NEW FOR 2011: In Churchill’s Footsteps (17-21 October 2011)

Discover places intimately connected with Churchill in the company of his granddaughter.
With recent biographies putting Sir Winston Churchill very much back in the spotlight, the UK’s leading cultural tour operator Martin Randall Travel has designed a 5-day small-group tour giving unique access to houses, museums and collections illuminating the life and achievements of the great war leader and politician.

The tour begins in central London with the excellently presented Churchill Museum, continues to Harrow School for a special visit, and then proceeds to Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire, Churchill’s retreat when Chequers was feared visible to the Luftwaffe, for a two-night stay. The itinerary also includes a private out-of-hours visit to the WSC collection at Blenheim Palace, followed by a visit to the church at Bladon and Churchill’s grave. At Ditchley Park there are evening talks and readings of letters between WSC and Clemmie by his granddaughter Celia Sandys and Robert Hardy, who took a leading role in The Wilderness Years.

Back in London, a day visiting the Operations Room at RAF Uxbridge and walks around Whitehall closes with an after-hours visit to the Cabinet War Rooms with director Phil Reed. The tour culminates with a special visit to the House of Commons, dinner at the Savoy in the room where Churchill met with the Other Club, and a day at Chartwell, his beloved family home in the Kent countryside.

The Hon. Celia Sandys, the daughter of Churchill’s eldest daughter Diana and Cabinet Minister Duncan Sandys accompanies the tour throughout, combining personal anecdotes with her historical research. The Imperial War Museum’s Senior Historian and frequent curator of Churchill related exhibitions, Terry Charman, gives lectures during the tour. As well as staying Ditchley Park, one of the finest country houses of the 1720s where guests enjoy the extensive grounds and drawing rooms, the tour also stays at the 5-star Royal Horseguards hotel in the heart of Whitehall.

Price: £2,460 per person includes private transport, 4 nights’ hotel accommodation, all admissions and special openings, four lunches and four dinners including wine, water and coffee, tips for restaurant and driving staff, and the lecturers’ talks.