Longleat Light Festival, Bristol & Lesley Smith

Longleat's Luminous Christmas Enchantment

Embark on a dazzling 4-day Christmas getaway to Longleat and Bristol. Marvel at illuminated safari wonders, explore a grand stately home, and delight in festive city charms.

 

Tour Highlights:

• Longleat's Festival of Light: Prepare to be utterly enchanted as you meander through a breathtaking illuminated trail, transforming Longleat's famous gardens into a dazzling wonderland of light.

• Exclusive Longleat Safari Adventure: From the comfort of our luxury coach, spot the magnificent residents of Longleat's renowned safari park.

• Guided Tour of Longleat House: Step into a grand historical embrace as you unveil the secrets of Longleat House, one of England's finest stately treasures

• An Audience with Florence Nightingale: History springs to life with the brilliantly entertaining Lesley Smith, portraying the pioneering Florence Nightingale with unparalleled charisma and insight.

• Bristol's Charms & Christmas Market: Discover the highlights of Bristol on a guided tour, then lose yourself in the joyous festivities of its Christmas market.

• Maritime Marvel at SS Great Britain: Come aboard this iconic Victorian marvel and unravel the tales of a ship that forever changed maritime history.

 

 

INCLUDED:

 

  · Longleat Festival of Light - As seen on TV! Longleat will once again be playing host to the largest Chinese lantern festival in Europe. The Festival of Light was launched at Longleat in 2014 and is promising to be even bigger and bolder this year. More than 20,000 individual lanterns and 20 magical scenes, inspired by ancient China, transform the estate and illuminate Longleat.

 

 

Longleat Safari -  A wonderful drive-through safari adventure will take us close to animals only dreamed about. See the cheetahs, mind the zebra crossing, give the rhino’s right of way, watch out for the wolves. Feed the giraffes! On the Jungle Cruise, you can feed the resident sea lions and see the band of lazy gorillas

 

 

 

 

 

Longleat House -  This extraordinary place has been home to the Thynne family since 1580 and is regarded as one of the most beautiful stately homes open to the public. The ground floor will be all dressed up for Christmas  www.longleat.co.uk

 

 

Florence Nightingale - Wonderfully charismatic historian, Lesley Smith as her new character.

Florence Nightingale was born in 1820 and led a very unusual life for a woman of her class and time. She was highly educated, speaking a number of languages, and tremendously well- travelled. She came from a very rich family caught up in a social whirl but quickly rejected this type of life, believing she had a vocation from God to nurse. She was a pioneer in social reform, all her life fighting for the health of the nation with politicians, the army and many in the world of medicine. She was also a statistician, the first woman to be elected to the Society of Statisticians, and her data collection and analysis in nursing practices brought forward new ideas that formed the foundation of modern nursing. She also brought respectability to nursing, which had not always been the case previously.

She particularly came to prominence in the Crimea War in 1854 when she took a highly disciplined group of 38 nurses with her to care for the wounded and dying. Her commitment to her nursing life and patients meant she was much admired, and at night she would go around the wards with a lamp, making sure they had the comfort of her nearness in the dark hours. This is how she became the “Lady with the Lamp”.

Independent and never married, she went on to be an Icon of the Victorian period and nursing profession. Please note the event is only 16 only.

 

 

Bristol Christmas Market & Guided Tour

Nestled within the heart of Bristol City Centre is a wonderful Christmas market, where you’ll find over 50 stalls selling an array of unique gifts and crafts. Grab yourself a warming hot chocolate or mulled wine and meander through the huts. Come and see for yourself the beautifully handmade items that are on offer.

 

 

SS Great Britain

Brunel’s SS Great Britain is one of the most important historic ships in the world. When she was launched in 1843, she was called ‘the greatest experiment since the creation’.

No one had ever designed so vast a ship, nor had the vision to build it of iron. Brunel fitted her with a 1000 hp steam engine, the most powerful yet used at sea. Perhaps most daring of all, Brunel rejected using conventional paddle wheels to drive his ship. Instead, he gave the SS Great Britain a screw propeller. This was the newest invention in maritime technology. By seeing how to combine these key innovations, Brunel created a ship that changed history.

https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/  Image from Adam Gasson

 

 

 

The Contemporary Aztec Hotel & Spa is in a perfect spot and is an ideal stopover for exploring Bath and the area. You can work off any indulgence at the state-of-the-art Technogym or relax in the magnificent spa, which boasts a sauna, steam room, swimming pool and hot tub. Room for sole occupancy £121  www.aztechotelbristol.co.uk 

 

Dinners & Breakfasts & Sunday High Tea

 

Coach Travel  From Pudsey, Calverley, Farsley, Rodley, Horsforth, Leeds, Ainley Top, Woolley Edge Services

 

Fully Escorted  by a Hanson Exclusives’ Tour Manager

 

We strongly recommend that you take out a policy of insurance to cover you for cancellation charges should you be unable to travel due to illness.