Quintessentially Summer

A Quintessentially British Summer

Including Afternoon tea, English Gardens, Rutland Cruise, Melton Mowbray, Belton House and more….

 

6 Days 6^th August 2026

 

There’s nothing as British as a traditional afternoon tea, beautiful English gardens, a cruise on Rutland Water and an English Castle. Join us to experience all of these delights and more, based in The Hilton Hotel in Leicester.

 

Tour Itinerary

 

Thursday – We leave Wiltshire this morning and travel up country to Leicester and our base for the next five nights. We will be making a lunch stop in Coventry on route before arriving at the hotel mid-afternoon with a welcome tea and coffee on arrival.

 

Friday – This morning we visit Barnsdale Gardens giving you the opportunity to explore 38 individual gardens set in an 8-acre site inspiring a range of garden styles and planting scheme that have been referred to as a theme park for gardeners. This afternoon we enjoy a cruise on Rutland Water, a large horseshoe shaped reservoir set within 3,000-acres of beautiful countryside in the East Midlands region of England. Back to the hotel with an opportunity to use the leisure facilities.

 

Saturday – This morning we visit the pretty market town of Melton Mowbray and today is their local traditional market day! An opportunity to sample a port pie or two, but don’t eat too many as we are taking you from here up to the impressive Wymondham Windmill for a delicious full afternoon tea with a selection of sandwiches, homemade cakes and pastries and warm scones with jam and clotted cream, all washed down with unlimited tea or coffee! A perfect treat for a summer’s afternoon.

 

Sunday – After a full Sunday morning breakfast we are taking you to the Belton Estate. You’ll enjoy a self-guided tour of the house, discovering the story of the Brownlow family as you explore their home. Head outside and stroll the estate with its fabulous gardens which include the orangery and Italian garden. Look out for the wild deer as there are over 300 fallow deer in residence! We return to the hotel mid-afternoon for some free time to relax and maybe use the hotel leisure facilities.

 

Monday – This morning we are travelling the short distance to Desford and a nature lovers wonderland as we visit ‘Tropical Birdland’. An opportunity to meet and interact with some of the most exotic and beautiful parrots and cockatoos. walk through the aviary and see a selection of stunning birds from around the world with a chance to feed them if you wish! There is also a beautiful woodland walk, a flock of stunning flamingos and a flock of Alexandrine Parakeets that fly loose around the park and may even land on your shoulder! See the unique King Penguins and over 50 aviaries for getting up close to owls and kookaburras on this 6.5-acre sanctuary. This afternoon we will be taking you to the bustling, prosperous market town of Stamford, regarded as one of the finest stone towns in England with its pretty facades that have been favourites with film and TV producers appearing in the film Pride & Prejudice, Middlemarch and The Da Vinci Code. Its narrow alleyways and courtyards are home to lots of speciality shops and restaurants, a lovely town in a picturesque setting.

 

Tuesday – We leave Leicester and begin our journey back to Wiltshire via Stratford-on-Avon for a morning coffee stop. We continue to the beautiful village of Broadway, referred to as the ‘Jewel of the Cotswolds’, peacefully dwelling at the base of the Worcestershire hills in a region of England that is nationally recognised as an area of outstanding natural beauty. With free time for lunch and to enjoy this ‘quintessentially’ English location, we continue late afternoon back to Wiltshire where your taxi’s wait to take you safely home.

 

Your Hotel

4* Hilton Hotel - Leicester

 

This modern hotel boasts spacious en-suite bedrooms large TV’s and hospitality trays. There is free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, a restaurant, bar, gardens and terrace, a lift and heated indoor swimming pool with jacuzzi and steam room.

 

Price Includes

 

• Luxury Coach Travel with Extra Leg Room

• Home Pickup, Full Hostess Service

• 5 Nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast

• Tea/Coffee after Dinner

• Welcome Tea/Coffee on Arrival at Hotel

• Entrance to Barnsdale Gardens

• Cruise on Rutland Water

• Afternoon Tea at the Wymondham Windmill

• Entrance to The Belton Estate

• Entrance to Tropical Birdland Park

• Visits to Melton Mowbray, Coventry, Stratford-on-Avon and Broadway Village

• 6 Days £799.00
• Single Supplement £150 (Limited)
• Double for Sole use