TOUR WITH US
ANNE & ELIZABETH:
MOTHER, DAUGHTER, TRAITORS, QUEENS
TOUR DATES
1-9 MAY 2027
Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I
QUEENS. TRAITORS. ICONS.
As Anne Boleyn awaited her execution in the Tower of London at the hands of the swordsman from Calais, she knew already that her marriage to Henry VIII had been dissolved and that her beloved daughter, Elizabeth, had been declared a bastard.
As ‘thunder rolled around the throne’, we can only imagine how Anne’s thoughts and prayers for Elizabeth’s safety were foremost in her mind. She need not have worried; Elizabeth’s penetrating mind and sharp intellect would steer the young princess through terrifyingly dangerous waters to eventually taste the sweetness of her deliverance.
Elizabeth was declared Queen of England following her half-sister’s death on 17 November 1558. While her mother had changed the course of English history through her relationship with King Henry VIII, Elizabeth would prove her most enduring legacy.
With Elizabeth’s accession came the dawn of a bright new future. While England prospered, Elizabeth forged the cult of Gloriana and the Virgin Queen, creating a legacy many still revere as England’s Golden Age.
On this 8-day tour, we aim to weave together the stories of these two women – mother and daughter; their triumphs and tragedies, their rise and Anne’s fall. We will visit some of the places that were pivotal in their lives, knowing that it is only time and not space which separates us from the past.
SO, ARE YOU READY?
For more details of the itinerary and pricing, or to book your place, click the button below:
MEET YOUR HOSTS
YOUR TOUR CO-HOSTS
Sarah
Morris
Founder of ‘The Tudor Travel Guide’ and author of ‘In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn’ and ‘In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII’.
Adam
Pennington
Founder of ‘The Tudor Chest’ blog and podcast, historian and author of ‘Henry VIII and the Plantagenet Poles – The Rise and Fall of a Dynasty’.
YOUR ITINERARY
HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD TO DURING THE TOUR…
DAY ONE: INTO BOLEYN COUNTRY…
Pick up in Central London and Transfer to Norfolk
We will be picked up early from central London and transferred to our hotel in Norfolk, checking in at the historic coaching inn, the 800-year-old Maid’s Head Hotel, a four-star luxury hotel in Norfolk, in the county of Anne Boleyn’s birth.
In the afternoon, there will be time to settle into our accommodation. If you are feeling adventurous, you might be drawn to explore central Norwich, the adjacent cathedral or historic Elm Hill, ahead of our formal guided visit on day three. Alternatively, rest up before our evening gathering.
Towards the end of the day, we will come together to enjoy a private 3-course dinner at the hotel. A welcome talk from your co-hosts, Sarah Morris and Adam Pennington, will set the scene for the week ahead.
DAY TWO: A SLICE OF TUDOR LIFE
The Old Hall: Live Like a Tudor Courtier…
There is nothing like experiencing a taste of Tudor life to bring the past vividly to life, and on this first full day of the tour, you will have the opportunity to do just that.
You are invited to revel in a typical Tudor day of ‘pastime with good company’ at the Old Hall, a privately owned, early sixteenth-century manor house just outside the ancient city of Norwich.
Under instruction from the King’s Master Archer, you will practice your archery by shooting at the butts. Afterwards, the King’s Falconer will talk about the birds of prey used to hunt quarry for the table. You can get close to these majestic creatures and, if lucky, perhaps even fly some of them.
Our merry disport will work up an appetite. In the afternoon, we will dine on an authentic Tudor feast (partially recreated from a menu served to Henry VIII during a visit to West Horsley Place in 1533).
Brigitte Webster (author of Eating with the Tudors) and one of the UK’s leading Tudor cooks will prepare our meal. As we eat, she will share the processes Tudor cooks used to prepare such a meal and answer any questions about Tudor food.
In the evening, we will return to the hotel to relax, digest and share our stories from the day.
DAY THREE: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE BOLEYNS
Blickling Hall and Norwich Cathedral
Today, we go on the trail of the early Boleyns. We start the day by touring Blickling Hall, which many believe is the birthplace of Anne Boleyn. We will uncover what remains of the Boleyn’s former residence and stroll to the local parish church to see several early brasses, all memorials to Anne Boleyn’s forefathers.
