Saturday 18 February
Stratford and Warwick Castle

The towns of Stratford and Warwick are about one hour’s journey from Birmingham. This makes it easy to visit two of the most famous and most popular tourist destinations in England in one day.

We will spend the morning in Stratford. This will give you plenty of time to see the main sights of this small market town, best known as the birthplace of William Shakespeare.  If you have never been to Stratford before you will probably want to visit Shakespeare’s birthplace and some of the other houses associated with his family as well as the church where he is buried.  If you have been to Stratford before you could visit the Butterfly Farm,  or the Farmer’s Market, take a guided bus tour or go on a backstage tour of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Admission fees in Stratford are not included. 

In the afternoon we will visit the magnificent medieval castle at Warwick, which is probably the finest castle in England.  The entrance fee to the castle is included in your ticket.  There are many things to see in the historic town of Warwick if you have time at the end of the day.

Ticket (includes admission to Warwick Castle)  £15

Saturday 3 March
St Fagan's Open Air Museum and Cardiff

Coach ticket £12 (admission to St Fagan's is free)

At St Fagan's you will be able to learn about different aspects of Welsh life and culture as well as hear the Welsh language being spoken.

In Cardiff, places to visit include Cardiff Castle, the Millennium Stadium and the National Museum of Wales    as well as the dock area at Mermaid Quay.

Saturday 10 March  Oxford

Oxford has been called ’one of the glories of England’s heritage’.  Places to visit include many of the ancient (but also new) colleges which form the University of Oxford, as well as several museums and art galleries including the Ashmolean museum which houses collections of antiquities, British and European paintings, Chinese bronzes, Islamic and Japanese ceramics and Indian sculpture.

Coach ticket: Adults:  £10   Children: £8

Saturday 24 March  Windsor Castle

£25

Saturday 28 April Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace is one of the Treasure Houses of England.  Modelled on the Palace of Versailles it was built between 1705 and 1724 and contains a magnificent series of state rooms as well as lovely gardens.  It is also famous as the birthplace of Winston Churchill.

Coach and admission to Blenheim Palace: £20

Saturday 12 May Marlborough, Avebury, Stonehenge and Salisbury

This day trip to Wiltshire includes stops at the delightful market town of Marlborough, the prehistoric stone circles at Avebury and Stonehenge and the historic city of Salisbury. 

Ticket:£15.  This includes the coach as well as your admission to:  the Museum in Avebury, Stonehenge, and Mompesson House in Salisbury,

Sunday 27 May  Cotswold Wildlife Park

Cotswold Wildlife Park is set in 160 acres of parkland and gardens around a listed Victorian Manor House.It is home to a fascinating and varied collection of mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates, from ants to White Rhinos and bats to big Cats.   Cotswold Wildlife Park is a member of the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland and shares and exchanges animals with other collections to further breeding programmes of conservation importance.
Coach and admission: £15

Saturday 16 June  York

York is one of the most beautiful cities in England reflecting many periods of English history. We will give you a map of York plus information about the different places you can visit so that you can choose how you want to spend the day.

Coach ticket: £15

Sunday 24 June Slimbridge and Weston-super-Mare

Slimbridge is

Weston-super-Mare is a traditional English seaside resort.   It is famous for its pier and for the fact that the tide goes out a very long way, leaving a huge sandy (and in places muddy) beach.  The tide will be out on the day of our visit but you will be able to enjoy walking on the sea front, and, if the weather is sunny, sitting on the beach!

For enquiries about these trips please contact:

 
Vicky Spencer v.l.spencer@bham.ac.uk  0121 414 7153