Southern England Self Drive Tours- 08 Nights / 09 Days - From London to London

Welcome to London, the political and artistic capital of the United Kingdom.
Discover the wonders of this great city, with its royal palaces, parliament, art, shopping and theaters. Chose to visit St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London (a World Heritage Site), Westminster Abbey, the Palace of Westminster (home of Parliament and Big Ben), the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, the Wallace Collection, the National Gallery and Tate art galleries are but a few of the city’s many places of interest and all easily accessible by foot, bus, and underground.
Accommodation: Tourist Class Best Western Phoenix Hotel or similar (2 nights)

Today there are so many interesting things to do and see, luckily you can add extra nights to your stay here if you wish. Shop at the world famous Harrods Store. London has a wide choice of wine bars and traditional pubs in all areas, many offering entertainment.
Complete your perfect day with a visit to one of London’s famous theaters or concert halls.

Pick up your rental car. Drive through the county of Kent, known as the Garden of England, to the great historical city of Canterbury. Enjoy the medieval atmosphere of this fascinating city which is situated on Roman Watling Street, and offers so much for the lovers of history – the Pilgrim’s Way and Canterbury Weavers, a group of picturesque Tudor houses overlooking the River Stour which takes its name from the refugee French Huguenot weavers who settled in the area, are but two examples.
It is of course dominated by its renowned Cathedral, a World Heritage Site. Before leaving Canterbury for the coastal town of Dover eat some amazing Whitstable oysters, probably the finest you will have. Arrive in Dover with its famous white cliffs which have been a gateway to England since Roman times.
Here you can lunch on delectable Dover sole. At Dover Castle within its walls stands the lighthouse built by the Romans and the spectacular Constable’s Tower dates from the early 13th century. The warren of tunnels and secret chambers beneath the Castle, added to during the Napoleonic period, was used during the Second World War in the planning of the evacuation from Dunkirk.
Visitors can tour these dimly lit Secret Wartime Tunnels and see the underground hospital and communications center. Continue your journey to Hastings, passing through the old charming town of Rye. Here you should explore by foot the cobbled Mermaid Street and the 15th century Mermaid Inn. At Hastings you can see the ruins of William the Conqueror’s first English castle (originally a wooden structure), which stands, above the Old Town with the seaside resort below.
Nearby Battle is the remains of the great commemorative abbey built by William the Conqueror after the momentous victory in 1066 of the Normans over King Harold’s English army. Continue your journey to Brighton, where the English seaside tradition was invented, and where we have arranged your overnight accommodation.

Stimulating Brighton, with its piers and wide promenades, boasts elegant Georgian, Regency and Victorian architecture. Its labyrinthine lanes of the old fishing village contrasts with its lavishly planted open spaces and parks. A wide range of pubs and restaurants together with an array of quirky specialist shops in The Lanes makes for a very interesting visit.
Try one of the locally produced white wines. Visit King George IV’s Royal Pavilion, a fantastic and flamboyant oriental pleasure palace. Leave Brighton for the flatlands between the South Downs and the sea, and enjoy the ancient city of Chichester.
Visit its great Cathedral, completed in 1184. Continue your journey to Portsmouth and visit Lord Nelson’s splendid 3- masted flagship, HMS Victory, on which he sailed at the Battle of Trafalgar, which sits in dry dock and is now used as a museum ship. Whilst in Portsmouth visit the Mary Rose, the only 16th century warship on display anywhere in the world, and a firm favorite of King HenryVIII. Leave for Salisbury where we have arranged your overnight accommodation.
Accommodation: Tourist Class: Mercure White Hart Hotel or similar

