The Olympic London Explorer

This day will make even Olympic cynics smile!

Enjoy a moment in history and see the tremendous scale of developments transforming neglected areas of London into a series of world class venues for 2012. Come the day four billion people will be looking at the London we are going to show you today.

On this Together Tour your group sits together for morning coffee & biscuits and a delicious roast beef or carvery lunch both included in the tour fee. Meet the expert guide in Stratford at 10-30am for morning refreshments all laid out ready for you in a great pub. This is where you will come back to for lunch and as first impressions count your folk will know from the off that they are on to a winner with this day out.

During the morning we drive over to the Lower Lee Valley to the delightfully named Pudding Mill and Fish Island for a short walk up to the viewing point for the Olympic Park. The scale of this project is truly breathtaking. If you scan your friends faces at this point you’ll see plenty of grins – and they will be of the rare-as-hens-teeth proud to be British variety! Is it just me or is the Olympic Park starting to look a bit Festival of Britain 1951? The vast Olympic Stadium is substantially complete – a floating blancmange held in a cradle of steel. Nearby we see the Aquatic Centre, the “marshmallow” Basketball Arena and the delicious Aquatic Centre with its butterfly fairy cake roof. You’ll also see the quite extraordinary Orbit, a helter skelter of red steel, like something drawn with your left hand. This is Britain’s largest piece of public art and was designed by Anish Kapoor. Oh and there's the massive shopping centre that knocks Bluewater into a cocked hat. This is a day out that your members are going to talk about for a long time to come. A real eye opener.

You’ll also hear the entertaining story of the first two London Olympics of 1908 and 1948, both arranged on a strict budget and both meant to engender goodwill to all men but managing to create international uproar all the same. Then it’s back to Stratford for a tasty roast beef, carvery or vegetarian lunch. Your members can buy hot drinks or bar drinks and desserts can be ordered and paid for on the day.

In the afternoon we begin with a drive through the changing landscape of the Royal Docks where you’ll see ExCel which will need no further construction work to host the Boxing, Judo, Weightlifting, Wrestling & Taekwondo. You’ll see the old Millennium Dome, now re-named The O2. For 2012 it will be temporarily re-named the North Greenwich Arena, as the O2 mobile company aren’t an official sponsor of the Games, the events being held here include the rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and the basketball final. Then we cross the Thames for an interesting little drive out to see the longest parade ground in the world over at the Woolwich Barracks where shooting events will be held. Finally we stop inside the historic Woolwich Arsenal where cups of tea may be bought to round off an exciting day before heading for home by 4-45pm.

As ever we keep walking to a minimum; we neither underestimate your minds nor overestimate your legs.

This trip is available Mondays to Fridays right through until 24th July, when we'll be stopping for the Games themselves and continue running from 10th September.

Adults & Seniors: £18.95
Price valid 1st April 2012 to 31st March 2013

Coach Mileage: 20

Please note that this tour is not officially endorsed by, or in any way associated with, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the Olympic Development Authority or the Olympic and/or Paralympic Movement more generally. Please do not use official Olympic logos or trademarks in publicising this trip. 

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