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DAY
1 DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight
to London.
DAY
2 ARRIVE LONDON - OXFORD - GLOUCESTER
AREA
(4 NIGHTS)
You will be met at the airport by your tour manager/guide
where we will board our own private coach and are transferred
to the Gloucester area. En route, we will stop in Oxford, the
university city of colleges, noble lawns and dreamy spires.
During our Walking Tour we will visit several colleges,
including Christ Church and view the Radcliffe
Camera, Bodleian Library and
Sheldonian Theater. We will continue to the
Gloucester area for the night..
DAY
3 DAY TRIP TO THE COTSWOLDS
We will begin our day with a visit to Gloucester Cathedral.
This afternoon we will travel through the Cotswolds, one of
the most picturesque areas of England. Made wealthy in the
Middle Ages by the wool trade, the villages of the Cotswolds
still seem to be part of an earlier age. Our Driving Tour
will take us to Bourton-on-the-Water with its charming
cottages which are made of the characteristic golden Cotswold
stone, lovely Buford, once one of the chief wool towns
of the area, Broadway and Chipping Camden
· Your First Concert Performance will be today
DAY
4 DAY TRIP WORCESTER & LUDLOW
This morning we will enjoy a Walking Tour of the City
of Worcester to orient ourselves with its sites and history
before visiting the famous Royal Worcester Porcelain Works,
founded in 1751. We will then travel to Ludlow where
our Walking Tour will take us around Ludlow’s
half-timbered buildings, viewing the 12th century Castle
and the black and white facade of the 17th century Feathers
Hotel. We will visit St Laurence’s Church, whose tower
dominates the surrounding countryside. There are wonderful
15th century misericords in the choir stalls, which portray
allegorical scenes, intermingled with Yorkist and Lancastrian
devices
DAY
5 DAY TRIP TO HEREFORD, THE WYE VALLEY
AND TINTERN ABBEY
Today, we explore some of the wonderful countryside of
Britain. Our day will begin as travel to one of the most
English of cities, Hereford, the city is easily explored on a
Walking Tour. We will then journey south through the
beautiful landscapes of the Wye Valley. The River Wye
twists and turns through changing landscapes on its course
from Plynimon to the Bristol Channel and is clothed in
magnificent woodlands of oak, beech, yew and lime. We will
travel to Tintern Abbey, immortalized in Wordsworth’s
poem. We will see much of the 13th century
abbey which still stands in its picturesque setting among
wooded slopes in a winding valley
DAY
6 GLOUCESTER - CHESTER AREA (2 NIGHTS)
After ample free time this morning in the Gloucester area we
then make a journey north to the medieval walled city of
Chester, once the Roman outpost of Deva. Upon arrival we will
take a Walking Tour of the city around the old city
centre. The layout of Chester still follows the Roman pattern,
and the Roman defensive walls create a pleasant walk
DAY
7 CHESTER
Today we will visit the magnificent red sandstone
Cathedral where we see an unusual feature of the
Cathedral its free-standing Bell Tower, or
campanile. Built in 1974 it is the first such separate bell
tower built in Britain since the 15th century . The city
abounds in medieval architecture and beautiful half-timbered
buildings. The most famous of these is the complex known as "The
Rows", a series of covered galleries above street-level
shops lining Watergate, Eastgate, and Bridge Street. The
layout of The Rows dates back to the 13th century. The rest of
the day is free to explore Chester at your leisure.
· Your Second Concert Performance will be today
DAY
8 CHESTER - CAERNARFON - ABERYSTWYTH
AREA
(1 NIGHT)
Today we travel into Wales and we will visit Caernarfon’s
magnificent Castle. Commissioned by Henry I back in
the 13th century, it is where Prince Charles was invested as
Prince of Wales. We will then journey on to the seaside town
of Aberystwyth, where we take a Walking Tour.
With its crescent of Victorian hotels and boarding houses
facing Cardigan Bay, Aberystwyth is not only a seaside resort
but also a university town and the home of the National
Library of Wales. Dominating the seafront is a pier and the
ruins of a castle built in the late 13th century by the
English.
DAY
9 ABERYSTWYTH - CAERPHILLY - CARDIFF
AREA (1 NIGHT)
Today we
journey to our final destination, Cardiff. The city has been
capital of Wales since only 1955, but there has been a
castle here since Roman times, which we will visit. The
Marquess of Bute lavishly restored the castle in the 19th
century. The city's highlight is the Civic Centre; a
group of dignified buildings built in the early 20th century
in classical style amid tree-lined squares and boulevards.
· Your Third Concert Performance will be today
DAY
10 DEPARTURE FROM LONDON
Your enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as your
tour manager/guide accompanies you to the airport for the return flight
home.
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