Sussex Vineyard Vintage Bus Tour

We did this as a small group hen do , they were so accommodating, let us put a few decorations up and took a million photos for us ladies in red ! Food was lovely , venues was gorgeous , and couldn’t of been easier finding the bus stop . 10/10 !

Thank you so much Danny for such a lovely day out. We went to two gorgeous vineyards with a huge variety of sparkling and still wines that we got to taste. In addition to Danny being an excellent guide (and it's great to be able to go between the vineyards in the mini bus so nobody is designated driver), all the vineyard tours themselves were excellent - with Court Garden's Howard and Hugo being exceptionally informative and entertaining. Especially enjoyable to have winemakers and experts themselves telling you about their wines. We also had a delicious lunch at the lovely pub - gorgeous outdoor garden seating which really made the day lovely. The papardelle was particularly good. I warmly recommend this tour and will definitely be going on more of Danny's tours - an added bonus was the extremely reasonable pricing for a day of quality food and wines. Thank you again!

We had a lovely time, and the weather was great after cold, long, dreary winter and spring. The double-decker bus was fun although a bit old and bone shaking. The wines were really nice and we met some new people. The only downside was that there was a long drive in between the two vineyards, which seemed odd, since we were told that there were seven vineyards in the Ditchling area, but we were driven 45 minutes away from the Court Garden vineyard to the Bluebells vineyard, I don’t know if that’s because they weren’t doing tours at the other Ditchling vineyards or because the Bluebells vineyard was considered to be higher quality wine and bigger,but it seemed a bit odd. We had a really healthy home-made lunch that was a bit light. We learned a lot about wine making and saw the vines up close and learnt about the growing process. It was a really lovely day out.

What a great day. The pick up location is so convenient and then takes you out to the beautiful country side. The whole team are friendly and adapt the experience based on your knowledge (I knew nothing about wine). The tastings are good fun and the extra time at each winery really let you enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. Next time we are there, we will be looking to try another one of their tours!

A great day out in the Sussex countryside : fun from getting on the London bus and travelling around the pretty villages, Court Garden Vineyards an excellent stop - informative & so interesting and lots of lovely sparkling wines/champagnes. We were given a wonderful filled picnic hamper for our lunch . Personally I didn't enjoy the second vineyard quite as much as Court Gardens. Guides and driver did a great job. Would love to try another wine tour.

A glorious day! The weather was definitely on our side but even if not, I'm sure it would have been equally brilliant. The wine and nibbles are delicious, and great to see the places that they've been grown and made. The guides we fantastic too, can't recommend highly enough. We'll see you next year!

I was super disappointed to hear that my parents weren’t able to go on the vintage red bus tour that I had booked for their anniversary. They arrived and found themselves faced with a mini bus with no warning that they won’t be experiencing the full red bus experience. However, although the weather wasn’t amazing, they had a lovely time and would recommend the tour. In future if I was to book this tour again I would appreciate some warning about any part of the tour that isn’t happening so I could maybe rebook for another time when the full experience is going ahead.

Fantastic day out with friends on the bus. Court Garden Winery had really nice family run atmosphere, informative tour and tasting session and great picnic lunch. Albourne Estate not quite as enjoyable, tasting was done standing up, and our group generally did not enjoy the wine or vermouth as much! Downside for me was most of the wines were sparkling, and I’m not a fan, but still a great day out with friends.

Highly recommended Sussex wine tour. We visited Albourne first with a very warm welcome, as we disembarked from our vintage Red Double Decker bus. A fun and educational tour of the vineyard and winery by Monica, then back to the tasting room, to sample some of the wonderful Albourne sparkling and still wines, followed by a delicious lunch. Alan also generously shared his extensive knowledge of of winemaking as well as being a fun and friendly tour guide. We then moved on to Court Farm Vineyard in Ditchling, for more wonderful wine tasting and great hospitality before heading back to Brighton. A great day out.

Overall a lovely day out, the red bus a big appeal ( stellar bus driver )- satisfactory amount of wine given at each vineyard/at lunch ( I didn’t leave drunk nor dissatisfied )- fresh picnic lunch, produce from local area- the only thing I would improve on is intervals between activities/shorter breaks.The price of this was more than reasonable and you got a bang for your buck. Clara&George :D

