Tuesday 14th April 2009

We were awake at 5.30am just before our wakeup call at 5.45am, we had to have our luggage out for collection by 6.30am, so we made a cup of tea, then showered and dressed, and were ready to leave the room by 6.30am.
I went and checked out while Deb went to the Restaurant and found us a table.
After breakfast we went to wait with all the others who were joining us on the tour. On the dot of 8.00am we were loaded onto the bus and were away.
The tour director was called Ian and the driver Tom, and there were only 33 people on tour so there were quite a number of empty seats. Getting out of London took quite a bit of time, but we were going against the traffic so it wasn’t too bad.
First stop was to explore the gardens of Hampton Court. The weather had fined up for us, which made the gardens appear very beautiful. We have picked the right time to visit gardens – spring time. The bulbs were magnificent – especially the tulips. The masses of daffodils, hyacinths and jonquils were stunning. Cameras were working overtime as we photographed our way around the gardens.
Our tour guide Ian is very knowledgable, especially with the meanings of English words, and kept us entertained with his description of everything.
We managed to see a couple of men playing tennis on the Royal Tennis Court – the game is something like squash but played on a tennis court.
We also saw the oldest and largest grape vine, it was massive.
Back on the bus we headed for Oxford. On the way we passed by Runnymede where the Magna Carta was signed. Ian pointed out a pavilion, which was used to indicate the occasion, but was not necessarily the actual place where it was signed.
Distances travelled are not very far, and we arrived at Oxford around 11.00am. We had around 2 hours to explore on our own, and were advised to grab a sandwich and keep exploring rather than sit down for a meal. Deb and I had a great time wandering around the city which is a university. The different schools just open onto the streets and the streets were crowded with students.
We had been dropped off near the covered old market place, which was a bit like going back in time. There were old fashioned butcher shops, and green grocers, etc. We grabbed a couple of sausage rolls to eat “on the run” and went to explore the Bodleian Library, the Radcliffe Camera and Sheldonian Theatre area, as well as the Museum of the History Science which was fascinating. Then we wandered through some tourist shops, found a toilet and it was time to return to the bus.
From Oxford we headed through the beautiful rolling hills of the Cotswolds to Stratford-Upon-Avon – the birthplace of Shakespeare. The scenery was stunning, and soon we were passing little cottages with thatched roofs and seeing many new born lambs in the green fields. The names of the villages and towns were explained to us by Ian, and it was very interesting to hear what some of the more peculiar names meant.
When we arrived at Stratford, we were taken to view and photograph Anne Hathaway’s thatched cottage, and have the obligatory group photograph taken. It was highly organised, and we had been photographed, taken our own photos and were back on the bus in the space of a few minutes.
Then we were off to where the bus was to drop us off to visit the Shapespeare exhibition and his birthplace. We were given 2 hours to explore here, which was quite a long time. Deb and I didn’t spend a lot of time in the house, as we wanted to explore on our own, and managed to have quite a good look around the town as well as getting a little lost for a short time. After a much needed cup of tea, we went back to where we were to meet the bus. The photographer who had taken the group photo was waiting with the printed and mounted photos, and we looked OK in the photo so purchased a copy. Back on the bus we headed to Warwick, where our hotel for the night was located.
It was only a short drive – about 20 minutes and we were at the hotel. Another Hilton hotel. Very nice and comfortable. Deb and I had mentioned to Ian that we had asked for an accessible room, and Ian organised for us to get one, as we hadn’t been given one. The hotel staff had a room ready for us in 45 minutes so we waited in the lounge area, and loaded the photos on the computer while we waited.
The welcome dinner was scheduled for 6.45pm, and we had time to go to the room, have a short rest and then go to dinner.
At dinner we met some of our fellow travellers – a mother and daughter - Susan and Ann from Wangaratta, and John and Roxanne from Canada were at our table. Dinner was excellent, if served a little too slowly.
We had spotted the heated indoor pool on the way to dinner, so Deb and I decided to have a dip before bed, to get some of the kinks out of the tired bodies. It was great, and so was the sauna afterwards.
Bed was very welcome when we got in to it.