The day starts with the air-conditioned coach collecting you from your hotel, or a hotel closeby. The guide will then advise what to expect on this full-day excursion. Oxford - We leave London and travel through the Thames Valley to Oxford - the 'City of Dreaming Spires', its origins go back 1000 years and its streets are dominated by the stone walls of the famous universitys. Our tour takes us through some of the medieval buildings, where your guide will tell you of the many famous past students and the traditions of college life that endure to this day. Stratford - Although famous as Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford is a charming market town in its own right where mellowed buildings, many half timbered, line broad streets. We visit Shakespeare’s birthplace and see Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, a pretty thatched cottage where the author's wife was born. This house is very much as she would have known it. Warwick Castle and its Armoury - We drive to 14th century Warwick Castle. You see the staterooms, the great hall with its masterpieces by Rubens and Van Dyck, the famous Kingmaker Exhibition - 'A Preparation for Battle', the armoury, dungeons, climb Guy's Tower and a magnificent collection of swords, armour and instruments of torture. The guide explains much about the history of the UK whilst travelling through the countryside in the Luxury Coaches. This tour returns to London at approximately 18.45 subject to traffic conditions.