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England for Three Generations: Oxford, the Cotswolds, Bath, the Lakes and York
10 days from London for grandparents, parents and children 6 and up: two nights in Oxford with punts and a farm park, Stonehenge and two nights in Bath, Chester Zoo, three nights in the Lake District with Beatrix Potter's Hill Top, and two in York.
10 jours · Départ et retour : London · jusqu'à 12 voyageurs
Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, visited on a timed entry on day 3 Photo: garethwiscombe, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stonehenge2007_07_30.jpg)
Les faits
En bref
- Durée
- 10 jours, 9 nuits
- Départ et arrivée
- Départ et retour : London
- Taille du groupe
- 7 à 12 voyageurs
- Niveau d'activité
Facile
About 1.5 to 2.5 hours on foot a day, broken by meals and the minibus, on pavements, cobbles, farm and woodland paths and level lakeshore tracks. The hardest parts are the optional climb of Catbells on day 7 (about 5 km and 360 m of ascent with a short scramble) and the stairs at Hill Top and on York's walls. Each has a seated or level alternative, and anyone can sit any walk out with a coffee.
- Repas compris
- 9 petits-déjeuners, 5 repas du midi, 2 repas du soir
- Chambre individuelle
- + CAD 1,105 (prix estimé)
- Saison
- April to October
Points forts
Pourquoi ce voyage
- Christ Church's Great Hall, dinosaurs and the dodo in Oxford, then a chauffeured punt on the Cherwell
- Bourton-on-the-Water's Model Village before the coaches, and lambs at the Cotswold Farm Park
- Touching the Avebury stones, then Stonehenge and its Neolithic houses on a timed entry
- The Roman Baths at opening, then a free afternoon by the pool or the park
- Elephants and jaguars at Chester Zoo on the way north
- Hill Top, a cable ferry across Windermere and a cruise back to Ambleside
- Catbells or Friars' Crag on Derwentwater, and a Viking ride under York
Ce qui distingue ce voyage
Le temps libre fait partie du programme
Le temps libre et les choix sont indiqués les jours où ils ont lieu.
En solo, sans pénalité
Une chambre individuelle coûte + CAD 1,105 (prix estimé).
Jour par jour
Itinéraire
Touchez une étape de la carte pour ouvrir ce jourCliquez sur une étape de la carte pour ouvrir ce jour
London to Oxford
London Paddington by train to Oxford
- Welcome dinner in Oxford at about 6 pm
- Nuit : Oxford
- En train
Matin
We meet your See Sight Tours guide at London Paddington between about 10 and 11 am (the exact time and meeting point come with your final itinerary), late enough for families who arrived the day before to have a slow breakfast. A direct train takes about an hour to Oxford, where our minibus meets us and carries the bags to the hotel.
Après-midi
After lunch on your own, the guide leads a short walk to Christ Church, where children recognise the staircase and the Great Hall that inspired the dining hall in the Harry Potter films. Then the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, free to enter, with dinosaur skeletons and the dodo that Lewis Carroll put into Alice in Wonderland. From April to September we end the afternoon in chauffeured punts on the Cherwell, so nobody has to steer; in other months we walk Christ Church Meadow.
Soir
The welcome dinner is at about 6 pm, so the youngest are in bed on time.
Compris
- Standard-class train from London Paddington to Oxford with your guide
- Bags taken from Oxford station to the hotel by minibus
- Christ Church: Tom Quad, the cathedral and the Great Hall
- Oxford University Museum of Natural History with your guide
- Chauffeured punt on the Cherwell, with a punter at the pole (April to September)
- Early welcome dinner in Oxford
Activités en option
- The Pitt Rivers Museum, through the back of the Natural History Museum (free entry)
Option plus facile : Take a taxi with your guide between the station, Christ Church and the museum.
Option plus active : Climb the tower of the University Church of St Mary for the view over Radcliffe Square (small fee, many steps).
Temps libre : Lunch on your own in central Oxford
Activité : About 2 hours on foot on level pavements and college flagstones, with stairs at Christ Church. Christ Church closes parts of the college for university events; we confirm the visit with your final itinerary.
Cotswold villages and a farm
Oxford to Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold, the Cotswold Farm Park and the Rollright Stones, then back to Oxford
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
- Nuit : Oxford
- Environ 2.5 h de route
We leave Oxford at 8:45 and reach Bourton-on-the-Water before most of the day coaches, while the River Windrush is still quiet under its low stone bridges. The Model Village behind the Old New Inn is Bourton itself at one-ninth size, built in the 1930s, and children can look down on every roof and the tiny model of the model village. Walkers take the field path of about 2 km to Lower Slaughter and its watermill; everyone else rides the minibus and meets them there.
