Two obsessions. Reading and knitting. One glorious corner of England. We've been thinking about this one for a long time. And we cannot wait to take you there.

Bath, the Cotswolds, and Oxford turn out to be exactly the right landscape for both — wool country and literary country, often the same country. We'll follow Jane Austen through the streets she knew intimately, step into the Oxford where Lewis and Tolkien argued ideas into legend, and spend time with the farms, rare breeds, and independent yarn shops that make this corner of England as rich for knitters as it is for readers.

Evenings in manor houses and atmospheric pubs. Walled gardens made for sitting with a project. Bookshops that reward a proper browse. The pace is unhurried — because some discoveries only happen when you're not rushing toward the next thing.

There will be wool. There will be books. There will almost certainly be the moment you realize you need another skein!

This tour has been announced as a "Go!" Unless otherwise stated, our regular Terms & Conditions apply to this trip and for any cancellations.

Please Note

Rowan Tree Travel reserves the right to alter any part of this itinerary in order to address weather conditions, unforeseen circumstances or to improve the participant experience.

While our Tour Activity Level describes what to expect on a tour, our Mobility Comfort Level is personal to each traveler.

We would describe this trip as a Woolly Wander with a mobility comfort level of 3+. There will be extensive walking (2 hours +) in Bath and Oxford on tours of both cities, along with an optional climb up to the parapet walkway surrounding the spire at  St Mary the Virgin Church in Oxford.

Rowan Tree Travel highly recommends purchasing travel insurance. You may purchase through our preferred partner Arch RoamRight here or through your own provider.  

*Arch RoamRight is an affiliate of RTTF and we will receive a small commission for policies bought through the provided link.

In order to gather easily for the tour, we will provide an arrival and departure "window" at a major transportation hub - typically an international airport at your destination country. Flights scheduled outside the provided windows may result in additional transportation costs and/or missed tour activities. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in booking travel that accommodates our specifications. 

Travelers can expect to utilize London Heathrow (LHR) or London Gatwick (LGW) Airport and will self-transport to meet up with the group. Flight details will be provided upon registration and confirmed once the tour has been declared a go.

BATH

Our journey begins in Bath, where elegant Georgian architecture and sweeping crescents still evoke the world of Jane Austen. Accompanied by our local guide, we’ll walk the streets that shaped Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, exploring the social world Austen observed so sharply.

Following lunch in one of Bath’s historic dining rooms, the afternoon is left open for independent exploration. Visit the Roman Baths, wander the crescents and arcades, browse nearby bookshops and cafés, or perhaps simply take up residence with tea and cake somewhere handsome and highly Georgian.

Our centrally located hotel places you within easy reach of Bath’s major sites, including museums, shopping streets, and the famous thermal spa facilities. Those wishing to indulge in the spa are strongly encouraged to reserve treatments or bathing sessions well in advance, as they are famously popular — and widely considered one of the more civilized antidotes to jet lag.

BATH

This morning we visit one of England’s best-loved independent yarn shops, known for its carefully curated selection of British and international fibers. Resistance may prove admirable, but is by no means expected.

After lunch in a traditional Georgian setting, the remainder of the day is yours to enjoy at leisure. You may wish to revisit the Roman Baths, explore museums and antiquarian bookshops, or return to the thermal spa facilities for a restorative soak.

THE COTSWOLDS

Today we leave Bath and travel into the Cotswolds, a landscape deeply shaped by the wool trade that once made this region among the wealthiest in England.

A highlight of the day is our visit with a shepherdess raising traditional Cotswold sheep, known for their distinctive long fleece and centuries-old connection to English textile history. Expect fleece talk, sheep talk, and very likely enthusiastic photography involving sheep.

There will also be an optional visit to a small medieval church tucked into the hills before we continue to one of the Cotswolds’ most picturesque wool towns for a wander and lunch among narrow lanes, stone cottages, and centuries-old buildings.

By late afternoon we arrive at our country manor hotel, where gardens, quiet sitting rooms, and open countryside provide a markedly different rhythm from the cities we’ve left behind. This is an excellent point in the journey to settle into a comfortable chair with one’s knitting while the English countryside does its level best to persuade you never to rush anywhere again.

THE COTSWOLDS

Today focuses on England’s wool traditions, both historic and contemporary, with what is certain to be one of the central highlights of our journey.

Our morning brings us to a family-run fiber farm where provenance, breed preservation, and thoughtful yarn production are central to everything produced there. The farm is known particularly for its flock of rare Wensleydale sheep, celebrated for their long, lustrous fleece and remarkable drape.

As this is lambing season, there is every likelihood that the fields and barns will include young lambs, offering us the chance to experience the farm at one of its liveliest and most memorable moments of the year. We’ll have ample opportunity to meet the sheep themselves, learn about the characteristics of the breed, and better understand the direct connection between fleece, landscape, and finished yarn. Participants should prepare themselves for the possibility of falling completely in love with several lambs before lunch.

During our visit, we’ll also hear about the family’s commitment to traceable, breed-specific yarns and their distinctive approach to blending Wensleydale wool with rose fiber to create exceptionally soft yarns with fluid drape and subtle sheen. The resulting palette reflects both the surrounding countryside and the natural character of the fleece itself.