We were given a day out with Great British Wine Tours as a Christmas present by our children. It included a visit to two Vineyards, and lunch at a pub, plus being driven around in a very comfy mini-bus driven by Danny, who owns the company. We (my husband and I) were picked up in the centre of Brighton together with 6 visiting Norwegians, who proved to be good company with a smattering of English between them. Danny took us to one of the higher points in Sussex, the Jack and Jill Windmills, to see the view and then on to the Court Garden Vineyard. Here, we were met and escorted to see the vines, and we were very impressed at the neatness of the plantings. Not a weed in sight, and our guide explained the various grapes very clearly and was very interesting. The wine tasting was good, with four superb wines (personal opinion, obviously!) and not rushed. After this, Danny drove us to the Coach and Horses Pub in Danehill where, in lovely hot September sunshine, we were able to sit in the well-kept garden and eat the lunch provided in the price for the day. This was not a set lunch, and we were able to choose items from a fairly limited menu. We were not rushed over lunch and had time to relax a little afterwards. Then Danny drove us to The Bluebell Vineyard Estates. We were rather disappointed with this Vineyard but again, there was a good tasting of five different sparkling wines. We had parked outside my daughter's house in Patcham, just outside of Brighton, and Danny very kindly made quite a considerable detour to drop us back there, rather than dropping us off in the centre of Brighton. Danny is very friendly, and this is a really good, fun day out. You can choose which vineyards to visit from those on offer on certain days, and Danny's company also offers various other options. We were very fortunate with the weather, so all in all, we really enjoyed the day and would highly recommend Danny and Great British Wine Tours.

We had a wonderful day firstly visiting The Courtyard Garden which we loved. The wine tasting experience was excellent and very well organised. The wine experts gave us lots of interesting information on the ins and outs of wine making. We had to move on to the next vineyard as they were expecting a wedding party. Albourne, which is a larger vineyard and quite busy was ok but we had a different wine tasting experience which we enjoyed but not as much as we had to stand around in the area where the wine vats are. We had our picnic here on blankets up on the grassy area up the back (thankfully the rain stayed off) beautiful views but again quite busy. The picnic itself was faultless, we loved it all. The tour staff were great, really nice and wanted to ensure we had the best time. I’d really recommend this company.

From the moment we were picked up we knew this was gonna be a good day. Danny was so welcoming and put a spring in our step from the start. Shown all around the beautiful Sussex countryside with a mixture of geology and wine knowledge, the whole trip was fascinating. Mike at the Bluebell Vineyard was very entertaining and the wine was amazing. Then lunch at The Royal Oak was an amazing spread, the salmon didn't last long. And to cap it off the beautiful Nutbourne Vineyard with beautiful gardens and wine was a great finish to the day. Well done Great British Wine Tour, well done! Beckie and Paul

This was an unforgettable day out with friends! The guides at each vineyard were very knowledgeable and friendly, and we really enjoyed trying numerous different wines, as well as having a delicious hamper picnic for lunch. We hope to do another of your tours in the future. Thanks again for a great day out in the Sussex countryside!

Had a wonderful day on the bus tour of two local wineries all helped by the beautiful sunny weather. Court Garden, a lovely family run estate, where we walked into the vineyard & received a very informative explanation of the growing & harvesting as well as the different varietals they produce. We then headed back to the winery for another informative overview of the production process by the very humorous Hugo! Next was the tastings which included 4 different sparkling wines & then a picnic lunch & more wine. The second winery was the Albourne Estate where we had another informative talk by the lovely Monica before viewing the winery & then tasting their sparkling wine & vermouth. We then had time to visit the tasting room, perfectly positioned overlooking the Sussex Downs, with the chance to purchase wines to drink there & takeaway. A great day was had by all & we would highly recommend it.

We received the Big Red Vineyard Tour of Sussex as a gift. We finally got to make use of it last weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed our day. The tour guide and driver were informative and friendly. We loved travelling around Sussex on the old 1964 Routemaster Bus. The visit to the first vineyard, Court Garden Vineyard, was fantastic. The owners of the vineyard were very warm and welcoming, and the wine was really good. We'd love to come again and visit two more vineyards!

Routemaster bus, two vineyards with a lovely lunch in between; fabulous day! Organised well so there was nothing for us to think about and to ensure the vineyards offered different experiences from each other. The group leader, drivers and everyone at the vineyards/pub were super friendly. The wine was great, too, I should mention! We’re looking forward to booking another tour!

This was a gift from our family for our 50 th wedding anniversary which we finally used 3 years later. A lovely day out on the upper deck of the vintage bus through stunning countryside with guide Alan and driver Tim. Then a comprehensive and informative tour of Albourne Vineyard with Monica followed by wine tasting, a good buffet lunch accompanied by another glass of wine. Another interesting drive via the village of Ditchling for our second wine tasting experience at Court Garden and a talk by the friendly owner. Good too to talk to the other passengers.

Fantastic day!! Well organised and informative. Visited two wineries with plenty of wine tasting, delicious lunch and a cocktail to end the day. Was interesting learning all about how wine is produced and made. I went here for my 30th bday and had a fabulous time and great value for money. Thank you!

