Devon and Cornwall Escape - Small Group

Welcome to London, home to Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and the Thames, which winds through the heart of the city. After arriving at your hotel, meet your Travel Director and fellow travelers before seeing the capital from the water on a Thames river cruise. Pass some of London’s most recognizable sights and get your first sense of the city’s scale, history and energy. Later, join your small group for dinner and get to know the people sharing your journey.

Leave London behind and travel across southern England to Stonehenge, the prehistoric stone circle on Salisbury Plain. Your journey continues to Buckfast Abbey, home to a Benedictine community in the Dart Valley. On arrival in Plymouth, your Travel Director will show you around this historic port city, known for its naval connections, harbor setting and seafaring past. Your evening is free to explore more of Plymouth, or you can choose an Optional Experience with gin tasting and dinner at the former distillery of Plymouth Gin.

Spend more time in Plymouth or join an Optional Experience on a harbor cruise before heading inland to Dartmoor National Park. Here, the landscape opens out into wide moorland, granite tors and villages that have long been part of rural Devon life. In Yelverton, you’ll stop for lunch and time to explore before continuing to Wistman’s Wood, where you’ll walk with your small group through one of Dartmoor’s most distinctive landscapes, known for twisted oak trees, moss-covered rocks and low branches. In Postbridge, you’ll see the old clapper bridge, one of Dartmoor’s best-known historic landmarks. Then enjoy Devonshire ice cream, a local favorite. Your day ends at Bovey Castle, your Stays with Stories experience on the edge of the moor.

Cross into Cornwall and begin at the Eden Project, for your MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience that introduces vast biomes, global plant collections and their work on conservation and the future of the planet. Then join Georgie and Cam at Tonley Farm for your Be My Guest experience, with a picnic lunch and cider tasting that brings you closer to local produce and life in the Cornish countryside. Take an orientation drive through Falmouth, where the harbor, historic docks and Pendennis Castle point to the town’s long maritime history. This evening, you’re free to explore the town or head out for a walk by the beach.

Spend the day exploring Cornwall’s western coast, where harbor towns, beaches and Atlantic views define the landscape. In St. Ives, there’s time to wander through the town center, explore the harbor and take in the beaches that have made this seaside town one of Cornwall’s best known. Continue to Land’s End for coastal walks and photo stops at England’s western edge, then head to Marazion Beach for views across the water to St. Michael’s Mount. Return to Falmouth this evening with time to relax or head out and explore more of the town.

Leave Falmouth and travel north through Cornwall, stopping at a local lavender farm to meet Tina, known as the Lavender Lady. Here, you’ll hear more about how lavender is grown and used before enjoying a cream tea. Continue to Port Isaac for time to explore the harbor and village streets, then head to Bristol. After check-in, the rest of the afternoon is free, or you can join an Optional Experience exploring the city from Brunel to Banksy. This evening, gather with your group for a final dinner in Bristol and raise a glass to your journey together.

Head to Bath, a city known for its Georgian streets, Roman history and natural thermal springs. Join an orientation tour to get to know the city’s elegant squares and honey-colored architecture before visiting the Roman Baths, one of Britain’s best-preserved ancient sites. Here, the remains of the temple complex and bathing rooms reveal how the city was used in Roman times. You can choose to add an Optional Experience for afternoon tea before returning to London, where it’s time to say goodbye to your fellow small group travelers and Travel Director.