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14 Days British Heritage Tour Package
Duration: 14 Days / 13 Nights
Priced From: $2,399 pp Dbl. Occ.
Dates: May - Oct
This 14-day vacation includes two and three night stays in all the best locations. Begin with comprehensive sightseeing in London before traveling north to the city of Cambridge and the medieval town of York where you have plenty of free time to enjoy this historic city at your own pace. In Alnwick, visit the lavish, newly created garden and take photos of the castle, a famous setting for the Harry Potter films. Enjoy a three-night stay in Edinburgh, which includes visits to its castle, Holyrood Palace, and St. Andrews, where you have the opportunity to hit a few golf balls, as well as time at leisure. Take a cruise in the tranquil Lake District, a walking tour of Chester and experience the unique culture of North Wales. Visit Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon, the amazing excavations of the Roman Baths in Bath, and prehistoric Stonehenge. A visit to the immense Winchester Cathedral is the final highlight of this relaxed vacation.
Itinerary
Day 1
Board your overnight transatlantic flight.
Day 2 Arrival in London, England
Uniformed Hosts are available to help you make the most of your stay.
Day 3 London
After a hearty English breakfast, morning sightseeing with a Local Guide includes all the famous landmarks: Knightsbridge with Harrods, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall's mounted horseguards and the Prime Minister's Downing Street, and Buckingham Palace. Highlights are a visit to ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, and the ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held. Free time in the afternoon for independent activities or to join an optional excursion to the Tower of London with its fabulous Crown Jewels. Tonight maybe an optinal dinner followed by a cruise on the River Thames? (FB)
Day 4 London-Cambridge-York
Meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and depart London at 8 a.m. for a memorable day of sightseeing. In the venerable city of Cambridge, join a local expert for a visit to 500-year-old KINGS COLLEGE, including the CHAPEL with its marvelous fan-vaulted ceiling and stained-glass windows (visits are restricted during examinations). This afternoon enjoy a visit to BELVOIR CASTLE, film location for The Da Vinci Code . The stately home of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland houses one of England's finest private art collections. Spend the next two nights in York, England's most complete medieval city. Before dinner join your Tour Director and traveling companions for a toast to happy touring with a congenial group. (FB,D)
Day 5 At Leisure in York
On a walking tour in the company of your Tour Director, visit the CASTLE MUSEUM which recreates the atmosphere of everyday life in Britain during the past 300 years. Then follow a maze of quaint streets, including the narrow Shambles, before exploring the treasures of awe-inspiring York Minster. The rest of the day is free to enjoy this historic city at your own pace. Ask your Tour Director for this evening's dining suggestions. (FB)
Day 6 York-Edinburgh, Scotland
Fascinating landmarks as your northbound journey unfolds: at Hadrian's Wall visit SEGEDUNUM where Roman life is vividly explained; glimpse sturdy castles built to repel Scottish invasions; enjoy a lunchtime visit to the lavish, newly created ALNWICK GARDEN, where the fountains and waterfalls are a breathtaking feature. Take your photos of the castle, ancestral home of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, setting for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the recent Harry Potter films. Take in vistas of St. Aidan's 7th-century Holy Island of Lindisfarne, cradle of English Christianity, as you cross the border into Scotland. Late afternoon arrival in Edinburgh, the "Athens of the North." (FB,D)
Day 7 At Leisure in Edinburgh
A full day to enjoy this "Prince of Cities." Morning city sightseeing with a Local Guide introduces you to the 200-year-old “New Town” and famous scientists, inventors and novelists. In the “Old Town”, drive up the narrow Royal Mile to EDINBURGH CASTLE to admire Scotland's Crown Jewels, then explore HOLYROOD PALACE (except when the Queen is in residence). The afternoon is at leisure. Later, a unique optional experience: board the former Royal Yacht Britannia , which for the Queen was once the perfect royal residence for glittering state visits and family holidays. Tour five decks and see how the Royal Family and crew of 240 lived and worked on board. Dinner rounds off this optional evening. For tour numbers 0804, 0811 and 0818 tickets are included for tonight's performance of the world-renowned MILITARY TATTOO: a vast spectacle of massed Scottish pipe bands, which takes place in an arena on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. (FB)
Day 8 Edinburgh. At Leisure. Excursion to St. Andrews
This morning, enjoy a drive across the elegant Forth Road Bridge and through Fife to St. Andrews, whose Royal and Ancient Golf Club, founded in 1754, has given us the rules of golfing. A fun inclusion is the opportunity to hit a few balls at the ST. ANDREWS GOLF PRACTICE CENTRE. Spend the rest of the day back in Edinburgh. With so much to see and do, take your Tour Director's best advice. Tonight don't miss our optional Scottish evening with Highland dancers, bagpipers, and the Ceremony of the Haggis. (FB)
Day 9 Edinburgh-Lake District, England-Chester
On the way through the history-steeped Lowland Hills, stop at Gretna Green, where the blacksmith used to wed runaway couples. Leave the land of the Scots, and journey through the tranquil Lake District, considered the finest of England's national parks. At Bowness-on-Windermere enjoy one of the highlights of the day, a cruise along the lake on an historic iron steamship. Spend the next two nights at Chester. (FB,D)
Day 10 Chester, North Wales Excursion
On your walking tour in the walled city of Chester see the Roman remains, the characteristic black and white half-timbered buildings, and the two-tiered arcades called the "Rows," with time afterwards to browse and shop. Your North Wales excursion takes the scenic route over dramatic Horseshoe Pass for a visit to picturesque Llangollen, home of an annual international contest for poets and minstrels. A special treat: a guided tour of PLAS NEWYDD, the timbered black and white home of the eccentric "Ladies of Llangollen." Tonight, take your Tour Director's optional recommendation. (FB)
Day 11 Chester-Stratford-Bristol
In Stratford-upon-Avon take your pictures of Anne Hathaway's Cottage and visit SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHPLACE. Time to explore this fine example of an Elizabethan town on your own before driving through the beautiful Cotswold Hills to quaint medieval Stow-on-the-Wold. Your destination for the next two nights is Bristol from where John Cabot sailed in 1497 to discover America. (FB,D)
Day 12 Bristol. Bath Excursion
Your Bristol orientation tour focuses on Brunel's daring Clifton suspension bridge, SS Great Britain and the historic harbor. In Bath see the amazing excavations of the ROMAN BATHS then plenty of time to explore this beautiful flower-festooned city at your own pace. This evening consider an optional excursion to the picture-book 13th-century village of Castle Combe. (FB)
Day 13 Bristol-Winchester-London
Try to unravel the mystery of prehistoric STONEHENGE on the way across Salisbury Plain. Take a lunchtime break in Winchester, the ancient capital of Wessex, and visit the immense CATHEDRAL where the murdered King William Rufus and novelist Jane Austen of Pride and Prejudice fame are buried. Return to London around 3:30 p.m. How about celebrating the success of your leisurely tour of Britain with a night out on the town? (FB)
Day 14
Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (FB)
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10/08
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