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Castles, Pubs and Tearooms of England, Wales and Scotland
offered by supplier M15375 (view this supplier profile)
Key Information:
Tour Duration: 14
day(s)
Group Size: 5
- 10
people
Destination(s):
Scotland
England
Wales
Specialty Categories:
Archeology/History
Cultural Journey
Season: July
Airfare Included: No
Tour Customizable: No
Minimum Per Person Price: 3995 US Dollar (USD)
Maximum Per Person Price: 3995 US Dollar (USD)
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Offered only July 9 - 22, 2008.
We are a small tour operator that prefers to arrange and conduct all own tours personally. We are only able to offer a limited amount of tours each year and usually only offer each tour one time a year.
14 Days on a small intimate tour of London with stops in Wales, Yorkshire, North England and South Scotland. No place on earth is tea more a way of life than in Great Britain. We have attempted to include every type of tearoom and teatime opportunity to give a full experience of this wonderful and fascinating ritual.
This tour is limited to 8-10 people in order to provide a more personal experience. In keeping the tour size small we are able to take advantage of accommodation, restaurant and sightseeing options that would not be available to a larger group. We will not rush you from venue to venue and each tour is designed to spend as little time on the minibus as possible. We will stay in delightful and elegant city guest houses and fine country house hotels.
Attractions:
- Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum
- Original London Sightseeing Tour
- Afternoon Tea Dorchester London
- Belvoir Castle and Duchess' Spring Gardens
- Stratford-Upon-Avon, Teddy Bear Museum
- Chipping Campden, Woolstaplers Hall
- North Wales
- Powis Castle
- Valle Crusis Abbey
- Chirk Castle
- Ruthin Castle Medieval Banquet
- Chester Rows
- Apothecary Tearooms
- Bronte Parsonage Museum
- York City Tour
- Harrogate and Betty's Cafe Tea Rooms
- Durham Castle and Cathedral
- Rumbletums Old English Tea Rooms
- Alnwick Castle
- Edinburgh Castle, Highland Dinner and Show and more!
Tour Itinerary
Day 1 - July 9th Depart for London, England.
Day 2 - Arrive London. You will have some time for sightseeing and shopping today after checking into your hotel. This afternoon we visit The Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum, the world's first museum devoted entirely to the history of tea and coffee. It tells the commercial and social 400 year old history of two of the world's most important commodities since their arrival in Europe from the Far East and Africa. We will have a Cream Tea in their Authentic Tearoom before leaving you to explore London. This evening we gather for a Welcoming Pub Dinner. Get a good night's rest tonight before the tour gets into full swing. Overnight London.(L,D)
Day 3 - This morning you will tour London on the Original London Sightseeing Tour which will put you in touch with all of London's Highlights. The tour offers 24 hour hop off and hop on service and will take you to Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, The National Gallery, Downing Street, Big Ben, London Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, The Tower of London & Westminster Abbey. This afternoon and evening you will be free to take in the many sights and eateries of London. Overnight London.(B,L)
Day 4 - On our way North we will make a stop at Belvoir Castle to visit the Duchess' Spring Gardens. Dating from 1800 and surrounding the rustic summer house, these magical woodland gardens, set in a natural amphitheatre with fresh water springs, are carefully planned to ensure plants bloom all year round. Next we are on our way to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, steeped in culture and history in the beautiful rural Warwickshire Countryside, on the banks of the River Avon. Afternoon Champagne Tea at Benson's in Stratford. The rest of the afternoon free to explore Stratford and maybe take in pub dinner. You may want to visit Shakespeare's birthplace as well. Overnight Stratford-upon-Avon, England.(B,L)
Day 5 - This morning we will visit The Teddy Bear Museum. Hundreds of Teddy Bears from all across the world can be seen in their original Elizabethan setting. Some of these bears are the oldest, most valuable and most unusual that you will find anywhere. This afternoon finds us in the beautiful old Cotswolds Market Town of Chipping Campden. Our first stop is Badger's Hall for Afternoon Tea in there quintessential English Tea Room. We next visit The Woolstaplers Hall built in 1340 and for hundreds of years it was a Wool Exchange, attracting merchants from London and as far afield as Florence, to buy Cotswold fleeces for shipment around the world. We'll take some free time before a pub dinner at Eight Bells Inn, a 14th century traditional Cotswold Inn. Overnight Stratford-upon-Avon, England.(B,L,D)
Day 6 - Enjoy a good breakfast this morning before heading to North Wales and 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! This afternoon we visit Llangollen, a lovely village nestled along side the River Dee. Afternoon Tea at the Cottage Tearooms at Ham and Egg Square. You will have a few hours free to investigate this village with over 3,000 years of history. Dinner on your own tonight in Llangollen. Overnight Llangollen, Wales.(B,L)
