Please make sure you arrive in good time to check-in for your flight to London this afternoon/evening. Dinner and breakfast will be served aboard your overnight service.

On your arrival in London you will pass through customs and collect your personal luggage before being met by a representative of the New Year's Day Parade and taken by luxury motor coach to your hotel. *

There will be a very special Red Hatters greeting and welcome to London given personally to all Red Hatters by London's official Town Crier. The Role of Town Crier dates back hundreds of years, and the current incumbent Peter Moore is one of the most famous faces in London. Resplendent in his red robes, riding breeches, riding boots and his tri corn hat, The Tower Crier will give you the sort of welcome to London that is uniquely reserved for visiting dignitaries.

This evening you are invited to a "Welcome to London" drinks reception in your hotel, where you will meet socially for the first time with your fellow Red Hatters. A selection of wine and soft drinks will be served.

To show just how special Red Hatters are to the London Parade there will be a very special guest at the Red Hatters Welcome to London drinks reception. The first Citizen of Westminster, Patron of the Parade and Host of The Parade, The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor of The City of Westminster, Councillor Louise Hyams will personally attend, to wish each and every Red Hatter a wonderful time in London and to thank them for visiting her City. This evening The Lord Mayor will be wearing her fill robes and chains of office.

This will be followed by dinner served in a private room in your hotel. The three course menu will be served at your table and will consist of an appetiser, such as a salad, a set entrée with a selection of vegetables and a dessert. A vegetarian entrée will be available on request. Once dinner is over, the rest of the evening is free for you to acclimatise to European time.

A full English buffet breakfast will be served each morning in the restaurant of your hotel.

This morning we will whisk you away on a spectacular tour of London's most famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, home of the two Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.

Soak up the atmosphere as your guide introduces you to over 1,000 years of history. This is also your chance to look out for the places you would like to visit during your free time. There will be a couple of stops for photographs.

Continue to Windsor or Hampton Court. In both locations there are many pubs, restaurants and cafés where an independent lunch may be found.

Return by coach to your hotel.

Dinner this evening will be served buffet style in a private room in your hotel. The two course menu will consist of a choice of three entrees, one being a vegetarian dish, a selection of vegetables and a salad bar, plus a dessert. Iced water will be provided and a full cash bar will be available. After dinner the rest of the evening is at leisure.

Full English Buffet Breakfast is served.

The day is unstructured for independent sightseeing and shopping.

Having seen all of the sights from the comfort of your luxury coach, you will now have the opportunity to visit your favourite attractions. By far the best way of getting around is by the Underground (Tube). Information about which ticket to buy can be found in the itinerary book which you will receive at your orientation meeting, along with a list of the most popular attractions, the nearest tube station to each site, opening dates, times and entrance fees.

Use the London map provided in your information book to work out the best route.

Don't miss the British Museum and the National Gallery, they're free! Although you have to pay, a visit inside St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London are all a must.

Your resource person, and the concierge desk in your hotel, will be available to assist you in planning your day.

Dinner this evening will be served buffet style in a private room. The two course menu will consist of a choice of three entrees, one being a vegetarian dish, a selection of vegetables and a salad bar, plus a dessert. Iced water will be provided and a cash bar will be available for other drinks.

Soon after dinner Red Hatters will be invited to return to the dining room which will have been prepared with tables and a dance floor and where they will be entertained by a live band for dancing and fun until just before midnight. A full cash bar will be open and available.

Just before midnight the first of two glasses of celebratory champagne will be served and Red Hatters will be invited to The Balcony of The National Liberal Club from which they will have the best view in London of The New Year's Fireworks display.

Full English breakfast is served.

The first part of the morning is at leisure or you may want to help with the decoration of the busses to be used by Red Hatters in the Parade.

Late morning departure from your hotel. Your specially commissioned red open top London busses will be your transport in the parade today. They will meet you outside your hotel before taking you off for an official group photograph in Smith Square, on the steps of St, James' Church.