Après-midi
Lunch is a sit-down meal at a pub in Stow-on-the-Wold, the market town on its hill. In the afternoon we drive a few minutes west to the Cotswold Farm Park, where rare breeds of sheep, cattle and pigs live, and children can bottle-feed lambs or hold small animals in season. On the way back we stop at the Rollright Stones, a Bronze Age circle with a story: try counting them, because the legend says no one gets the same number twice. Back in Oxford by about 5 pm.
Compris
- Bourton-on-the-Water early, before most day coaches
- The Model Village, Bourton-on-the-Water
- Sit-down pub lunch in Stow-on-the-Wold
- The Cotswold Farm Park
- The Rollright Stones
Activités en option
- Birdland Park in Bourton-on-the-Water, with penguins and flamingos (extra, price shown at booking)
Option plus facile : Ride the minibus from Bourton-on-the-Water to Lower Slaughter and sit by the mill stream.
Option plus active : Walk the field path from Bourton-on-the-Water to Lower Slaughter and on to Upper Slaughter, about 4 km, and meet the minibus there.
Temps libre : Evening free in Oxford
Activité : About 2 hours on foot in all, on village streets, farm paths and grass; the optional field path has gates and can be muddy after rain.
Avebury and Stonehenge
Oxford to Avebury, then Stonehenge and Bath
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
- Nuit : Bath
- Environ 3.5 h de route

Matin
We check out after breakfast and leave at 9 am for the chalk downs of Wiltshire, about an hour and a quarter away. At Avebury a village sits partly inside a great henge whose stone circle is the largest in Britain, and the stones stand in sheep fields where children can walk among them and touch them; your guide tells the story of the medieval barber-surgeon found beneath a fallen stone in 1938.
Après-midi
Lunch is a sit-down meal at the pub inside the circle, with a garden. Stonehenge is about 45 minutes south. Our timed entry is in the early afternoon: the visitor centre's exhibition first, then the reconstructed Neolithic houses outside, where children can see how people lived when the stones went up around 2500 BC, then the shuttle bus out to the circle. Stonehenge and Avebury share a UNESCO listing from 1986.
Soir
About an hour more brings us to Bath, our home for two nights, at about 5 pm, with time to settle in before dinner on your own.
Compris
- Guided walk among the Avebury stones
- Sit-down pub lunch in Avebury
- Stonehenge with a timed entry, the visitor centre exhibition and the Neolithic houses
Option plus facile : Ride the shuttle bus both ways between the Stonehenge visitor centre and the stones, and see Avebury's stones from the level path by the village.
Option plus active : Walk out from the Stonehenge visitor centre to the stones over the downs, about 2.5 km, and ride the shuttle back.
Temps libre : Evening free in Bath
Activité : About 3.25 hours of driving in three legs, the longest about 1.25 hours. About 2.5 hours on foot on grass and gravel paths.
Bath
A day in Bath on foot
- Petit-déjeuner
- Nuit : Bath

Matin
We are at the Roman Baths when they open, normally at 9 am, ahead of the coach parties that fill the walkways by late morning. Hot water still rises from the spring into the Great Bath, and the children's audio guide and the costumed Romans who are often on the terraces keep younger visitors interested while grandparents read the stones. After about two hours your guide walks the family through the Georgian city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987: past the Abbey, across Pulteney Bridge with its shops built over the Avon, and up to the Royal Crescent, the curve of thirty houses finished in 1774. The guided part ends at about 12:30 by Royal Victoria Park, which has one of the biggest free playgrounds in the city.
Après-midi
The afternoon is free: the hotel pool if ours has one, a rowing boat or punt from the Victorian boating station on the Avon in summer, or a rest.
Soir
Your guide can book an early table for dinner.
Compris
- The Roman Baths at opening
- Guided walk of Georgian Bath: the Abbey, Pulteney Bridge, the Circus and the Royal Crescent
Activités en option
- Rowing boats and punts from Bath Boating Station (summer, extra, price shown at booking)
- Thermae Bath Spa, for guests aged 16 and over (extra, price shown at booking)
- No. 1 Royal Crescent, a restored Georgian house
Option plus facile : Spend the afternoon at the hotel, in the playground at Royal Victoria Park or at a cafe on Abbey Green.
