Saturday 5th – Monday 7th May
LONDON BANK HOLIDAY BREAK & HARRY POTTER AT WARNER BROTHERS STUDIO £179.50 (Child sharing with 2 adults £159.50)
Visit Warner Brothers Studio for the ‘Harry Potter Tour’ and see the wonderful special effects and amazing creatures and the studios where it all began. There will be the chance to go behind the scenes and see things the camera never showed, such as breathtakingly detailed sets, stunning costumes, original props and animatronics. Secrets will be revealed! Includes a city tour and time for visiting the museums, sightseeing and shopping. At the 3* Premier Inn near Heathrow (EB). West End theatres are available at extra cost.

Saturday 5th – Monday 7th May
LONDON BANK HOLIDAY BREAK
FILM MUSIC GALA 2012 £169.50
The Royal Albert Hall presents an enchanting evening of movie magic, from recent Hollywood blockbusters to timeless classics from the Golden Age. Highlights include Mission Impossible, Jurassic Park, Gladiator, Pirates of The Carribean, Out of Africa, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and lots more…Includes a city tour and time for visiting the museums, sightseeing and shopping. At the 3* Premier Inn near Heathrow (EB). Other West End shows available on request.

Sunday 6th – Monday 7th May
HISTORIC HOUSES AND GARDENS OF WESSEX £119.50
Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle and Stourhead Gardens
Stourhead’s world famous landscape garden is a ‘must see’ with its classical temples, mystical grottos and rare and exotic trees. The elegant Palladian mansion has a superb collection of Chippendale furniture and inspirational paintings. Highclere Castle is the setting for the hugely popular period drama ‘Downton Abbey’, a tale of scandal, intrigue and romance in an Edwardian country House. Tour the elegant castle before a stroll through the gardens designed by Capability Brown. Explore historic Winchester with its famous Cathedral and museums and Shaftesbury, with its famous Gold Hill. At the 3* Holiday Inn Winchester (HB)

Sunday 6th May
ABBEY HOUSE GARDENS, MALMESBURY & TETBURY £37.50
Includes entry to the famous gardens and afternoon tea.

Saturday 12th May
TWELFTH NIGHT £64.50
An opportunity to be part of the ‘World Shakespeare Festival’ and enjoy one of his most popular plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (Stalls – M). There will be time to explore the beautiful town where William Shakespeare was born.

Sunday 13th – Wednesday 16th May
CONSTABLE COUNTRY & SUTTON HOO £254.50
Suffolk is a county of pastoral views and picturesque villages with thatched, colour washed, timber-framed cottages. Constable’s greatest joy was painting his native Dedham Vale, the valley of the River Stour around Dedham and East Bergholt. Many of these scenes that Constable painted can still be appreciated today, as can Flatford Mill, owned by his father and Willie Lott’s Cottage immortalised in ‘The Hay Wain’.
We also visit the charming Suffolk towns of Sudbury and Lavenham with their impressive streets of timbered buildings. A highlight of the tour will be a visit to Sutton Hoo, the Anglo-Saxon burial ground, where priceless treasure was discovered. The superb 4* Five Lakes Hotel, Country Club and Spa, near Maldon (HB), is set in its own extensive grounds and offers full leisure facilities including an indoor pool, sauna and steam-room. It has two 18 hole golf courses and we could arrange for a days golf if required.

Thursday 17th May
LYDNEY PARK SPRING GARDENS & THE FOREST OF DEAN £29.50
The enchanted spring gardens are set in a secluded, wooded valley with lakes, flowering shrubs and views over the Severn Estuary. Includes a scenic tour of the Royal Forest of Dean and afternoon tea at Bells Hotel.

Sunday 20th – Wednesday 23rd May
HONFLEUR – ‘The Birthplace of Impressionism’ £289.50
A four-day break at the 3* All Seasons Hotel de la Tour (BB) on the quayside of Honfleur with its picturesque inner harbour where the fishermen’s timbered houses are now home to superb art galleries and restaurants. Untouched by the passage of time, this small port has kept the landmarks of its rich past, making it one of the most visited towns in France. Visit Monet’s Home and Garden at Giverney – ‘ His Finest Creation’, Rouen with its magnificent Cathedral and Fine Arts Museum and the church built on the site of Joan of Arc’s execution. Also visiting Trouville with its picturesque fishing port, enchanting seaside and wealth of architectural heritage. Via Eurotunnel.

Tuesday 22nd May
COMPTON VERNEY GALLERY & GARDENS “GAINSBOROUGH’S LANDSCAPES” £37.50
This is the first exhibition solely devoted to Gainsborough’s landscapes, bringing together a wonderful group of paintings and drawings from public and Private collections spanning his whole career. Our visit also coincides with ‘French & British Painting’, from Impressionism to the 1920’s – Boudin, Cezanne, Pissarro, Stanhope-Forbes and Wilson-Steer.

Thursday 24th May
CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW £79.50
The world’s best-loved and most vibrant annual flower show! Includes carvery lunch at the 4* Rembrandt Hotel, Knightsbridge.

Monday 28th May – Friday 1st June
SOUTHPORT ‘A VICTORIAN GEM’ & THE LAKE DISTRICT £249.50
A seaside break at the Prince of Wales Hotel, Southport (HB) located on the tree-lined boulevard of Lord Street. Southport still retains its Victorian heritage, which is reflected in its arcades, promenade, beach and floral gardens. The Pier has been completely restored to its former glory and there is a wide range of elegant shops on Lord Street from small independent boutiques to major department and high street stores. We take a tour of the Lake District – ‘England’s most scenic National Park’ with a nostalgic steam train ride from Haverthwaite to Lakeside and take a cruise on Windermere.

Thursday 31st May – Friday 1st June
THE QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE GALA AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL £139.50
To mark 60 years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra hosts a cast of the UK’s finest female artists in a spectacular gala concert that is not to be missed. Featuring the incomparable talents of four world-class soloists, performing their best-loved works alongside a selection of orchestral favourites, all under the baton of talented conductor Sian Edwards. (Stalls Seats – M). On Friday visit Windsor Castle, the Queen’s favourite weekend home for the exhibition – ‘The Queen: Sixty Photographs For Sixty Years’ to celebrate Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, Windsor with its superb shopping opportunities and Castle. At a 3* hotel near Windsor (EB).

June Tours