Country Houses and Palaces Along the Thames: London to Oxford

May 8 and June 5

Participants gather at The Mitre, a superb boutique hotel situated on the Thames River immediately adjacent to Hampton Court Palace. We are  welcomed by National Trust curator Megan Wheeler, who delivers an  introductory lecture that sets the stage for the remarkable built environment that we encounter over the course of the trip. Our opening salvo is hosted at Osterley Park, a rare survival of western London’s country estate community, redesigned by Robert Adam in the late 18th century as an elegant place of entertainment for the Child family. Our tour is led by Megan and curator Ffion George and examines family portraits and furniture recently repatriated to the house. Following our return to the hotel, we gather for welcome drinks and dinner overlooking the Thames.

Included: R, D
Overnight: Hampton Court

May 9 and June 6

Our morning focuses on the first of a series of royal palaces that anchor our itinerary. Kew Palace has roots back to the 1630s and reflects the local taste for brick houses in a distinctively Dutch style. Modestly scaled, George III  and Charlotte retreated here in the late 18th century as his health declined. Leading us through the collection and the remarkable kitchen block are  curators Lee Prosser and Polly Putnam. Kew’s garden is of equal appeal, and we admire the iconic Great Pagoda, completed in 1762 to a design by architect Sir William Chambers, before enjoying lunch on site at The Botanical Brasserie. We continue to Ham House, a treasure chest of 17th-century  paintings, furniture, and textiles, where we explore this microcosm of 17th- century material culture with curators Hannah Mawdsley and Jenny Saunt from the National Trust and Victoria & Albert Museum, respectively.

Included: B, L
Overnight: Hampton Court

May 10 and June 7  

We revel in an out-of-hours tour of Chiswick House,  a showpiece of early-18th-century England’s Palladian movement. Developed by Lord Burlington, a devoted antiquarian and an alumnus of the Grand Tour, this  structure was envisioned as an entertainment pavilion for an adjacent house. We savor the garden before sharing a delicious lunch at nearby Villa di Geggiano. Heading onward to Hampton Court, we benefit from a preliminary exploration of this incredible royal palace, delving into the beautifully preserved Tudor-era rooms, examining Henry VIII’s unparalleled kitchen complex, and appreciating  the stunning gardens. The talented artist Clunie Fretton offers a carving demonstration of the work executed by Grinling Gibbons on behalf of Charles II and his aristocratic contemporaries before we return to The Mitre for a pleasant dinner along the Thames.

Included: B, L, D
Overnight: Hampton Court

May 11 and June 8 

Venturing westward along the river, we reach Marble Hill, an early-Palladian house built for Henrietta Hobart with the financial assistance of the future George II and the input of famed architect Colen Campbell. Dr. Emily Burns, Curator of Collections and Interiors, has orchestrated a thorough introduction to the splendid collection. After enjoying a riverside lunch break at Scotts in Richmond, we continue to Strawberry Hill, Horace Walpole’s Gothic Revival masterpiece, where executive director Zoë Colbeck introduces the extensive restoration campaign that brought this unique house and its singular holdings of decorative arts back to life. Rather than returning to the hotel by road, a pleasant boat ride with drinks carries us downriver to The Mitre.

Included: B, L, R
Overnight: Hampton Court

May 12 and June 9

We stroll across the street to Hampton Court for a private, out-of-hours tour of Henry VIII’s palace with Sebastien Edwards, Deputy Chief Curator & Head of Collections, that focuses on behind-the-scenes spaces and close object study. A lesser-known component of the Hampton Court complex  is the Royal School of Needlework, where curator Isabella Rosner  introduces this important organization’s collection and conservation  activities. Heading upriver, we pause for lunch in the charming town of Windsor. Tim Knox, Director of Royal Collections, greets us at Windsor Castle before we dive into a comprehensive tour. England’s most regal palace includes Charles II’s grand state apartments from the 1670s as well as banqueting and entertaining chambers George III and IV developed with architects James Wyatt and Jeffry Wyatville. The day concludes nearby at The Langley, a sumptuous hotel that occupies a manor house built  by the 3rd Duke of Marlborough, where dinner awaits.

