Windsor - Hampton Court & Stonehenge 10 Hours Private Tour for 1-4 Travellers

Itinerary
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Stop At: Windsor Castle, Castle Hill, Windsor SL4 1PD England

A visit to Windsor Castle, England's largest and most historical Royal residence. Visit the State apartments, which contain a priceless art collection, and St George's Chape

Also Drive pass Eton College Runny mede Magna carter and kennedy Memorial site

Every June, members of the order meet at Windsor Castle for the annual Garter Service. After lunch at the State Apartments of Windsor Castle, the knights don their robes and insignia, and proceed on foot down to St George’s Chapel where the service is held.

Windsor Castle is the longest-occupied palace in Europe

Used as a residence by monarchs since the reign of Henry I, the castle has undergone many changes during its long history, often at colossal expense.

a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms

Born at Windsor Castle, Edward III spent lavishly on an expansion. His military victories in France at Crecy, Poitiers, and Calais helped pay for “the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England”.

Henry VIII enjoyed Windsor as a royal playground for shooting, dancing, wrestling, tennis, and even songwriting. He is purported to have spent the equivalent of £295 million in 2008 terms ($420 million) on work that included hiring Italian architect Benedetto Grazzini to convert the Lady Chapel into an Italian Renaissance design.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Hampton Court Palace, A308, East Molesey KT8 9AU England

Hampton Court Palace. Hampton Court was built by Cardinal Wolsey. There will be time to visit the lovely gardens, maze and State rooms.

Completed in 1515, Hampton Court was Henry VIII’s favorite summer residence. It epitomized Tudor fashion and style.

Interwoven into the stonework of Hampton Court is Catherine of Aragon’s royal emblem—pomegranate seeds that were meant to represent the potency of her kingdom. Next to it was carved the Tudor rose, indicating how serious Henry was about their relationship that lasted almost 24 years—longer than his five other marriages combined.

Hampton Court has the largest surviving 16th-century kitchens in the world. 200 cooks worked slavishly from sunup to sundown to feed 800 guests when Henry’s entourage was staying at the palace.

Hampton Court Palace was the ultimate Tudor sports and leisure complex. Its 16th-century tennis court is one of the oldest sporting venues in the world.

Hampton Court has many priceless works of art

Commissioned by Henry VIII and hanging on the walls of the palace’s Tudor apartments are enormous paintings that tell a story of Henry’s battlefield conquests.

To celebrate the birth of his only son and heir, Edward, Henry commissioned a series of spectacular tapestries.

Considered one of the finest pieces of decorative artwork from the Tudor period, the “Abraham Tapestries” depict stories from the life of the biblical prophet Abraham.

Made with cloth of gold, each tapestry cost Henry the price of a warship.

Painted by Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna between 1484 and 1492, the Triumphs of Caesar depict a triumphal military parade of Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars.

Thought to be Mantegna’s greatest masterpiece, the paintings are the best examples of their kind ever created.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Stonehenge, Amesbury SP4 7DE England

Stonehenge is the ultimate historical mystery. One of the most famous landmarks in Britain, the unique stone circle situated in modern-day Wiltshire continues to confound historians and visitors alike. Despite extensive research and theorising, today we are really no closer to understanding how the stones were put there and why.

The site went through various transformations and didn’t begin as a ring of stones. The circular earth bank and ditch that surrounds the stones can be dated back to about 3100 BC, while the first stones are believed to have been raised at the site between 2400 and 2200 BC. Over the next few hundred years, the stones were rearranged and new ones added, with the formation we know today being created between 1930 and 1600 BC.

It was created by a people who left no written records

This, of course, is the main reason why so many questions persist around the site.

Some of the stones were brought from nearly 200 miles away

They were quarried at a town near the Welsh town of Maenclochog and somehow transported to Wiltshire – a feat that would have been a major technical accomplishment at the time.

They are known as “ringing rocks”

The monument’s stones possess unusual acoustic properties – when struck they produce a loud clanging sound – which likely explains why someone bothered to transport them over such a long distance. In certain ancient cultures, such rocks are believed to contain healing powers. In fact, Maenclochog mean “ringing rock”.

It attracts more than a million visitors a year

The enduring myths surrounding Stonehenge make the UNESCO World Heritage Site hugely popular. When it first opened to the public as a tourist attraction in the 20th century, visitors were able to walk among the stones and even climb on them. However, due to serious erosion of the stones, the monument has been roped off since 1997, and visitors only allowed to view the stones from a distance.

Exceptions are made during the summer and winter solstices, and the spring and autumn equinoxes, however.

Duration: 2 hours