Option plus active : Walk the Bath Skyline, a waymarked National Trust loop of about 10 km through meadows and woods above the city.
Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Bath
Activité : About 2.5 hours on foot in the morning, with a steady climb from the Abbey to the Royal Crescent; a taxi can take anyone up the hill.
North by way of Chester Zoo
Bath to Chester Zoo, then north to Ambleside in the Lake District
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
- Nuit : Ambleside
- Environ 5 h de route
This is the trip's one long road day, about 425 km and 4.75 hours of driving, because it carries us from the south of England to the north. A train would mean two changes with bags and children, so we split the drive in two with about four hours at Chester Zoo, a conservation zoo of about 50 hectares with elephants, giraffes, jaguars and a tropical house of fruit bats. We leave Bath at 8:45 with a coffee and toilet stop on the M5 and reach the zoo before noon, about 2.75 hours from Bath.
Après-midi
Lunch is included at the zoo, and the family goes round at its own pace: there are benches and cafes throughout, and mobility scooters for hire for anyone who tires. Mid-afternoon we drive about two hours north on the M6 into Cumbria and the Lake District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017, arriving in Ambleside at the head of Windermere at about 5:45 pm.
Soir
Dinner tonight is on your own, close to the hotel.
Compris
- Chester Zoo, about four hours on your own or with your guide
- Lunch at Chester Zoo
- Drive into the Lake District to Ambleside
Option plus facile : Hire a mobility scooter or wheelchair at the zoo entrance (book ahead; we arrange it) and keep to the main paths.
Option plus active : Walk the full zoo loop, about 6 km of paths, with your guide's map.
Temps libre : Evening free in Ambleside
Activité : The longest drive of the trip, over the 4 hour cap: two legs of about 2.75 and 2 hours, broken by a coffee stop and about four hours at the zoo. About 2 to 4 hours on foot on level paved paths, as much as you choose.
Beatrix Potter country and the lake
Ambleside to Hill Top and Hawkshead, the Windermere ferry to Bowness, then back to Ambleside by boat
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
- Nuit : Ambleside
- Environ 45 min de route
We cross to the quiet west side of Windermere for one of the first timed entries of the day at Hill Top, the 17th-century farmhouse Beatrix Potter bought in 1905 with the earnings from The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Children who know the books find the rooms and the garden gate from the pictures; the house is small, so the early slot is the calmest.
Après-midi
Hawkshead, a few minutes on, is a village of whitewashed houses where we sit down to lunch together. In the early afternoon the minibus rolls onto the Windermere ferry, a small cable ferry that has crossed the lake at this point for centuries, for the ten-minute crossing to Bowness. There we visit the World of Beatrix Potter, where the characters are set in model scenes from the stories, then board a Windermere Lake Cruises boat north to Waterhead, a short walk from our hotel in Ambleside.
Soir
We are back by about 4 pm, with a free late afternoon and evening.
Compris
- Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's house, on an early timed entry
- Sit-down lunch in Hawkshead
- The Windermere ferry from Far Sawrey to Bowness
- The World of Beatrix Potter, Bowness
- Windermere cruise from Bowness to Waterhead (Ambleside)
Activités en option
- The Beatrix Potter Gallery in Hawkshead, with her original drawings (National Trust, extra)
Option plus facile : Wait in the Hill Top garden or the village tearoom while the family goes round the house; Hill Top has steep, narrow stairs.
Option plus active : Walk from Hawkshead to Hill Top and back over the fields, about 5 km, before lunch.
Temps libre : Late afternoon and evening free in Ambleside
Activité : About 1.5 hours on foot on level ground; Hill Top has steep narrow stairs inside.
Grasmere and Derwentwater
Ambleside to Grasmere and Keswick, the Derwentwater launch, then back to Ambleside
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
- Nuit : Ambleside
- Environ 1.5 h de route

Grasmere comes first, a few minutes north, for the small shop by the churchyard lychgate that has sold Grasmere gingerbread since the 19th century, and a look at William Wordsworth's grave in St Oswald's churchyard. Over Dunmail Raise and past Thirlmere we reach Keswick and take the launch out onto Derwentwater.
Matin
Here the family splits for the morning if it wants to: walkers of about 8 and over, parents and fit grandparents, step off at Hawes End and climb Catbells with your guide, the hill the Lakes often give children as their first fell; everyone else rides the full circuit of the lake and walks the short level path to Friars' Crag for the view up Borrowdale.
Après-midi
We meet again in Keswick for lunch on your own and drive back to Ambleside by about 2:30.
