Buckingham Palace State Rooms & Royal Mews: Sunday 4th August

Buckingham Palace State Rooms & Royal Mews: Sunday 4th August 2024. Recognised around the world as the focus of national and royal celebrations as well as the backdrop to the regular Changing of the Guard ceremony. The State Rooms are the public rooms in the Palace where The Queen and members of the Royal Family receive and entertain their guests on State, ceremonial and official occasions. There are 19 State Rooms, which mainly reflect the taste of George IV, who commissioned the architect John Nash to transform Buckingham House into a grand palace in 1825. The State Rooms are furnished with many of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection, including paintings by Van Dyck and Canaletto, sculpture by Canova, Sevres porcelain, and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world. The finest working stable in the world, the Royal Mews is responsible for all road travel undertaken by the Royal Family. Take a tour of the Queen’s ‘garage’ and see what it takes to keep the Royal Family on the move! Take a free guided tour led by a friendly, knowledgeable Royal Mews Warden. See the beautiful Gold State Coach, used for coronations for nearly 200 years, the stunning Irish State Coach, and the fleet’s newest addition, the magnificent Diamond Jubilee State Coach. see the carriage that transported Meghan Markle and Prince Harry through the streets of Windsor after their wedding ceremony!. Price Adults £69.00, Young Person (18-24) £52.00 per. Coach will depart Stevenage at 08.30.

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show: Sunday 7th July

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show: Sunday 7th July 2024 (last day). Glorious gardens can be found in the landscape surrounding Hampton Court Palace. With an open theme, the beautiful Show Gardens category allows talented designers to turn unique artistic plans into a feast for the eyes. The Get Started Gardens aim to inspire all who are new to gardening. These gardens showcase simple, low cost and achievable ideas using reliable plants that are affordable and easy to look after. The floral fiesta continues in the Floral Marquee, which is filled with beautiful plants and flowers grown by over 90 nurseries. There’s also Plant Heritage, Plant Village and the Potting Bench – with demos from the growers. Centre stage is the RHS Master Grower  .With hundreds of trade stands to choose from, a unique shopping experience can be found at RHS Hampton Court. New blooms can be bought at the Plant Village, fabulous ideas picked up in the Floral Marquee, delicious treats from Great Tastes Market and beautiful gifts and homeware browsed in the Pavilion where small businesses offer unusual options. Price £58.00 per person. Coach will depart Stevenage at 08.30

Bury St Edmunds Abbey Gardens & Street Market: Wednesday 3rd July

Bury St Edmunds Abbey Gardens & Street Market: Wednesday 3rd July 2024. The Abbey Gardens in the heart of Bury St Edmunds is the perfect spot for enjoying peace and quiet whilst watching the world go by. The award-winning 14-acre park is on the site of a former Benedictine Abbey, the Abbey of St Edmund, once a power house of medieval England. Free to wander, there is much to explore here: abbey ruins, sculptures, hidden garden ‘rooms’ and many quiet nooks and shady corners to picnic, read a book or sit in contemplation. Its eye-catching displays has earnt its place as one of the region’s leading gardens to see and attracts an international audience. There is a vibrant and bustling market in Bury St Edmunds with more than 60 stalls on Wednesdays. Not only is Bury St Edmunds one of the most successful traditional street markets in the country today, it also has one of the longest and most colourful histories. The market, held in the Buttermarket and Cornhill, dates back to before the days of William the Conqueror. Price £20.00 per person Coach departs Stevenage at 08.30

Rye & Romney Marsh: 10th July.

Rye & Romney Marsh: 10th July.2024 The Romney Marsh is a mysterious region of Kent, rich in history and legend. Meet the Blue Badge Guide just off the M20 at Ashford at 10.30am for morning refreshments at individual cost before driving out onto the remote Romney Marsh. Marshmen established a wild reputation with smuggling and felonious deeds rife in a world where men drank beer a full century before the rest of the country and evacuated their sheep before their women during the war! The bleak, timeless character of the marsh made it popular with artists and writers including Noël Coward and Ian Fleming who found inspiration from marsh place names like Moneypenny  Farm. We’ll stop and visit one of the mediaeval churches that pepper the marsh. Dotted across the peculiar landscape of Dungeness – the UK’s only desert there are old railway carriages first dragged across the shingle nearly one hundred years ago. Today they change hands for an awful lot of money. We stop here for fresh fish & chips with a cup of tea and a slice at the legendary Pilot Inn. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements at least one week before the date of the tour. After lunch we take a pleasant drive via Camber Sands to Rye. There will be time to pick a spot for tea before heading home at 4.45pm. Price £59.00 per person. Coach will depart Stevenage at 08.30

Brighton Day Trip: Sunday 19th May

Brighton Day Trip: Sunday 19th May 2024. From iconic tourist attractions to beachfront cool, Brighton is a treasure trove of things to do and places to go. From the stunning heritage of the Royal Pavilion, Regency architecture and Victorian aquariums to the seaside fun of Brighton Pier and the famous pebble beach, The Pavilion houses furniture and works of art including original pieces lent by HM The King and a magnificent display of Regency silver-gilt. The Royal Pavilion Tearoom, with its fabulous balcony, overlooks the Pavilion gardens, has also been returned to its original Regency splendour. If you’re looking to put a creative edge into your shopping, Brighton Lanes offer a shopper’s paradise of independent shops and boutiques. Once the heart of the fishing town Brighton Lanes’ historic quarter is a fabulous maze of twisting alleyways, offering an extraordinary mix of antiques and jewellery shops nestling alongside specialist contemporary and designer boutique fashion. Price £23.00 per person, coach will depart Stevenage at 08.00