Watch the work of some of the world's greatest wordsmith's leap off the page. Follow the footsteps of your favourite characters and find the springs of inspiration that pushed the pens of their creators. No matter how much you love literature, you'll find this tour more enthralling than any award-winning novel. Back-Roads guides help you read between the lines with an invitation into the workshops of Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, AA Milne and Rudyard Kipling to name but a few.

INCLUSIONS

• 3 nights in unique, traditional accommodation
• Driver/Guide companion
• All mini-coach transportation
• Full English cooked breakfast daily
• Three course evening meal x 2

Entrance fees as listed:

• Knole House
• Batemans House
• Jane Austen's House, Chawton
• Stonehenge
• Thomas Hardy's Cottage
• Christ Church College

Thurs 9 Sep, 2010 - Sun 12 Sep, 2010 (3 nights) GThurs 7 Oct, 2010 - Sun 10 Oct, 2010 (3 nights)G - Guaranteed departure

Itinerary:

Day 1      Kent
Our journey this morning takes us east following London's River Thames. Rich in literary associations, this is the river of Samuel Pepys and Charles Dickens. We journey to where Dickens spent most of his life in the small cathedral city of Rochester, located on the River Medway. The old fashioned high street is reminiscent of the Dickens era and one can still easily imagine we're aboard a stagecoach from Charles Dickens time heading with Mr Pickwick to Rochester. After lunch we drive to Knole House. This interesting and grand house was the birth place of Vita Sackville West and her inspiration for The Edwardian. It was also the setting for Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando. This evening we stay in accommodation in Kent.
(D)

Day 2    Hampshire
We start our day exploring more of England's lush Home Counties - a quintessentially English region. We will visit the Ashdown Forest where we find the home of Winnie the Pooh and creator A A Milne. Fans of Arthur Conan Doyle and his timeless creation, Sherlock Holmes, will not be disappointed as we find a number of related sites. If there are Kipling fans aboard, we view his dreamlike manor house, Batemans which is preserved just as he left it, and you may view original illustrations from The Jungle Book. We take a scenic cross country route to Jane Austen country, with her home at Chawton being our destination. It was in this quaint village that she wrote most of her works and you may choose to visit her house, or enjoy the pretty village of Chawton, that provided the setting for many of her novels.
(B)

Day 3    Hampshire
Today is our day to be totally immersed into the world of Thomas Hardy. We visit some of the most memorable scenes from his novels, like the prehistoric temple at Stonehenge. We also pass through towns and villages that are easily recognisable as the source of his inspiration, including Shaftesbury and the woodland cottage where Hardy grew up. We particularly seek out those smaller villages with a timeless English air to them. Unsurprisingly, the area is regularly used as a location for many period films and TV series. One such is Nether Wallop. This beautiful Hampshire village is the setting for Agatha Christie's Miss Marple films. We complete our perfect day back in our accommodation for a delicious evening meal.
(B/D)

Day 4    Oxford
We depart our Hampshire base and take the short drive north towards Oxford. En route we visit Winchester which boasts an impressive cathedral and where Jane Austen is buried. As we exit the city we drive down rural country lanes to the village where Jane Austen attended church and where her father was once the Minister. Our drive brings us to the 'city of the dreaming spires', Oxford. This is the jewel in the literary crown, linked with writers such as T.S Eliot, J.R.R. Tolkien, Graham Greene, John Le Carre, Oscar Wilde, C.S Lewis and most famously Lewis Carroll. Oxford was also the setting for Colin Dexter's famous police series, Inspector Morse. To get a feel for this place of literary excellence, your guide will take us on a walking tour to some of the city's highlights, including Christ Church. After a leisurely afternoon in Oxford we return to London.
(B)

Price

Pick-up/Drop-off Information:
Tour departs from and returns (approx) at 5.30pm :

  

0830am pick up:

The Park Inn Hotel Hyde Park

66 Lancaster Gate

London