Welcome to Coach Touring magazine, one of the most respected business-to-business publications within the U.K., and generally recognised as being the market leading coach travel magazine.

Coach Touring is distributed to 4,000 named individuals within UK coach companies, all of whom are decision makers, i.e. tour planners, product managers and owner/operators – all directly responsible for organising day trips, short breaks and tours throughout the U.K. and Europe

For more information about Coach Touring, Group Travel Today (gttlive.co.uk), School Travel Today, or our plethora of specialist supplements and yearbooks, please telephone

+ 44 (0) 121 445 6961

The Coach Tourism Council in association with the GTOA and Newmarket Racecourses proudly announce the return of the legendary ”Coaching for Pleasure Day”. It will be held on August 16th at Newmarket Racecourses’ July Course, the historic home of horseracing and the greatest horseracing centre in the world. 

Newmarket Racecourses are delighted to invite coach operators along with a coach full of their group travel organisers including free course entry and coach parking.

The invitation is generously extended to coach operators and group travel organisers who would like to turn up by car with their partners. Again entry and car parking is complimentary. Group Travel Organisers can also arrange with their favourite coach operator a day at the races with their club members with free racecourse entry.

Space is limited for what will be a memorable day out so please register now on:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   

On the 8th, 9th and 10th June 2012, MINT Polo in the Park will return to Hurlingham Park for its fourth year. Two-time winner of 'London Sport Attraction of the Year' at The London Lifestyle Awards (2010 and 2011), MINT Polo in the Park is the leading outdoor polo and lifestyle event in central London - offering a mix of sport, entertainment, VIP experiences, fun and glamour. 
 
Polo players from all over the world will battle each other over three exhilarating days to gain the winning title. Start the weekend early with Twilight Polo on City Friday, enjoy the charms of the sell out Ladies Day and see it through to the thrilling conclusion of Finals Day. 
 
The pitchside bar and viewing space has doubled since 2011 so now you won't miss a moment of action on the pitch. New additions for 2012 include The Havana Mojito Bar, The Crown and Corgi Pub, The Pimms Bus and garden and the Polonesia Tiki Bar. You also can expect to find some reinvented old favourites such as The Harrods Food Court, an even bigger Veuve Clicquot Champagne Garden, The Luxury Shopping Village, a newly designed Kids Zone and of course, even more polo!
 
There are a variety of group packages and special rates available offering up to 20% off group bookings over the three day celebration.

Call the hotline on 0844 847 2282 now or visit www.polointheparklondon.com for more information.

The Wild, the Beautiful and the Damned - a story of beauty, debauchery and decadent art at the late Stuart Court opens from 5 April – 30 September 2012. This temporary exhibition explores the meaning of beauty, and the lives and loves of the courtesans and libertines who lived and died in the Stuart Court during the reigns of Charles II, James II, William III & Mary II and Anne (1660-1714). Groups will be taken on a journey through the Queens’ State apartments, guided by the lives of the virtuous and the corrupt. Visitors will learn about the beauty secrets of the day, marvel at the fashions and elegance of court life, but also learn what happens when beauty fades, and when a life of virtue is rewarded by obscurity, and a life of vice by syphilis and death. Mistresses of the Court – this early evening tour divulges some of the more salacious stories about the reality of the lives and loves of the court. Groups join a State Apartment Warder on this candlelit tour with an adult edge! The tour concludes with a glass of Champagne in the Lower Orangery - £40.00 per person, available on request, minimum 20.

www.hrp.org.uk

Wicksteed Park Pavilion - the premier East Midlands group travel show venue, which provides a unique mix of quality entertainment in the stunning setting of a famous Edwardian Park - has unveiled a sparkling new line up of daytime shows for 2012.

The new shows have been designed to build on the growing reputation which last year saw audience figures top 20,000.

The new shows, which premiere in April, are unique in offering a complete day out with West End quality entertainment and lunch/tea included.

Coach drivers are provided with complimentary lunch, tea and coffee.

The venue now has dedicated coach parking for up to 30 coaches, with overflow parking available.

A welcome host is also provided on request to show passengers into the Pavilion show venue.

Group bookings (for 23 people of more) are at a discounted rate of £21 instead of £23. One complimentary show ticket is provided for a booking of more than 23 places, with three free tickets provided for bookings of 45 places or more and six for 90 or more.

The many people who come back time and again to watch the shows say they are amongst the best outside London.

Rockin’ Around the Clock will feature a superb cast singing and dancing their way through the hits of the Fifties and Sixties, starting with the Queen’s Coronation – a fitting tribute in this Diamond Jubilee year.

A multi-talented cast of West End dancers, singers and musicians will perform classic hits such as Rock Around The Clock, Always On My Mind, Que Sera Sera, These Boots Were Made For Walkin’ and The Twist.

‘The Songs That Won The War’ is a trip back in time to see how music helped motivate the nation during the grim days of the Second World War.

This show, which has played in theatres all over the UK, will be performed against a backdrop of film footage from the era – adding to the feeling of stepping back in time.

Both shows commence in April with special Christmas shows in November and December. They are produced and directed by Katie Ashby.

At 33, Katie is fast becoming a leading producer – with a track record including Ocean’s Eleven, The D-Day Darlings and The Bombshell Babes.

For ‘Rockin Around The Clock’ Katie is collaborating with Jane MacDonald’s former musical director Jarek Pyk.

Wicksteed Park Managing Director John Roberts said: “We have worked tremendously hard over the years to make our shows the best around, offering a great combination of superb entertainment and great food.

