22 Day Britain & Ireland Discovery

Tour Description

A well paced tour with a blend of two-night stays in key cities plus the change of pace with two different Irish ferry crossings and pleasant driving days with frequent stops. Hotels are mainly modern in the major cities. While the Highland hotels are mainly traditional and much simpler in style, although typical of the region.

Tour Highlights

• Central England: See the `dreaming spires´ and colleges of Oxford. Visit William Shakespeare´s birthplace in Stratford.
• North England: See York Minster, city walls and “Shambles”.Visit William Wordsworth´s grave in Grasmere.
• Central Scotland: Visit the Castle during your guided tour of Edinburgh. Selected departures experience the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Visit St Andrews, home of golf.
• Highlands: Visit Tomatin Whisky Distillery, Culloden Visitor Centre and Battlefield and see Loch Ness and Eilean Donan.
• Orkney Islands: Excursion to visit Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, Kirkwall and Italian Chapel.
• Northern Ireland: Visit these amazing Giant´s Causeway. See `Derry´s walls´ and Guildhall. Visit Belleek Pottery Centre
• Republic of Ireland: Visit the grave of WB Yeats. Visit the Connemara marble factory. See the sights of Galway. Visit Bunratty Folk Park. See King John´s Castle in Limerick. Visit the village of Adare. Ride on a jaunting car. Experience views over mountains and sea on the Ring of Kerry. Visit Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney stone. See the sights of Cork. Visit the Waterford Crystal Showroom. See Kilkenny Castle. Visit the Book of Kells in Trinity College Library on your guided tour.
• Welsh Marches: See Chester´s `Rows´, city walls and Cathedral. Visit the quaint border town of Ludlow
• South West England: Visit the Roman Baths and Pump Rooms. Visit Glastonbury. Enjoy a cruise on Plymouth harbour. Visit the fishing village of Looe. Visit Stonehenge.
• Scenic drives – Cotswolds, Lake District, Highlands, Glencoe, Isle of Skye, Loch Lomond, Antrim coast, Connemara, Ring of Kerry, Wye Valley, Severn Bridge, Cornish Coast.

Your Hotels

• Alveston Manor (RW)
• Marriott Hotel, York
• Royal Terrace, Edinburgh
• Roxburghe, Edinburgh
• Laggan Country Hotel, Highlands
• Norseman
• Tongadale Hotel, Isle Of Skye
• Marriott Hotel, Glasgow
• Crowne Plaza, Glasgow
• City Hotel, Londonderry
• Radisson Blu, Sligo
• George Boutique Hotel, Limerick
• Killarney Towers, Killarney
• Killarney Avenue, Killarney
• Dooleys Hotel, Waterford
• Academy Plaza Hotel, Dublin
• Burlington Hotel, Dublin
• Herbert Park, Dublin
• Queen, Chester
• Marriott City Centre, Bristol
• Jurys Inn, Plymouth
• Copthorne, Plymouth

Quality Dining

• A Welcome Reception with light informal meal (WR)
• Traditional Highland Dinner with Scottish entertainment (HD)
• Choose from a selection of restaurants in Killarney (DA)
• Enjoy finalé Celebration Dinner with wine (CD)
• 21 full Breakfasts (FB), 8 three-course Evening Meals with choice, or buffets, plus tea or coffee (D)

First Class Services

• Escorted by a professional Tour Director
• Headsets for all guided visits and walking tours
• Enjoy the unique comfort of Insight´s Luxury air-conditioned 40 seat coach with extended leg room and on-board restroom
• Insight Hotels include all service charges, taxes and porterage
• Insight Traveller Welcome pack
• London Airport transfer service available

Itinerary

Day 1 London – Stratford

After a warm welcome from your Tour Director, head for Oxford, `City of Dreaming Spires´. Continue on through pretty Cotswold villages to Stratford, nestled beside the river Avon, where you visit the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Tonight enjoy a Welcome Reception and light informal meal
Stay: Alveston Manor (RW)

Day 2 Stratford – York

A leisurely drive brings you to the walled city of York. See the huge York Minster and stroll through the maze of cobbled streets to the crooked houses of the Shambles.
Stay: Marriott (FB/D)

Day 3 York – Lake District – Gretna – Edinburgh

Tour the beautiful Lake District and visit Wordsworth´s grave in the village of Grasmere. Cross into Scotland and stop briefly at Gretna Green. Then it´s on to the majestic Scottish capital. Tonight, selected departures attend the spectacular flood lit Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle.
Stay: Royal Terrace/Roxburghe (FB)

Day 4 Edinburgh Sightseeing

Take a guided tour inside historic Edinburgh Castle, home to the Honours of Scotland. Continue down the Royal Mile, past St Giles´ Cathedral to the Queen´s Holyroodhouse Palace. Then cross over to the 18th century New Town. The afternoon is at leisure. (FB)

Day 5 Edinburgh – St Andrews – Highlands

Cross the Firth of Forth on your way to St Andrews – the home of golf. Continue over the River Tay into the Grampian Mountains. You pass Blair Athol Castle before reaching the sparkling Spey Valley. Tonight, enjoy a lively Highland style dinner with Scottish entertainment.
Stay: Laggan Country Hotel (FB/HD)

