General Outline of Business Visits

On the tour we hope to include visits to all or most of the following sites. The final itinerary and the list of visits will depend on actual dates and if the business'/museums etc. are open. Other suggestions are welcome.

City of London - walking tour (best on weekdays when there is plenty of activity and you can feel the buzz of the place).
The City has it's own government essentially based on the medieval system of guilds. It has been destroyed twice, during the Great Fire of London and during WWII but has risen each time from the ashes. The City has the world's oldest national bank, the world's most famous insurance company, Lloyds.

It is full of contrast and absolutely fascinating. High tech, high rise buildings surrounded by old, narrow alleys and hidden courtyards which were the setting for many of Dicken's novels.

Lloyd's of London: Lloyd's offers facilities for certain organised groups to visit its award-winning Lime Street headquarters in the City of London. Visits usually comprise of a presentation outlining the history, structure and present-day activities of the Lloyd's market, followed by a tour of the Underwriting Room including the Loss Book and Lutine Bell.

Bank of England: Presentations
Secondary school students can learn about the practical application of economic theory to policy making by attending a presentation in the Bank's Museum. The Bank's job of setting interest rates to keep inflation low and working to maintain a stable financial system are explained in a short film. In the question and answer session that follows, the topics in the film can be explored in more detail or the discussion can be broadened to cover other aspects of the Bank's work. This part of the presentation can be adapted to meet the needs of the group. Students in higher education and people in business or the financial sector who want a basic introduction to the Bank will also find these presentations highly relevant. Interactive displays and exhibits in the Museum give more information about what the Bank does today and its history.
Presentations take place at 10.00, 11.00, 12.00, 14.00, 15.00 and 16.00. Groups must have a minimum of 15 people and a maximum of 45. A hearing loop is available.

London City Hall: (possible visit only, no presentation)
City Hall is home to the Mayor of London, the London Assembly and the GLA, who in July 2002 became tenants of this striking rounded glass building on the south bank of the Thames near Tower Bridge. Members of the public may visit parts of City Hall Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm and on occasional weekends.

The 2nd floor and below may normally be visited, allowing you to see:

• Exhibition space on the 2nd floor, with a view of the Assembly Chamber where many public meetings are held
  
• Ground floor, from where you can walk down the spiral ramp overlooking an exhibition space to the lower ground floor
  
• Lower ground floor, where there is a public information desk (staffed 09.00-17.30 Monday to Thursday and 09.00-17.00 Friday), the cafeteria, meeting rooms and exhibition space where the London Photomat - an aerial view of the whole of Greater London - is installed and there are also temporary exhibitions.
  
  

Fullers Brewery Tours - If you would like to see the process for yourself, Fuller's Griffin Brewery runs 16 tours a week. Our excellent guides will show you around and will try to answer any tricky questions you may still be harbouring.

Painshill Park is one of the 18th century's great landscape parks. Here history, art, and landscape design come together spectacularly to offer visitors of all ages an enlightening, breath-taking and tranquil day out. Located near Cobham, Surrey, Painshill Park was the vision of the Hon Charles Hamilton, a young nobleman who returned from his Grand Tour of Europe inspired by all the art and architecture he had seen. Between 1738 and 1773 he enthusiastically set about transforming a strip of land near the River Mole into a 'pleasure garden' around which visitors could walk and be presented with a series of living pictures. Today, with its restoration nearly complete, Painshill Park is once again what Charles Hamilton wanted it to be: a series of landscapes that enrich and delight all who visit it. Years of painstaking research into the original tree and shrub plantings and faithful reconstruction have brought back Hamilton's "living pictures" and rescued one of Europe's finest 18th century landscape Parks from years of obscurity and neglect.

Painshill offers a number of different tours around the park for both individuals and groups, each designed to meet your requirements. (Will talk about economics of running a Statley Home as a tourist destination).

OR

Biddenden Vineyards - Group Visits Biddenden Vineyard is Kent's oldest Commercial Vineyard, having been established in 1969. Ten varieties of grapes produce White, Red, Rose and Quality Sparkling Wine. Traditional Kentish Ciders have also been made here for over 20 years together with farm pressed apple juices. Visitors are welcome throughout the year.

Barleylands: A unique farm based attraction in a countryside location with an animal centre and craft village with over 30 individual studios. We have specialised in providing schools with great educational days out for the past 19 years, many schools return year after year.Your visit to Barleylands can be as practical as you wish and we can arrange many curricular based group tours including, food/crop production, sustainability, weather, the environment, habitats, wildlife, diversification, weighing and measuring, the list is endless.

Leeds Castle: Request a customised talk regarding management of historic properties, constraints imposed by conservation laws etc. (Leeds Castle or Painshill, depending on booking availability, will cover tourism in Stately homes.)

