HIGHLIGHTS OF BRITAIN: LONDON TO EDINBURGH 2012

1 nt Cotswolds, 2 nts Chester, 2 nts York, 2 nts Lake District

Tour only package from

$2465*

* Includes ALL taxes and service charges

Tour Highlights
Daily Itinerary
Dates & Prices
Hotel Descriptions

A unique sightseeing experience, this comprehensive journey is tailored to those who want to fully experience British history and culture. True to the Back-Roads philosophy, this tour shares some of the best-kept secrets of this idyllic land. Our tour is designed to bring you the very best of Britain, from shimmering lakes, towering mountains, thatched cottage villages, quaint harbours and medieval towns and cities. On leisurely days and fun evenings you'll discover more about the amazing people, history, landscape and culture of these unique countries – England, Wales and Scotland.

Stay in the heart of the Cotswolds, wind through Wales’ Snowdonia National Park, shop at the Chester’s Rows, explore Bronte and Wordsworth country, experience the Victorian way of life at Ironbridge and try the best fish and chips in Whitby.

Features

7 nights in charming accommodation
Driver/guide companion
Mercedes mini-coach transportation throughout
Full English breakfast daily
4 x evening meals
Fish and chips in Whitby
Entrance fees included:
Christ Church College
Ironbridge Gorge Museums
Conwy Castle
Roman Amphitheatre, Chester
Bronte Parsonage, Haworth
Captain Cook Museum, Whitby
Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage
Hadrian’s Wall visitor site
Rosslyn Chapel

Meals

7 breakfasts

0 lunches

4 dinners

Cotswolds

After London, there is no better introduction to England than Oxford. The ‘city of dreaming spires’ is beautiful but has more to offer than just looks. Its university has ensured that it is rich in the history. Poets and politicians, artists and scientists – they’ve been coming here for over 800 years. We see the grandest of all Oxford’s colleges, Christ Church, once the home of Lewis Carroll, before enjoying a guided walk of the city. After lunch we wind our way through the lovely, honey-coloured villages and little towns of the Cotswold Hills. Our vehicles allow us to get down narrow country lanes as we travel to our Cotswold accommodation.

Day 1

1 x

Chester

This morning we leave the lovely Cotswolds behind and drive across the fruit-growing Vale of Evesham to Worcester. Off the tourist trail, we enjoy visiting one of England’s quietest but most interesting cathedrals, your guide will show you the tomb of the infamous King John, who was forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215, relinquishing much of the Crown’s power in favour of Parliament. We continue our journey north to the town of Much Wenlock. Impossibly quaint, this little town is home to a big secret – it was the birthplace of the modern Olympics. We can visit a little museum explaining how this came about before taking the short drive to Ironbridge, the cradle of the Industrial Revolution and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We step back in time as we visit the stunning gorge and the Victorian museums which bring Britain’s industrial heritage to life. We finish today by driving across lush dairy country to historic Chester, once the Roman city of Deva.

Day 2

1 x

Chester

Today be prepared for wonderful scenery as we travel across the border into Wales to explore Snowdonia National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty. The National Park nestles around the highest mountain in England and Wales, Mount Snowdon. We experience narrow mountain passes, see gushing streams (or “nants”), cascading waterfalls, sheep-covered uplands and verdant, hidden valleys which some claim to be the resting place of the real King Arthur. Listen out for the ancient language of Arthur’s time in this corner of Britain which fiercely guards its ancient Welsh culture. We explore it in true Back-Roads fashion, taking you beyond the regular tourist haunts down ancient tracks and paths. This afternoon we make our way back to Chester along the North Wales coast visiting Conwy, the most complete walled town in Britain, with its stark and imposing 13th century castle.

Day 3

1 x

York

This morning we explore charming Chester, a city whose 2000 year-old history is on display like nowhere else. Complete medieval walls surround the city, and the old Roman amphitheatre, the most complete in Britain, rises out of the ancient Roman foundations. We have time to call into the cathedral, founded in the 7th century, or to shop in Chester’s unique Rows. Britain’s first shopping mall, these are rows of medieval half-timbered “black and white” buildings with covered walkways, built upon Roman cellars that are accessed from the street. This is shopping the Back-Roads way. Hitting the road again, we travel east across England’s backbone, the Pennine hills, to proud Yorkshire and the Bronte parsonage at Haworth. Here we go back in time to the world that inspired the Bronte sisters to write the likes of “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights”. After visiting their parsonage home, we explore the steep little town beneath and drive to the nearby moors, before making our way to the imposing city of York, our base for two nights.

