Windsor & The Secrets of the Thames

Discover the tales of the Thames of this new 4-day break for lovers of horticulture, beautiful English scenery and architecture. We visit the remarkable Waterperry Gardens, Greys Court, and The Savill Garden located in the Great Park, as well as the royal town of Windsor, enhanced by a scenic cruise on the River Thames with fantastic views of the majestic Castle.

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Holiday Inclusions

Dinner, Bed & Breakfast
Door-to-Door Service
Coach Travel throughout
Excursions as listed

Our Hotel

Novotel Reading Centre

The 4 star hotel is ideally located in Reading town centre. On-site there is a Gourmet Bar and Restaurant, offering a cosy atmosphere, and a leisure centre with indoor swimming pool, sauna, steam room, and gym. WiFi is also available. All the modern bedrooms feature blackout curtains, Flatscreen LCD TV, hairdryer, minifridge, telephone, work desk, iron, safe, complimentary toiletries, and hot drinks making facilities. This hotel has a lift.

Address: 25b Friar St, Reading RG1 1DP

Phone: 0118 952 2600

Website: https://all.accor.com/hotel/5432/index.en.shtml

Cruise & Garden

This morning we take a relaxing 40 minute cruise along the River Thames. This short cruise goes to Boveney Lock and returns with fantastic views of Windsor Castle, Eton College, and the Brocas Meadows. In the afternoon we visit The Savill Garden, a hidden gem in the Windsor Great Park. As we walk the beautifully landscaped paths we will be connecting with decades of Royal history, most notably the garden being commissioned by King George V. We return to our hotel for dinner this evening.

Waterperry Gardens

After breakfast, we visit Waterperry Gardens, home to eight acres of beautifully landscaped ornamental gardens, a fascinating museum and a delightful garden shop and tearoom. This afternoon, we visit Greys Court, a Tudor country house in the care of The National Trust. This picturesque 16th-century mansion and tranquil gardens were home to the Brunner family until recent years. The house exudes a welcoming atmosphere with a well-stocked kitchen and homely living rooms. The series of walled gardens is a colourful patchwork of interest set amid medieval ruins.

Deposits

Unless stated otherwise, deposits are £60.00 per person for UK holidays, £150.00 per person for EU holidays, £250.00 for Isles of Scilly, and £350.00 per person for Channel Island holidays. Please be aware that all deposits are non-refundable in the event of cancellation. Where possible, we may be able to transfer your deposit onto a new booking, less a £20.00 per person administration fee. However, this is at our discretion and may not always be possible.

Balance payment

Upon completing your booking, a confirmation & invoice will be sent to your email address. This may land in your ‘spam’ or ‘junk’ folder so please check all of your folders. This document will show all the relevant information regarding your holiday, including your booking reference number (displayed on the top left-hand corner) which you will be asked to quote if you need to discuss any aspect of your holiday with us. Please check all of the details, such as spelling and contact information, and advise us promptly if any changes are required. We do not send out reminders for balance payments, so please make a note of the balance due date stated on your booking confirmation, and contact us to settle your balance on or before the date stated.

Travel documents

Your travel documents should arrive with you approximately 7 days before departure. This pack will contain your home collection time, your luggage labels, a feedback form, and a day-by-day itinerary for your holiday. Please read through these carefully before your departure day and ensure you are ready to depart promptly at the departure time stated.

Luggage

Due to space limitations, unless otherwise stated, your luggage allowance is one small carry-on bag, and one medium-sized suitcase. Please consider that your luggage has to be handled by our staff and possibly porters, and therefore we recommend that your hold luggage should have dimensions of no more than 26 inches in length and 20 inches in height, and weigh no more than 18kgs. Luggage allowances may vary for EU holidays and flight packages, this will be advised in your travel documents.

Coaches & seating

Due to operational circumstances, on rare occasions we may be forced to amend seating allocation, however, this will be notified to you in a timely manner. Once all passengers are on board, if there are any spare seats on the coach and you wish to move, please feel free to do so. When the vehicle is in motion, the wearing of seatbelts is a mandatory requirement, as is our Non-Smoking policy (including electronic e-cigarettes). We kindly ask that mobile phones be used in emergencies only whilst the vehicle is in motion. For the comfort of our passengers, we will include regular comfort breaks throughout the journey. All of our coaches have a toilet on board.

Hotels & dining

All of our hotels are carefully selected and you should expect to find all bedrooms with private en-suite facilities. The board basis will be either DB&B (dinner, bed and breakfast) or B&B (bed and breakfast), and items such as leisure facilities, entertainment, etc, are described where applicable.

Special requests

Any special request should be advised to us at the point of booking, especially so in the case of those with limited mobility. Please consider that, as most of our customers book by telephone, if this information is not forthcoming our staff cannot ascertain if a chosen holiday is suitable for your mobility level and ensure your holiday is successful. Whilst we will endeavour to do all possible to satisfy any special request, please be aware that this is a ‘request’ only, unless it has been guaranteed in writing with the hotel.

Itineraries & attractions

All holiday inclusions are listed on our website and then re-confirmed to you when you receive your travel documents. As the holidays are packaged many months, and sometimes over a year, in advance of departure, on rare occasions we may be forced to amend an itinerary or change an attraction. In such instances, we will always do our best to provide a ‘like for like’ alternative and advise you as soon as possible.

Contact information

If you become lost whilst on tour, we advise that you contact our office on 01253 725999 so that we can inform your driver and help you relocate the coach (listen to the end of the answering machine message for our emergency contact number if calling outside of office hours). We request that you provide us with a mobile phone number in advance of travel and keep your mobile phone switched on for the duration of the excursion so that we can contact you in this event. We kindly request that you also provide us with your emergency contact details. This is the name and telephone number of a friend or family member (somebody who is not travelling with you) that we could contact in the event of an emergency whilst you are on tour.

Identification

We recommend that you take some form of Photographic Identification with you on holiday (i.e. Passport, Bus Pass, or Driver’s License). In some cases, Photo ID will be a requirement, for example, where there are ferry crossings, flights, EU travel, or visits to RAF bases or royal residences. This will be advised to you in writing when you receive your booking confirmation.

Cancellation terms

Our cancellation terms are available to view on our website under Booking Conditions. All of our holidays operate subject to a minimum number of passengers being achieved. If these are not met, the tour may be cancelled by us, and a full refund will be issued. However, if you wish to cancel your holiday, a cancellation charge will be incurred.

Insurance

Regardless of your chosen destination, we recommend that you consider taking out a comprehensive Travel Insurance policy, to cover you in the event of cancellation. BP Insurance Brokers offer competitive prices to patrons of G-Line Holidays and can be contacted on 01253 747258.

Gratuities

Gratuities are not included as part of your excursion cost and are also not compulsory. However, much in the same way as good service in a local restaurant may be rewarded, if you feel you have received a service worthy of reward from your coach driver, we would encourage you to show your appreciation personally.

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