Lunch will be prepared and served by the family at the farm before we continue to one of England’s historic blanket-making towns and later to a magnificent medieval “wool church,” built during the height of the region’s prosperous wool trade.

We return to our hotel in the late afternoon with free time to knit, rest, or enjoy the grounds.

The North Cotswolds

After a relaxed morning, we travel north through the Cotswolds to visit a farm devoted to Britain’s rare and endangered heritage livestock breeds. The farm offers an unusually broad look at native sheep breeds and the ongoing efforts to preserve traditional agricultural bloodlines and rural knowledge.

Following lunch overlooking the surrounding countryside, we continue to one of England’s most celebrated Arts and Crafts gardens, designed as a series of outdoor “rooms” connected by pathways and hedges. Garden enthusiasts, photographers, and knitwear color aficionados alike are likely to leave inspired — and perhaps slightly envious of the borders.

We return to our manor hotel in time for an included dinner.

OXFORD

Departing the Cotswolds, we make our way toward Oxford with a stop for lunch at a historic riverside inn closely associated with the world of Inspector Morse and Lewis. Fans of the series may find themselves suddenly scanning corners for suspicious dons and cryptic clues.

Before checking into our hotel, we’ll also visit a long-established independent yarn shop just beyond Oxford’s center. Shelves of richly colored yarns, British wool bases, thoughtful notions, and sample garments make this a particularly dangerous stop for knitters convinced they are “just having a look.” It is the sort of welcoming shop where one can easily lose track of time discussing patterns, color palettes, and the entirely reasonable possibility of starting a new project before the current one is finished.

This evening we settle into the iconic The Randolph Hotel Oxford, long associated with Oxford’s academic and literary life and itself featured in the Morse universe.

Oxford is inseparable from literary history. C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the other members of the Inklings gathered regularly in Oxford’s pubs and colleges, shaping works that continue to influence readers around the world.

Dinner this evening is on your own account, offering the perfect opportunity to venture into Oxford’s historic pubs — whether for a quiet pint beneath dark beams, a fireside meal in an ancient tavern, or perhaps a little literary speculation over who exactly first decided a pub was the ideal place to invent entire fantasy worlds.

OXFORD

Today is devoted to Oxford’s literary and academic traditions in the famed “City of Dreaming Spires,” a phrase that somehow remains entirely justified once one sees the skyline unfold above the colleges and towers.

A guided walking tour introduces the colleges, lanes, and courtyards associated with writers, scholars, and fictional detectives alike. We’ll climb the tower of the University Church for views across the city before stopping for a pint in one of Oxford’s best-known literary pubs, long associated with the Inklings. One suspects several important literary discussions began there — alongside a fair number of less important ones.

We also visit one of Oxford’s most beautiful colleges, followed by time to walk the riverside paths and botanical gardens connected to Lewis Carroll and generations of Oxford students.

Fans of Inspector Morse and Lewis will recognize many corners of the city throughout the day, from tucked-away passageways to historic pubs that seem almost unchanged from their television appearances.

The afternoon is free for independent exploration. From the Randolph, you’ll be steps away from the renowned Ashmolean Museum as well as the heart of the city itself: bookshops, colleges, museum collections, hidden lanes, riverside walks, and cafés perfectly suited to one final pot of tea and a last few rows of knitting.

This evening we gather for a celebratory farewell dinner — one final chance to raise a glass to sheep, stories, scholarship, and the agreeable tendency of yarn people to find one another wherever they roam.

DEPARTURES

Departures from Oxford are at your leisure bearing in mind that check-out time at The Randolph Hotel is 11:00 am.

As our woolly wander draws to a close, we hope you leave with memorable conversations, a few excellent books, perhaps rather more yarn than originally intended, and the lingering pleasure of having explored England in thoughtful and thoroughly enjoyable company.

Until the next adventure — safe travels and happy knitting.

Sydney is a knitter, spinner, crocheter, dyer, and felter. She loves to explore how different local cultures work with fiber. At one time Sydney managed Quail Hill Farm including sheep for fiber and meat as well as pigs, goats, horses, donkeys, too many cats and dogs, plus various types of poultry. She took her sheep wool from shearing to dying, using her own dye plants, to spinning to knitted garments. Sydney grew up in NYC and Switzerland and is fluent in French, Italian, and German. She worked for many years as a French teacher and mentor in Waldorf Schools. Before that she worked as a financier on Wall Street and she now uses those skills for strategic planning at Rowan Tree.Insert bio & picture from Google Drive

Liz lives with her family on a smallholding in the Cambrian mountains in Wales. A keen knitter since childhood, she remembers watching her mother spin yarn from the family sheep, and she now keeps her own small flock of Shetland sheep to indulge her passion for all things woolly. Liz is also a keen hill walker, and loves to escape to her beloved mountains, seeking inspiration amongst the colours and textures of the wild upland landscape of mid-Wales. A linguist and Latin America specialist by training, Liz previously spent many years studying and travelling in southern Chile, where she was bewitched by the alchemy that rural women could perform with some roughly-spun wool and a few leaves in a dye pot over a wood fire. It was here that Liz learnt to weave, and now settled back home in Wales, she teaches weaving, whilst also running wildwoven, a woolly fair trade business, providing opportunities for rural women in Chile to supply highly-textured, hand spun yarns to discerning weavers and fibre artists.