This morning stroll through the picturesque city of Salisbury, where its Market Square and medieval streets (indicating the trades which once flourished there – Fish Row, Butcher Row, Silver Street) are lined by gabled half-timbered houses dating from 14th to 17th century.
View magnificent Salisbury Cathedral, which boasts the tallest spire in Britain. Leave Salisbury and as you drive across Salisbury Plain you see the great stone circle of Stonehenge, a World Heritage Site. Believed to have been erected 5,000 years ago it is the most celebrated prehistoric monument in Britain.
From here your drive takes you to Stourhead House, whose idyllic Gardens are one of the supreme examples of English landscape. On to the charm of Exeter, with its crescents and terraces of red brick Georgian houses, and diamond-shaped Cathedral Close with the ancient Exeter Cathedral standing at its center.
Continue your drive through small villages to the open moorland of Dartmoor, where ponies, sheep and cattle graze. In Devon enjoy a wonderful Devonshire Cream Tea before making your way to the historic naval port of Plymouth where we have arranged your overnight accommodation.
Plymouth was the port of departure for Drake, Raleigh and Cook and the Pilgrim Fathers when they set sail for America.
Accommodation: Tourist Class: Jurys Inn or similar (2 nights)

Drive along the rugged Cornish coastline, the part of England where the locals’ accents all sound like pirates. From as far back as the 14th century there are legends of pirate gangs who attacked ships as they sailed by this area. Pass smugglers’ coves and quaint fishing villages to St. Michael’s Mount.
This amazing rocky island, with its medieval castle and 1,000-year-old legends and myths, is separated from the mainland by a 500-yard granite causeway. Stop ate Land’s End – the most westerly point of the British mainland – and then Penzance, with its wealth of good shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs.
Try an appetizing meat and vegetable Cornish pasty. Beyond is Penzance Harbour whose inner dock shelters fishing boats and commercial vessels and where visiting yachts and the occasional tall- masted sailing ships lie against the granite quays. From here drive to the picturesque fishing harbor of St. Ives, a famous artists’ colony with its winding alleys, hillside terraces and color- washed fishermen’s cottages crowded shoulder to shoulder.
The Tate St. Ives exhibits modern art from the London Tate collections and sculptress Barbara Hepworth’s home is now a museum. Drive across Bodmin Moor as you return to Plymouth for your overnight accommodation.

Today’s journey skirts Dartmoor National Park where ponies, cattle and sheep graze freely on the moor with nearby wooded valleys, cascading streams and small villages. Make a stop to try the real Cheddar cheese, named after the caves where it is ripened.
Drive on to Glastonbury, which historical legend links with King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and see the Abbey ruins, a famous center of learning in the middle ages. Your drive now takes you passed the cathedral city of Wells, which has been used as the setting for several films.
Then to the historic and elegant city of Bath, a World Heritage Site, which in the 18th century became a fashionable spa town and where we have arranged your overnight accommodation. Admire the graceful Georgian terraces and villas, the Pump Room with its spa water fountain, where lunch and afternoon tea are served, and the elegant Assembly Rooms built for people to meet, dance, play cards, and drink tea.
Visit the amazing excavations of the Roman Baths. These Roman ruins stretch out beneath the city in all directions and consists of four main features – the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman bath house and finds from Roman Bath.
Accommodation: Tourist Class: Abbey Hotel or similar

Leave the elegant city of Bath and enjoy your scenic drive through the Cotswolds, which offers the essence of rural England, as you see sheep on the hillside and pass through delightful small towns and sleepy villages boasting thatched cottages and ancient churches. The local honey-colored limestone used in many buildings ensure the area’s magical uniformity.
Visit the picturesque village of Lacock, comprising four streets laid out in a square. Numerous period dramas, such as Pride and Prejudice, have been filmed here. Amidst the interesting old houses is the George Inn and Lacock Abbey.
On the drive to Windsor, stop off in Taplow Bucks for a delicious meal at the "Oak & Saw" village inn. Then on to the cobbled streets of Windsor and visit England’s largest castle, Windsor Castle which still remains today a favorite royal residence.
Here you can tour the State Apartments, the magnificent St. George’s Chapel, and walk through Windsor Great Park. Across Windsor Bridge is Britain’s most famous school, Eton College, founded in 1440 by the young Henry VI. Try the traditional Windsor Brown Soup. Your drive continues back to London for your overnight stay.
Accommodation: Tourist Class: Best Western Phoenix Hotel or similar

Return to the airport for your return flight home.