Ridge view wine estate was fantastic, the tour was comprehensive and professionally delivered, great care and attention was paid to customer service, would highly recommend going there independently. The coach trip and the visit to Albourne estate was disappointing, due to weather concerns the hamper was changed to a buffet at a local pub. It was laughable and after being ushered through we we left hungry and more than a little cross. A half glass of wine was all that was offered and as much water as you could drink? At nearly £100 per head we expected more. We were then taken to Albourne house where our bombastic host with limited knowledge proceeded to publicly berate me for taking 2 taster drinks instead of 1. I explained that I only drank sparkling wine and that I would not be having the other 2 taster tipples on offer, bearing in mind when they say taster tour they mean a couple of mouthfuls of maximum 3 wines. Red faced I replaced the second drink. When I spoke to the tour guide to ask why the customer service was so below par he apologised and said he didn’t see it that way. I was genuinely taken aback as were my party. So unfortunately we won’t be recommending this tour company. Save your money and go to ridge view estate independently, They are a professional outfit and you will be look after well.

There are a surprising number of vineyards tucked away in Sussex but pretty much all need a car so less ideal for tastings... Great British Wine tours have the perfect solution: you meet them outside Brighton station and they will drive you to a couple of their favourites with a hearty pub lunch at a lovely traditional village pub in the middle! Danny was knowledgable both on wine and on the local geography which was really interesting. The whole day had the perfect balance of informal and relaxed so you can really just sit back and enjoy the countryside and the wines! I would wholeheartedly recommend this to both locals and tourists as a fantastic day out!

Our family’s third year doing these tours and the quality just gets better and better (as does the quality of English wine!). Friendly family business. Well planned logistics. Top quality food. Great atmosphere with folks of all ages enjoying themselves. Highly recommend. Value is hard to believe as food, 2 tours and tastings and bus hire all included.

We were warmly welcoming by the guide Danny, he is very lovely ! We have done the tour on South Downs and the higher point of Sussex, two beautiful vineyard with tastings (sparkling wine and still) and the countryside around. We have take the lunch on typical old english pub with good food. We recommend this tour 100%! Thanks a lot !

We went on this trip on the 29th May and found it to be very proffessionally run, very informative, very interesting and quite simply a great day out. The team that looked after us were very welcoming and friendly from the moment that we arrived until the moment we left. The two vineyard tours were very interesting and very informative and were conducted by people that were very passionate about their wine and wine making. The bus added a bit of fun to the day and bought back memories for us!!! All in all a great day out and well worth the money. We would recommend to anyone interested in wine or anyone that would just like a great day out.

Lovely day spent negotiating Sussex country roads in a vintage red London bus. The best bit was obviously the wine tastings, firstly at Court Garden Vineyard. Small family run vineyard producing award winning sparkling English wines. The tour of the vines and explanation of the processes to produce these bubbly delights was spot on. Met mum, dad and have to say Hugo was a complete star chatting and showing us everything. There were 4 very different and very pleasant sparkling wines to taste before eating. The lunch was delicious and home made mackerel pate and tomato salsa went down well with everyone. The rose to accompany it was perfect. After making our purchases we were back on the bus and off to our next destination. The second vineyard we visited was the Bluebell Vineyard near Sheffield Park Railway. This was a very different place much larger, less well organised. The wine tasting was odd in that the wine was poured, then the lady went off to do other things and see other people. There was a lot of her reading the back of the bottle. It could have been better, would have been nice to try the red as it isn’t produced in the uk generally. The setting however is stunning and so much more could be done here. Alan our guide was superb, he was helpful, chatty, and full of information, he wasn’t intrusive but if you wanted his attention he was there. He spent time with each group, there was nothing he couldn’t answer and we had the best time The bus driver and conductor were friendly and how she drove through some of those villages and lanes I don’t know, great respect

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.

Our guide Danny from the Great British Wine Tours took us out of Brighton and into the countryside. Our first stop at the Ditchling Beacon gave us a really beautiful view of the area we were entering. We visited two different vineyards with most sparling wines, some still. We met lovely people with a passion for their work and just enjoyed the day! We recommend this tour and Danny the guide who is kind and helpful! Signe from Norway

Really enjoyed this: we took the red bus from Brighton and visited two vineyards: Court Garden Vineyard - a smaller family run estate, and Albourne - a larger and more corporate estate. Both produce some excellent sparkling wines, although we preferred the Court Garden offerings, not just the quality which was exceptional, but that they were rather more generous with the tastings too! But it was very interesting to compare and contrast two different approaches. A great day out, and particular respect for our bus driver; driving a bus through Ditchling can't be for the faint-hearted...