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Wales 12 Day Castles, Pubs and Tearooms Tour
offered by supplier M15375 (view this supplier profile)
Key Information:
Tour Duration: 12
day(s)
Group Size: 6
- 10
people
Destination(s):
Wales
England
Specialty Categories:
Archeology/History
Cultural Journey
Season: May
Airfare Included: No
Tour Customizable: Yes
Minimum Per Person Price: 3495 US Dollar (USD)
Maximum Per Person Price: 3495 US Dollar (USD)
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** Please Read** We are a very small tour company that arrangs and conducts each of our tours personally. Because if this we only offer each tour once a year. We do not offer any other tours outwith the dates list for each tour. This tour is offered May 6th - 17th, 2009 Only!
This is a small intimate tour of Wales limited to 8 - 10 people in order to make for a more enjoyable experience. Keeping the tour size to a minimum does not limit us as to where we can go and what we can do. We will stay in small homey guest houses, country house hotels and coaching inns. Our meals will be taken in old world inns, medieval pubs, unique tearooms and intimate seaside cafés and restaurants.
Wales has more castles per square mile than any other place in the British Isles and I have chosen but a few of the many that are on my must see list. The history is truly astounding and to be able to take meals in 12th, 13th & 14th century establishments is bordering on the unbelievable. From a Mediaeval Banquet in Cardiff to the Gower Peninsula, which was the first part of Britain to be named an Area of Outstanding Beauty. And from Pembrokeshire to the Brecon Beacons we will see all the glory of South Wales. From from Powis to the Snowdonia National Park and Anglesey Island to Colwyn Bay and Offa's Dyke Path we will see the wild beauty of North Wales. 12 Days of Spectacular castles, important historical sites, ancient pubs, medieval coaching inns and intimate tearooms.
Features include:
The Bridge Tea Rooms in Bradford-On-Avon
Chepstow Castle
Tintern Abbey
Raglan Castle
Open Top Bus Tour of Cardiff
Castle Coch
Museum of Welsh Life
Gwalia Tea Rooms
Welsh Medieval Banquet at Cardiff Castle
Gower Peninsula and The Mumbles
Tudor Merchant's House in Tenby
Medieval Coaching Inn Downtown Tenby
Pembroke Castle
Brecon Beacons
Carreg Cennen Castle
12th Century Red Lion Pub in Llanafan Fawr
Hay-on-Wye and Llanthony Priory
Powis Castle
Old Station Tearoom
Harlech Castle
Snowdonia North Wales
Betws-y-Coed
Ty Gwyn Historic Coaching Inn
Caernarfon Castle
Conwy Castle
St. Tudno Hotel Tearoom
14th Century White Lion Inn in Llanelian
17th century Myddleton Arms Pub
Tour Itinerary
Day 1 - May 6th - Depart for London, England.
Day 2 - Arrive London Heathrow but our adventure starts in South Wales and Monmouthshire. Along the way we stop at The Bridge Tea Rooms in Bradford-On-Avon for Afternoon Tea. We then continue to Wales where we are off to the capitol city of Cardiff. After getting settled into our accommodation we will gather for a Welcoming Dinner in Cardiff to kick off this tour. Overnight Cardiff.(L,D)
Day 3 - After a good Welsh breakfast we will visit Castle Coch. The name means Red Castle in Welsh and is truly a fairytale creation designed by William Burges for the 3rd Marquis of Bute. This afternoon we will return to Cardiff where you will board an Open Top Bus complete with guide for a Tour of Cardiff City with hop on and off service taking in Cardiff Castle, National Museum and Gallery, Millennium Stadium and Cardiff Bay. This evening we visit Cardiff Castle for a Medieval Banquet. Overnight Cardiff.(B,D)
Day 4 - After breakfast it is off to the Museum of Welsh Life, an open air Celtic village within 100 acre parklands. The village includes worker's cottages, farmhouses, a tollhouse, a chapel, an old schoolhouse and a Tudor mansion. Our journey then finds us driving along the southern coast of Wales to the Gower Peninsula and The Mumbles, a seaside resort and picturesque fishing village where we will Stop for Tea. Then it is off to Carreg Cennen Castle, one of the most spectacularly sited Welsh castles. Spell-binding views are waiting to be experienced from the sharp hilltop upon which the castle sits. Indeed, Carreg Cennen dominates its surroundings. Dinner and Overnight Carmarthenshire.(B,L,D)
Day 5 - Following a hearty breakfast we travel to Tenby in Pembrokeshire. Tenby is a coastal town steeped in ancient history surrounded by an imposing stone wall, built in the 13th century. While here we will visit the Tudor Merchant's House, a 15th century relic of Tenby's prosperous seafaring days. Traditional Fish & Chips on the Wharf in Tenby. After lunch we drive to the village of Manorbier taking us through some of the most scenic parts of Pembrokeshire winding dramatically along leafy hedged lanes towards the coast. Then we are off to Pembroke and Pembroke Castle. Mighty Pembroke Castle impresses by its sheer size and dominance of location. Pembroke is a Norman stronghold dating to the time of William the Conqueror, however most of the present castle dates from the 13th century. Dinner on your own tonight in Carmarthenshire. Overnight Carmarthenshire.(B,L)
