wars of the roses - AUgust 15-18, 2025

We meet early (at 8 am) at Marylebone Station in Central London where we board our air-conditioned private coach.
We drive Berkeley Castle, first built in the late 12th century and tour the magnificent castle and grounds.
After lunch at the Castle we head to the 12th century Tewkesbury Abbey.
We take a guided tour of this former Benedictine Abbey where more than fifteen major nobles of the Wars of the Roses are buried. It was also the site of a battle - inside the Abbey itself!
Time permitting we have a pint or a cuppa (tea) at the Abbott's Table Pub across the street.
Following this break we head for the Chesford Grange Hotel.
We gather for drinks at 7:30 pm in the hotel pub followed by a three-course dinner in the dining room.

After breakfast we board the coach and have a short drive to Warwick Castle, the seat of the Earls of Warwick and especially Neville - The Kingmaker!
There we will follow a guided tour of this very large medieval castle.
Activities galore at Warwick Castle including: displays of archery, jousting, falconry, and perhaps a medieval trebuchet (catapult). There is also a ghost tour and if you dare visit the very medieval dungeon.
Visit the late Victorian rooms 'upstairs' where the elite of England's society carried on including Daisy Warwick and Edward VII.
Later in the afternoon we walk over for an English Afternoon Tea at the Thomas Oken Tearooms.
We also stop at the nearby 12th century St Mary's Church, the burial site of the Earl of Warwick, Richard Beauchamp as well as Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester - the favourite of Queen Elizabeth I.
After our time in Warwick he head to the amazing City of York - the epicentre of the York Dynasty.
We check in to the York Hilton - dinner and drinks at 7:30 pm.

After breakfast we tour York with a City Walls Walking Tour.
Following this we proceed to a guided tour of the incomparable York Minster.
For lunch you will surely want to wander the narrow, and world famous, medieval street, The Shambles.
After a shopping break we head back on the coach for a drive to Harewood, where we visit the Church of All Saints. Here we see the burial sites of the Neville and Gascoigne nobles who supported Richard III. The alabaster effigies are the greatest of their kind in England and are not to be missed.
Following our visit to Harewood's Church we may, time permitting visit the stunning estate of Harewood House.
Following Harewood, we drive to Nottingham and check in to the Nottingham Hilton.
For dinner we take a short drive to the 12th century, and oldest pub in England - Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem 1189. Some claim that it was on this site that Richard the Lionheart held court before heading to the Holy Land during the Crusades.

After breakfast we board the coach and head to Bosworth Field, the famous battle site where, according to Shakespeare, King Richard III cried out 'my Kingdom for a horse.'
This is a special day to visit the 2023 Bosworth Medieval Festival!
We spend an entire day at Bosworth participating in all things medieval and Wars of the Roses. This event is extremely popular so do not miss the great chance to participate.
You will see historical re-enactors gather to battle once again on the field of battle.
There will be archery and artillery displays, and jousting.
See the camps where they recreate life on that fateful day of August 22, 1485.
At the end of our great Medieval Festival we board our coach and head back to London.
Back at Marylebone Station, we say our goodbyes, exchange final hugs and email addresses from one another, collect our bags and set off to our next destinations.