Included: B, L, D
Overnight: Iver

May 13 and June 10

Venturing into the Berkshire countryside, we are welcomed at Basildon Park, a grand Palladian country house rescued from demolition after World War II by Lord and Lady Iliffe, whose fine collection of decorative arts and Old Masters is the focus of site manager Sebastien Conway’s tour. In  addition to lunch in the famous Thames-side town of Henley, we are treated to a walking tour of key historic sites, including the late-15th-century market and the late-18th-century town hall. The Palmer family then greets us at Dorney Court, a mid-15th-century Tudor manor house retaining its oak paneling, furniture, and stained glass as well as a 12th-century church. We toast our hosts’ gracious hospitality with a glass of Pimms before returning to The Langley.

Included: B, L, R
Overnight: Iver

May 14 and June 11

Departing for Oxfordshire and the westernmost reaches of the Thames, the day commences with a  tour of Buscot Park, where curators Amy Lin and Lucinda Henderson introduce this handsome late- Georgian house, which contains a superlative collection of paintings and furniture assembled by multiple Lord Faringdons. During a pilgrimage to William Morris’s Kelmscott Manor, curator Kathy Haslam brings this iconic Arts and Crafts Movement laboratory to life through recently refreshed installations. Before concluding our day, we stop at Kingston Bagpuize for a tour and early supper. The double-height entry hall of this early-Georgian brick house contains an impressive, cantilevered staircase that rises up through later Chinese painted wallpaper. Upon reaching Oxford, we settle into The Randolph, an outstanding hotel in the heart of the storied university town.

Included: B, L, D
Overnight: Oxford

May 15 and June 12

Oxford is best explored on foot, and Stephen Dawson of the Oxford Preservation Trust charts our course to investigate key university buildings. Opened in 1860, the Gothic Revival Museum of Natural History features an awe-inspiring steel  and glass roof supported at ground level by a colonnade of 126 columns, each rendered from a different British stone.  The adjacent Pitt Rivers Museum occupies an equally dramatic architectural space for the display of the university’s  anthropological collection central to the ongoing repatriation movement. James Gibbs designed the Radcliffe Camera,  a domed rotunda, to serve as a library, which opened in 1749. Completed in 1669 to host the conferring of degrees,  Christopher Wren modeled the Sheldonian Theatre after the Theatre of Marcellus in Rome. After lunch, we examine  the Bodleian Library, founded in 1320 and expanded in 1426 by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, which still contains  his library and manuscript collections. Christ Church dates from 1525, with a courtyard built by Wren in 1682 adjacent  to a 12th-century cathedral. A truly hidden gem in Oxford is The Painted Room, boasting 16th-century wall paintings and contained within a timber-framed 13th-century inn frequented by Shakespeare.

Included: B, L
Overnight: Oxford

May 16 and June 13

Perched directly across the street from The Randolph is the Ashmolean Museum, one of England’s finest. After gaining early entry, we are treated to a tour of highlights with Matthew Winterbottom, Curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture.  We then enjoy two study sessions with the Ashmolean’s renowned collections of silver and design drawings with Matthew and An Van Camp, The Christopher Brown Assistant Keeper of Northern European Art. Following lunch in the museum’s rooftop restaurant, guests have the chance to decide between an afternoon at leisure or a tour of additional sites in  Oxford. Art historian Sarah Medlam introduces the recent restoration project at Trinity College Chapel, a late-17th-century building containing magnificent carved woodwork by Grinling Gibbons. Magdalen College may be Oxford’s most beautiful, and those feeling particularly robust are welcome to appreciate the view from atop the Bell Tower built in 1509. The nearby Botanic Garden (Britain’s oldest) was founded in 1621, and the original walled garden remains a highlight. Our adventures along the Thames conclude with a celebratory farewell dinner.

Included: B, L, D
Overnight: Oxford

May 17 and June 14

Transfers to Heathrow for stateside departures, or continue for independent travels.

Included: B