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unspoilt beauty of the Weald and has been
attracting visitors for 400 years, ever since
the chance discovery of the Chalybeate
Spring by a young nobleman in 1606.
Its reputation as the place to see and be seen
amongst royalty and the aristocracy, which
took off in the Georgian period, makes the
history of Royal Tunbridge Wells one of the
most colourful in England. We’ll take you
for a tour along the Pantiles and show you
the best spots to settle for a cup of tea before
heading home at 4.45pm.
The High Weald is much the same as it
was in the mediaeval period; a distinctive
landscape of woodland and rolling hills.
We’ll stop in Cranbrook, the Capital of the
Weald, a pretty and compact mediaeval
market town. The church contains the
prototype of the clock for London’s Big Ben
and the town is oddly associated with a very
famous Yorkshire song!
We return to Benenden for a roast chicken
lunch. The pub offers a set main course meal,
with one choice for the whole group apart
from special diets or vegetarians.
Individuals can,
if they want,
buy bar drinks,
hot drinks and
desserts – treacle
tart and spotted
dick are two of
the traditional
desserts usually
on offer – I told
you it was an
old fashioned
day out!
Royal Tunbridge
Wells lies at the
heart of the
Aim to be in
Benenden for
morning coffee
and biscuits at
10.30am, we’ll
arrange for the
guide to hop on
your coach on
the way. Country
driving is always
an enjoyable
pursuit and,
from your
elevated position
in the coach,
this drive is
stunning.
The Heavenly
High Weald
This is old fashioned day
out enjoying the simple and
timeless beauty of England.
Browse the quaint shopping
streets of Cranbrook and
Royal Tunbridge Wells,
enjoy one of England’s finest
landscapes and sit together
as a group for morning coffee
& biscuits and a roast chicken
lunch included in the tour
fee in a really beautifully
refurbished country pub.
Available weekdays only all
year. Beautiful throughout the
seasons the area covered by
this tour is especially gorgeous
in spring and autumn.
Adults & Seniors: £19.95
Coach Mileage: 35
The Test Valley
Tour
On this Together Tour your
group sit together for morning
coffee and lunch included in
the tour fee. We spend the
morning in the handsome
market town of Romsey at one
end of the valley including a
visit to the Norman Abbey,
take a coach tour of the Test
Valley and finish at the top of
the valley with time for tea and
a browse in the foodie village
of Stockbridge.
Available weekdays all year.
Adults & Seniors: £19.95
Coach mileage: 15
Arrive at 10.30am
you’ll start the day
with morning coffee
and biscuits included
in your tour fee. (If
you want you can
come at midday and
start with an early
lunch with coffee.)
Romsey is a genteel
market town sitting
at the southern end of
the Test Valley.
We’ll take you on a
short-but-sweet (and
flat!) town trail to the
Norman Abbey via the gardens of a
mediaeval house. If it all seems a bit familiar
it’s probably because you recognise it as the
setting for the TV version of Kingsmarkham
from Ruth Rendell’s Wexford. You’ll
discover that Romsey is criss-crossed by
streams that appear and disappear in an
intriguing way. The Abbey is one of the
finest Norman buildings in all of Europe.
Florence Nightingale’s funeral was held
here and it is the final resting place of
Lord Mountbatten of Burma.
Back to the attractively refurbished pub for a
sociable and tasty seasonal chicken or
grow watercress. Picturesque Stockbridge
was once on a drovers’ road on the route
from Wales – you can still find a sign here
in Welsh. There is a trail of ten poems, set
in stone, on metal plaques or etched in glass
that you can follow but if it’s culinary treats
that excite you Stockbridge’s wide and
olde
worlde
High Street was recently voted best
“foodie street” in Britain so shop on! This
is a day to bring a chiller box or two in the
coach boot.
Choose a spot to settle for a cup of tea before
heading home at 4.45pm.
vegetarian lunch. The
main course is included
in the tour fee with bar
drinks, hot drinks and
desserts available to buy
on the day.
By coach then through
the beautiful Test Valley
– pleasing landscapes of
ancient woodlands, water
meadows and rolling chalk
hills. Famous for trout
and salmon the water of
the River Test is so clean
that it is still used to wash
British bank notes and
City & Village Tours: 0845 812 5000