Essex Winter Warmer
with a Visit to the Chocolate Lady

This great day out can be booked for any time of the year but is ideal to keep you warm and entertained in the colder months. A coach tour through beautiful Essex country villages is followed by lunch in Saffron Walden. In the afternoon we visit the Chocolate Lady for tea, a talk and a demonstration of chocolate making.

Our Guide will hop on your coach at 10-00am at the Birchanger Services on the M11 en route to Thaxted to buy morning coffee at 10-30am. In this attractive village timbered houses and a vast church are evidence of a prosperity born of the weaving and cutlery trade. The composer Holst lived here, you’ll see his house.

From high up in your coach, above the hedgerows, you’ll enjoy wonderful views as your Guide skilfully captures the essence of rural Essex. The beauty of this undulating landscape soon disproves the commonly held belief that Essex is a flat county. For lunch we visit Saffron Walden. Few towns have retained their mediaeval street plan so well and there is a good choice of cafes and pubs. Market days are Tuesdays and Saturdays.

In the afternoon, we are off to see the Chocolate Lady in her farmhouse workshop at Steeple Bumpstead. A born raconteur and wit, the Chocolate Lady is marvellously entertaining. She handles more than seven tons of chocolate every year – that’s the equivalent of the combined weight of a coach party of 53 people!

A cream tea will be served in the workshop and this is included in the tour price.

You’ll be heading home by 4-45/5-00pm.

Very little walking on a day designed to keep you warm and entertained in the colder months. This tour is available Monday to Saturday throughout the year.

Price: £19.95

Coach Mileage: 60*
*To and from Birchanger Services

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