Along the way, we will be accompanied by Claire Martin, historian and the author of Heirs of Ambition: The Making of the Boleyns. Claire will discuss how the Boleyns rose from relatively low beginnings to reach the pinnacle of Tudor society.
We will travel to Norwich, Norfolk’s county town, in the afternoon. Our focus will be on the cathedral, where some of the early Boleyns are buried and where Elizabeth I visited during her 1578 visit to the city. Afterwards, Sarah will lead a walk through Norwich’s old town.
We recognise that sometimes people just want some alone time, and so on this evening, we give our guests the evening off. Our Norfolk hotel is located in Norwich’s city centre, so restaurant options are readily accessible. We will provide our recommendations of where you might dine nearer the time.
DAY FOUR: THE RISE OF THE FALCON
St Margaret’s Church, Tivetshall and Hatfield House
Having checked out of our Norfolk hotel, we travel south to our next port of call: Hatfield House, Princess Elizabeth’s much-loved childhood home.
Hatfield was one of Elizabeth’s most cherished childhood homes and the place to which she returned again and again. Here, Anne Boleyn spent precious time with her daughter, though harmony was fragile. At Hatfield, Anne clashed with Princess Mary over Mary’s refusal to acknowledge her as Henry VIII’s lawful queen.
Although much of the Tudor palace was later demolished, the surviving range, gatehouse and courtyard still allow us to step into Elizabeth’s world. It was here that she faced real danger during her sister Mary’s reign and here, in 1558, that she learned of her accession beneath the famous oak in Hatfield Park. In the Old Palace, she held her first council and appointed William Cecil as her chief minister. We will stand in the great hall where that moment unfolded, reflecting on her mother and her years at Hatfield.
Our visit also includes a private tour of the house, with the opportunity to see the celebrated Rainbow Portrait and precious artefacts connected to one of England’s greatest monarchs.
However, before we reach Hatfield, we will slip into a tiny, secluded Norfolk church to view a rare Tudor survival: Anne Boleyn’s white falcon badge displayed beside Elizabeth I’s royal arms on a sixteenth-century rood screen. A quiet, extraordinary glimpse of mother and daughter, preserved against the odds.
At the end of the day, we check into our London hotel, the Regency Hyatt at Blackfriars.
DAY FIVE: THE RISE AND FALL OF ANNE BOLEYN
The Tower of London
Our journey into Anne Boleyn’s story reaches its most powerful setting at the Tower of London, where triumph and tragedy unfolded within the same ancient walls. Spending a full day here allows us time to explore this extraordinary fortress at a slower, more reflective pace, tracing both Anne’s meteoric rise and her devastating fall.
We will start the day at The Queen’s Stairs, where Anne once stepped ashore amid royal splendour in 1533, welcomed as England’s anointed queen during the magnificent celebrations surrounding her coronation. Just three years later, she returned by the same river route, this time a prisoner. Nearly thirty years on, her daughter Elizabeth would make that same fearful journey, uncertain whether she would leave the Tower alive. Few places in England hold such layered echoes of a mother and daughter bound by fate.
With our Blue Badge Guide by our side, we will walk the path Anne and Elizabeth took from the water’s edge to the royal lodgings, imagining the shifting emotions that accompanied each step, from ceremony to dread. Together we will explore the wider Tower complex before visiting the site traditionally associated with Anne’s execution on Tower Green, a place of quiet gravity where history feels intensely close.
After lunch, there is free time. You might choose to linger at the Tower and explore its fascinating history and spaces at your own pace, or use the time to go back to the hotel and rest ahead of our evening out at a Simply Tudor Tours favourite: Dishoom!
DAY SIX: IMMORTALISING THE DYNASTY
Westminster Abbey
Twenty-five years after Anne Boleyn’s execution, the Boleyn falcon would once more take flight. This time, it took the form of her daughter, Elizabeth.
On this sixth day of our immersive tour, we explore another pivotal location in central London, celebrating Anne’s life and possibly her most outstanding legacy, her daughter, Elizabeth. Against all odds, she survived to be crowned Elizabeth I at Westminster Abbey on 15 January 1559.
