I have heard plenty of good things about the towns of Stratford-upon-Avon and Bath in the UK, but I realised that two weeks is not very long at all, to do a lot of sightseeing. 

So when I was in London recently, I decided to look out for tours heading towards that direction. I knew that tours would save some time and allow me to cover more ground in a limited time than I would have possibly been able if I were on my own.

Choosing The Right Tour

Looking at the tours available on Google, I had zeroed in on an “England in One Day” tour offered by an established tour company, Premium Tours, for 108 pounds, which would take me to Stratford-Upon-Avon and Bath. As well, the tour would go to Stonehenge and pass by the Cotswolds too.

The TripAdvisor reviews of this tour were also pretty positive, with many of their clients having enjoyed their time, so this too, had helped me with regards to my decision-making process.

Beginning The Tour

As I made the tour booking, I quickly realised that it would be a very long day, as we were picked up at Victoria Coach Station at 7:45am in the morning and we would arrive back at 8:30pm.

However I have no regrets that I joined the tour.

This had been despite my initial disappointment that the tour bus didn’t have WiFi available. I have to say that the Premium Tours buses are usually fitted with WiFi, but our particular bus was a new one, so according to our guide, the tour company hadn’t had the time to install WiFi yet, before putting the bus in use.

Even though I may have been feeling a little sleepy on the tour bus at the beginning despite already getting a cup of coffee in the morning, the tour had been a great experience as a whole.

Stonehenge

Our first stop of the tour had been Stonehenge, which we had reached nice and early, at about 9:30am in the morning, thus beating most of the other tour buses in the process.

Considered as the most popular prehistoric monument in the world, Stonehenge is often described by many, as a place of mystery and intrigue.

While we’d been given special group pass access, Stonehenge can be very crowded, most of the time, as many different tour groups go there. 

So our tour guide urged us to head over to the stones quickly before the bulk of the crowds would descend upon the attraction. And this, I did.

During our time at Stonehenge, we were each given an audio guide that we had been instructed to plug ourselves into. This is somewhat like a guided tour as you are supposed to listen to the audio guide as you walk around the stones, in order to find out more about the story behind the stones and glean some insights into what you are seeing in front of you.

I spent about half an hour strolling around the Stonehenge stones, and after which I headed over to the gift shop and cafe, to see what was available there. I admit that I was so tempted to buy another cup of coffee, and I think I would have, if I’d not already been short.

Bath

Our next stop was Bath, which is a world heritage site as well as a beautiful Georgian city with lovely terraces, crescents and architecture. 

During my time in the quaint little town, I thought that Bath was truly amazing and scenic, and I only wished that I could have had more time there.

Unfortunately though, because of the rushed nature of the tour, I didn’t get the chance to visit the Roman baths or climb the Bath Abbey tower; I only was able to glimpse at these places from the outside.

But I managed to eat a Bath Bun – which is a sweet roll sprinkled with fruit and crushed sugar that had interestingly reminded me of a hot cross bun. As well, I also had a Cornish pastry and this had been rather delicious, reminding me of a super-sized curry puff but without the familiar spicy kick to it.

I think that if I ever return to London, I would definitely head back to Bath for at least a day, in order to do my own exploring of this beautiful town.

Stratford-Upon-Avon

We slowly drove through the Cotswolds after our time in Bath, on our way to the final stop of the day, which was Stratford-Upon-Avon.

A charming market town in the heart of England with a  scenic river running through it, this place is also the birthplace of William Shakespeare, one of the greatest writers in the world. And the village was indeed beautiful, literally taking my breath away, the moment that I had set foot into there.

I have to say that this part had easily been my favourite section of the tour and brought some life and meaning into my English Literature lessons during my school days. I still recall how I had to study the “Twelfth Night” Shakespeare play for my GCE ‘O’ Levels in English Literature, and somehow, all those memories came flooding back to me, when I set foot into Stratford-Upon-Avon.

A visit to Stratford-Upon-Avon is not complete without visiting the house of Shakespeare’s birth, which we were brought to, by our tour guide.

I have to state that this house today has been completely sealed up and modern shops have sprung up all around it. But even though we could not actually set foot inside the house, it was still an eye-opener to see the actual place where the famous playwright was born and bred, with my own eyes.

A Lesson At Shakespeare’s School

As well, when we were at Stratford-Upon-Avon, Premium Tours also threw in a tour and a school lesson for us at Shakespeare’s School; this is the very place that Shakespeare himself was taught in the 1570s.

This had been indeed an experience to remember; our “school teacher” gave us plenty of insights into what school life was like in Shakespeare’s era, more about Shakespeare’s family, as well as what would happen to the “naughty” students too.

To some extent, visiting Shakespeare’s School made me realise that, as a girl, how fortunate I was to have been born in the 20th century, rather than in the 1500s.

And it was also an experience to try my hand at using a quill and parchment at the school, I now realise that it is so much more difficult to write with, compared to the pens and paper that we use today. I think that with my efforts, I must have made a complete mess of the piece of paper, in the process.

To reward us all for being “good students” at the conclusion of the lesson, we were treated to scones with clotted cream and jam, served together with a glass of sparkling wine.

This treat is an exclusive for Premium Tours clients, and I had thought that the afternoon tea had also been a great way to end our trip, before the long bus ride back to the Victoria Coach Station, with another stop at West London along the way to cater to the tourists who were based around that area.

Guide Was Great

Throughout the tour, our guide was also excellent. He was friendly and approachable when anyone in the group had any questions, and as well, he proved to be a wealth of knowledge about England and its history. 

Yet at the same time too, our guide was able to make the facts sound interesting, combining his stories together with his wit and dry British humour. 

So as a result, I had thought that it was very enjoyable to hear what he had to say. Thus, I would say that I had learnt a lot about English history that day.

It had been just before 8:30pm when we pulled into the Victoria Coach Station again, and as I departed the bus, I thanked the tour guide for his time, and the great day out, before subsequently making my way off to catch the train back to my accommodation.

I Enjoyed My Tour

As a whole, I would say that I had really enjoyed the “England In One Day” tour and the time whizzed by very quickly. 

This is despite the fact that I did feel that things were quite rushed at times, and that I would actually have liked to have spent more time at the places that we’d been brought to, on the tour.