June 11 – 23, 2025
The Vancouver Opera Guild invites you to join its exciting tour to England travelling through the beautiful countryside from London to Buckinghamshire and Surrey and finally to Sussex, enjoying memorable opera at venues along the way.
Performances at Garsington, Grange Park and Glyndebourne commence around 5:00 p.m. and feature a 90-minute dining interval between the two acts. Picnic dinners or two and three course dinners have been included for these evenings.
Operas which you will see on the Tour:
L’Elisir d’Amore by Gaetano Donizelli
Parsifal by Richard Wagner
Queen of Spades by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Mazeppa by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini
Tour Costs
- Guild Members: Cdn. $8,595 per person sharing
- Non-Guild: Cdn. $8,695 per person sharing
- Single supplement: Cdn. $2,460
- Prices quoted in this brochure are in Canadian dollars based on a full tour, and foreign exchange rates in effect at time of printing (November 2024). The Guild reserves the right to adjust the tour cost if there are substantial price changes.
- A deposit of $2,800 per person is required at time of booking with the balance due by March 7, 2025.
Tour Includes
- Accommodation for 12 nights
- Welcome reception and daily breakfast
- Five dinners at Garsington, Grange Park and Glyndebourne (some will be picnic dinners, some restaurant style)
- Five opera tickets
- Guided tours as described in the itinerary
- Entrance fees where applicable
- Coach and driver for tours and transfers
- Gratuities to drivers and guides
- Vancouver Opera Guild Tour Director
- Cdn. $300 donation to the Vancouver Opera Guild (Cdn. $400 for non-members)
Tour Does Not Include
- Airfare (Great Expeditions will be pleased to assist with airline reservations)
Tour Schedule
June 11, 2025: London, UK
The tour starts at the Strand Palace Hotel in London. There will be a welcome reception at the hotel that afternoon. Overnight accommodation is at the hotel.
June 12, 2025: London-Windsor
Leave London that morning for Windsor and five nights accommodation at the MacDonald Hotel. En-route we will have a tour of Windsor Castle and the State Apartments.
Afternoon departure to Stokenchurch and a performance of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore by Garsington Opera at the Wormsley Estate. Dinner is included during the long intermission. Return to Windsor following the performance.
The opera was founded in 1989 by the late Leonard Ingrams and his wife Rosalind at Garsington Manor, near Oxford. It moved to the Wormsley Estate, home of the Getty family, in 2011. Performances take place in the spectacular 600 seat Opera Pavilion which sits within the rolling landscape of the Chiltern Hills.
June 13, 2025: Windsor
A full-day excursion is planned through the Cotswolds visiting Sudeley Castle, Stow-on-the-Wold and Burford, as well as a number of picturesque Coltswoldian villages.
June 14, 2025: Windsor-Grange Park
The morning is free with an afternoon departure to West Surrey for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa by Grange Park Opera. Dinner is included.
Grange Park Opera relocated to West Horsley Place in Surrey in 2017. In 11 months, founder Wasfi Kani CBE and her team built a five storey opera house seating 700. West Horsley Place is a 350-acre estate with a glorious sprawling 14th century house surrounded by formal gardens.
June 15, 2025: Windsor-Garsington
The morning is free with an afternoon departure to Wormsley for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades by Garsington Opera. Dinner is included.
June 16, 2025: Windsor
Garter Day – a service for the Most Noble Order of the Garter is held in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
A limited number of tickets are available for members of the public to watch the procession to St. George’s Chapel from inside the precincts of Windsor Castle. Applicants can request up to four tickets each. Applications must be sent between January 1 and March 1 to GarterDay@royal.uk .
June 17, 2025: Windsor-Brighton
Morning departure for Brighton stopping en-route at the famous Royal Horticulture Society Gardens at Wisley, one of the world’s great gardens, packed with horticultural inspiration. Accommodation for five nights at the Grand Hotel Brighton.
June 18, 2025: Brighton
Free full day to explore the Royal Pavilion, the iconic Brighton Palace Pier and The Lanes (very popular for shopping). There are also wonderful sea walks along the extensive promenades.
June 19, 2025: Brighton-Glyndebourne
Free morning with mid-afternoon departure for the short transfer to Glyndebourne and a performance of Wagner’s Parsifal. Dinner is included during the intermission.
Glyndebourne is an opera house in the heart of the Sussex countryside. It began with a love story in 1934 when founder John Christie met soprano Audrey Mildmay and is now one of the most celebrated opera houses in the world.
June 20, 2025: Brighton
Full-day excursion to Battle Abbey and the 1066 Battlefield site. Stops include Hastings, first of the Cinque Ports coastal towns, before continuing to Eastbourne and Birling Gap where a short walk allows viewing of Seven Sisters and the famous chalk cliffs.
June 21, 2025: Brighton-Glyndebourne
Afternoon departure to Glyndebourne for a performance of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Glyndebourne Opera. Dinner is included during the intermission.
June 22, 2025: Brighton-London
Morning departure to Maidstone and a visit to Leeds Castle, a stunning medieval castle set on two islands in a magnificent lake. Continue to London and overnight at the Strand Palace Hotel.
June 23, 2025: London
Depart London today, or you may choose to extend your stay.
CONTACT
Elisabeth Dawson 604-922-8008
Genny MacLean 604-738-5535 / fgmaclean@shaw.ca
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
This paragraph defines our responsibility with respect to all our tours. Please read it carefully. Payment of deposit represents an acceptance by purchaser of the following terms and conditions. Great Expeditions, its owners, outfitters, agents and employees, gives notice that all arrangements for accommodation, transportation and/or, all related travel services, have been made by Great Expeditions only as agent, upon the express condition that Great Expeditions shall not be liable for any injury, damage, delay, mishap, inconvenience or irregularity occasioned through the default of any company or individual engaged in providing the arranged accommodation. Great Expeditions cannot be responsible for negligent conduct or financial irresponsibility of these suppliers, since they maintain no control over them. Such passenger conveyance, hotel accommodation, etc. is subject to the laws of the state or country where provided. In addition, Great Expeditions assumes no liability resulting directly or indirectly from any of the following causes: acts of God, detention, annoyance, weather, quarantines, strikes, civil disturbance, theft, government regulations, etc. over which it has no control. Great Expeditions reserves the right to substitute hotels and leaders and to alter the itinerary when deemed necessary or advisable. The right is also reserved to cancel any trip prior to departure upon the refund of all payments received which shall release Great Expeditions from any further liability. Great Expeditions reserves the right to decline to accept or retain any person or member of any tour should such person’s actions or general deportment impede the operation of the tour or the rights or welfare or enjoyment of other members of the tour, and it is agreed a refund of the amount recovered from suppliers of unused land services is the limit of Great Expeditions responsibility.
CARRIER’S RESPONSIBILITY
No carrier shall have or incur any responsibility or liability to any passenger or for property accompanying passengers, except for its liability as a common carrier. In particular, Great Expeditions advises the customer that any air carrier’s liability may be limited by its tariffs, conditions of carriage and international conventions and agreements.
B.C. Reg. 2629
CANCELLATIONS
All payments are non-refundable unless space can be resold.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
We strongly recommend that tour members purchase trip cancellation/interruption insurance to protect themselves against money loss in the event of cancellation due to personal or family illness. We also offer comprehensive insurance which includes trip cancellation/interruption plus excess hospital/medical benefits, baggage and travel accident. Some exclusions for pre-existing conditions do apply. Insurance premiums are age banded. Please ask for an insurance quote at time of booking.
DOCUMENTATION
A valid passport is required.