Johnsons Celebrate Queen's Birthday in Style!

Date Added 10/06/2016

We took a group of 29 passengers for a three day special tour this week to include The Household Division’s Beating Retreat, the Poppy Factory in Richmond, Hampton Court and the V&A Museum.

The tour was escorted by Johnsons’ courier Karen Bain and driver Andy Daw who decorated the coach with Union Jack bunting and even had a special cake made to celebrate the Queen’s birthday.

The tour commenced with a visit to the Poppy Factory in Richmond. Courier Karen Bain commented: “It was a very humbling experience to visit this factory as we learned of the work involved in making these poppies. The tour guide instructed us to make one with our arms behind our backs, to show how difficult it is for ex-servicemen who may be blind or disabled to make them. I also learned about positioning the green leaf at the 11 o’clock position.”

The group then enjoyed lunch at Hampton Court Palace where they had time to explore the gardens before taking their seats for the Household Division Beating Retreat. The annual concert is performed on Horse Guards in front of the beautiful backdrop of St James’ Park each year and has a long tradition dating back to 1690s. Originally the beating of the drum was used to order troops to break off fighting and withdraw to the safety of camp as darkness fell, later it signaled the closing of the camp gates at the end of the day and called troops back to base for the night.

Karen Bain commented: “Luckily the rain stopped just in time for the show. We had great seats and as the sun set on our left the fireworks began”.

The next morning the group had a late start before heading to Chelsea for a visit to the V&A Museum.

If you would like Johnsons Coach Travel to quote for your next Group Tour please contact Jo Brown on 01564 79021 or email [email protected].