Soir
The afternoon is for the hotel pool if ours has one, a rowing boat from Waterhead, or a rest, and dinner tonight is together at a Lakeland inn at about 6 pm.
Compris
- Grasmere: the gingerbread shop and St Oswald's churchyard
- Derwentwater launch from Keswick, the full circuit or to Hawes End
- Guided climb of Catbells for those who want it
- Early dinner together at a Lakeland inn
Activités en option
- Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum, Grasmere
- Rowing boat hire at Waterhead, Ambleside (extra, price shown at booking)
Option plus facile : Ride the launch around the whole lake and walk the level path to Friars' Crag, about 1 km each way.
Option plus active : Climb Catbells (451 m) from Hawes End with your guide, about 5 km and 360 m of ascent, with a short rocky scramble near the top, and come down to the launch.
Temps libre : Afternoon free in Ambleside
Activité : Catbells takes about 2.5 hours and is steep and rocky near the summit; children climb it with an adult and the guide decides on the day if wind or rain make it unwise. The easy option is level lakeshore walking.
Wensleydale cheese and Aysgarth Falls
Ambleside to Hawes and Aysgarth Falls, then York
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
- Nuit : York
- Environ 3.5 h de route
We leave the Lakes at 9 am and cross east into the Yorkshire Dales by Sedbergh and the long green valley of Wensleydale, stone barns and dry-stone walls running up the fellsides. Hawes is about an hour and a half away. Its Wensleydale Creamery has a viewing gallery over the cheese-making, a small museum and tastings, and children who know Wallace and Gromit know the cheese.
Après-midi
Lunch is a sit-down meal in Hawes. Fifteen minutes down the dale, the River Ure drops over three wide limestone steps at Aysgarth Falls, and a woodland path links the Upper, Middle and Lower Falls; on a warm day children paddle at the edges of the Upper Falls with an adult.
Soir
York is about an hour and three-quarters away by Leyburn and the plain of York, and we arrive at about 4:30 pm, with time to settle in and an evening free inside the city walls.
Compris
- Wensleydale Creamery visitor centre and cheese tasting, Hawes
- Sit-down lunch in Hawes
- Aysgarth Falls woodland walk
Option plus facile : See the Upper Falls from the viewpoint by the bridge, a few minutes from the car park.
Option plus active : Walk the full riverside path to the Lower Falls at Aysgarth, about 2 km there and back.
Temps libre : Evening free in York
Activité : About 3.5 hours of driving in three legs, the longest about 1.75 hours. About 1.5 hours on foot on woodland paths and pavements; rocks by the falls are slippery.
York
A day in York on foot
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
- Nuit : York
We start at about 9:15 in the Shambles, the narrow medieval street of overhanging timber-framed houses, while it is still quiet; its wizard-themed shops make it a favourite with Harry Potter fans, though the films were not shot here. Your guide then climbs onto the city walls at Bootham Bar and follows them round to Monk Bar, with the towers of York Minster above the rooftops; the parapet is high and the stretch takes about 40 minutes.
Matin
Late morning is our timed entry at Jorvik Viking Centre, where a slow ride carries the family through a rebuilt Viking street of about 975, on the site where archaeologists dug it up, with sounds and smells.
Après-midi
Lunch is on your own. The afternoon is free: the National Railway Museum is free to enter and has the Mallard, a Japanese bullet train and the old royal carriages, or the Minster, or a rest.
Soir
In the evening we sit down together for an early farewell dinner in the city.
Compris
- The Shambles early, before the shops open
- Guided walk on the city walls from Bootham Bar to Monk Bar
- Jorvik Viking Centre with a timed entry
- Early farewell dinner in York
Activités en option
- York Minster and its tower climb (tower for ages 8 and up; extra, price shown at booking)
- The National Railway Museum (free entry)
- A York river cruise on the Ouse
Option plus facile : Skip the walls and meet the group at Monk Bar, or ride the short distance to Jorvik by taxi.
Option plus active : Walk the whole 3.4 km circuit of the walls in the afternoon.
Temps libre : Afternoon free in York
Activité : About 2.5 hours on foot, with steps up to the walls and narrow wall paths with a parapet on one side.
York to London
York by train to London King's Cross
- Petit-déjeuner
- En train
Matin
After breakfast the minibus takes you and your bags the short distance to York station, just outside the city walls, and your guide sees the family onto a direct train to London King's Cross.