Your tour guides will recreate the splendour of the coronation by taking you to all the key places associated with this most ancient of ceremonies. Along the way, you will hear how Elizabeth incorporated the memory of her mother into her coronation, and you can stand agog in front of the chair in which both Anne and Elizabeth were crowned.
Of course, no visit to Westminster Abbey would be complete without a tour of the Lady Chapel, constructed by Henry VII in 1502 as a majestic mausoleum to the Tudor dynasty, where your guides will recount the extraordinary tale of the rediscovery of Elizabeth I’s tomb during the 1800s.
Before we leave the abbey, we will climb to the heights of its triforium to visit the Jubilee Galleries, celebrated for their spectacular views over the world-famous Cosmati pavement and Edward the Confessor’s tomb.
After completing our exploration of the abbey, we will travel as the Tudors did, via boat along the Thames to Greenwich. There will be the chance to see the site of one of the most significant palaces in Tudor England before alighting onto our coach and heading for our final hotel accommodation at Hever Castle.
DAY SEVEN: ELIZABETH – THE VIRGIN QUEEN
Knole, Kent
By the time Elizabeth came to the throne, the monarchy itself had been shaken to its core. The daughter of a queen executed as a traitor now stood at the centre of power, and she understood, perhaps more keenly than any of her predecessors, that authority must not only be held… it must be seen.
It was through her great royal progresses that Elizabeth fashioned this visibility, carrying her court across the country in carefully choreographed displays of magnificence, loyalty and control. On this day of our journey, we step into that world at Knole House, one of the great houses capable of receiving the queen and her vast travelling court.
Here, Elizabeth did more than visit. She performed queenship. Hosts competed to outshine one another with lavish entertainments, symbolic pageantry and carefully crafted messages of devotion. Every arrival, every procession, every moment was part of a wider narrative: that the Tudor monarchy, forged in uncertainty, now stood unassailable.
At Knole, we explore how these progresses became one of Elizabeth’s most powerful political tools, allowing her to project strength, inspire loyalty and bind her kingdom to her personally. It was in settings such as this that the image of the “Virgin Queen” began to take shape, an identity both personal and political, which elevated Elizabeth beyond the ordinary expectations of queenship.
And yet, beneath the pageantry, her mother’s legacy endured. Anne Boleyn’s fall had once threatened to erase her line from history. Instead, through Elizabeth, it was transformed. The falcon rose again, not in defiance, but in triumph, carried forward in a monarchy that Elizabeth herself would redefine for generations to come.
DAY EIGHT: LEGACY
Hever Castle
There are few places where the story of Anne Boleyn feels as close, as tangible, as it does at Hever Castle. Nestled within its tranquil moat and surrounded by sweeping gardens and parkland, this was the world that shaped her—the rhythms of childhood, the ambitions of a rising family, and the quiet beginnings of a destiny that would change England forever.
Over three unforgettable nights, we make Hever our home. There is time to wander at leisure through the castle’s award-winning gardens, to trace the pathways Anne herself may once have known, and to absorb the atmosphere of a place that still whispers her name.
Together, we step beyond the castle walls to St Peter’s Church, Hever, where members of the Boleyn family lie at rest. Here, in this peaceful corner of Kent, we come face to face with the legacy of a dynasty—among them Sir Thomas Boleyn and the young Henry Boleyn, whose short life is a poignant reminder of the fragility of the Tudor world.
One of the most special moments of our stay comes after the gates have closed. In the hush of evening, we return to the castle for a private, out-of-hours tour, moving through its historic rooms at our own pace.
As twilight settles over the grounds, we gather for an alfresco dining experience, the castle softly illuminated around us. And on our final evening, the story reaches its crescendo. Within the Great Hall itself—the very space where the Boleyns once dined and entertained—we take our seats for a banquet that promises more than fine food and wine. Expect an atmosphere charged with history… and perhaps a few unexpected encounters.
It is here, at Hever, that Anne’s story begins. And it is here, surrounded by the echoes of her world, that we are invited not just to learn about her life—but to step inside it.
DAY NINE: FINAL FAREWELLS
Hever Castle, Kent.
After a leisurely private breakfast in Hever’s Astor Wing, we will say our final farewells and take fabulous memories of an incredible week with us.
Until next time!
For more details of the itinerary and pricing, or to book your place, click the button below: