• All hotel accommodation in twin bedded rooms with private facilities, all service charges and tips, baggage handling fees and local taxes included.

• Touring by luxury air-conditioned coach with reclining seats and a washroom onboard.

• The services of one of a professional Tour Director.

• A qualified local city guide in Edinburgh .

• The services of a Travel Representative if you stay in London hotel.

• A stylish wallet, tour documents and map book journal.

• 11 meals in total (see day-by-day itinerary: 7 full English breakfasts. 2 three-course dinners. Local highlight Scottish Highland dinner with whisky in Laggan. Farewell Dinner with wine in Bristol.)

• Tickets are included for the world-famous Tattoo during the Edinburgh Festival.
  

Tour Highlights

Visit England , Scotland and a touch of Wales as you Experience the Britain of days gone by with visits to Shakespeare 's birthplace, Scotland's Edinburgh Castle , the Roman baths and Stonehenge . Prepare to be amazed.

Tour Itinerary

Day 1 - London – Stratford – Coventry – York – Harrogate

A warm welcome from our Tour Director as we drive through the rolling
Cotswolds Hills to Stratford-upon-Avon. Here we visit Shakespeare’s birthplace and view Anne Hathaway’s cottage before continuing to Coventry where we see the two cathedrals – one was bombed into a ruin during the Second World War and the other has risen from its ashes. We will also see the statue of Lady Godiva – said to have ridden naked through the streets of the city before continuing to Viking York. Here we will enjoy a walking tour of the city highlighting the ancient walls, the Mansion House, the picturesque Shambles and the magnificent York Minster. Then on to our hotel in Harrogate where we enjoy a Welcome Drink and dinner with our Tour Director and fellow travellers. (Dinner)
Hotel: Holiday Inn

Day 2 - Harrogate – Durham – Edinburgh (2 nights)

This morning we are off to Durham , which is dominated by its 11th century Norman cathedral , its castle overlooking Palace Green and other fine buildings surrounded by the picturesque River Wear. Time to explore this small but magnificent city before driving through the Northumberland National Park to a section of Hadrian’s Wall where we can take pictures of the Roman construction. Then we cross the Scottish border at Carter Bar for spectacular views and pause to see the ruins of Jedburgh Abbey before arriving in Edinburgh , Scotland’s elegant capital. (Full Breakfast)
Hotel: Holiday Inn (2 nights)

Day 3 - Edinburgh sightseeing and at leisure

Included on our morning sightseeing tour with a local guide this morning are
many fascinating highlights. The Royal Mile, views of Holyrood House and Arthur’s Seat, Princes Street, the Scottish Parliament and a visit to Edinburgh Castle is included. There may be the opportunity to visit the nearby Rosslyn Chapel just south of the city– which retains an aura of mystery with its many references to the Knights Templar and Freemasonry – but more recently an important feature of the ‘Da Vinci Code’. During the Edinburgh Festival we include tickets to the spectacular Edinburgh Tattoo. (Full breakfast)

Day 4 - Edinburgh – St. Andrews – Scottish Highlands

After breakfast today, we drive across the Forth Bridge to the famous golf course at St. Andrews on the Fife coast where we stop to take a picture at the 18th hole! Then on to the Scottish Highlands and over the River Tay to visit charming Pitlochry village, famous for its salmon. Here we visit a famous whisky distillery where we learn about this great Scottish speciality and have the chance to sample a ‘wee dram’. Then to our hotel in the village of Laggan where we enjoy a traditional Highland Highlight Dinner including the ceremony of ‘piping in the haggis’, a unique Scottish tradition. (Full breakfast / Highlight dinner)
Hotel: Laggan Country Hotel

Day 5 - Scottish Highlands – Culloden – Loch Ness – Glasgow

This morning we drive to Culloden Moor where Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated by the redcoats. We visit the famous battlefield before continuing to Loch Ness – keep your eyes open for the monster! – and we stop here to take pictures at the romantic ruins of Urquhart Castle . On to Fort William where we will see Ben Nevis – Britain’s highest mountain – before driving on to Glencoe. Finally we reach Loch Lomond en route to Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow – once one of the most important shipbuilding cities in the world! (Full breakfast)
Hotel: Radisson SAS / Jurys Inn

Day 6 - Glasgow – Grasmere – Lake District

After an orientation tour of Glasgow featuring George Square we drive
through the Southern Uplands to Gretna Green. Here eloping couples
married against their parents’ wishes! Now into the English Lake District to Grasmere where the great English poet William Wordsworth lived and wrote his most well-known poem ‘The Daffodils’. We’ll see his grave in the churchyard of St. Oswald’s Church. We then drive to spectacular Lake Windermere, which is the largest natural lake in England - being 10 ? miles long and 1 ? miles across at its widest point with a depth of up to 220 feet. During our journey today our Tour Director will share with us the location of a special Hidden Treasure before we arrive at our hotel. (Full breakfast / Dinner)
Hotel: Holiday Inn Lancaster

Day 7 - Lake District – Chester – Tintern – Bristol

This morning after breakfast our first stop will be in Chester where our walking tour will take in the Roman Walls, the cathedral and the black and white Tudor arcaded buildings known as the ‘Rows’. From here we cross into Wales and the Wye Valley to view the ruins of the 12th century Tintern Abbey, which was only the second Cistercian foundation in Britain and the first in Wales . It is one of the most spectacular ruins in the country and inspired Wordsworth’s poem ‘Tintern Abbey’ and more than one painting by the great British painter, JMW Turner. Finally we drive into Bristol, the city particularly associated with the extraordinary engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. This evening, as it is our last evening together, we will enjoy a Farewell Dinner with our Tour Director and fellow travellers. (Full breakfast / Farewell dinner)
Hotel: Marriott City Centre

Day 8 - Bristol – Bath – Stonehenge – Salisbury – London

We make our way to the beautiful city of Bath this morning to enjoy views of the superb Georgian architecture and to make a visit to the Roman Baths to test the famous waters. Then we cross Salisbury Plain making a stop to visit the mysterious and imposing monoliths at Stonehenge . Then on to Salisbury where we have time to admire the cathedral and its spire – the tallest in Britain! Finally through Wiltshire and Hampshire back to London where our tour must come to an end and we must bid farewell to our Tour Director and touring friends. (Full breakfast)

Optional Extras

• Pre or post tour accommodation in London.
  

Dates and Rates

Departs London every Sat throughout 2010 summer season.

• Prices are per person land only based on 2 people sharing a twin room.
• Please ask for flight quotes from your preferred airport of departure.
• Please ask fro pricing in other currencies.