Jane Austen in Hampshire

Jane Austen is one of the world’s most famous authors, spending much of her life in historic Hampshire. The daughter of a clergyman, she was born at Steventon Parsonage in December 1775, the year the American Revolution started. The seventh of eight children, she grew up in a happy and close-knit family. It was in Hampshire that Jane found inspiration to write such classics as Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility. She died just two years after the Battle of Waterloo in 1817. This tour led by Jane Austen expert, Jane Tapley, explores her life and books at a particularly turbulent time in England’s history.

ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrive independently at the Crowne Plaza Basingstoke from 15.00. This evening there will be a welcome reception followed by a private dinner with wine. After dinner, Jane Tapley will give a talk, ‘Austen’s Arcadia - The Life and Times of Jane Austen’.

Day 2: Steventon Village, Jane Austen Museum and Chawton House Library.
Our first visit is to the quiet spot of Steventon village, where Jane was born and spent the first 25 years of her life. Like Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, Jane was a keen walker and often walked to Popham Lane, where the family collected their letters at what is now the Wheatsheaf Inn. The family home is long gone, but we visit the 12th century church where Jane worshipped, almost unchanged from her times. In the church there are memorial tablets to James Austen, Jane's eldest brother, who took over the parish from her father, his two wives and other relations who are buried in the churchyard. Our next visit is to the Jane Austen Museum at Chawton. It was here where Jane spent the last eight years of her life, in this unpretentious cottage in Hampshire from 1809 until 1817. It was in this house that Jane’s genius flourished and where she was free to write. Lunch (included) is at Cassandras Cup Tearooms, Chawton. Next we visit Chawton House Library for a guided tour. The house was built by the Knight family in the 1580s on the site of an earlier medieval building. It was then taken over by an American entrepreneur and philanthropist Sandy Lerner in 1993, with the aim of restoring the house as an important literary heritage of women writers. Your tour is completed with tea and biscuits. After dinner at the hotel, Jane Tapley will give a second talk, ‘Rummaging Through the Reticule’, which looks at the sort of objects that Jane would have kept in her handbag.

Day 3: Winchester.
This morning we visit Winchester Cathedral for a Jane Austen themed guided tour. Final visit is to see the outside of Jane’s last home at 8 College Street, Winchester, where she died in July 1817. At the cathedral you will see Jane Austen’s grave and memorials. There will be time given for lunch (not included) and time to explore Winchester before returning to the hotel for approximately 17.00.

NB: Exact order of excursions and itineray order may vary according to local conditions and tour manager's discretion.

Please note: Post tour extra nights are available at a supplement.

Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 35 passengers. 

INCLUDED

• Two nights' bed and breakfast at the four-star Crowne Plaza Basingstoke, based on shared occupancy of a twin/double room
• Welcome reception 
• First night three-course dinner with wine  
• Second night dinner in the hotel restaurant
• Lunch at Cassandra's Cup Tearooms
• All talks, guided tours and admissions 
• Coach transfers and tour manager throughout 

NOT INCLUDED

• Transport to the hotel is not included
• Double for sole use supplement 
• Extra nights on bed and breakfast basis 
• Holiday insurance 
• Meals other than those stated 
• Items of a personal nature such as drinks, laundry, telephone calls etc 
• Porterage and gratuities

HOTEL

Crowne Plaza Basingstoke
This four-star hotel is conveniently located with easy access to the M3 and a 10 minute drive from Basingstoke train station. The hotel has a lounge bar, serving light meals, snacks and drinks, and is a nice place to relax after a long day sightseeing. The 1449 Restaurant is where breakfast and evening meals are served. Bedrooms are comfortable and cosy, with a contemporary design, and all have private bathroom facilities, TV, hairdryer, telephone and tea and coffee making facilities. Complimentary car parking is available at the hotel.

Crowne Plaza Basingstoke Website

MORE INFO - Please click here for more information.

Your host and guide is Jane Tapley, a Special Events Organiser at the Theatre Royal Bath for over thirty years – she frequently interviews and arranges events with authors to launch their books and has launched many with themes on Jane Austen. Jane arranges events during the annual Jane Austen Festival in Bath, including talks and period meals in her Georgian townhouse. She is a Blue Badge Guide and has taken many Austen fans all around the West Country in the footsteps of the famous female author.

Please note that all our UK tours start and finish at the relevant hotel.  

You can normally check in from 3pm onwards but hotels will always be happy to store your luggage if you arrive earlier in the day. 

For full details of how to get to the hotel, directions and the nearest train station, please click on the hotel website or call our office for details. These will also be sent automatically with your confirmation. 

The welcome reception and first evening dinner / talk will commence at about 7pm - full details will be sent with your joining instructions about 10 days prior to the arrival date.