Highlights of Southern England: London, Bath & Oxford

Board your overnight flight to London today.

Welcome to England! After touching down at London Heathrow Airport—the second-busiest international passenger terminal in the world—transfer to your hotel and unwind. Later in the evening, meet up with your Tour Director and fellow travelers, and get to know one another over a welcome dinner.

Join a local guide for a panoramic tour of London’s regal landmarks, soaking in centuries of history and culture along the way.

• Pass stately Trafalgar Square—a popular public plaza surrounded by museums, galleries, and historic buildings—and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Sat atop Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London neighborhood, this Baroque Anglican church dates back to the 17th century and has hosted state funerals and royal jubilees over the years.
• See Westminster Abbey, one of London’s four UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Since its consecration in 1065, it’s seen 16 royal weddings and the coronation of 40 monarchs, and serves as the final resting place of 18 British rulers.
• Catch a glimpse of skyline icons like the Elizabeth Tower (the clock tower known as Big Ben) and the London Eye observation wheel. Then, take some time to marvel at the Tower of London: a historic castle that has functioned as a royal palace and prison, and is now home to the Crown Jewels.
• Stop by Buckingham Palace—the official residence of the ruling monarch—where you might catch the Changing of the Guard ceremony.

From there, depart for an optional, expert-led tour of the longest-inhabited castle on the planet. Or, enjoy a free afternoon in London proper. The 350-acre Hyde Park is a little over a half-mile from Buckingham Palace; make the walk and roam its grassy fields, or maybe even rent a boat for a leisurely cruise on The Serpentine.

Yesterday, you saw the Tower of London and the London Eye from a distance—today, if you choose, you’ll get much closer. View the city’s past and present from two incredible angles on a pair of optional outings. If you’d rather explore on your own, take your free day to check out some of London’s many excellent museums. (Some of our favorites: the traditional exhibits of the British Museum in the Bloomsbury district, and the more interactive offerings of the Cutty Sark clipper ship in Greenwich, on the south bank of the River Thames.)

Head southwest out of London, setting your sights on the iconic monoliths of Stonehenge. Upon arriving, enter the recently opened Stonehenge Visitors Centre, taking in a number of exhibitions before walking to the monument itself. Gaze upon this UNESCO-listed landmark, erected some 5,000 years ago, before hopping back on your bus. From this prehistoric site, drive to the medieval city of Salisbury for a guided sightseeing tour.

• View the soaring spire of Salisbury Cathedral, the 765-year-old mother church of the city, and understand why its ornamented exterior is considered an excellent example of Early English Gothic architecture. Then, go inside to marvel at its sumptuous interior—and one of the only four surviving copies of the Magna Carta.
• Stroll the shopping streets of Salisbury proper, snapping pictures of the city’s historic buildings as you go.

Leave the city and continue to your hotel in the Salisbury region, where you’ll enjoy an included dinner, served with beer or wine, alongside your fellow travelers.

Climb aboard your bus and embark on a scenic drive along the UNESCO-listed Jurassic Coast, so named for the many fossils found in its rocky shores.

• First stop: Lulworth Cove! Shaped like a scallop and filled with waters that shift from turquoise to navy, it’s a prime example of the area’s geography and topography. Use your free time to explore the beach and surrounding hills—or sit back and take it all in.
• Keep along the route, admiring its powerful coastline and peaceful countryside, before stopping at West Bay Beach. If it looks familiar, you aren’t mistaken: Its sheer East Cliff and the nearby resort town provided the backdrop for the popular TV series Broadchurch. Soak in the sights, then continue to a local restaurant for an included lunch.
• Did you save some room? From lunch, make your way to the Somerset region for a tour of a local farm, complete with a tasting of cheeses crafted on-site.

After eating your fill, turn back north and make for the elegant city of Bath. Pull up to your hotel, then spend a relaxing night in. Or, maybe explore Bath’s monument-rich city center.

Bath has the unique honor of being a double UNESCO World Heritage Site: first named to the list in 1987 for its mix of Roman remains and Georgian aesthetics, then again in 2021 as one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe. Dive right into its highlights today, with your Tour Director in the lead.

• Pass a host of famous places, including the Royal Crescent—one of England’s eminent examples of Palladian architecture—and the Circus. And no visit to Bath would be complete without entering its namesake attraction: the Roman Baths that have stood since the first century A.D.
• Enjoy free time for lunch and shopping, or enter the Bath Abbey on your own. Founded in the seventh century and expanded in the English Gothic fashion, it’s a stone’s throw from the Roman Baths and a worthwhile visit for any architecture aficionado.

Once you’ve recharged, join an optional excursion and head further into the city to visit the home-turned-museum of a certain author—and Bath’s most famous resident. Alternatively, spend some free time indulging at a modern-day spa, fed by the same thermal waters that soothed the Romans thousands of years ago.

One of 46 nationally designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the UK, the Cotswolds is widely regarded as the most picturesque landscape in all of England. Today, spend some time driving through its lush pastures and down its country lanes, stopping in villages as you go.

• Begin in Bibury, a town of just 627 people, and take a leisurely stroll down Arlington Row—a cottage-lined lane so pretty that Henry Ford purportedly attempted to buy them all and ship them to the United States for reconstruction. (He only ended up purchasing one.)
• Continue to Burford, the “Gateway to the Cotswolds” and a living exhibition of Tudor and Georgian architecture. Walk down High Street, taking it all in, before breaking for lunch.

Wrap up in the Cotswolds and make the short drive to the city of Oxford. Freshen up in your hotel room, then reconvene in the evening for an included dinner, served with beer or wine.

Beyond the oldest university in the English-speaking world, you’ll find buildings of every English architectural style in Oxford—even dating as far back as the late Anglo-Saxon period. Spend the first half of your day following a local guide on a walking tour of the city, admiring its spire-studded skyline as you go.

Then, tread the campuses of New College and Christ Church, constituent schools of the University of Oxford and educational institutions that trace their roots back as far as 1379. Learn about their academic heritage and legacy, and come to know how the latter simultaneously serves as a cathedral and place of higher learning. (An extra fun fact: Oxford University was used as a filming location for the Harry Potter franchise, as well as other movies!)

Once you finish, board your bus for an optional trip to Blenheim Palace—birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill—or spend a free afternoon in Oxford.

Please note: The New College closes during the academic year. If it’s closed, your group will visit a different campus instead.

The English countryside is dotted with grand, historic estates set within acres of meadows, woodlands, and immaculately manicured gardens. Ashridge House ticks all those boxes, and today, you’ll be treated as an honored guest.

• Travel to the former royal residence of King Henry VIII and Princess Elizabeth I and spend a day immersed in regal splendor. While on its 190-acre grounds, you’ll tour the main house and saunter through its Italian gardens.
• Use some free time to explore the property at your leisure, or perhaps grab lunch at its on-site cafe.
• Rejoin your group for a tasting of cream tea and scones, a quintessentially English pick-me-up.

Afterward, settle into your overnight accommodations on the grounds of Ashridge House. Get situated, then celebrate your trip with your group during a farewell dinner, served with beer or wine.

Transfer to the airport for your flight home, or extend your stay to continue exploring the storybook scenery of Kent County. (And if you wanted some more time in London, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.)