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Vintage London Bus Sussex Vineyard Tour: Explore British Wineries, Tastings, and Vineyard Picnic
4.7
86 Ratings
Brighton and Hove
Embark on a vintage London bus tour through the picturesque Sussex countryside, visiting British wineries, indulging in wine tastings, and enjoying a vineyard picnic. No designated driver needed!
Embark on a vintage London bus tour through the picturesque Sussex countryside, visiting British wineries, indulging in wine tastings, and enjoying a vineyard picnic. No designated driver needed!
Duration:
6 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Court Gardens Farm - A vineyard guide will give you a full tour of this very pretty little vineyard, walk amongst the vines and be shown their winery where you will learn about English wine production from grape to glass. After your tour, you will be shown into their sun-terrace overlooking the vineyard for a tutored tasting of at least four…
- Court Gardens Farm - A vineyard guide will give you a full tour of this very pretty little vineyard, walk amongst the vines and be shown their winery where you will learn about English wine production from grape to glass. After your tour, you will be shown into their sun-terrace overlooking the vineyard for a tutored tasting of at least four award-winning sparkling wines.
Picnic Lunch at the vineyard. We have selected the best Sussex produce for you to enjoy as part of a picnic hamper that you can grab and head out amongst the vines! you hamper will contain all locally produced goodies including quiches, breads, salads and chutneys, with a delicious homemade cakes. This is served with a glass of guest English wine.
- Bluebell Vineyard Estates - We arrive in the afternoon for your second tutored wine tasting of the day. You will be guided through a selection of still and sparkling wines and have a chance to relax, purchase wine form the gift shop, or take a stroll around the beautiful grounds.
What's Included
- Guided tour with a professional guide
- Personal tour escort/host
- Wine tasting experience
- Lunch included
- All prices inclusive of GST
- Transportation in a private vehicle
- Guided tour with a professional guide
- Personal tour escort/host
- Wine tasting experience
- Lunch included
- All prices inclusive of GST
- Transportation in a private vehicle
Additional Information
The regular vintage bus tours take off from Brighton railway station, offering you an opportunity to unwind and sample the wines without needing a personal chauffeur. This tour incorporates flawless transport and is fully guided.
You’ll traverse the Sussex countryside aboard the retro bus toward the first winery. Here, you’ll explore the grapevines and…
The regular vintage bus tours take off from Brighton railway station, offering you an opportunity to unwind and sample the wines without needing a personal chauffeur. This tour incorporates flawless transport and is fully guided.
You’ll traverse the Sussex countryside aboard the retro bus toward the first winery. Here, you’ll explore the grapevines and get a glimpse of the winery alongside informative insights about English wine production. This is followed by an instructive sampling of no less than four award-winning effervescent wines.
Then, you’ll relish a picnic lunch amid the vineyards, served in a wicker basket brimming with homemade goodies and a glass of wine.
In the afternoon, we’ll hop back on the 1960’s London Routemaster bus and proceed to a second Sussex winery for another educational tasting of still and bubbly wines. You’ll have leisure time to soak in the stunning vistas with a vineyard stroll, or you can simply lounge on the sun deck and relish the sunset over the vineyards. An exemplary British excursion!
- Minimum age is 18 years
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Wheelchair users are welcome, please email to discuss requirements
Location
Leonardo Hotel Brighton - Formerly Jurys Inn
Stroudley Road
We meet outside the Jurys Inn hotel behind Brighton train station (NOT ON THE SEAFRONT!!) at 9:30am. You will see the Great British Wine Tours bus waiting outside. We arrive back at 17:30
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(86 Ratings)
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Katherine_t
Aug 19, 2024
Wines! Picnics! Routemasters! Oh my! - Loved this wine tour! There were lots of participants in this group, and all were still able to fit comfortably on the old Routemaster bus. I'm not a morning person, and this tour starts bright and early, but having a tour that includes both stylish transportation and delicious lunch is hard to beat.
Danny, the host, will reach out to accommodate guests' dietary restrictions beforehand to ensure there are no hiccups day-of. We visited 2 wineries -- Court Garden and Artellium -- and were provided generous tastings at each. The weather was sunny and warm, and any more than 2 winery visits / tastings would have bested us and our palates, especially when it comes to the acidity of English sparkling and white wines. After our vineyard orientation and 4 wine tasting at Court Garden, lunch was provided, and we were given picnic hampers, water, and glasses of wine to enjoy in the shade, the vineyard, or at outside tables. At both locations the vintners and blenders guided wine tastings, answering questions and guiding us through each of the wines we tasted.
The cost for this tour is a bit pricey, in my view, but very worth it as a special treat, birthday gift, or pre-wedding celebration. I would love to take this tour again and visit other vineyards, and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Sussex wines!
