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Case Studies

A Mini Sojourn in Norfolk for a COE Church Group

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An early summer mini-break in Suffolk and Norfolk filled with Royal discoveries, magnificent buildings and glorious gardens

A church social club that arranges annual short holidays open to their members and their families and friends. The group enjoys combining visits to places of worship with gardens, historic houses and stately homes.

We have arranged a number of tours for this group over the years, taking them to various destinations including Northumberland, Oxford and The Netherlands. The group enjoys travelling by coach with collection from a local pick-up point.

Brief from the Client

2 nights/ 3 days travelling from Sussex to Norfolk

4* Accommodation

Visit to Bury St Edmunds Cathedral including an expert guided tour

Visit to Sandringham, the Royal Family's estate

A visit to a historic house en-route

An online web portal outlining the tour and including a link to secure payment

A travel document to share with those travelling

Tour dates: travelling July 2023

PAX : 42 travelling

What we created

Day One

We arranged a convenient, local pick-up point with the group organiser and the group then travelled by executive coach to Burys St Edmunds, Norfolk.
The group arrived in Bury St Edmunds in time for lunch, and a stroll in the Abbey Gardens which is set on the site of the Abbey of St Edmund, once one of the richest, largest, and most powerful Benedictine monasteries in England.
We organised an expert-led tour of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, which has been an important place of worship and pilgrimage for more than 1,000 years. Because of the large size of the group, we split the tour into two with each group starting at the same time in different areas of the Cathedral.
The group then travelled on to their hotel, a magnificent Elizabethan-style country retreat dating back to 1859, tucked away in rural Norfolk. We were pleased to negotiate very favourable rates! The group enjoyed the hotel’s period features as well as its 4* contemporary comforts, including an indoor heated swimming pool and spa.

In the evening, we arranged for the group to enjoy an aperitif and private dinner at the hotel.

Day Two

After breakfast at the hotel, the group was driven to Sandringham House & Gardens for a full-day visit. This was an independent visit, but the group was met by a Visitor Host who looked after their arrival and provided guidelines as to what to see and do. We ensured that anyone in the group with walking difficulties was able to arrange a buggy service for the day.
The morning visit was focused on the Estate gardens while, in the afternoon, we arranged visits to the house and also to a special exhibition, 'Painted Watercolours at Sandringham by His Majesty The King', featuring scenes and landscapes from the Royal homes in Norfolk, Scotland, and Windsor.
We arranged a brief stop at Wolferton Royal Station, used by the Royal Family when visiting Sandringham, on the journey back to the hotel where the group enjoyed dinner together.

Day Three

After breakfast, the group checked out of their hotel and travelled onto Oxburgh Hall & Estate, a moated medieval manor house that has been home to the Bedingfield family for over 500 years. Lunch and refreshments were had at the Manor before they departed for home.

What people said

Excellent trip! Everything was so enjoyable

J Baker

Always wanted to go to Sandringham and wonderful to travel with friends
Thank you for everything

J Fakes

I thought the hotel room was exceptionally nice, it made the holiday...could have stayed longer!

J Lawson

The Booking Process

The group organiser has worked with us previously, but with this tour the deadline to get something prepared was tight. Nonetheless, we were able to put a programme together quickly, ensuring all visits were arranged and a suitable hotel to accommodate the group's wishes and needs was secured under contract.

Some of those travelling had walking difficulties so we made sure there was suitable support throughout the tour.

Once the tour had been approved by the group organiser, we created an online portal which outlined the full tour and shared a link which the organiser emailed out. Bookings were made directly through the portal with an initial deposit payment taken.

When the deposit was paid, a link to an online booking form was sent to those booking. This captured important information to help us in planning (for example room requirement, dietary requests and mobility).

We also enabled people who preferred not to pay online to pay over the phone and, in a few instances, by cheque.

We sent reminders for final payment and created a PDF brochure outlining the tour for each traveller.

Norfolk Bury st edmunds Group Travel experts

Support we provided

Having worked with this group organiser and Church group for over ten years, we were aware of their interests and needs. As this tour took place in the Coronation year, they also wanted something with a Royal theme.

One of our dedicated team of experts researched and delivered a programme that accommodated their requests and also delivered added extras, such as negotiating tickets for a special exhibition at Sandringham and making sure all the local tour guides were aware of the group’s specific interests. We were also pleased to negotiate favourable rates at the hotel and lock in the contract early.

We were able to offer flexible customer service, taking calls from individual travellers with questions and requests.

While the group was on tour, the same dedicated team expert was on call to help with any issues and liaise with the coach driver as to travel.