7 NightsHolidays

Finding Henry Tudor – Reformation Hero or Villain?

Henry VIII was not born to be King yet he acceded to the throne before his 18th birthday. Married six times: four times for love, once for affection and once for duty, he had three legitimate children. A Renaissance Prince when young, his divorces and subsequent order to send two of his wives to the executioner's block made him the most notorious King England has ever witnessed.

Henry was a builder, philosopher, musician, accomplished linguist, Defender of the Faith and international sports superstar of his age. Journey with us to find Henry on our Grand Progress of Southern England as we visit his palaces, castles and inns, sampling the life in Tudor times on the way.

2009 is the Quincentenial of the coronation of Henry VIII. Many of the castles, palaces and the British Library have special once in a lifetime exhibitions showing artefacts rarely seen by the public.

Care has been taken whilst constructing the tour so that the journey times between towns and attractions should be within an hour and a half.

All the hotels are specially chosen for their historic importance and character. They are mostly old Coaching Inns that have retained their historic character with low oak beams, uneven floors and some still have their big fireplaces. Most have significant feature rooms such as four poster beds which can be booked as an option. All rooms have en-suite facilities.

Costs include airport transfers, transport during the tour, and entrance fees to heritage sites, attractions and activities. Bed and breakfast at the hotels, two special evening meals and a lunch are also included.

Please note that centuries old castles and houses were not built with the disabled in mind. Some have many steps and restricted access points. Some of the places at which we stay do not have lifts. Any one with mobility issues should therefore be aware of these considerations when booking a tour. We can provide an honest assessment of all of the places we visit and hotels we use.

Day One

coaching_inn To begin the tour we meet at a delightful old Coaching Inn in a picturesque village not too far from the two main London Airports Heathrow and Gatwick. This Inn has 4 feature rooms with four poster beds that can be booked as an option.

We travel to visit Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, perhaps the most infamous woman in English history. It was she who changed the course of history, causing the split with the Roman Catholic Church by refusing to be the mistress of Henry VIII, only his wife.

From 1900 to 1960: Hever Castle was owned by the Astor family and is now owned by a Trust dedicated to preserving the historic castle and grounds. Jousting tournaments take place on most weekends during the summer.

Back to the coaching Inn for the night. There is sufficient time to walk around the village in the early evening and enjoy the setting of the village green with some old English pubs and lots of antique shops.

Day Two

hinde We travel by coach to Greenwich then change to a River boat. The River Thames was the major Royal thoroughfare in Tudor times. See Traitor’s Gate from the river as Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard would have done on their way to their cells in theTower.

The Tower of London is over 1000 years old and steeped in the nation’s history, scene of some of the bloodiest events during the Tudor period. Used by the Crown as a residence, fortress and prison, it is the execution site of two of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Lady Jane Grey, usurper Queen for only 9 days was also held here before execution. Sir Walter Raleigh, Elizabeth’s Chief Privateer was also executed in the Tower.

A magnificent exhibition of Henry VIII’s suit of armour and horse armour are on display in the Tower, a breathtaking sight.

See the 23,578 gems that make up the Crown Jewels, one of the World’s premier tourist attractions. There are dozens of amazing sights and activities at the Tower of London. The Yeoman of the Guard (Beefeaters) were instigated by Henry’s father.

After the Tower we cross the river and walk along narrow cobbled London streets to St Mary Overie dock to go on board the Golden Hinde. This is a full size working copy of Sir Francis Drake’s famous flagship that sailed around the world 1577-1580. Get a taste of the Tudor maritime period by a guided tour of the ship. Mind your head the timber decks beams are very low!!

The original Golden Hinde

The original Golden Hinde became famous as the flagship of Sir Francis Drake during his voyage around the world. The journey took three years, with the Golden Hinde being the only ship to complete the voyage.

The Golden Hinde Replica

The reconstruction, a fully working ship, was launched in Devon in 1973. Since then she has circumnavigated the globe and sailed over 140,000 miles – many more than the original.

After supper at the George Inn, the oldest galleried pub in London which Shakespeare frequented, we walk just a few more yards along the Thames to the Globe Theatre, Shakespeare’s theatre, rebuilt by American Actor Sam Wannamaker by traditional methods, close to the site of the original theatre. On selected tours there is the opportunity to see one of Shakespeare’s plays in the setting for which it was written.

After the theatre, we stay the night in a hotel right on the River Thames in the heart of London.

Day Three

We take the coach to Dover on the South coast where the tour will either visit Dover Castle or Leeds Castle.

Dover Castle

Dover castle, set on the famous white cliffs, is one of the premier castles for the defence of the Realm and dates back to Roman times. Henry VIII stayed here regularly when supervising the construction of the coastal defences or when he was travelling to and from France. Here you will have some free time to also explore the other unique features of the castle which was used by military right up until the 1960’s. Imagine life as a medieval soldier under siege as you walk through the sound and light exhibition – the 1216 Siege Experience – open for a limited time only. Also take time to explore the atmospheric medieval underground tunnels, see one of Europe’s best-preserved Roman lighthouses and walk the extensive battlements. There is also a WWII underground hospital and tunnel complex where the Dunkerque evacuation of 330,000 British and French troops from Occupied France in 1940 was planned and carried out.

After Dover castle we travel to another picturesque village to stay in an old Coaching Inn built in 1602 situated in Kent . This Inn has a four poster feature bedroom that can be booked as an extra.

Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle in Kent is often described as the most romantic castle in England where Henry VIII stayed and where many summer events take place. The castle is set in a moat with pristine parkland around.

Day Four

We travel to Penshurst Place and Lewes, the County Town of East Sussex,

At Penshurst and group numbers permitting, we spend a very practical and exciting morning with the interactive “Hands on History” group. They will present a demonstration of what it was like in Tudor times with authentic weapons, armour, clothing and food preparation. You can explore experience and enjoy the lifestyles, skills and activities of the Tudors.

Penshurst is also important in the Tudor story, it was part of the divorce settlement for Anne of Cleves. Many period flims have been made here and there are currently some costumes from The Other Boleyn Girl on Display.

We then travel Lewes to Anne of Cleves House, also a divorce settlement for Henry VIII’s fourth Wife in 1541. Set in the narrow roads of the County Town, the house also has charm and character of the period and you can even dress up in Tudor costume whilst you wander round the house and garden.

Anne of Cleves House

Anne of Cleves House is a 15th century timber-framed Wealden hall-house that formed part of Anne's divorce settlement from Henry VIII in 1541. The house contains wide-ranging collections of Sussex interest, including Sussex pottery, and the bedroom and kitchen are furnished to reflect an earlier period. There is also a strange table said to be used by the three knights who murdered Thomas a Becket in 1170.

Near to Lewes is Firle Place originally a tudor mansion but greatly extended and is the ancestral home of the Gage family. John Gage was Constable of the Tower of London and responsible for organising the execution of Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard. His descendent, General Sir Thomas Gage was the Commander in Chief of British forces during the America war of Independence 1776.

There will be time to stroll around this historic county town with its own brewery, Crown Court (where you can sit in the public gallery) and some wonderful old bookshops. Lewes has a monument to the Protestant martyrs who were burnt at the stake during Queen Mary’s reign after Henry VIII’s death.

We stay in Lewes at a Tudor Coaching Inn. Once again this Inn has four poster feature bedrooms that can be booked as an option. Here, Thomas Paine debated and wrote the “Rights of Man” and “Common sense” on which the US Constitution is based.

Day Five

PLEASE NOTE: THE MARY ROSE SHIP HALL IS NOW CLOSED FROM SEPTEMBER 2009 UNTIL 2012.

We travel to Portsmouth, Hampshire. the Home of the Royal Navy. Henry VIII is regarded as the father of the Royal Navy.

Southsea Castle is the exact place where Henry stood as the Mary Rose foundered in the Solent. Stand in his footsteps and think of the scene that greeted his horrified eyes.

Included in the Tour is a visit to the Spinnaker Tower, an observation platform built in 2005 which is 170m (530ft) high. You can see for miles around the Solent, Portsmouth harbour and the surrounding countryside. You can see and learn more about the entire defence fortifications of the City and port built by Henry VIII.

Spinnaker Tower, Hampshire - A different view every day

The Spinnaker Tower is taller than the London Eye, Blackpool Tower and Big Ben and has already established itself as a national icon for Britain.

View Deck 1 boasts Europe’s largest glass floor, where visitors of all ages can dare to ‘walk on air’! View Deck 2 has self-contained multimedia ‘Time Telescope’ stations showing the history of the harbour and View Deck 3 – The Crow’s Nest – is open to the elements, enabling visitors to feel the wind in their hair.

After we come back down to earth from the Tower we enter the historic part of the Royal Navy Dockyard. Henry VIII’s Flagship built 1509 that sunk in the Solent in 1545 with the loss of about 800 lives. Raised in 1982 it rests inside a specially built environment to preserve it you will be able to see a webcam tour of the ship from the Mary Rose Museum. Using your experience gained aboard the Golden Hinde you can understand more about the ship and the men who sailed in her.

The museum holds more treasures taken from the ship from cannons right down to small personal objects such as lice combs. Depending upon numbers on the tour, in the evening when the tourists have gone, we sit down to an authentic medieval banquet with wine in clay goblets and served by wenches. Alternatively we will retreat to the famous Still & West pub where you can watch the harbour life and partake of traditional English fare.

Before we eat, there may be time to visit HMS Victory, Nelson’s Flagship at the battle of Trafalgar. Also available in the Dockyard is HMS Warrior the First Iron Clad part steam ship and sail built in 1860. This ship was state of the art and technology at the time but was made obsolete three years later by the USS Monitor during the American Civil War.

We stay the night in a small town near Portsmouth, in an Inn where Queen Victoria stayed, as did Winston Churchill and Eisenhower when planning the D-Day landings. It is reputed to have three ghosts!!

Day Six

windsor We travel to Windsor to see the largest and oldest occupied castle in Europe and still home to the present Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II. We should arrive in time to see the Changing of the Guard which happens every day except Sunday during the summer at 11am sharp.

St Georges chapel Windsor is the last resting place of 10 royal Sovereigns including Henry VIII and his favourite wife Jane Seymour.

There is a special exhibition this year to commemorate the 500 years of Henry VIII accession to the throne of England. Many unique pieces are on display.

We stay in a superb hotel on the river Thames very near to the castle; the hotel has four poster bed featured rooms that can be booked as an option. There will be plenty of time to stroll around the Historic part of Windsor or take the long walk in Windsor Great Park.

Day Seven

judy_garland We travel to Hampton Court palace, arguably one of the most famous palaces in the world. Henry confiscated the Palace from Cardinal Wolsey in 1529 when the Cardinal failed to get the divorce Henry wanted from his first wife Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn. The Palace is vast and has been added to over the centuries. Many notable features include the maze, gardens, a Tudor real tennis court and the Chapel Royal used for Prayer for over 450 years. At 400 years the oldest known grapevine in the world is situated here, and still producing grapes every year.

After we leave Hampton Court we travel to the centre of London and Westminster Abbey, the last Resting place of Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor, Anne of Cleves, Henry VII and Mary Queen of Scots.

For our last night of the tour we stay at an opulent boutique hotel in Central London. One of the beds was once owned by Judy Garland. It has themed and feature rooms including a Tudor room with a minstrel gallery.

The 7 Night tour finishes after breakfast and transport is arranged from the hotel to the airport or railway station terminal.

Special itinerary

Extra days can be added to the tour if you want to see some of the other Tudor sites such as the last resting places of Catherine Parr in Sudely Gloucestershire or Catherine of Aragon at Peterborough Cathedral. Extended itineraries can be arranged to suit your particular requirements or any special interests. Closed Alumni groups can be catered for.

History Holidays in Southern England