Day 6 Highlands – Wick

The morning, enjoy a wee dram of the finest Highland whisky at the Tomatin distillery before visiting the Culloden Visitor Centre and battlefield, scene of the 1746 defeat of the Jacobites. Later drive via stately Inverness and along the shores of Loch Ness in search of the monster. Now follow the lovely coastal route north to Wick.
Stay: Norseman (FB/D)

Day 7 Orkney Islands Excursion

Drive to John O´Groats, the most northerly town on the British mainland, where you board a ferry to the Orkney Islands. Visit the village of Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, Kirkwall and the Italian Chapel. Head back to the mainland for the evening. (FB/D)

Day 8 Thurso – Isle Of Skye

Relax and enjoy the pristine landscapes of lochs and mountains on your way to the fishing town of Ullapool. Then it´s `over the sea to Skye´. Admire the scenic splendour of the Cuillin Hills en route to your hotel in Portree.
Stay: Tongadale (FB/D)

Day 9 Isle Of Skye – Loch Lomond – Glasgow

Take in magnificent scenery as you pass Eilean Donan Castle and continue to Glencoe. Stop on the `bonnie banks´ of Loch Lomond before arriving in Glasgow.
Stay: Marriott/Crowne Plaza (FB)

Day 10 Glasgow – Londonderry

Bid farewell to Scotland as you cross the Irish Sea, enjoying views of the Island of Arran on the way. Take the scenic Antrim coast road to the amazing rock formation known as the Giant´s Causeway before reaching your hotel.
Stay: City (FB/D)

Day 11 Londonderry – Belleek – Sligo

Join a local guide to see Derry´s Walls, the Guildhall and the city´s cathedral. Cross the border to see O´Donnell´s Castle in Donegal. Drive south to visit the Belleek Pottery Centre. Continue to the churchyard at Drumcliff, the last resting place of Irish poet WB Yeats. Then it´s on to Sligo.
Stay: Radisson Blu (FB/D)

Day 12 Sligo – Galway – Limerick

Take a scenic drive through the beautiful Connemara region to visit the famous marble factory. Continue on to Galway where you see St Nicholas Cathedral, the Spanish Arch and Eyre Square. Now for a visit to Bunratty Folk Park, where old Ireland comes to life! Stay tonight in Limerick, famous for rhymes, lace and Georgian houses.
Stay: George Boutique Hotel (FB)

Day 13 Limerick – Killarney

An orientation tour shows you King John´s Castle, St. Mary´s Cathedral and the treaty stone. Now drive through the charming village of Adare into County Kerry. In Killarney, enjoy a ride on a famous jaunting car.
Stay: Killarney Towers/Killarney Avenue (FB)

Day 14 Ring Of Kerry Excursion

Experience the spectacular scenery of the Ring of Kerry. Tonight enjoy a selection of restaurants for your dining pleasure. (FB/DA)

Day 15 Killarney – Blarney – Waterford

Kiss the Stone of Eloquence at Blarney Castle. Enjoy an orientation tour of Cork seeing St Finbar´s Cathedral before continuing along the coast to your hotel in Waterford.
Stay: Dooleys (FB/D)

Day 16 Waterford – Kilkenny – Dublin

Visit the Waterford Crystal showroom. Drive to Kilkenny to see the magnificent 13C castle. Continue to the fun-loving Irish capital, Dublin.
Stay: Academy Plaza/ Burlington/Herbert Park (FB)

Day 17 Dublin Sightseeing

Tour Dublin´s elegant Georgian squares with a local guide. You also see the Irish President´s home, O´Connell Street and Customs House. Then visit the Old Library of Trinity College to admire the 8th century Book of Kells. This afternoon you are at leisure. (FB)

Day 18 Dublin – Chester

Cross the Irish Sea and travel through North Wales, past Conwy Castle, to Chester. See the ruined Roman amphitheatre, city walls Tudor `Rows´ and cathedral.
Stay: Queen (FB/D)

Day 19 Chester – Bristol

Drive to the border town of Ludlow, rich in tragic royal history. Continue along the Wye Valley past Tintern Abbey and over the soaring Severn Bridge to Bristol.
Stay: Marriott City Centre (FB)

Day 20 Bristol – Bath – Plymouth

Travel the short distance to the beautiful Georgian city of Bath. Visit the Roman Baths before moving on to Plymouth, taking in Glastonbury along the way.
Stay: Jurys Inn/Copthorne (FB)

Day 21 Cornwall Excursion

Enjoy a highlight cruise on the harbour then see the Barbican and Hoe. Cross the Tamar river to enter Cornwall – land of smugglers´ coves and delightful fishing villages, to visit Looe. This evening enjoy a glass of wine with your Celebration Dinner (FB/HD)

Day 22 Plymouth – Stonehenge – London

Visit mysterious Stonehenge before crossing Salisbury Plain to return to London, where you bid farewell to your Tour Director. (FB)

Dates and Prices for 2011

Dates and Prices for 2012

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Accommodation rating Represents the standard of hotel used most frequently throughout this tour

Extras Represents the individual operators suggested budget to pay for additional activities on tour (dinners,entertainment,excursions etc) NOT included in base tour price

Hotel legend:
D deluxe | SF superior first | F first | MF moderate first | ST superior tourist | T Tourist