Après-midi
The journey takes about two hours down the East Coast Main Line, past flat Lincolnshire farmland and the towers of Peterborough Cathedral, and you reach central London around midday. Seats together are reserved for each family. From King's Cross St Pancras the Piccadilly line runs direct to Heathrow in about an hour, Thameslink trains from St Pancras reach Gatwick in about an hour, and St Pancras International for Eurostar is next door. If you are flying home today, book a flight leaving after about 5 pm from Heathrow or Gatwick. If you would rather stay on in London with the children, or continue north from York to Edinburgh and join our Scotland trip for three generations, ask us and we can book extra nights and tickets for you.
Compris
- Transfer with your bags to York station
- Standard-class train from York to London King's Cross, with seats together for each family
Activité : Book a flight from Heathrow or Gatwick leaving after about 5 pm.
- Londondépart
- Oxford2 nuits
- Bath2 nuits
- Ambleside3 nuits
- York2 nuits
- Londonarrivée
- Étape avec nuitée
- Excursion d'une journée
- En bateau ou en train
Faune et météo : April and May bring lambs to the Cotswold and Lakeland fields and lambing season at the Farm Park; June to August are the warmest and busiest months and match school holidays; September and October are quieter, with autumn colour in the Lakes and the Dales. Rain is likely at some point in any month, so each day has an indoor alternative, and the guide can swap the two Lakes days to catch the drier one for Catbells and the lake boats.
Vous voulez recevoir ce programme par courriel?
Recevez l'itinéraire jour par jour par courriel, ou posez-nous vos questions sur ce voyage. Un conseiller en voyages vous répond le jour même ou le jour ouvrable suivant.
Avant de réserver
Ce voyage est-il pour vous?
Ce voyage vous convient si vous recherchez
- Grandparents, parents and children aged 6 and up who want one trip that works for all of them
- Families on a first visit to England who would rather not drive on the left down Cotswold lanes
- Children who like doing things: punts, lambs, stone circles, a zoo, a ferry, a first fell and a Viking ride
- Older travellers who want shorter drives, early dinners and a seat at every stop
Ce voyage ne vous convient pas si vous recherchez
- Children under 6: the trip is designed for ages 6 and up; ask about the private version
- Pushchairs and wheelchairs: Hill Top, the walls and several paths have stairs or rough ground
- Families who want London sightseeing: the trip starts and ends there, but the days are spent outside it
- Families who want Scotland or Wales on the same trip (see our Scotland trip for three generations)
- Sun seekers: rain is likely on some days in any month
Âge minimum : 6
La plupart des voyageurs ont Three generations: children 6 to 14, parents, grandparents up to about 80
Réservez vos vols une fois votre place confirmée.
9 nuits
Où vous logerez
Vos hôtels sont nommés dans la confirmation de votre voyage.
- Oxford2 nuits
- Bath2 nuits
- Ambleside3 nuits
- York2 nuits
Un seul prix
Ce que le prix comprend
Compris
Hébergement
- 9 nights: 2 in Oxford, 2 in Bath, 3 in Ambleside in the Lake District and 2 in York
- Central hotels of a 3-star-plus standard with private bathrooms, walkable to each town centre; family rooms or connecting rooms where the hotel has them, confirmed before you pay
- We name each hotel when we confirm your dates
Transport
- Standard-class train from London Paddington to Oxford on day 1
- A private minibus and professional driver from Oxford station on day 1 to York station on day 10, sized for 7 to 12 guests, so your bags travel by road
- The Windermere ferry from Far Sawrey to Bowness
- Windermere cruise from Bowness to Ambleside
- Derwentwater launch from Keswick
- Standard-class train from York to London King's Cross on day 10, with seats together for each family
- All parking fees for included stops
Votre guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip, from London Paddington to the York train, leading every walk and visit
- Site guides and staff where a visit has them, such as the Jorvik ride and the Roman Baths
Activités
- Oxford: Christ Church, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and a chauffeured punt on the Cherwell (April to September)
- The Cotswolds: Bourton-on-the-Water and its Model Village, Stow-on-the-Wold, the Cotswold Farm Park and the Rollright Stones
- Avebury stone circle
- Stonehenge with a timed entry, the exhibition and the Neolithic houses
- Bath: the Roman Baths and a guided walk of the Georgian city
- Chester Zoo
- The Lake District: Hill Top, the World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness, Grasmere and a guided Catbells climb for those who want it
- The Yorkshire Dales: the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes and Aysgarth Falls
- York: the Shambles, a guided walk on the city walls and Jorvik Viking Centre
Repas
- 9 breakfasts
- 5 lunches: Stow-on-the-Wold (day 2), Avebury (day 3), Chester Zoo (day 5), Hawkshead (day 6) and Hawes (day 8)
- 3 early dinners: a welcome dinner in Oxford, a Lakeland inn dinner (day 7) and a farewell dinner in York
Non compris
- International flights to and from London
- The UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) or any visa, for each traveller who needs one
- Travel insurance
- Hotel nights in London before and after the trip
- Meals not listed, including lunches on days 1, 4, 7 and 9
- Drinks
- Tips
- Optional activities such as Birdland, Bath Boating Station, Thermae Bath Spa, the Beatrix Potter Gallery, Dove Cottage, rowing boats and York Minster
- Personal expenses
Suppléments
- Chambre individuelle
- CAD 1,105 (prix estimé)
Quand partir
Dates et prix
Choisissez votre date de départ au moment de votre demande de réservation. Nous vérifions cette date et la confirmons dans votre devis.
