Day Trip to Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday 13th July ( private hire coach)

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/1/d/d/a/event_249727642.jpegJoin us on a full-day private coach trip to the world-famous 'Shakespearean' Stratford-upon-Avon. We'll be travelling by executive air-conditioned coach to this historic location.

This location is most famous for being the birthplace of arguably the world's greatest writer, William Shakespeare. The town is a living, breathing shrine to the life and works of its most famous son. Shakespeare also grew up and died in Stratford. This beautiful and unmistakably Tudor town still retains many of the sites from the Shakespearean era (1564-1616).

However, Stratford-upon-Avon is 'not' just for those with an interest in Shakespeare. The town is built around the picturesque River Avon, and any trip to the area is not complete without a leisurely stroll along this historic waterway. Within the centre of the town, many of the historic buildings still feature the original half-timbered, black and white design. Hours can be spent simply wandering around the quaint streets of this market town and taking in the stunning architecture. Straford-upon-Avon is generally considered as a 'Must-See' UK destination.

The return journey from London to Straftford-upon-Avon is just under 2 hours each way. We've chosen Stratford-upon-Avon for our second day trip as it has so much to offer. Once again, my brother Terry and myself (Martyn) will be jointly hosting this event. This month we spent the entire day in Stratford-upon-Avon to ensure the very careful planning of the trip (just as we did for our for our very successful first trip to Bath).

Also included in the price will be a guided walking tour of the city that lasts up to 2 hours (we've booked two tour guides because if the coach reaches full capacity there'll be too many people for a single guide). There'll be a number of optional meeting points throughout the day, so no-one will be left by themselves. We'll arrive back in London at approximately 8:10pm. Then all attendees will have the option of joining us at a great London pub for a night-out until around midnight where we can chat about our day-trip experiences over a few drinks and continue socialising. We can only offer this trip to adults aged 18 and over due to concerns over increased legal responsibilities that may otherwise be involved.

Please scroll down past the beautiful photos of Stratford-upon-Avon below to read the full plan, itinerary and what's included in the price:

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Itinerary and what's included in the price

9:00 am - Coach pick up point at Temple Place, Victoria Embankment, Central London, WC2R 2PH. The pick-up-point is very near Temple Underground Station (see map link above and scroll down for a photograph of the exact location). We'll be travelling by an air-conditioned executive coach (included in the price). We recommend members arrive by 8:45 am. The coach will only wait for a maximum of 10 minutes and we will be on our way by approximately 9:10 am.

11:10 am - Approximate arrival time in Stratford-upon-Avon. The coach will drop us off at Riverside Car and Coach Park. This is the largest coach park in Stratford-upon-Avon. As soon as we arrive we'll walk everyone around to the front of the coach park, where the 'Straford Visitor and Leisure Centre' is located. Here there are toilets and a shop serving light snacks/drinks. This will just be a 15-20 minute break until the guided walk starts at 11:30 am.

11:30 am until 1:30 pm - Guided Walking Tour of Stratford-upon-Avon (included in the price). The tour will take approximately 90 minutes to 2 Hours. The tour meeting point will be at the front of the Stratford Visitor and Leisure Centre (where we will already be located). Please can everyone ensure they are waiting at the guided tour meeting point at 11:30 pm

1:30 pm until 3:00 pm - This is free time for lunch and to continuing exploring Stratford-upon-Avon. We anticipate members will divide into small groups. However, members are more than welcome to join my brother and myself (we'll make sure no-one is left out). We'll be having lunch around the Greenhill Street area (just 5-minutes from the very central tourist area) Here there are an abundance of places to eat - including numerous restaurants, buffets, cafes and take-aways.

3:00 pm - Optional meeting point for those who want to visit Shakespeare's Birthplace. This attraction is highly recommended by us. We will meet outside the actual birthplace house on Henley Street (it's very central, easy to find and will be pointed out to you on the earlier guided tour).

Shakespeare's Birthplace entrance fee is not included in the price. However, for those who want to visit this world-famous location, we have arranged an 'open number' group discount booking (£9.50 per person). We will collect the money at 3pm on the day for those who want to visit (although visiting Shakespeare's Birthplace is not compulsory and you can decide on the day whether you want to come along or not).

