Chelsea Flower Show & Stratford Upon Avon
2 days - by Coach

Confucius once said, ‘If a man has two pennies, he should spend one on a loaf of bread, and the other on a flower. The bread is to make life possible. The flower is to make life worth living’. If you only see the Chelsea Flower Show once in your life, the 2013 Centenary show must be the one to see. First run in 1913 and now celebrating its hundredth year, this is the most prestigious show in the country, showcasing the latest in design innovation, and dubbed ‘the garden equivalent of Paris Fashion Week’.

Set in the 11 acre grounds of London’s Royal Hospital in Chelsea, this is the Royal Horticultural Society’s gold standard flower show, the one the top professionals want to be known for, with over 550 exhibitors, prize-winning small, artisan and show gardens, award-winning innovative garden tools and furniture, and flower arranging displays. You’ll want a full day for this, and you’ll want to be fresh, so we’ll help you make a weekend of it with return travel, dinner and  first-rate overnight accommodation, plus some free time in Stratford-upon-Avon too.

This tour is organised and operated by Omega Events Ltd ABTA Y590X

• Return coach travel from your chosen local departure point
• Overnight stay in a twin / double bedded room* at a 3 or 4 star outer London hotel with dinner and full English breakfast
• Admission to the Chelsea Flower Show on the Saturday
• A visit to Stratford-upon-Avon
• Services of an Omega Holidays coach driver/tour representative
• VAT at the government's prevailing rate at the date of travel

Day 1 - We depart in the morning from your local area for some free time at Stratford-upon-Avon, the Warwickshire wattle and daub birthplace of William Shakespeare. The famous Ann Hathaway Cottage is just a mile out of town, or you could head for the Old Town’s Sheep Street and the award-winning Tudor World, built on the site of Shrieves House and once the original abode of William Rogers, friend of the Shakespeares and reputedly the inspiration behind the character of John Falstaff. If you’re mad for modernity, just down the street is the MAD Museum of Mechanical Art and Design, where Heath Robinson meets arthouse automata crossed with steampunk gizmos and water-powered whirligigs†. For the naturalist there is a butterfly farm, a quick flutter across the nearby bridge, in a landscaped greenhouse full of ponds, waterfalls... and butterflies. For the resolutely sedate there are open air sightseeing tour buses, and three different boat operators offering scenic boat trips at modest rates. In the mid to late afternoon we’ll rejoin the coach and continue to your hotel in time for dinner and your overnight stay. † Wheelchair access is limited as it is an old building

Day 2 - After a full English breakfast, we head straight for the Chelsea Flower Show. With a huge range of designs, plants and plots there are ideas here for every taste and growing space, whether you have a small yard or a wild flower meadow. There are plenty of refreshments on hand too, everything from cafés, farmer’s market stalls, wood-fired pizza and seafood restaurants to a real ale bar and champagne lounge. Or you might want to picnic and relax to the sound of live music at the Ranelagh Gardens bandstand. By the time we set off on the journey home in the mid to late afternoon, you’ll have so many creative ideas you will be raring to get home and dig up your window boxes!

This break is a day trip and therefore does not use a hotel