“I am sure that our shows will prove to be a smash hit with audiences of all ages.

“Whether you were brought up in the 50s and 60s or simply love the music from those decades, this show is for you. So let’s turn back the clock and bring back the good old days.”

Group bookings can be made by contacting Flo Florea on 01536 512475 ext 249. Or visitwww.wicksteedpark.co.uk

 The new Dover-Calais route started operation last month initially with the Norman Spirit and a second ship will follow when available.300 staff at sea and ashore will be hired and it is hoped many will be former employees of SeaFrance. Both parties are grateful for the support they received from the French Government, Chamber of Commerce, the local authorities and the ports, whose support have been important factors in being able to start operations. A spokeman said “We are confident that our customers and the many people who travel between France and Dover will benefit from the flexibility we can now offer with both a northern leg on Dover-Dunkerque and a southern leg on Calais- Dover. We therefore look very much forward to being able to welcome passengers to our new Calais- Dover service, and, in cooperation with our new employees as well as our staff in Dover and Dunkerque, we look forward to providing an attractive and efficient customers service and a sustainable workplace”

The Houses of Parliament are home to some of the nation’s greatest works of arts and architectural designs from the Victorian period up to the present day. Two new ‘Art and Architecture in Parliament’ guided tours that open up these national treasures; Royalty and Splendour in the House of Lords and Contemporary Portraiture in Portcullis House are now available to book

The finest contemporary British artists of their day designed the wonderful frescos, portraits, statues, thrones, fireplaces and furniture that are explored in a new ‘premium’ tour Royalty and Splendour in the House of Lords.  The 75 minute long guided tours within the Palace of Westminster will run from 17.30pm on selected Friday evenings during spring and summer and offer an exclusive VIP experience after the doors close to the public.  These tours finish with a glass of champagne in one of the Palace’s private rooms and cost £30 per person. The stunning contemporary architecture of Portcullis House and the unique art collection hung on its walls are highlights of a new guided tour; Contemporary Portraiture in Portcullis House.  These tours will run four times, throughout the day, on selected Fridays during spring and summer and will cost £15 per person or £12 for groups. A joint ticket is available to enjoy both of these tours for £40 per person. Guided tours of the main parliament buildings, the Houses of Parliament, are available every Saturday, which are now available to book through to Mid-July 2012.

Both of the new tours run for 75 minutes and will be available on selected Fridays during spring and summer 2012.  Tickets for the VIP tour of the House of Lords cost £30 per person. Tickets for the tours of Portcullis House cost £15 per person or £12 per person for groups of 10 or more.  Information about tour times and reservations are available from Ticketmaster on 0844 847 1672 or 0844 847 2498 for groups, by visiting www.ticketmaster.co.uk/housesofparliament, or via the link on the Parliamentary website www.parliament.uk.

Charles Dickens’ birth town, Portsmouth on Hampshire’s south coast, will be marking the novelist’s bicentenary (7th February 1812 - 9th June 1870) with a programme of exhibitions, talks and special events.

 A highlight will be the display of several pages from an original Nicholas Nicklebymanuscript hand written by Dickens himself on loan to the city by the British Library. It will form a centre piece of a special Dickens’ exhibition, A Tale of One City, in thePortsmouth City Museum, which will also explore what life was like in Portsmouth during Dickens’ time and the themes that ran through his writing such as health and wealth, children and family life. Work by local community groups as part of the Dickens Community Archive project will also be added.

The pages from Nicholas Nickleby come with all Dickens’ scribblings, blots and crossings out, which would have made it very difficult for his printers to follow; but they show how he actually worked, mistakes and all.  This is the largest part of the original manuscript that has survived. Nicholas Nickleby was chosen since it’s the only one of his novels that mentions Portsmouth; in the book Nickleby performed in a stage show in the original Theatre Royal in Old Portsmouth High Street, which was demolished in the 1850s.

The free entry exhibition will be open from 28th January until 4th November 2012 (closed Mondays apart from Bank Holidays when the museum is open). On Sunday, 12thFebruary the City Museum will also be hosting a free talk on A Tale of One City looking at the museums’ collections that link to the Dickens family and about life for people in Portsmouth at the time.

Dickens Birthplace Museum

Dickens actual birthplace, a modest house at 1 Mile End Terrace, Landport, has miraculously survived and is now preserved as a museum furnished in the style of 1809, which is when his parents, John and Elizabeth Dickens, set up their first marital home together in the property.

Charles Dickens only lived in Portsmouth for the first three years of his life but he returned to the town on three main occasions. Once to research background information for his novel Nicholas Nickleby, and on two occasions later in life when he was a famous writer to give public readings of his work. On his last visit in 1866 he tried to find his birthplace but was unsuccessful, however it is now clearly sign-posted so visitors can find it easily.

To mark the bicentenary, the Birthplace Museum will be open from 28th January, which is earlier than usual. Admission will be free on Sunday 5th and Tuesday 7th February 2012 (closed Monday 6th), when there will be a range of activities plus celebrations in the street including musicians, performers, food, craft activities and readings. On 11th and 12th February and other dates throughout the year, visitors can meet volunteer guides and handle a range of artefacts.

The works of Charles Dickens have been described as the soap operas of their time – major works were usually written as a weekly serial with big cliff-hangers at the end of each part. For details visit www.portsmouthcitymuseums.co.uk; more information can also be found along with 14 other Hampshire museums at www.visitsoutheastengland.com/historyrevealed.