This four-day, three-night tour will depart from the local area in an executive touring coach and will benefit from the expertise of a professional guide whilst touring in The Cotswolds. With their remote hills, valleys and mellow stone-built villages, the Cotswolds were rediscovered by designers who followed the British Arts and Crafts movement, which began in London, at the end of the 19th century. Traditional farming and the loss of the wool trade to newly industrialised centres made workshops and cottages relatively cheap and craft communities flourished as craftsmen and their families moved away from London. William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti jointly leased Kelmscott Manor, near Lechlade, as a rural retreat in 1871. The guiding principles of the British Arts and Crafts Movement, inspired by William Morris were honest functional design, the use of natural forms in pattern and the importance of creative manual work.

We will explore internationally important collections from this movement at Rodmarton, a private arts and crafts house and garden near Tetbury and at The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum in Cheltenham which has a collection of Arts and Crafts furniture. The Gloucester Cotswolds is a region rich in arts, architecture and culture and Cheltenham, which became a spa town in1717, is thought to be one of the most complete Regency towns in Britain with its Grade 1 listed Pump Room, beautiful floral display and “The Wilson” Art gallery and museum.

Beyond Cheltenham we discover the world’s largest collection of Worcester porcelain, Royal Tombs and magnificent stained glass at Worcester Cathedral and impressionist art at Worcester Art Gallery Fine Art Collection.   Our journey takes us through beautiful countryside to the historic town of Chipping Campden and to the Court Barn Museum to discover the story of CR Ashbee and his Guild of Handicraft, who moved to Chipping Campden in 1902. Then onto the village of Broadway where Gordon Russell’s company gained international recognition and revolutionized the hand-crafted tradition of British cabinet making, and to Snowshill Manor(National Trust) to discover curiosities in the manor house and the beautiful Arts and Crafts garden.