Day 1: Following your home taxi collection we join our luxury tour coach and make our way to Maidstone in Kent and our hotel for the next four nights, the 4 star Marriott Tudor Park, on a dinner bed and breakfast basis.
Day 2: This morning we visit Chartwell, the home of the late Sir Winston Churchill. Housing the largest collection of Churchill’s paintings and filled with treasures from every aspect of Churchill’s life, the rooms remain much as they were when he lived there, offering a unique opportunity to explore the home of one of Britain’s greatest leaders. The hillside gardens, are a delight to explore, and reflect on Churchill’s love of the landscape and nature – including the lakes he created, the kitchen garden and the Marycot, a playhouse designed for Mary, Winston and Clementine’s youngest daughter.
This afternoon we visit St George’s RAF Chapel of Remembrance at Biggin Hill, a memorial to those pilots who gave their lives in the Battle of Britain and other conflicts.
Day 3: This morning we head to Dover Castle. Spectacularly situated above the White Cliffs of Dover, this magnificent castle has guarded our shores from invasion for 20 centuries. Step into the Great Tower and explore the medieval palace and then head beneath the imposing fortifications and immerse yourself in the drama of the Dunkirk evacuation in the very tunnels where Operation Dynamo was masterminded by Winston Churchill.
Later we pay a visit to the Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge where you can get up close to the iconic BoB fighter planes, including the Hurricane, Spitfire and JUNKERS Ju 52. You will discover the stories of the brave airmen and see the uniforms they wore, medals they won and see artifacts taken from planes that were sadly taken down during battle. A very thought provoking end to the day.
Day 4: We start today at Chatham, one of the main home ports of the Royal Navy in both World Wars. Here we visit the Chatham Memorial to the Missing which commemorates more than 8,500 Royal Navy personnel of the First World War and over 10,000 of the Second World War who were lost or buried at sea.
We then visit Kent’s largest military museum - the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham to discover the story of the Royal Engineers and how they have helped the British Army live, move and fight for over 300 years, including their efforts on the Home Front and during D-Day.
To end the day, we visit Hall Place. Alongside the grandeur of the Great Hall, Tudor Kitchen, Great Chamber and Hallway, you will explore and learn more about how the many different occupants lived in these spaces including the Secret Wartime History of Hall Place which explores how American soldiers stationed at Hall Place – code name Santa Fe, intercepted encoded messages sent by the Germans and sent them on to Bletchley Park to be decoded. GI veterans’ memories and declassified files reveal the importance of their round-the-clock, top-secret work, which helped defeat, the Nazis.
Day 5: Sadly this morning we depart our hotel and make our way back to Norfolk making suitable stops along the way. We then re-join our door to door taxi service who will return you home.
Holiday Information:
4 Nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast (Dinner will be table service)
Price: £695pp
Single Supplement: £148 (Will be allocated a twin or double room for sole occupancy, depending on availability)
Tour Reference: AWE5246
Deposit Required: £50pp
Balance Due: 8 weeks prior to departure