Jane Austen's House Museum and Historic Winchester: Private Tour from London

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: St Nicholas Church Steventon, Basingstoke RG25 3BE, UK

The day starts in the rural English countryside. It was in Steventon, Hampshire that Jane Austen was born and spent the first 25 years of her life. Here she was inspired by local high society balls and the Landed Gentry. It was also in Steventon that she met and fell in love with Tom Lefroy.

The country lanes and buildings in Steventon have hardly changed since Jane's time. You will see the site where Jane was born at Steventon Rectory, and even the tree planted by her brother James.

Here she spent hours entertaining her family with plays, and readings from her early works.

George Austen, Jane's Father, allowed unfettered access to his large and varied library and Jane learnt about the world from books and the occasional visit from relatives.

St Nicholas Church was where Jane worshiped and helped her Father who was Rector, prepare for services. The small Chapel is virtually the same today as when Jane attended services. There is a 900 year old Yew tree outside the Church that the Austen family hid the Church keys in.

No bus tours can make it here, that's why you need me!

Jane's life was turned upside down when her Father suddenly retired and moved the family to Bath. After an unhappy period in Bath and her Fathers death, Jane's brother Edward changed everything......

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Jane Austen's House Museum, Jane Austens House Winchester Road, Chawton, Alton GU34 1SD England

Edward Austen (Jane's Brother) inherited a huge fortune from distant relatives and was able to provide for his mother and sisters Jane and Cassandra and offered them a cottage rent free for life. From this beautiful home in Chawton, Jane Austen would send forth into the world all of her novels. See personal items that belonged to her, and even the writing table she used daily.

For those who want to get into the full Austen experience, you can dress up in period costume, and even try writing with a traditional Quill Pen. It's harder than you may think!

There is a library containing Jane's work. You can sit here and read a passage from one of her novels that was penned at the table less than 10 meters away.

For Jane Austen fans seeing her personal items, and the home she wrote all of her major works in can bring a real emotional experience.

The gift shop on site sells all of Jane's work, and related items. Over the road from the House is Cassandra's Cup, a Tea Room named after Jane's beloved sister. This makes a great stop for lunch before heading off to England's ancient capital Winchester,

the final resting place of Jane Austen.

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Stop At: Winchester Cathedral, 9 The Close, Winchester SO23 9LS England

The final resting place and tomb of Jane Austen. This magnificent Cathedral has a long history going right back to the Saxon era when Winchester was England's Capital.

Your guide will give you a tour of this stunning Cathedral and peel back the layers of history. This has been a site of Christian worship for over 1000 years, and has had a turbulent, but fascinating past.

We will also have time to visit the house where Jane spent her final weeks being looked after by her Doctor and family.

How she came to be buried in Winchester Cathedral is still unsure as she was not a famous writer when she died. But we think the universe knew just how great she was, and future generations would appreciate her work.

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes