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Tour  Grand Tour of the British Isles

London, Hampton Court, Stratford, Warwick, York, Abbotsford, Edinburgh, Balmoral, Culloden Moor, Loch Lomond, Chester, Dublin, Kildare, Limerick, Cliffs of Moher, Connemara, Ring of Kerry, Blarney, Waterford, Bath, Stonehenge, Ferries

Tour start/end

21 days incl. air, or 20 days 

London/London

GLGL98

USA departure

Saturdays
from Apr 14 to Sep 29

2007

Tour Map

Tour price land only-  -  -  -   -  -  from    $ 3099 to $ 3319
Airline tickets from your home city also available

This comprehensive 21-day vacation offers the very best of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland for those who want to see it all, with five two-night stays. Your journey through England comprises visits to London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, and York. Then it’s on to the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands for visits to Edinburgh and Inverness, and a cruise on Loch Lomond. Enjoy England’s serene Lake District, and Wales’s Snowdonia National Park en route to Ireland. The "Fair City" of Dublin, the Cliffs of Moher, Limerick, the Ring of Kerry, Blarney, and Waterford are all Irish highlights. Take a ferry across St. George’s Channel and drive through southern Wales to Bath to see the amazing excavations. Enjoy two nights in the naval city of Plymouth before visits to historic Stonehenge and Salisbury and your return to London.

Tickets for the world-renowned Edinburgh Military Tattoo are included for tours 0731 through 0821.


 

Included Features

LONDON  Guided sightseeing, visit St. Paul’s Cathedral and see the Changing of the Guard, if held
HAMPTON COURT  A special walking tour through the palace’s ornamental gardens
STRATFORD icture stop at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, visit Shakespeare’s birthplace
WARWICK  Private guided tour of the castle
YORK  Walking tour
ABBOTSFORD  Guided tour of Sir Walter Scott’s house
EDINBURGH  Guided sightseeing, visit Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace
BALMORAL  Visit the castle or Crathie church
CULLODEN MOOR  Visit the battle site’s visitor center
LOCH LOMOND  Cruise the loch in a private boat
CHESTER  Walking tour
DUBLIN  Orientation drive, visit Trinity College
KILDARE  Guided tour of the Irish National Stud
LIMERICK  Orientation drive
CLIFFS OF MOHER  Savor the spectacular view
CONNEMARA  Visit a marble factory
RING OF KERRY  Scenic peninsula drive
BLARNEY  Visit the famous woolen mills
WATERFORD  Guided tour of the Waterford Crystal factory
BATH  Visit the Roman relics
STONEHENGE  Visit the prehistoric monument
FERRIES

MEALS: 19 full English breakfasts (FB); 9 three-course dinners (D) with choice of menus and coffee, and a welcome drink before dinner at your hotel in Warwick

INSIDE VISITS Inside visits and special features are shown in UPPERCASE in the tour description, including admission charges when applicable.

 

Itinerary: Tour Grand Tour of the British Isles

Day 1 (Sat.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2 Arrival in London, England. (Sun.) Uniformed Globus Hosts are available to help you make the most of your stay.

Day 3 London. (Mon.) 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 Windsor Castle or the Tower of London with its fabulous Crown Jewels. Tonight maybe an optional dinner followed by a cruise on the River Thames? (FB)

Day 4 London-Stratford-Warwick. (Tue.) Meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and depart London at 8:30 a.m. for a lovely day of sightseeing. First, a special visit to admire the breathtaking ORNAMENTAL GARDENS of Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace. Your Tour Director will take you on a walk to see the Great Vine, Pond Garden, Privy Garden and the flower borders of the Great Fountain Garden. Drive through Runnymede, site of the sealing of the Magna Carta; enjoy a walking tour in the university town of Oxford; admire the scenic Cotswold Hills. At Stratford-upon-Avon visit SHAKESPEARE’S BIRTHPLACE and take your pictures of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. Before dinner at Warwick join your Tour Director for a toast to happy touring. (FB,D)

Day 5 Warwick-York. (Wed.) A spectacular start to the day: on your special guided tour of magnificent WARWICK CASTLE, marvel at the opulent Great Hall and State Rooms and visit the former private apartments in which a royal weekend party of 1898 has been recreated. Later skirt Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest on the way to York, England’s most complete medieval city. Stand in awe in front of the great structure of York Minster, then follow your Tour Director through a maze of quaint streets including the narrow Shambles. (FB,D)

Day 6 York-Edinburgh, Scotland. (Thu.) Inspect a section of Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman coast-to-coast defense against marauding northern tribes. Through wild Northumberland National Park motor to the Scottish border in the Cheviot Hills, and on to Jedburgh, where the abbey ruins and the house of Mary, Queen of Scots, are pointed out to you. Next visit Sir Walter Scott’s ABBOTSFORD HOUSE for an enlightening guided tour. Spend the next two nights in Edinburgh, the "Prince of Cities." Tonight an optional Scottish evening with Highland dancers, bagpipers, and the Ceremony of the Haggis. (FB)

Day 7 Edinburgh. (Fri.) 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 free to enjoy this "Prince of Cities" at your own pace. 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 0731 through 0821 tickets are included for tonight's performance of the world-renowned MILITARY TATTOO. (FB)

Day 8 Edinburgh-Inverness. (Sat.) Over the elegant Forth Road Bridge and through Fife to St. Andrews, whose Royal and Ancient Golf Club has given us the rules of golfing. Through Braemar, home of the Royal Highland Games, to BALMORAL CASTLE. (After July 31, when the Royal Family is in residence, visit CRATHIE CHURCH instead.) From here take the scenic route through the vast expanses of heather in the Grampian Mountains. At Culloden VISITOR CENTRE hear about the story of the crushing Hanoverian victory over Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Scottish clans. Overnight at Inverness, the Highland capital. (FB,D)

Day 9 Inverness-Glasgow. (Sun.) A day full of Highland splendor: Loch Ness with its mysterious monster; Fort William located beneath Ben Nevis. Skirt Loch Linnhe and enter haunting Glen Coe, where the MacDonalds were treacherously massacred by the Campbells in 1692. Across wild Rannoch Moor to the "Bonnie Banks" of Loch Lomond for a CRUISE on the loch before heading south to Glasgow. (FB,D)

Day 10 Glasgow-Lake District-Chester, England. (Mon.) On the way through the history-steeped Lowland Hills stop at Gretna Green, where the blacksmith used to wed runaway couples. Enter the beautiful Lake District and follow the shores of Ullswater. Then over Kirkstone Pass to visit Bowness-on-Windermere. On your walking tour of Chester see the Roman remains, black and white half-timbered buildings, and the two-tiered arcades called the "Rows." (FB,D)

Day 11 Chester-North Wales-Dublin, Ireland. (Tue.) Cross the border into North Wales and through the incomparable landscapes of Snowdonia National Park, via lovely Betws-y-Coed and over spectacular Llanberis Pass. After a break at Caernarvon it’s across Britannia Bridge to the Isle of Anglesey for photos at tongue-twisting Llanfair... At Holyhead board your Irish Ferries Swift for the fast Irish Sea crossing to Dublin. Ask your Tour Director for tonight’s dining suggestions. (FB)

Day 12 Dublin. (Wed.) An orientation drive in the Irish capital includes statue-lined O’Connell Street, elegant Georgian squares, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Then visit Oscar Wilde’s TRINITY COLLEGE, famous for the 1,200 year-old Book of Kells and the magnificent Old Library. Afternoon at leisure. Tonight an optional Irish dinner and cabaret show. (FB)

Day 13 Dublin-Limerick. (Thu.) Across the Curragh to the IRISH NATIONAL STUD at Kildare. Lots to see on the way to Limerick: the Rock of Cashel where St. Patrick preached; Tipperary, made famous in a wartime marching song; and on arrival an orientation drive acquaints you with St. Mary’s Cathedral, King John’s Castle, and the Stone where the Treaty of Limerick was signed in 1691. Tonight’s recommendation: an optional banquet at Bunratty Castle. (FB)

Day 14 Limerick. West Coast Excursion. (Fri.) A breathtaking view of the Clare coast from the 668-foot CLIFFS OF MOHER, then a drive across the limestone plateau of The Burren to the port city of Galway. Hear about the infamous Lynch Stone, commemorating the day Mayor James Lynch Fitzstephen hanged his son for murder. Drive into the unspoiled region of Connemara, and at Moycullen visit a CONNEMARA MARBLE FACTORY. (FB)

Day 15 Limerick-Ring of Kerry-Killarney. (Sat.) Via quaint Adare, with its pretty thatched cottages, and Killorglin on Dingle Bay, the setting for Ryan’s Daughter, join the spectacular "Ring of Kerry" for a 100-mile panoramic drive around the island’s southwestern tip. Take your photos of the Lakes of Killarney then spend the night in this popular resort town. (FB,D)

Day 16 Killarney-Waterford. (Sun.) Morning visit to Blarney, renowned for its Stone of Eloquence. Time for lunch, to walk up to the castle, and to shop for traditional Irish handicrafts. In the afternoon proceed via Cork to Waterford, a stronghold founded by the Danish Vikings. Time still for a visit to the world-famous WATERFORD CRYSTAL FACTORY. (FB,D)

Day 17 Waterford-Bristol, England. (Mon.) By ferry from Rosslare across St. George’s Channel to Pembroke and a drive through South Wales. Cross the River Severn and in Bristol your orientation focuses on Brunel’s daring Clifton suspension bridge, SS Great Britain, and the historic harbor from which John Cabot sailed in 1497 to discover America. (FB,D)

Day 18 Bristol-Bath-Plymouth. (Tue.) First this morning in Georgian Bath, time to explore the amazing excavations of the ROMAN BATHS. Then focus on Cheddar Gorge and King Arthur’s Glastonbury. Visit pretty Widecombe in the Moor as you head across Dartmoor to Plymouth, destination for the next two nights. (FB,D)

Day 19 Plymouth. Cornwall Excursion. (Wed.) Cross the River Tamar on your way to the pretty shark-fishing village and former smugglers’ port of Looe. Back in Plymouth, a leisurely afternoon. See the Mayflower Steps where the Pilgrim Fathers embarked in 1620, and hear about Sir Francis Drake. Maybe an optional cruise on Plymouth Sound. Your Tour Director will also have recommendations for this evening. (FB)

Day 20 Plymouth-London. (Thu.) Two sightseeing highlights on the last leg of your journey: first try to figure out the intriguing prehistoric riddle of STONEHENGE; then stroll through pretty Salisbury with its vast cathedral, the ultimate in Early English Gothic. Return to London around 4 p.m. How about celebrating the success of your tour by taking in one of the great West End shows? (FB)

Day 21 Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (FB)

 

Quality Hotels

LONDON Novotel London West (F), WARWICK Hilton (F), YORK Novotel (F), EDINBURGH Carlton (SF), INVERNESS Ramada (F), GLASGOW Radisson SAS (SF), CHESTER St. David's Park (SF) at Ewloe, DUBLIN Berkeley Court (SF), LIMERICK Clarion (SF), KILLARNEY Holiday Inn (F), WATERFORD Tower (F), BRISTOL Jurys (F), PLYMOUTH Holiday Inn (SF), LONDON Hilton London Metropole (SF)

Hotel Rating Abbreviations:

SF = Superior First Class
F   =  First Class
ST  = Superior Tourist Class