Re-board your coach for the brief journey to the Embankment, alongside the Houses of Parliament where you will be waiting for a maximum of one hour.

Toilet and first aid facilities are available.

Catering facilities are NOT available.

The Red Hatters are guaranteed that this will be one of the greatest days ever. What can be better than riding on top of specially decorated Red Open Top London Busses with hundreds of fellow Red Hatters waving to crowds of hundreds and hundreds of thousands who have come out specially to see you. Better still the whole thing is going to be shown on television all over the world so you will be able to wave to all your friends at home and show that you were here in London as a member of the Red Hat Society.

As "Big Ben" chimes midday the Parade starts and you will drive two miles down the most spectacular Parade route in the world, before an expected audience of close to one million people. Enjoy this unique experience!!

You are welcome to stand atop your bus and wave your red hat to the crowds, or if you prefer you may walk alongside and meet the crowds and wish them happy New Year!

On Piccadilly, outside of the Ritz Hotel at the junction with Berkeley Street the Parade will finish and you will carry on to Hyde Park Corner and return to your hotel.

At your hotel you, along with Red Hatters from Britain and Europe, will be served an English tea. The meal will consist of sandwiches, soups, pastries and cakes along with your choice of hot tea or coffee. What better way to celebrate this great experience than with new found friends from around the world.

This evening you will depart by luxury coach for a London West End Theatre where we have arranged best seats in the orchestra stalls to see a top rated musical.

Immediately after the show you will board your coach for the return to your hotel.

Full English breakfast is served.

An early departure this morning, around 8.00am, for a full day of touring.

Today you will either experience the delights of West Country England, with a visit to Bath and Stonehenge or enjoy the City of Oxford and the lovely Warwickshire town of Stratford upon Avon.

Dinner and evening at leisure. Tonight we will provide you with vouchers, for you to dine at a restaurant of your choice. Your resource person will be able to advise you of the best places to use.

Full English breakfast is served.

Today is unscheduled for independent sightseeing and shopping.

This is your last opportunity to visit all of the sights and to do some last minute shopping.

Remember you will need to change your money for those important purchases!

The best department stores are Harrods (Knightsbridge), Libertys (Oxford Circus) and Selfridges (Bond Street), although there are many more wonderful shops to choose from in Regent Street, Oxford Street and Covent Garden.

Prior to dinner this evening there will be a short reception where wine will be served and a very special guest will come to thank Red Hatters for their visit to London and contribution to The Parade.

To show just how special Red Hatters are to the London Parade there will be a very special guest at the Red Hatters Farewell to London drinks reception. One of the Patrons of the Parade, the International Goodwill Ambassador, Councillor Robert Davis will speak to the group and will try to meet and be photographed with as many ladies as possible. Councillor Davis is a former Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster, and is one of Her Majesty's Deputy Lieutenant's in London thus representing the Queen in the City. This evening Councillor Davis will be dressed in Red Aldermanic robes with Chains of Office, and Mayoral head attire.

Dinner this evening will be served in a private room in your hotel. The three course menu will be served at your table and will consist of an appetiser, such as a salad, a set entrée with a selection of vegetables and a dessert. A vegetarian entrée will also be available. A glass or two of wine will be served so you may toast your fellow Red Hatters and say farewell to London!

Once dinner is over, the rest of the evening is free for you to enjoy the City for the last time, or pack your bags for your journey home in the morning.

Full English breakfast is served.

Please check our notice board for your departure time to the airport. Please ensure that you bring your own luggage down to reception in preparation for boarding the coaches to the airport.

Coaches depart for either Heathrow or Gatwick airport to check-in for your flight home.*

Lunch and afternoon tea will be served on your transatlantic flight.

Have a safe and comfortable journey home!

* Passengers who make their own flight arrangement are designated as "land only" passengers and do not receive motor coach transfers from the airport to the hotel and vice versa.