INTRODUCTION: WHY WE GO TO ENGLAND—
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        Island fortress? Not hardly! It seems every tide brings a wave of new invaders to England. Some, indeed, were repulsed — the Spanish and the Germans come to mind. But most have been very successful in overrunning England and changing everything they find. Of course you know about the Romans, the Vikings, the Danes, the Angles, the Saxons, and, most famously, the Normans. But those are only the hostile takeovers.
        Ever since there has been a British Empire, the colonials have managed friendly takeovers of the motherland. At least two colonies, Scotland and Holland, have managed to take over the empire itself through capture of the monarchy (the Houses of Stuart and Orange). And, few are the colonies or ex-colonies that have not partially colonized England in return. Think India,
Africa, the West Indies. Aren’t American tourists but

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ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
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common examples of ex-colonials returning to Mother
England? And why not? Even after 230 years of independence we still attribute much of American history and, to a great extent, our culture, our laws and our arts, our economy, indeed our very language, to our former place in the English world. What’s so special? Come and see! (For more on this theme, see: ST. GEORGE.)

(CLICK ON EACH DESTINATION TITLE TO GET FULL TRAVEL PROGRAM DETAILS & PRICES)

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        London may be the most youthful, interesting city in the world — chaotic, loud, sophisticated, and diverse. It is theater, shopping, museums, royal pageantry, landmarks, red buses and black cabs. Home At First's apartments — located by London's #1 attraction, the Tower of London — are a 5-minute walk from Tower Hill Underground station, from which all of central London may be reached within 20 minutes. The apartments are next to a traffic-free marina lined with shops and restaurants — a quiet harbor refuge from the bustling city. After exciting days pursuing history, culture, fashion, and theater, return to a friendly pint at a local pub. Or stop at a local market for fresh food and a bottle of wine to enjoy on your balcony overlooking the yacht basin.

LONDON PROGRAM DETAILS
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Can this be Central London?
St. Katharine's Marina by the TOWER
of London is the superb location of
HOME AT FIRST'S LONDON APARTMENTS.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
 

 

        The Cotswolds embody much that is familiar about the English countryside: quaint villages with multi-hyphenated names (Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water), thatched cottages of golden limestone, and pleasant walks between rural pubs. Home At First has cottages in the southern Cotswolds at Tetbury and in the north in and near Chipping Campden. Both of these pretty towns have numerous shops, restaurants, and pubs where you will meet local residents and feel like a local yourself. Our cottages are ideal bases for exploration the Cotswolds or for day-trips to popular nearby destinations including Bath, Stratford-on-Avon, Oxford, Windsor, Salisbury & Stonehenge, South Wales, even London.

THE COTSWOLDS PROGRAM DETAILS

 
Nice Neighborhood! Thatched "cottage"
in Chipping Campden, in the Northern
 Cotswolds. Home At First's cottages —
not quite as large, but historic and
charming — are also here.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
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        Home At First's Devonshire cottages are at a western entrance to Dartmoor National Park, an ideal base for exploring the far southwest of England — Devon and Cornwall — including the wilds of Dartmoor and the coastlines of the English and Bristol Channels. Narrow, rural lanes follow the winding contours of the West Country leading to charming hamlets hidden throughout Devon and neighboring Cornwall. Devonshire cream teas, idyllic thatched cottages, bluffs, heath and moor out of the novels of Thomas Hardy, traditional fishing villages along two coasts, Sir Francis Drake, the Mayflower Pilgrims, and the D-Day preparations all draw you to southwestern England. Plymouth, Bath, Stonehenge, Penzance, and the English Riviera are among many possible day-trip destinations.

DEVON & CORNWALL PROGRAM DETAILS
 

 
Appetizing scenery, fine foods: fresh
seafood and rich dairy are always on
the menu in Britain's West Country,
like here along the Bristol Channel
Coast of Devonshire.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
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        The gentle countryside of west-central England helped begin the Industrial Revolution, then went back to sleep. Today, Shropshire and Cheshire remain pretty, rural counties just north of Shakespeare country, east of the mountains of Wales, and just south of the great medieval town of Chester. Here are several preserved gems of old English villages and some important monuments to the awakening of the modern age. Home At First's accommodations in Shropshire, in a converted abbey dating from 1133, are a peaceful and stylish retreat and a great base for touring western England from Robin Hood country through northeastern Wales.

SHROPSHIRE & CHESHIRE PROGRAM DETAILS

 
Treasure hunt! Hidden historical
treasures await your discovery in
sleepy Shropshire, like this restaurant
and pub from Elizabethan times.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
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        Wordsworth's 19th century poems of praise of the Lake District's lovely landscape of lakes, hills, and quaint villages still apply. Home At First's Lake District lodgings include traditional rural cottages as well as attractive apartments in a beautiful converted country estate home overlooking Esthwaite Water, a small lake just west of Windermere. The Lake District is a gentle wilderness, and the resulting touring pace is measured and graceful, never manic or boring. The many walking paths always offer tranquility, and sometimes exciting challenge, but never dull repetition. And the lakes are hidden like so many diamonds scattered among the folds of a counterpane of hills.

THE LAKE DISTRICT PROGRAM DETAILS
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Style and grace at a slower pace:
passenger launch on Lake Windermere,
five minutes from Home At First's
stylish, graceful, Lake District lodgings.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
 

 

        This part of northern England is a pleasant, rolling landscape dotted with small villages and larger market towns. Our cozy cottages are located in villages with characteristic Yorkshire names like Bishop Monkton and Burnt Yates, names suggesting the quaint charm and slow pace of the region. Yorkshire is known for its variety of walking paths, opportunities for riding, scenic touring, and encounters with English history at numerous castles and abbeys, and in the great medieval city of York.

YORKSHIRE & THE DALES PROGRAM DETAILS

 
Walking path by Bolton Abbey on the edge
of the Yorkshire Dales. if, unthinkably,
you should tire of this unspoiled, rural landscape, the great medieval walled
city of York is only 45 minutes away.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
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