7.25am-7.45am Pick ups London Zone 1 - at time of booking please specify your requested pick up location.
(We will contact you the day prior to your tour to confirm your pick up time and location – please ensure we have a valid contact phone number/email address that you will have access to in London the day before)
On our Leeds Castle, Canterbury & White Cliffs of Dover tour we follow the old Pilgrim’s Way to ancient cities and beautiful and famous sights.
We visit Canterbury and its Cathedral where entrance is included where possible.
We then journey through the country lanes of Kent described as the Garden of England to Dover, home of the famous White Cliffs & views of Dover Castle.
Last stop we travel to Leeds Castle in Kent described by many as the most beautiful castle in Britain set in the middle of a lake where entrance & free time is included
Approximate arrival back in central London around 6.30pm
**Please note details are subject to changes**
The cathedral is closed on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Canterbury & Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury is the home of the Church of England. We visit the magnificent Cathedral and the labyrinth of medieval streets beyond. Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its formal title is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury.
The White Cliffs & Dover Castle
The White Cliffs of Dover are one of England's most famous national landmarks and is a protected site of Special Scientific Interest. It also boasts spectacular coastal walks & cross Channel views. Dover has played a prominent part in English history due to its strategic location at the shortest sea crossing to mainland Europe. Dover Castle is built on the remains of an Iron Age hillfort and contains within its walls a Roman lighthouse and an Anglo-Saxon church.
A long time ago Britain as we now know it did not exist, it was merely a westerly peninsula of a larger European continent. About half a million years ago, during the recent Ice Age, a large ice sheet had spread across northern Britain and large amounts of the North Sea which created a vast lake amongst the chalk hills which occupied what is now the Straits of Dover. When this dam burst, the surge of water gouged away a deep channel through the hills. As the ice melted the sea began to encroach back up this valley eroding away the soft chalk and forming what is now the English Channel - thus Britain became an island.
Leeds Castle
We continue on to Leeds Castle, described by many as the most beautiful Castle in Britain set in the middle of a lake before returning to London.
Described by Lord Conway as 'the loveliest castle in the world', Leeds Castle has enjoyed a colourful past and an important role in British history.
Listed in the Domesday Book, Leeds Castle was originally built as a Saxon Manor in 857 AD, becoming home to the Norman Crevecoeur Family during William The Conqueror's time.
In 1278 the building became a Royal Palace for Edward I who built the fortified mill and Barbican. In the three centuries that followed, the Castle was a Royal residence for six of the medieval Queens of England, gaining its reputation as a 'ladies' castle'.
Over subsequent years, the Castle passed through the hands of three influential families: the St Legers, the Culpepers and the Wykeham-Martins. In 1926, a wealthy American heiress, Olive (who later became Lady Baillie), bought the Castle from the bankrupt Wykeham-Martins and totally restored its interior.
Following Lady Baillie's death in 1975, the Castle was passed on to the Leeds Castle Foundation who continue to promote and preserve the Castle and grounds for future generations to enjoy.
Approximate arrival back in central London around 6.30pm
**Please note details are subject to changes**
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