4-Day West Country Minicoach Tour

Day 1

To Winchester, the ancient capital of Saxon England. A visit to the cathedral, where Jane Austen is buried and early English kings are commemorated, is a must. We walk past the old school of Winchester, attended by former British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. We stroll through the ruins of the bishop's palace before continuing our tour along the gin-clear waters of the River Itchen. No trip to Winchester is complete without a visit to Winchester Great Hall, where we will see King Arthur's Round Table (or is it?) on display. How about a free beer at a nearby almshouse, where you will learn about this ancient tradition?

We now move on to Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, a spectacularly picturesque (and steep) road where we will have lunch. The view looking down from the top of the street has been described as "one of the most romantic sights in England."

In the afternoon, we visit Montacute House, the home of the Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Later in the afternoon, we make our way to Dartmoor, where ponies roam wild and the landscape provided the setting for Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

Day 2

Today, we tour the rugged coast of North Cornwall. But first, let us stop by Jamaica Inn, a smugglers' inn made famous by Daphne du Maurier. We continue our tour to Tintagel, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur and an ancient trading post with the Mediterranean during the Dark Ages, over 1,500 years ago. Moving on, we visit the tiny village of Port Isaac, where the TV series "Doc Martin" was filmed.

We move on to Padstow, famous for its seafood restaurants, and across the bay is St Enodoc, the final resting place of Sir John Betjeman and the subject of one of his most famous poems. We take a drive over to Falmouth, Henry VIII's fortress town, where we will spend the night.

Day 3

We take a leisurely drive along Cornwall's south coast, where we have a few options. For horticulturalists, there is the Eden Project or perhaps the Lost Gardens of Heligan. We will visit the delightful village of Fowey, once the home of Daphne du Maurier, before heading east towards the ritzy resort of Salcombe and on through the naval port of Dartmouth. We cross the River Dart by car ferry and continue our tour onwards to Lyme Regis, the town of fossils and "The French Lieutenant's Woman".

Night stop in Weymouth, a Dorset seaside town famous for its golden sands, bustling harbour and historic charm.

Day 4

Today, we visit Durdle Door, a limestone arch from where, on a clear day, we can look across to Chesil Beach. From here, we drive to Bovington Camp to visit the Tank Museum before stopping by Clouds Hill, the home of that most enigmatic of British adventurers, T.E. Lawrence of Arabia. There will be time to visit his final resting place before we move on to our grand finale, the World Heritage site of Stonehenge, before returning to London.