sample tour

This is a beautifully presented, well crafted tour of some of the most important stately homes in English heritage which are especially relative to the blockbuster movie ‘Pride and Prejudice’.

Designed for groups of any age and background with a keen eye for natural, cultural and historical beauty, we will drive through villages, towns and countryside taking in some of the most breathtaking views through the Peak District and the county of Lincolnshire.

DAY 1

The first day will see you depart from a central or pre-arranged point in Kent and venture towards the peak district taking in the beauty of Ashbourne and the surrounding villages before arriving at your chosen hotel in the spa town of Buxton in the heart of Derbyshire.

You are then free for a couple of hours to walk around the famous spa town and sample some of the local spring water from ‘the lions fountain’.

Dinner will be served at your chosen hotel in the evening then you can relax in your rooms or you may wish to sample the local nightlife. Buxton has an excellent reputation for promoting live music and local bands and often plays host to many a music festival, normally with the help of a culmination of folk singers, rock bands and solo artists.

DAY 2

Breakfast will be served in your hotel then we will set off to the first stately home, Haddon Hall near Bakewell.

Haddon Hall: - This delightful stately home is one of the oldest in England and is a regular venue for many feature TV dramas and feature films, most famously ‘Pride and Prejudice’. The colourful, fragrant walled garden falls in terraces down towards the River Wye. The limestone walls are host to many varieties of wild flowers.
Morning coffee and biscuits will be an optional extra whilst on a guided tour of Haddon Hall.

Red House Carriage Museum:- We will take a short drive towards Matlock and stop at the ‘Red House Stables’, a working carriage museum where you get the chance to sit in Darcy’s seat as all the carriages used in the film came from here! The present collection of carriages includes one of the very few surviving Hansom Cabs, a S tage Coach, Royal Mail Coach and numerous other private and commercial vehicles. It’s not just carriages though, the real workers are the ponies and horses which you may get to see plus there is an array of other collections on show such as collars, traveling chests and boxes plus a fine collection of coach horns.

Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mills: - You will have a chance to join a guided tour of Cromford Mill, one of the worlds first successful water-powered cotton spinning mills. In the main yard of Cromford Mill, The Restaurant serves delicious home-cooked food throughout the day and this is where we break for lunch.

We will now take a drive towards Lincoln, where you’ll stay overnight in your chosen hotel. Arriving mid-afternoon will allow you the chance to soak up free time before dinner, maybe indulging in some retail therapy in the hundreds of shops in the city or appreciating one of Europe’s most stunning cathedrals within 2000 years of heritage. As well as some cast and crew of ’Pride and Prejudice’ staying in the city, Hollywood also graced the streets when shooting scenes from another blockbuster ’Da Vinci Code’ starring Tom Hanks.

After dinner you can relax in your rooms ready for the day ahead or you may like to soak up the vibrant atmosphere and bright lights of the centre with many bars, pubs and clubs on offer plus the up market beauty of the Brayford Waterfront development where you can sip a cocktail whilst admiring the ships rolling in and out of the bay.

DAY 3

Breakfast will be served at your hotel then we depart at 09.30 for the first stop of the day.

Doddington Hall: - This marvellous example of English heritage and history is located just 5 miles from Lincoln in the village of Doddington. It was built in 1959 by Robert Smythson and is still lived in and alive with history and interest. Whilst there you can discover the wonderful furniture, porcelain, textiles and paintings collected at Doddington over the last 400 years, as well as viewing the beautiful acres of gardens and the stunning exterior and interior of the main building.

We will then make our way southwards towards the town of Grantham for our next visit, where we will also break for lunch before our final stop of the day.

Belton House: - As part of the ‘Pride and Prejudice’ tour, our schedule would not be complete without a visit to Belton House, another scene regular in the movie. Built in 1685 Belton is undoubtedly one of the finest examples of restoration & domestic architecture, complete with 36 acres of gardens.
Burghley House:- Probably the best collection of ceiling and wall paintings for the eye to see, all within the beauty and history of a famous stately home, Burghley House. As you walk through each and every room within the mansion, the paintings on the ceilings each tell a different story as with a lot of art, and the work and detail involved gets more creative as you pass through the bedrooms and lounges all open to the public. When top British film company Working Title turned to the 19th century world of Jane Austen for a new film version of the beloved novel Pride and Prejudice, they were looking for a grand and elegant house that could suitably portray Rosings, the home of Lady Catherine de Bourgh (played by Dame Judi Dench). Burghley was the ideal place and filming took place here for the blockbuster film.
After a day of some of the largest and grandest houses in the country, most people will be just about ready to relax and unwind with dinner served at your chosen hotel and a good nights sleep before the final visit tomorrow morning and the drive south towards home.

DAY 4

Breakfast will once again be served before we set off at 09.30 to our last stop of the trip for some retail therapy and a walk around one of the finest Georgian stone towns in England.

Stamford: - One of the finest Georgian stone towns in England, Stamford in Lincolnshire was used as a setting for Meryton, where the film’s heroine Elizabeth Bennet lived. For the movie, set builders took around a month to complete the transformation of St Georges Square and St Mary’s Street into 18th century Jane Austen country and over 200 local residents were used as extras for the filming. There is an option for groups to have an experienced tour guide on a ‘walking tour’ of the town, well worth the nominal extra fee. Alternatively you may wish to use this time to break away into couples or on your own and hit the shops or see one of the 11 churches around the town…for a total population of a modest 18’000 that’s a lot of churches!

After a lunch break we will endeavour to make our way home by 14.00 so we’re all back in time for our own home cooked dinner!