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Vintage London Bus Sussex Vineyard Tour: Explore British Wineries, Tastings, and Vineyard Picnic
4.7
89 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 provide a comprehensive tour of this charming vineyard, allowing you to stroll among the vines and explore their winery. Here, you’ll gain insights into English wine production from grape to glass. Following the tour, you’ll be invited to their sun-terrace overlooking the vineyard for a guided tasting of…
- Court Gardens Farm - A vineyard guide will provide a comprehensive tour of this charming vineyard, allowing you to stroll among the vines and explore their winery. Here, you’ll gain insights into English wine production from grape to glass. Following the tour, you’ll be invited to their sun-terrace overlooking the vineyard for a guided tasting of at least four award-winning sparkling wines.
Enjoy a Picnic Lunch at the vineyard. A selection of the finest Sussex produce has been curated for you in a picnic hamper, perfect for enjoying among the vines! The hamper includes locally produced delights such as quiches, breads, salads, and chutneys, along with a delectable homemade cake. This is accompanied by a glass of guest English wine.
- Albourne Estate - Arriving in the afternoon, you’ll experience your second guided wine tasting of the day. You’ll be introduced to a variety of still and sparkling wines, with the opportunity to relax, purchase wine from the gift shop, or take a leisurely walk around the stunning grounds.
What's Included
- Professional guide
- GST (Goods and Services Tax)
- Tour escort/host
- Wine tasting
- Lunch
- Transport by private vehicle
- Professional guide
- GST (Goods and Services Tax)
- Tour escort/host
- Wine tasting
- Lunch
- Transport by 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
(89 Ratings)
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Ingrid
May 31, 2025
Fabulous! Thoroughly recommended. - We have just finished an amazing day visiting court yard vineyard where we learned so much about wine making amongst this beautiful family run vineyard. The wine tasting and delicious lunch surpassed our expectations and we still had another vineyard to visit which was lovely too. I would certainly recommend this trip which was more than we hoped for. Danny was great and everyone on the bus made for a fun day out.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wes_meredith83
May 4, 2025
A wonderful, faultless experience. - I booked this for my wife’s birthday and we really did have the most wonderful day. The bus was fantastic and collected us one of its stops along Brighton seafront. It also collects from the train station before a slow tootle into mid Sussex. Our first stop was at the stunning Highweald vineyard where we wear give a tour before sitting down to enjoy a tasting session and admire the views. We had 4 glasses of different wines and plenty of advice from Eve who worked at Highweald who, by the way, did a wonderful job. Between the wines we had a really nice charcuterie buffet that went very well together. Back on to the bus and onwards to Artelium near Burgess Hill. Again, stunning views to accompany another 4 glasses of their wines. This venue was on a working farm and had a great outdoor bar area which also served food.
Huge respect for Danny who got this business off the ground. A really decent bloke whose customer service was first class. I really hope this business grows from strength to strength as it supports local businesses.
I would recommend this for couples and small groups and will certainly be doing this again. First class.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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
Sarah
Apr 6, 2025
Visited 2 vineyards lunch was lovely, Roger very informative and nice. Weather perfect. Great day would recommend - Bus was a bit grubby and weren’t advised about the alternative pickups. Lunch was good and all very interesting . Weather fab
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