Day 6 - Our first stop of the today is the St. David's where St. Davids Cathedral has been the dominant presence since the 12th century and was a popular pilgrimage destination throughout the middle ages. From here we drive along Cardigan Bay to the lovely village of Aberystwyth. We will take Afternoon Tea in this seaside university before we head further north. Following tea we travel to Harlech and Harlech Castle. As if its spectacular situation, foreboding might, and great power were not sufficient to ensure the fame of this magnificent castle, Harlech is also inseparably linked in Welsh myth with the tragic heroine of Branwen, the daughter of Llyr, of the Mabinogion. We then travel through the beautiful Snowdonia Region of Wales on our way to Betws-y-Coed. Dinner Ty Gwyn Hotel in Betws-y-Coed tonight. Overnight Betws-y-Coed.(B,L,D)
Day 7 - Following breakfast our first visit of the day is Caernarfon Castle. Caernarfon is architecturally one of the most impressive of all of the castles in Wales. Most impressive of all is the Eagle Tower crowned by its triple cluster of turrets. We will stop in Llandudno for Afternoon Tea. Then on to Conwy Castle. Words cannot do justice to Conwy Castle it is by any standards one of the great fortresses of medieval Europe. Conwy's well-preserved castle wall helps the town maintain a medieval character lost by other Welsh castle-towns over the years. Dinner at the White Lion Inn in Llanelian. Ale has been served on the site of the White Lion Inn since the year 722! Overnight Betws-y-Coed.(B,L,D)
Day 8 - After breakfast this morning we visit Chirk Castle, occupied virtually continuously as a castle and stately home for almost 700 years, sits on a hilltop with its best views over the Ceiriog Valley to the south. Then on to Llangollen, a lovely village nestled along side the River Dee. Afternoon Tea in Llangolen before we depart from picturesque Llangollen Wharf on the canal boat "Thomas Telford" and enjoy two hours of peaceful cruising along the stunning Dee valley. A live commentary from the skipper gives the history, local knowledge and up to date gossip along the way. Dinner and Overnight Denbighshire.(B,L,D)
Day 9 - Enjoy a good breakfast this morning before heading to Powis Castle, a stately country house mansion rich in history. This red stone building has been in almost continual occupation since the 13th century. Prince Charles stays here when in Wales and you can even view his bedroom! Next visit is Hay-on-Wye and Llanthony Priory. Llanthony was one of the earliest houses of Augustinian Canons to founded in Britain and is famous for its wild and beautiful setting. Hay-on-Wye is also is world renowned for its many second hand bookstores. We will have Afternoon Tea here before continuing on to Tintern. Afternoon and Evening free in Tintern. Overnight Tintern.(B,L)
Day 10 - After a hearty breakfast our journey starts in Tintern with Tintern Abbey. The Cistercian abbey of Tintern is one of the greatest monastic ruins of Wales. It was only the second Cistercian foundation in Britain, and the first in Wales, and was founded on 9 May 1131. Next stop is Raglan Castle. Raglan Castle with its great multi-angular towers and Tudor-styling, is unlike any other castle in Wales. This 15th century castle is characterized by pale, almost yellowish sandstone from Redbrook on the Wye river, three miles away. Our next stop is Chepstow Castle, superbly set high upon its river cliff above the Wye, Chepstow still guards one of the main river crossings from southern England into Wales. Few castles in Britain tell the story of medieval fortification, from beginning to end, as does this mighty stronghold. Dinner and Overnight Tintern.(B,D)
Day 11 - Our first stop this morning is Gloucester and Gloucester Cathedral. There has been a religious site here for over 1300 years and the current cathedral was begun in the year 1078. Our next stop is Windsor where you will have time to investigate this lovely Royal Borough before a Farewell Dinner in Windsor. Overnight Windsor.(B,D)
Day 12 - After our last hearty breakfast, we travel to Heathrow Airport in London to prepare for our journey home.(B)
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- full breakfast each morning
- all lunches
- teas and dinners as listed in the itinerary
- escorted minibus with guide
- luggage handling
- all sightseeing including entrance fees
- all accommodation
- all taxes and service fees
- no hidden costs
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Wales
England
Archeology/History
Cultural Journey
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