Whitechapel Bell Foundry An entry in the Guinness Book of Records lists the Whitechapel Bell Foundry as Britain's oldest manufacturing company, having been established in 1570 (during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I) and being in continuous business since that date. In 1970, therefore, the Foundry celebrated its quatercentenary. Whitechapel Bell Foundry's business has always been, and still concentrates solely on, the manufacture of bells and their associated fittings. The manufacture of large bells for change ringing peals in church towers, single tolling bells, carrillon bells, and their complete range of accessories such as framework, wheels, clappers and their assembly in Church towers accounts for approximately four-fifths of the company output. The other fifth of the business lies in the manufacture of handbells for tune and change ringing, and other small bells of many shapes and sizes. Whitechapel's famous bells include the original Liberty Bell (1752), the Great Bell of Montreal and, probably best known of all, Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster. Cast in 1858, this is the largest bell ever cast at Whitechapel, weighing 13½ tons. To this day, a cross-section of the bell surrounds the entrance door to the Foundry.

Shoe making: A customised visit in Northampton to either Church & Co. or Crockett & Jones, both makers of high quality footwear.

Founded in 1879 in Northampton, at the heart of England's most famous shoemaking town, Crockett & Jones are today renowned throughout the world for their fine quality shoes. Hand-crafted by the traditional Goodyear-welted construction using only the finest leathers available, Crockett & Jones shoes have an exceptional combination of comfort, elegance and durability in wear. Each pair takes up to 8 weeks to manufacture, in a highly skilled process involving over 200 separate operations.

Now in its fourth generation, Crockett & Jones remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of traditional craftsmanship, quality and service, which have been appreciated by its customers for more than 100 years.

Car production: A visit to either the Jaguar factory in Coventry or the BMW Mini factory near Oxford.

Pharmaceutical: Private tour with Boots in Nottingham.

Textiles: Masson Mills were established in 1783, and in continuous use until 1991. It was built on the Derwent which offered a power source some 10 times greater than that of the earlier mill at Cromford. Masson mill has been extensively repaired and restored recently and now house a remarkable working textile museum and an adjoining retail village.

Cutlery: Private tour in Sheffield

Coal mining: National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield. The Education programme is based on live interpretation (living history) workshops led by Museum staff. We may "meet" Sir Humphrey Davy, inventor of the Davy safety lamp.

Porcelain: Royal Crown Derby china is known and collected throughout the world. The fine traditional skills have led to an international reputation for quality and creativity. The Royal Crown Derby Visitor Centre has been created to provide an insight into the traditions, the history and the skills that go into making Royal Crown Derby so special.Industrial Revolution:Sometimes known as the "Valley of Invention", the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site is universally recognised for its unique role in the development of the Industrial Revolution that originated in Britain in the early years of the 18th century. A number of significant factors combined to give rise to this, including, the abundant presence of the raw materials of production (coal, ironstone, clay and wood); rivers for power and transportation; and perhaps most significantly, entrepreneurs, innovators and engineers with vision, imagination and ambition. Names such as Abraham Darby, John Wilkinson, William Reynolds and Thomas Telford are inextricably linked with the history of this area, and the Ironbridge Gorge still contains much evidence of their work and influence in the buildings, structures, artifacts and settlement patterns that exist today.

Cadbury's Very commercialised, but a fun look at the world of chocolate!

Harveys Wine Museum: Private tour in Sheffield

Cheese making: We are the only cheesemakers left in Cheddar, and you can watch us as we transform our rich, local milk into authentic Cheddar Cheese. Our viewing gallery allows you to watch our cheesemakers practice their skills, and information is displayed to help you follow the process.

After seeing cheese being made you can treat yourself to a free taste at our taster bar and then visit our shop where our Cheddars plus local pickles, biscuits, hand crafted cheese dishes, cheese knives etc are on sale.

Power generation: Didcot A is one of three of npower's coal fired power stations. In line with the Government's renewable energy obligation which came into effect in April 2002, all three are currently co-firing a range of biomass materials to replace some of the coal burned. Visit Didcot A power station to find out more about npower's electricity generation and commitment to renewable energy. In addition, find out more about our partnership with Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

Sample Itinerary

Day 1
Depart Canada

Days 2 to 6
“Meet & Greet” Assistant at London Heathrow Airport

Transfer to hotel with included 3 hour city tour

5 nights central, 3 – star hotel with continental breakfasts & dinners

In London with All Zone Travel card and daily visits as per final itinerary.

One London show of choice (Billy Elliot?)

Day 7
Depart London for Nottingham area. Visits along the way in Northampton etc. 2 nights 3-star hotel with full breakfast and dinner daily

Day 8
Visits in Nottingham and Sheffield. If time visit city of York.

Day 9
Depart Nottingham. Visit potteries, Cadburys & Coventry (Jaguar). Overnight 3-star hotel Stratford with full breakfast and dinner

Day 10
Drive into South Wales – visits to include mining and hydro.

Overnight 3-star hotel Cardiff/Newport with full breakfast and dinner.

Day 11
To Cheddar, Bath with visit to Roman Baths and Stonehenge.

Overnight 3-star hotel Oxford area with full breakfast and dinner

Day 12
Early breakfast and 2 hour walking tour of Oxford.

Transfer to airport for flight home