New Brochure Released. On the 3rd June, we marked one month of Shaws’ new ownership with the release of our very first brochure in the 'new era'! Packed with over 70 exciting destinations and tons of inspiration for your next adventure. If you haven’t got your copy, send us an email and we’ll pop one in the post or download it today.
Winners Revealed at the 2025 GLT Awards. The prestigious, and highly sought after, Group Leisure & Travel Awards celebrate the best attractions, destinations and experiences for groups. For the second year in a row, Best Historic Attraction went to the Tower of London with runners up including Blenheim Palace and Leeds Castle. Kew Gardens was tipped off the top spot for Best Garden Visit which went to RHS Wisley this year with RHS Bridgewater featuring in the runners up. Best Christmas Experience, once again, went to Thursford Christmas Spectacular with Holkham Hall, Kew and Blenheim all featuring in the runners up. This year, Best UK Destination went to County Durham, with the Isle of Wight (who took top spot last year), Liverpool and London all featuring highly within this category. Beamish is on a role this month after winning Art Fund Museum of the Year and top spot in the Best UK Attraction category at the GLT Awards. Runners up included the National Memorial Arboretum, Hampton Court Palace and Buckingham Palace (who won last year). Congratulations to all the winners, we can’t wait to visit soon (see list below).
- Tower of London • Thur 7 Aug or Mon 15 Sep from £65
- Blenheim Palace • Fri 8 Aug from £64.50
- Kew Gardens • Mon 7 July from £37
- RHS Bridgewater • Visit during our 4* tour of Lancashire
- Thursford Christmas Spectacular • Fri 14 Nov, Fri 21 Nov, Fri 19 Dec or Mon 22 Dec @ £79.50
- Holkham Hall • Tue 16 Dec @ £65 (p15 of our brochure)
- Christmas at Kew • Wed 10 Dec, details coming soon
- Palace of Oz and Illuminated Trail at Blenheim Palace • Tue 25 Nov, details coming soon
- Isle of Wight • Stay with us this Christmas (p12 of our brochure)
- Liverpool • Wed 6 Aug @ £69.50 (Liverpool Bay Cruise & Live Music)
- Beamish • Fri 1 Aug from £59
- National Memorial Arboretum • Wed 27 Aug from £33.50 (p15 of our brochure)
- Buckingham Palace • Mon 1 Sep from £67 (p15 of our brochure)
A Double Win for Beamish! Not only did Beamish secure Best UK Attraction at the GLT Awards this month, they also secured the largest museum prize in the world of £120,000 after winning Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025. This renowned, open-air, museum in County Durham, has just completed its pioneering and ambitious ‘Remaking Beamish’ project. The £20 million project saw the opening of over 25 new exhibits with the 1950s town taking centre stage. Judges praised its ‘joyous, immersive and unique exhibitions'.
Positive Results from VisitEngland's Annual Survey. Whilst visits to English attractions are still not back to pre-covid levels, we have seen a 1.4% increase in the volume of total visits from 2023-2024, with Farms and Heritage Centres seeing the most growth. The British Museum was the most visited free attraction and The Tower of London was the most visited paid for attraction – perhaps something to do with the new openings we have seen here of late including the new Jewel House and a re-presentation of the Medieval Palace. Many more of our fantastic destinations featured in the Top 20 Most Visited Paid For Attractions including Kew Gardens, Windermere Lake Cruises, Blenheim Palace, Beamish and the Trentham Estate. Some of our free attractions also made the top 20 including the Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds.
Brand New Show Comes to Rutland. This beautiful county, right on our doorstep, has a brand new show for 2025, brought to you in partnership with one of our favourite places to visit – Gates Garden Centre. The Rutland Flower Show is expected to feature flypasts to mark VJ Day, a fine foods marquee, exquisite live music, flower arranging and so much more. Visit on Friday 15 August from just £29, a great value day out, supporting our local area.
Happy Holidays! Our first holiday under the new ownership departed on 30 June, with passengers looking forward to a five day break in Kent. Visits include Leeds Castle, Penshurst Place, a cruise along the River Medway and the Historic Dockyard at Chatham. We return to Kent in October with a refreshed itinerary – see page 9 of our new brochure. Did you know that our holidays now depart from Hertfordshire too? Following our successful partnership with Reg’s Coaches, who are based in Welwyn, we are now able to offer our renowned Door2Door holiday service from here too, find out more. Make the most of our half price holiday deposit offer which runs until the end of this month. Book by 31 July to secure your holiday for just £25pp.
Let summer begin!