01943 605999
Essex & Suffolk
This tailor-made package includes executive coach travel throughout the holiday and from three nights’ accommodation on a half board basis at a 3* or 4* hotel in Essex to suit your group’s requirements. The content of your preferred itinerary will be discussed with you at the time of enquiry.
- Our itinerary could include:
- Ingatestone Hall
- Cressing Temple Barn
- Sutton Hoo (NT)
- Guided tour of Constable Country including Flatford Mill
- Betho Chatto Gardens & Colchester
- Ipswich, Christchurch Mansion & Melford Hall (NT)
- Top Sail Charter Dinner Cruise
- Group Organiser benefits
- No single room supplements (selected tours only)
To tailor-make your tour or for a personalised quotation call 01943 605999.
Sample Itinerary
Day 1 - Ingatestone Hall is a 16th century manor house, built by Sir William Petre, Secretary of State to four Tudor monarchs and is today still occupied by his descendants. The house substantially retains its original form and appearance (including 2 priests hiding places) and contains furniture, pictures and memorabilia accumulated over the centuries. Cressing Temple Barn takes its unusual name from the medieval monks of the Knights Templar who founded the two vast 13th century timber barns, which form the centre piece of this delightful rural estate. The Tudor Walled Garden is inspired by an age when gardens combined beauty and functionality, it is the result of painstaking research and archaeological excavation, and is filled with species widely cultivated at the time.
Day 2 –Sutton Hoo (NT) is a hauntingly beautiful 103-hectare estate with far-reaching views over the river Deben and home to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time. Walk around the ancient burial mounds and discover the incredible story of the ship burial of an Anglo-Saxon king and his treasured possessions. Come face to face with your ancestors and explore the award-winning exhibition, the full-size reconstruction of the burial chamber, stunning replica treasures and original finds from one of the mounds, including a prince's sword. A guided coach tour of ‘Constable Country’ is characterised by open spaces and big ever changing skies. The Dedham Vale and Stour Valley are full of picturesque villages, rolling farmland, rivers, meadows, ancient woodlands and a wide variety of local wildlife. These combine to create what many describe as the traditional English lowland landscape. The area has a rich history and has been the inspiration to many writers and artists. Flatford Mill is a Grade 1 listed watermill, originally built in 1733. Attached to the mill is a 17th century miller's cottage, which is also Grade I listed. The Mill was at one time owned by John Constable’s father, and Constable made the Mill and its surroundings the subject of many of his works of art, which are now world famous.
Day 3 - Betho Chatto Gardens is the creation of garden writer Beth Chatto, one of the most influential living gardeners in Britain, who is perhaps best known for her pioneering, ecological approach, which was developed in the 1960’s. These gardens grew out of a patch of wasteland at the back of her husband's Essex fruit farm and became one of the best-loved gardens in Britain. Colchester & the Castle Museum. Follow in the footsteps of Roman soldiers, Norman invaders, the Witchfinder General and the devastation of Queen Boudica. Explore over 2000 years of some of the most important events in British history in this magnificent Castle! Be part of history as you experience the rise and fall of this town's past through its many internationally significant stories and objects.
Day 4 - Ipswich and its historic Waterfront is undergoing an exciting renaissance. Where once industrial mills and warehouses stood, restaurants now spill out onto a quayside where an array of yachts and cruisers are moored. At Melford Hall (NT) you can follow in Beatrix Potter's footsteps at this beautiful family home. For almost five centuries the picturesque turrets of Melford Hall have dominated Long Melford's village green. Devastated by fire in 1942, the house was nurtured back to life by the Hyde Parker family and it remains their much-loved family home to this day. Their interior decoration and furnishings chart changing tastes and fashions over two centuries. The stories of family life at Melford - from visits by their relation Beatrix Potter with her menagerie of animals, through to children sliding down the grand staircase on trays - make this house more than just bricks and mortar. Topsail Charter Sailing Boat with dinner during a cruise of the river Orwell. This four hour evening dinner sail includes a 2 course buffet meal and your cruise typically passes slowly through Ipswich Docks before locking out onto the River Orwell. You will enjoy seeing the eye-catching Orwell Bridge, Woolverstone and Pin Mill, the most painted place on the East Coast, Shotley Point and Harwich Harbour, one of the busiest shipping lanes in Europe, a hive of activity and interest.
Day 5 - Ipswich & the Christchurch Mansion is a beautiful Tudor mansion which boasts over 500 years of history. Explore the period rooms from the Tudor kitchen to the sumptuous Georgian saloon and the beautifully detailed Victorian wing and much more! Gaze at the fine collection of art from Suffolk artists including the biggest collection of Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable paintings outside of London. The Bosworth Tea Rooms are situated in a wonderfully picturesque village and has views of the well known village green & pond, with cottages and a church which are often to be found on calendars, chocolate boxes, tea towels and post cards.
With all packages we supply a tailor-made flyer to assist in the promotion of your group holiday, along with a booking form which provides us with all the details we require from each participant.
