour clients will be returned to their departure airport today, otherwise: time for Church Services or a long relaxed breakfast. Thereafter we will visit Arundel with its magnificent castle and cathedral. You will have loads of time to really study the castle, or to spend exploring this really quaint town, full of antique stores. Maybe you will be up to a walk along the banks of the River Arun to Swanbourne Lake and the Wildfowl Trust.
Arundel Cathedral (Left) is a Roman Catholic Cathedral located right next to the Castle. Monday -Day 11: On the schedule today is a short 40 mile ride to Winchester. The City of Winchester with its magnificent Cathedral and other significant historical sites. Tour the 900 year old Cathedral - see the tombs of Jane Austen and Isaac Walton, a unique collection of Chantry Chapels and hear the story of how the diver William Walker saved the Cathedral in 1906.
Walk through Prior's Gate, as the pilgrims did over 600 years ago, and view the full magnificence of Winchester Cathedral. After our visit to the cathedral we will provide two hours of free time for you to explore the city and have lunch at one of the many fine eateries. After our lunch we will visit what remains of Winchester Castle and the great round table:The first and finest of all 13th century
halls, with the greatest symbol of
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Our Southern England I tour
of the counties of Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent
provides 
beautiful gardens, majestic castles, towering cathedrals,
cute country pubs, and
unsurpassed countryside. As 
main trench in 1960. The
discovery led to nine seasons of excavations that showed the site had developed
from a military base at the time of the Roman invasion in AD43 to a sumptuous
Palace by the end of the first century. Over the last five years, new
excavations by the Sussex Archaeological Society have revealed exciting new
insights into this development. 
A beautiful Cathedral, the Mother Church of
the Diocese of Chichester, which covers both East and West Sussex, has
magnificent architecture and works of art from Romanesque stone carvings to the
famous twentieth-century paintings, sculpture and tapestries, including work by
John Piper and Graham Sutherland.
Petworh
House: A magnificent late 17th-century mansion set in a beautiful park,
landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown and immortalized in Turner’s paintings. The
house contains the National Trust’s finest and largest collection of pictures,
with numerous works by Turner, Van Dyck, Reynolds and Blake, as well as ancient
and neo-classical sculpture, fine furniture and carvings by Grinling Gibbons.
The Servants’ Quarters contain interesting kitchens (including a splendid copper
batterie de cuisine of over 1,000 pieces) and other service rooms. On
weekdays additional rooms are open to visitors by kind permission of Lord and
Lady Egremont.
Today we will visit Portsmouth, home of the Royal Navy Dockyard to see, Nelson's flagship
the "Victory". From the decks of Victory, Nelson defeated the French
at the Battle of Trafalgar. Sadly he met his demise during this battle and you
can see the spot where he died. Also available to see are Henry VIII’s 
Chartwell: The home of Sir Winston
Churchill from 1924 until the end of his life. A delightful
family home, with stunning views over the Weald, which became the
place from which Sir Winston drew inspiration. The rooms and gardens remain much
as they were when he lived here, with pictures, books, maps and personal
mementoes strongly evoking the career and wide-ranging interests of this great
statesman. The beautiful terraced gardens contain the lakes Sir Winston created,
the water garden where he fed his fish, Lady Churchill’s rose garden and the
Golden Rose Walk, a Golden Wedding anniversary gift from their children. Many of
Sir Winston’s paintings can be seen in the garden studio.
In 1785 the Prince of Wales
secretly married Mrs. Fitzherbert. She took a house in Brighton and he leased a
farmhouse facing the Steine. He converted this into the Marine Pavilion hiring
renowned architect Henry Holland. It was the architect Porden who designed the
first dome and the Prince was so tickled with this novelty that he had the
entire palace remodeled on this theme in 1815 by the architect John Nash.
the
New Forest and the National Motor Museum.
With the Collection now comprising some 250 vehicles - from some of the earliest
examples of motoring to legendary World Record Breakers like Bluebird and Golden
Arrow - you are sure to find something to fascinate you. If automobiles are not
your 'bag', Beaulieu House and Abbey are also on the same site and well worth
visiting.
going off the beaten track to visit scenic, cute, and breathtaking vistas and
villages. From sections of the famous "South Downs Way" to villages tucked into
scenic valleys. Definitely a day for the photographer in all of us. We took the
above picture in July of 2005 from the top of Harting Hill in West Sussex. 
Arundel Castle, is pictured
right. Amongst it's treasure is a
fascinating collection of fine furniture dating from the 16th
century, together with portraits by Van Dyke, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Mytens and
Lawrence. There are also personal possessions of Mary, Queen of Scots and a
selection of heraldic items from the Duke of Norfolk's collection. The title Duke of Norfolk was
created by King Richard III on Sir John Howard in 1483 and carries with it's
title the Earl of Arundel. The other members of the family who are mentioned
throughout history include Lord Howard of Effingham, who with Drake repelled the
Spanish Armada, the Earl of Surrey, the Tudor poet
and courtier, and the 3rd
Duke of Norfolk was the uncle of both Ann Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of
whom were wives of Henry VIII.
The Triforium Gallery and Library contains
many of the Cathedral's treasures, including original statuary from the Great
Screen. Bishop Morley's Library, bequeathed to the Cathedral in 1684, contains
over 2000 historic books in magnificent 17th century book cases. On permanent
display is the priceless Winchester Bible - the supreme example of 12th Century
illumination, using real gold and lapis lazuli. 
medieval mythology, "The Round Table of
King Arthur".
