The Beautiful City of York NEW DATE

We depart Sussex and make our way via the Dartford Crossing on to the motorway network. Having made a suitable comfort stop we arrive in the Cathedral City of Peterborough for an extended lunch stop. You will have time to find lunch and explore this historic city. Later we continue to York where we arrive at our hotel late afternoon.

This morning we start with a guided walking tour with a Blue Badge Guide. This is the perfect way to see and hear all about this wonderful city and to help you get the best out of the rest of your time here. After time for lunch we have arranged a visit to Fairfax House to see the splendour within of what many believe to be the finest Georgian town house in England. A classical architectural masterpiece of its age, Fairfax House was originally the winter home of Viscount Fairfax. Its richly decorated interior was designed by York’s most distinguished eighteenth-century architect, John Carr. Extensively adapted in the twentieth century as a cinema and dance hall, Fairfax House was saved from decay and returned to its former glory by York Civic Trust in 1982-84.   The superb Noel Terry collection of furniture, clocks, paintings and decorative arts, described by Christie’s as one of the finest private collections of the twentieth century, perfectly complements the house, bringing it to life and creating a special lived-in feeling.

Today will be a free day for you to enjoy the City at your leisure. You may like to visit York Minster, the largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe. Taking over 250 years to build, you can get the best views over York by climbing to the top of the Central Tower, or perhaps head to York’s Chocolate Story to hear scrumptious confectionery tales detailing how York became the home of chocolate. You can take a tour, see a demonstration with a master chocolatier and even make your very own lollipop to take home. Of course no trip to York is complete without a stroll down The Shambles, our oldest and most photographed street. Break for lunch or afternoon tea at Bettys Café Tea Rooms. Art lovers will appreciate the York Art Gallery with masterpieces of both art and ceramics in the new Centre of Ceramic Art.  The National Railway Museum is within walking distance, with a world-class collection of locomotives from the Flying Scotsman to Mallard and Queen Victoria’s vintage carriages. This is the largest railway museum in the world.  End the day with a ghost walk in Europe’s most haunted city if you dare!

After breakfast we depart our hotel and having made a suitable comfort stop we arrive in historic Market Harborough which has a wealth of independent shops, an indoor market and more than its fair share of restaurants and cafés to discover. We enjoy a lunch stop here before continuing our journey back to Sussex where we expect to arrive in the Maresfield area by approximately 18.30pm.