Day 4

1 x

York

Get your cameras ready as we explore this fascinating city, the historic capital of northern England. York is home to the largest Gothic structure north of the Alps, the medieval Minster, which is a must-see for anyone visiting the North. This morning your guide takes you through the old city and point out the highlights including the city walls, the York Castle Museum, the Jorvik (Viking) Centre, Clifford’s Tower and the famous Shambles, which gets its name from the bloody medieval butchers’ shops which once lined this narrow, cobbled street. This afternoon you have some free time to revisit some of these places or to perhaps visit the National Railway Museum. You might prefer to just wander through the winding pedestrian streets, have tea at the world famous Betty’s Tearooms or perhaps sample something stronger in one of York’s numerous historic pubs.

Day 5

1 x

Lake District

Today we leave behind the grand city of York and make our way to Whitby, dipping into the imposing North Yorkshire Moors on the way, a haven for wildlife and famed for its outstanding scenery and rich cultural heritage. As we reach Whitby we see the famous Abbey dominating the skyline. Whitby’s connections are numerous, and perhaps most famously, it was here that the young Captain Cook trained as a seaman before embarking on his epic voyages of discovery. Visit the fascinating museum, a 17th century house on the harbourside where the famous explorer lodged as an apprentice. Whitby is where the author Bram Stoker was inspired as he worked on his great novel “Dracula” – indeed Count Dracula arrived on these very shores! A trip to Whitby is not complete without a taste of the wonderful fish and chips, reputedly the best in Britain. We then head west and enjoy the wonderful scenery of the Yorkshire Dales. As we travel along the pretty valley of Swaledale and climb the bare hills (called “fells”), we see hedgerows replaced by miles and miles of dry-stone walls, whose course reflects a system of land ownership that goes back to Viking days. As always, our mini-coach will take the less frequented roads over this stunning landscape and through little Yorkshire villages on our way to Cumbria, England’s Lake District and our home for the next two nights.

Day 6

1 x

Lake District

The famous Lake District will provide a feast of photographic opportunities as we visit waterfalls, quaint local villages, and travel through panoramic and dramatic countryside. Our highlights include Grasmere, where we pay homage to the life and work of the poet William Wordsworth at Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum and Art Gallery. We also stop at the mystical Castlerigg Stone Circle, one of the British Isles’ most ancient, erected 5000 years ago during the Neolithic period. We immerse ourselves in the stunning natural beauty of the region before returning to our cosy accommodation for our final dinner together.

Day 7

1 x

Edinburgh

Following another delicious breakfast we say goodbye to the truly memorable Lakes as we head north to Scotland and its border and lowland country. Before we cross the border we enjoy the stunning vistas of Northumberland National Park, we then stop at the Roman Empire’s northernmost frontier, Emperor Hadrian’s famous wall. We visit one of its visitor sites to give us an insight into Britain’s Roman past before travelling over the wild Border Country and into Scotland. This wild landscape offers us an opportunity to see the towns and castles of the once lawless region of Border “Reivers” (the words “kidnap” and “blackmail” both originate here), immortalised in the novelist Walter Scott’s work. We visit Rosslyn Chapel to trace ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and enjoy the ornamental stonework inside this intimate chapel. We enjoy a panoramic tour of Scotland’s beautiful capital city, home to two UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Old and New Towns and where we can see Canongate Kirk, the church where Zara Philips recently married in. We conclude our tour here, but don’t leave Scotland without tasting a “dram of whisky”!

Day 8

1 x

= Breakfast

= Lunch

= Dinner

HIGHLIGHTS OF BRITAIN: LONDON TO EDINBURGH 2012

Features

Meals

Cotswolds

Chester

Chester

York

York

Lake District

Lake District

Edinburgh

Important details

Accommodations

Main Navigation

Other Stuff

HIGHLIGHTS OF BRITAIN: LONDON TO EDINBURGH 2012

Features

Meals

Cotswolds

Chester

Chester

York

York

Lake District

Lake District

Edinburgh

Important details

Accommodations

Main Navigation

Other Stuff

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