ITINERARY - Updated 25 July 2013

Saturday 27 July - arrive at Youlbury Activity Centre 2pm and settle in.  Approx.  
6 pm travel to Bucknell Village Hall for Saturday Night On and dancing with invited friends and sides. Early evening meal provided.

Sunday 28 July – Note change of plans 
tel 07443664421 if you are confused.

9.30 am: Tour dance workshop. 

Approx 12 noon travel to The Plough at Wolvercote (Wolvercote Green) - a better spot for parking, lunch and dancing than The Perch, though Port Meadow is not so readily accessible. We can move around to Port Meadow and Binsey later in the afternoon. Lunch can be a self-catered picnic eaten on the Green, or bought at The Plough and enjoyed in their garden or on the Green beside the Oxford Canal. This would be a good venue and day for other dancers to join us too.

Monday 29 July - 9.30 am: Depart for Blenheim Palace. Dance spots scheduled for 11.30 and 2.30 in the Great Court. Possibly dance in Woodstock.  
Whole day here, with the public attractions and grounds, the Palace itself and the village of Woodstock to occupy us. Own lunch.

7.30 pm: Gather at The Greyhound in Besselsleigh (on the A420) not very far from Youlbury. Good dining pub with a large garden. Hope to have a few guest sides/dancers along - Mr Hemmings are confirmed. Wolvercote Morris are keen.

Tuesday 30 July - 10am travel to Headington. Visit William Kimber's grave in the churchyard of the Holy Trinity Church. His headstone, with its sculpted concertina and bellpads, is only a caper of two from C.S. Lewis' restored grave stone. Dance in The Chequers' garden, with a catered buffet lunch there. £8 pp for none Tourists wishing to join us. Book with me by Monday 29 July.

Move on to Elder Stubbs Allotment on Rymers Lane, a prize-winning community garden in Cowley. The gardens contain a woodlot, orchard and art installations. 3.00 pm dancing for Restore, the charitable mental health organisation, which runs the gardens.

8.00 pm - visit Ducklington Morris on practice night in the Ducklington Village Hall.

Wednesday 31 July -  9.30 am set out for Warwick Castle or possibly Kenilworth Castle. This could be optional, done in the spirit of a Free Day. As anyone 'doing' Warwick Castle is not going to have much time for dancing. Dance in Leamington Spa.  Own lunch. 

7.30 pm - join Oxford City Morris Men at The White Horse in Broad St for a summer dance-out in the city (Oxford).
8.30 pm Move with them to their second dance spot  Far From the Madding Crowd in Friar's Entry off Magdalen St.

Thursday 1 August - 9.30 am leave for Bampton.  Dance from 10.30 am in the garden at The Morris Clown. 

Own lunch - around Bampton, or in Wantage.

1.30 pm dance outside The Bear Hotel overlooking the market Square, and overlooked by King Alfred's statuesque gaze.
3.00 pm approx, visit The Uffington White Horse and nearby Neolithic features including the long barrow known as Wayland's Smithy. For keen walkers, this is the opportunity to tread the ancient Ridgeway track.

8.00 pm - Dance-out with Cry Havoc and guests, Old Speckled Hen, at the Prince of Wales in Shippon. 

Friday 2 August -  A tiki tour around Morris villages that we haven't yet visited. Likely start at Eynsham.


Saturday 3 August - Daytime, 10.30 am onwards, dance in Oxford City - pub crawl anyone?  Dance spots around the City. Take time out from dancing to visit a museum, art gallery, Oxford Colleges, go shopping or punting. This is the day to invite everyone who wants to dance with us to come and join in. And that includes the Lammas Ale in the evening - at Wootton Community Hall near Youlbury.  Evening feast will be catered and provided in the Tour cost. Non-Tourists wishing to eat with us will need to book by Thursday 1 August.

9.30 - 10.30 am Dance in the forecourt of Oxford Castle Unlocked

Other spots still to be decided/confirmed.


2.00 pm - a mystery dance spot but dances for brushing up on include Getting Upstairs and Haste to the ... um what's it called?

4.00 pm - For the keen, Eynshsam Morris has invited us to join them at the Woodstock Mock Mayor celebrations.

6.00 pm - Lammas Ale begins with Feast
8.00 pm-10.00 pm - Foot Up. We may be able to extend this time.

Sunday 4 August - Pack up and leave.

NB  The evenings are going to be long and light.  There is plenty of room at the camp for workshops and socialising. The place is a vast woodland park, but there will be other groups using it. 

Travelling times have been kept within an hour. 45 mins is the maximum time to expect under normal road conditions and trips in and around Oxford are more like twenty minute drives. But getting lost can add an hour to your trip!

REGISTRATION

Everyone is eager to know how much this is going to cost. Unpredictable fluctuations in fuel prices and exchange rates could substantially alter the eventual Tour cost.

However, we all need a figure to work with.

I have come to £350-£400. At the current exchange rate this is between $720 and $820. It would be nice to plump for the lower figure but allowing for the higher one should reduce the possibility of nasty surprises.

This covers:

· Eight nights’ bunkroom accommodation at Youlbury Activity Centre

· Breakfasts

· Welcome evening meal

· Pub lunch in Headington

· Lammas Feast

· Entrance to Blenheim Palace and possibly one other Ticketed attraction such as Kennilworth Castle or Warwick Castle. (This is where we would pull back and make it your own cost if other prices sky-rocket).

· Hire of Bucknell Village Hall, and a venue for the Lammas Ale

· All travel by minibus and parking fees.

That’s £50 (currently $100 a day) for bed, breakfast, transport and "A whole heap of fun and special dance spots". I guess it’s over to you all to put the Fun into the Tour!

Still to confirm is requirement for dancing insurance, which may need to be worked into registration cost if dancers are not covered by default by English cover.

Payment details still to be confirmed.