Vous préférez voyager sans groupe ni guide? Demandez-nous d'organiser vos hôtels, vos transports et vos visites de ville pour voyager en autonomie.
Avant de réserver
Conditions de réservation
Rien n'est facturé maintenant. Les conditions complètes et le barème d'annulation accompagnent votre devis, avant que vous acceptiez.
Adresses de l'entreprise
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Avis des voyageurs
Ce que disent nos voyageurs
Avis de voyageurs ayant participé à nos visites d'une journée.
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Bon à savoir
Questions
What does the England family trip price include?
Nine nights in central hotels, 9 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 3 early dinners, both trains, our own minibus and driver between Oxford and York, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, and every entry in the day plan: Christ Church, the punts, the Farm Park, Stonehenge, the Roman Baths, Chester Zoo, Hill Top, the Windermere ferry and cruise, the Derwentwater launch and Jorvik. Drinks and tips are extra.
What ages is this trip for?
Children aged 6 and up, with their parents and grandparents. Every day was planned to suit a 9-year-old and a 70-year-old at once, with an easy option and a longer one on walking days. Children stay with an adult throughout. For children under 6, ask about the private version, where the pace can follow nap times.
Is the trip too much for grandparents?
It is built not to be. Most days have under 3.5 hours in the minibus in legs of under two hours, the one long day is split by four hours at a zoo with mobility scooters for hire, and dinners we book start at about 6 pm. Guests should manage 1.5 to 2.5 hours on foot a day, broken by stops.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests in a minibus, never a full-size coach, and a group can be two or three families travelling together. That size fits Cotswold village car parks, the Windermere ferry and one table at lunch.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide is with the group for the whole trip, from London Paddington to the York train, and a professional driver is at the wheel so the guide can look after the family. Site staff lead their own rides and talks, such as the Jorvik ride and the Roman Baths' costumed guides.
Can we have family rooms or connecting rooms?
Yes, we ask for them. Tell us how your family wants to sleep when you request to book, and we confirm family, triple or connecting rooms with each hotel before you pay. For older travellers we ask for a lift or a ground-floor room. Child rates for a third or fourth person in a room are quoted at booking.
I'm a grandparent travelling without a partner. Do I pay a single supplement?
Only if you want a room of your own, which is from CAD 1,105 more and shown before you book. If you share a room with a grandchild or another family member, you pay the base price per person with no supplement.
Will there be time to swim or play?
Yes. Free afternoons in Bath and Ambleside, and the late afternoons in Oxford and York, are for the hotel pool where ours has one, Royal Victoria Park's playground in Bath, rowing boats on the Avon or Windermere, or a rest. We aim for hotels with pools in Bath and the Lakes but cannot promise one in every town.
When is the best time for a family trip to England?
The trip runs April to October. July and August match school holidays and are the busiest and dearest months; late May half-term is also busy. Late June and early September give long days, open sights and fewer crowds. Punting runs April to September, and rain is possible in any month, so pack waterproofs.
How does booking work?
Choose a date and send a request to book. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. Prices are per person sharing a room, taxes included: the small group starts from CAD 6,510, and private from CAD 11,720.
Can our family travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip runs as a private trip for your family only, on a date you choose, with your own guide and vehicle. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, trains and entries.
Do our children need an ETA to visit England?
Yes. Canadian and US passport holders need no visa for a tourist visit to the UK, but every traveller, children and babies included, needs a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), applied for online before you fly for a small fee. Bring passports valid for the whole stay; other nationalities should check the UK rules.