Day 7 - After breakfast this morning we visit the evocative ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey. Laying in green fields beneath Llangollen's steep sided mountains this remote spot was ideal for austere Cistercian monks, who deliberately sought out wild and lonely places. Chirk Castle and Gardens, 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. We are off to Ruthin where we prepare for a Mediaeval Evening at Ruthin Castle. Ruthin Castle was originally a Welsh fortress of wood and stone, rebuilt and enlarged in 1296 by Reginald de Grey in the service of Edward I. We will enjoy an evening of food and song at a Traditional Welsh Medieval Banquet at the Castle. Overnight Llangollen, Wales.(B,D)
Day 8 - We leave Wales behind this morning as we enter again into England and make our long journey to Yorkshire. Our first stop today is at Chester, first settled by the Romans in AD 79. The main street is lined with timber buildings called the Chester Rows first built in the 13th and 14th centuries. Our next stop will be Haworth for Afternoon Tea at the Apothecary Tea Rooms. While in Haworth we'll visit the Bronte Parsonage Museum, home from 1820-1861 to novelists Charlotte, Emily and Anne. From here it is just a short drive to our overnight accommodation in Skipton. Dinner at Canalside on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Overnight Skipton, England.(B,L,D)
Day 9 - This morning we are off to York for the next 2 nights. It seems as if York has more tearooms than any other city in the UK and the City of York has retained so much of its medieval structure that walking into its center is like entering a living museum! The first Roman City was built in AD71. There is so much to see and do in York that we will want to take an Open Top Bus Tour to get a feel of the city. The tour has hop on and hop off service all day. You will want to visit the 534 foot long York Minster, The Shambles, Jorvik Viking Centre and possibly the National Railway Museum. We will meet this afternoon for Tea at The Earl Grey Tea Rooms in the Shambles. Dinner on your own in York tonight. Overnight York, England.(B,L)
Day 10 - Today we are off to Harrogate, which at the turn of the 20th century was the north's leading spa town, with nearly 90 medicinal springs. Today it is a lovely town of fine architecture and public gardens. We'll visit the Royal Pump Room Museum as well as Betty's Cafe Tea Rooms. There are 6 Betty's in the Yorkshire area and they have been a family business for more than 80 years! The Afternoon is Free for shopping before returning to York. Pub Dinner at the 200 year old Rose and Crown just outside of York. Overnight York, England.(B,L,D)
Day 11 - After leaving York we head north with our first stop at Rievaulx Abbey which is perhaps the finest abbey in the area. It was founded by the French Cistercian Monks in 1132 and sits in a dramatic woodland valley. Our next stop is Durham and Durham Castle & Cathedral. The city was built on Island Hill in 995AD and is dominated by the Cathedral. Before we visit the cathedral we will stop for tea at Rumbletums Old English Tea Rooms. The cathedral was founded in 995 by monks from Lindisfarne who had fled their island home when the Danish Vikings came calling. Durham is one of the high points of cathedral architecture in this or any other land. Pub Dinner at the 800 year old Blackfriars Restaurant in Newcastle. Overnight Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North England.(B,L,D)
Day 12 - Our first stop this morning is Alnwick Castle. To many people, their first sight of this glorious medieval castle can seem foreboding, and certainly its history lacks nothing in drama and intrigue and it has seen its share of film production for everything from Harry Potter to Elizabeth to Becket to Blackadder. Further up the road we find under the shadow of Bamburgh Castle a row of stone built cottages and nestling in the centre is the Copper Kettle Tearoom where we stop for Afternoon Tea. We'll take the coastal drive to Edinburgh with a stop at St. Abb's Head where the jagged cliffs rise 300 feet from the North Sea. We are then off to Edinburgh with the evening free to explore. Overnight Edinburgh, Scotland.(B,L)Day 13 - After breakfast you will take in the sights of Scotland's Capitol City aboard an Open Top Tour Bus where on your way about the city you will see Holyrood Palace, Grey Friar's Bobby and Deacon Brodie' along with Edinburgh Castle. Get on and off at your own pace. Afternoon Tea at the Caledonian Hilton with views of Edinburgh Castle from the Castle Suite Lounge. After an afternoon of taking in Princes Street and the Royal Mile we will gather for a Farewell Dinner and Jamie's Scottish Evening complete with Bagpipes, Song, Dance and the Ceremony of the Haggis! Overnight Edinburgh, Scotland(B,L,D)
Day 14 - To Edinburgh International Airport for the return journey home.
Member discount:
10% discount for InfoHub customer. Request a free gift certificate.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
This is a one time only tour scheduled for July, 9th - 22nd, 2008.
Price Includes:
- all accommodation
- breakfast daily
- all listed meals
- all entrance fees and admissions
- all taxes and guided minibus travel
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Scotland
England
Wales
Archeology/History
Cultural Journey
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