The United Kingdom
Celtic Lands  11 Day Tour
England - Wales - Ireland - Scotland

Dublin – Ruthin – Chester – Edinburgh – Cotswolds – Stratford – Bath – London

Day 1 Depart to Europe. Enjoy our wide body service to the Capital of Ireland. Tour may run in the opposite direction.

Day 2 Arrive in Dublin, Ireland with a greeting by our friendly representative and transfer to hotel. Unpack your bags and take a short walking tour to sample this great city that was founded approximately 2000BC.

Day 3 After a hearty Irish Breakfast, sample old Dublin this morning including O’Connell Street and the Rotunda, historic Abbey Theater, Customs House, Phoenix Park (one of the largest such parks in Europe) and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The highlight of the day is quite likely the Arthur Guinness Son and Co. Brewery. This brewery is more than 200 years old and pours out more than 5 million glasses of stout per year. Enjoy 3 course dinner in an Irish pub and O/N in Dublin.

Day 4 Depart lovely Dublin. Cross the Irish Sea (from Dun Laoghaire) by ferry to Holyhead and Llangolen (past Dinas Bran Castle, Chirk Castle, or Caernarfon Castle) to the walled city of Chester. The Romans conquered Northern Britain from here (or most of it) and left behind ruins for us to view. Near Holyhead is a town called (and forgive me if the longest name in the world is not spelled correctly) Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. O/N in an authentic Welsh Castle called Ruthin Castle (or similar). Sleep like a king or queen tonight.

Day 5 A long day awaits us. Depart for the famous "Lake District" of England. Drive by Lake Windermer or Lake Ambleside to Quaint Grasmere. We enter Scotland and have the opportunity to visit a woolen mill in Moffat with an included visit to the Clan Tartan Center. Arrive in Edinburgh in time to enjoy a fabulous 5 course dinner which includes Highland Dancing, music and lots of bagpipes. Overnight in Edinburgh.

Day 6 An orientation drive will familiarize us with Edinburgh after which we will explore Edinburgh Castle (home of the Scottish Crown Jewels), Royal Mile and Holyrood Palace. See the Magic Eye and try to figure out how it works. This incredible spying device was invented a hundred years ago! Overnight in Edinburgh.

Day 7 Depart Bonnie Scotland for Medieval York. The home of "Robert the Bruce" is en route. Near the Scottish/English border is Hadrian’s Wall. Many assume this coast to coast wall was built by the Scots to keep out the invading Romans who had conquered most of Europe. Actually it was built by the Romans to keep out the vicious Scots!! In York visit the famous "Shambles" and its massive 13th century Minster (Cathedral). An evening "Ghost Walk" around the walls of York will thrill the group after dinner.

Day 8 A very busy day finds us heading South through Robin Hood’s old haunt (Sherwood Forest) to Stratford, birthplace of the great writer, Shakespeare. Visit his birthplace and continue to Bath via the Cotswolds.

Day 9 Bath offers up its historical bounty including its Roman Baths and Pumphouse. At Stonehenge we try and solve the great mystery and then a special treat that many visitors to England do not see. We visit the Cheddar Gorge region of England. The Gorge is a spectacular ravine and we will visit the Cheddar Show-caves, Jacob’s Ladder and Museum. The ancient skeletons in the caves have now been positively linked by DNA to residents of the area and is the oldest known link of modern man to prehistoric man on earth. As an alternative to the caves of Cheddar we could visit Salisbury and its Gothic Cathedral. Overnight in London after enjoying a 3 course dinner at a local pub in London (London has over 5,000 pubs - unfortunately we won’t be able to visit them all this trip).

Day 10 London. Our tour guide will introduce us to the famous landmarks of the city on the Thames. Witness the changing of the Royal Guard at Buckingham Palace (when available), visit Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column, Royal Albert Hall, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament. After the tour how about a walk through St. James Park, Hyde Park or, perhaps, some shopping. Our special treat for this evening is a farewell dinner at a "themed" restaurant in London such as the Rainforest Cafe.

Day 11 London-Hone. Enjoy the flight home. Dream about returning the day you return to the charms of London.