I included some interesting visits in last week’s Britain Insider column and a couple of them illustrate some of the wonderful stately homes, gardens and cathedrals on London’s doorstep.  Yes, you can do them as day trips from London if you want to waste 2-3 hours each day getting there and back but the better idea is to work them into 2-3 night packages that allow them to park their jet lag in the English countryside before tackling the hurly burly of our capital city.

To illustrate my point, you can combine my top two stories with a stroll around the treasures at Jacobean Hatfield House, location for the filming of The Favourite and timed to visit the rarely opened and exquisite East Garden and 2-3 hours at the nearby high gothic Knebworth House.  Similarly, the third tory on the Giffords Circus can be blended into the portfolio of Cotswolds tours highlighted last week.

Hand decorating your own work of art at the Emma Bridgewater factory, visiting the RHS Wisley Garden Show and ideas for beating the weekday LHR- central London traffic jam completes this edition.

Pilgrimage, Paintings and Stained Glass

St Albans Cathedral is often missed as travellers speed their way out of London towards Cambridge and points north and this needs to change.  The burial place for the first recorded British Christian martyr, it has been a place of pilgrimage and worship for over 1400 years.  They offer 3 specialist tours, on Pilgrimage, their fine medieval wall paintings and their Stained Glass.

The Creative Genius of Sir Henry Moore

The sculpture gardens and studios, based at Henry Moore's former home in Hertfordshire, are the best place in the world to appreciate the artist's work, offering you the chance to discover more about the life and work of one of Britain’s most famous sculptors. You can also visit the artist’s family home, Hoglands, where he lived with his family for over 40 years.

Roll Up! Roll Up!

I recently ran a story on some of the more unusual events that take place in the Cotswolds which included Cheese Rolling, Tetbury Woolsack Races, Morris Dancing, the Olimpick Games and the World Poohstick Championships.  Here’s another.  The Gifford’s Circus, a magical village green circus that tours the region every summer.  It’s not Cirque du Soleil but it’s very professional and great fun

In The World Capital of Ceramics

Enjoy a special behind-the-scenes factory tour at Emma Bridgewater, located in a Victorian factory and see how they hand make and hand decorate all their pottery. Try your hand at decorating your own unique piece of pottery and finish off with tea, hot chocolate, sandwiches and cakes in the cosy café with Spotty Aga before picking up a bargain or two.

Planting a Seed

For garden-loving clients unable to travel because they are busy in their own gardens in May/June, talk to me about a tour that takes in the likes of Chartwell, Great Dixter and Sissinghurst Castle and other Sussex/Kent stately homes that look magnificent in early September and make a day at the Royal Horticultural Society Wisley Flower Show (3^rd-8^th September) the pièce de résistance.

Beat the Traffic Jams

Suggestions for beating the Monday-Friday, mobile car park between London Heathrow and central London, include visiting Windsor Castle (opens at 10am) or a cup of coffee, breakfast, a breath of fresh air and a leg stretch at the nearby Savill Gardens (opens at 9.30am).  Alternatively, for families combine Windsor Castle (am) and Hampton Court Palace (pm) before checking in.