Shakespeare's Birthplace is one of the most famous attractions in the world. This is the house where the world’s most famous playwright was born and grew up. Here visitors can discover the fascinating story of William Shakespeare's early years, and see where he spent the first five years with his new wife. See how his father, John, earned his living as a glove maker and explore The Shakespeare Exhibition, before entering the house and it's outstanding gardens. There are also in-house actors. All-day they perform scenes and exerts from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, and are always happy to receive requests.

If you are considering attending Shakespeare's Birthplace, please ensure you read the paragraph below titled 'Shakespeare's Houses'

4:30 pm until 5:30 pm - Optional meeting point at one of Stratford-upon-Avon's many pubs. We will meet again outside Shakespeare's Birthplace and then walk to a suitable nearby pub. There are a number of possibilities (and we have already spoken to the management in many pubs when we visited Stratford-upon-Avon). However, it has not been possible to reserve an area on a Saturday as the city can be so busy (this is very common at major tourist locations). So the pub we choose will be selected on the day (my brother Terry or myself will scout ahead 30 minutes before our optional meeting point to find a suitable pub that it is not too busy). There are many large pubs so we'll definitely find somewhere suitable (we already have a preference for one particular pub with a large beer garden). This method worked exceptionally well on our last day-trip.

6:00 pm - Return journey home by the same executive coach. The pick-up point will be at exactly the same place from where we were initially dropped-off (Riverside Car and Coach Park). Please can everyone arrive by 5:45 pm

8:10 pm - Approximate arrival time in London. The coach will drop us off at Temple Place (the same location from where we were originally picked-up at the start of our journey).

8:10 pm until midnight - Optional night out at a great London pub called the Old Shades on Whitehall in Central London until around midnight. Walking to the pub will take approximately 10 minutes from the drop-off point (Those who are coming can walk with us together as a group). It's a nice walk, mainly along the riverside of the Thames.

Shakespeare's Houses

We are only recommending a visit to one of Shakespeare's Houses - The Birthplace (as stated above). This is due to time constraints. Also, Shakespeare's Birthplace is widely regarded as the best and most famous of the houses.

However, we do wish to inform members that there are different tickets available. For example, some members may alternatively want to plan their own day in Stratford-upon-Avon and buy a separate 'Shakespeare Five House Pass' (including Shakespeare's Birthplace). The pass costs £22.50 (with concessions available).

If you are interested you can find all the details on the official www.shakespeare.org.uk (http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/).

Also feel free to contact us and we will provide you with details of the different tickets and houses you can visit. However, please note that some of the houses are 1-3 miles outside the city centre (so you will need to personally plan this carefully if you wish to visit numerous houses).

Emergency mobile phone numbers to contact during the day

Please take these two mobile phone numbers that you can ring during the day (please only ring if it is absolutely necessary). My number is 0757 8360117 (Martyn). My brother's number is 078466 39420 (Terry). We will also be unable to delay the coach arrival/departure time or other planned events as we have to adhere to a tight schedule.

The price doesn’t include:

• Entry into Shakespeare's Birthplace (although, as already stated above, members who decide to visit will receive a discounted price as part of our group). You can tell us on the actual day whether you want to visit Shakespeare's Birthplace and we will then collect the money. We have prearranged an 'open-number' group booking.

• Meals, drinks and personal expenses.

Pick up Location Photograph Below - Temple Place, Victoria Embankment, London

(Also see map link above)

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Payments

All payments are to be made online in full if you decide to RSVP (you will be taken to the payments page after you RSVP). Payments are non-refundable unless the trip is cancelled or rescheduled. We hope members will understand that if we provided one person with a refund then every person would be entitled to a refund. If we allowed that to happen then we would risk losing the substantial amount we have already paid for the whole trip.

Organisation

While we have organised over 100 free events on our other meetup group (Friends in London Meetup), it would not be possible to plan trips of this scale without an organisation fee included in the price. Therefore, included in the cost of £32 will be a contribution to my brother and I for organising this trip.

Please also note that if there are still places available, we shall also organise this event on Friends in London as a joint meetup event. Friends in London is an all-inclusive general events meetup group with free membership and almost entirely free events. It's open to everyone (including all members of Day Trips from London). It's a very friendly meetup group where everyone is there to meet new people.

Finally

If you have any queries then please do not hesitate to contact us. We'll be more than happy to answer any queries. You can contact us at any time via email (click on organiser photographs for the 'send email' option) or by mobile phone after 6pm (0757 8360117).

Our first trip was a real success. We're very confident this second trip will be another thoroughly enjoyable and exceptionally interesting day.

kind regards
Martyn and Terry