Review provided by Viator
Aktwomey
Aug 18, 2024
Perfect Day with Friends - A perfect day with friends celebrating one of our friends special birthdays. The staff were so friendly & helpful & went the extra mile with some extra requests/requirements that we had. Both vineyards were great - interesting & engaging & the picnic hamper lunch was lovely & the wines delicious. A thoroughly enjoyable day. Thank you to all involved.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Markbu1729op
Jul 20, 2024
Bluebell Railway and Sussex Vineyard - excellent day out! - My partner and I did the vintage steam Bluebell railway and Sussex vineyard tour. The red Routemaster bus was great travelling through Sussex and The Downs. The Bluebell railway trip was wonderful - our guides were very knowledgeable - especially Alan from Great British Wine Tours. All so picturesque everywhere! Court Garden vineyard a delight - sampled some tasty English sparkling wines. All in all - a marvellous day out!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
648sohailb
Jun 23, 2024
An Excellent experience in all respects - The whole experience was excellent.Top marks for every aspect of the trip.Touring The beautiful Sussex Countryside in a vintage bus.Generous offerings of wine in beautiful surroundings.Very helpful staff.
A great day and good value.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pharmagirl09
Dec 18, 2023
Great day out! - We did this tour as a group of 3 couples. We joined the big red bus in Brighton at 10am and we set off through the Sussex countryside. First stop was Court Gardens in Ditchling. A fairly small vineyard which is family run. Hugo (the son of the owners) gave us a comprehensive, informative and humorous tour of the vineyard. We then tasted several of the wines and were served a lovely picnic style lunch. Although it was middle of August, the weather was not great so we ate inside but it did not detract from the overall experience.
Back on the bus and next stop was Artelium Wine Estate in Hassocks. We were put in what I can only describe as a cow shed. We tried several wines and were going to have another glass, but for the exorbitant cost they wanted to charge for a bottle of
their entry level cuvee. Style over substance is the phrase that comes to mind. We visited the shop in Artelium, which seemed to double as a cafe. Again, the prices seemed to be surprisingly high for a vineyard that is yet to establish itself.
We got back on the bus and were dropped back in Brighton for 4.30pm. Our highlight of the tour was Alan who travelled with us on the bus and took time to answer our many questions about the wines we were tasting. He really was an asset to the tour!
Thank you Great British Wine Tours, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and would recommend the tour. I would however avoid Artelium if you have a choice.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chris_v
Aug 11, 2023
An amazing day and a truly unique experience you'll never forget - What an amazing day. I was initially unsure as quite pricy but if you work out what you get it's good value. 2 wine tastings at 2 vineyards, lunch, the London bus & driver, plus a Great British Wine Adventures guide. The second vineyard, (and they vary, but Bluebell for us), was far superior and we had an expected amount of wine. The first one was a bit tight and they completely missed the commercial opportunity to sell people a chilled bottle of wine with their lunch? They were distracted by a bigger tour from another company I think and even the shop seemed unmanned? Didn't affect the day it was just odd. We loved it. 9 out of 10 easily.
Review provided by Viator
Paulaj390
Jun 18, 2023
A great day out! - A really enjoyable day. We started at Court Garden vineyard in Ditchling where we had a short but interesting tour and good tasting session (not to mention a delicious lunch), and then went on to the Bluebell vineyard near Sheffield Park.
Great wines and food and very friendly tour guides and driver. I would highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Angelica
Aug 20, 2023
Amazing trip! - Excellent Court Garden Farm, nice picnick, nice experience! The owner Howard and his team very attentive to details, warm welcome!
The second vineyard The bluebell estate with Artelium wines not as great as the first one, when you try wines you must have a olive orabit of cheese to really lift the taste of wine. The owners more business focus not so much on the people.
Alan, the lady drinving the bus and the young guy as a bus guard excellent.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Torvald
Sep 12, 2023
Nice tour but room for improvement - "We were 6 couples who had booked this tour. The weather was lovely. The tour is recommendable, but there was room for improvement. There were WAY too many people in the tour group. 62 persons on the bus resulted in a lot of noise. It was difficult to hear what was being said around the vineyard. The first vineyard was pleasant to visit. They were very knowledgeable. We had good food for lunch. The second vineyard could have been skipped. Nothing was explained there. They only served tastings without tours or any history. I would recommend the tour, but the number of participants should be reduced."
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ruthsc7
Sep 25, 2023
DO NOT BOOK - They don’t deserve 1 star but can’t give zero. I booked this tour for a friend’s birthday in August and a few days before the tour I was informed that the tour was cancelled. I was asked if I wanted a refund or alternative date. I asked for a refund. Since my request I have received no refund and despite emailing and leaving a message on the answerphone I have not heard anything. The company owes me £218 which I paid over 2 months ago. I have been ignored and ripped off - and to make it worse they cancelled it not me and ruined my birthday present for my friend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
