A CITY & VILLAGE TOURS SLEEPOVER PACKAGE

The Great Stink & London’s Lost Rivers

2 days

Two thousand years ago the Romans enjoyed indoor plumbing at their villas but until a couple of hundred years ago Londoners were still throwing the contents of their chamber pots out of the window. The streets of London were shaped by its many rivers but, where once they served the city, as the population grew so they became its deadliest problem.

In 1858 the long hot summer became The Great Stink as raw sewage from the growing city emptied into the Thames turning into an open sewer. Something had to be done and that something was one of the most remarkable feats of civil engineering ever seen. Join us for a unique SleepOver that tells the story of London’s lost rivers with a visit to Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s Cathedral of Sewage on a special steaming day. On day two we’ll tell the story of London’s Lost Rivers with a Thames cruise, a short walk and a coach tour following the River Fleet up to its source on Hampstead Heath where we visit beautiful Kenwood House. Come and meet the Blue Badge guide at midday on the Sunday for a 2-course lunch before we visit the Cathedral of Sewage to see the beautifully restored Prince Consort engine fired up and under steam. This is one of the most remarkable visits in all of London. It’s a short drive from Crossness to the Clarendon Hotel where we will arrive to check in at 5.00pm with plenty of time to brush up before a three course, three choice meal is served in the hotel restaurant.

On Monday morning, the Blue Badge Guide will meet us in the hotel and after check out we’ll drive down to Greenwich to board a one hour Thames Cruise to Westminster to step ashore on Bazalgette’s Victoria Embankment built to house his massive sewer. We’ll tell the story of spending a penny from Roman times and track London’s lost rivers. There will be time to buy a light lunch before visiting Kenwood House, a grand 18th century house gifted to the nation by the Guinness family.

You’ll be heading home by 4.00pm.

• 1 night DBB at the 3* Clarendon Hotel

• Blue Badge guide on both days

• 2 course Sunday lunch

• Visit to Crossness Engines Steaming Day

• Thames River Cruise

• London’s Lost Rivers guided tour

• Visit to Kenwood House

• 10 Single rooms without supplement

• Free driver half board accommodation

   and overnight parking

• Free place for the group organiser

• 100% Passenger Payment Protection

• Free GTO Liability Insurance

£159pp minimum 25 people

Available selected Sunday/Mondays April-Oct 2017

THE HOTEL

The 3* Clarendon Hotel occupies a row of handsome Georgian residences overlooking Blackheath. There are 175 rooms and an attractive resident’s lounge and bar. Standard facilities in all rooms include modern en suite bathrooms, Flat screen TVs and coffee and tea making facilities. The hotel’s housekeeping is impeccable and rooms are tastefully decorated reflecting the individuality of the Clarendon Hotel.