Scotland
1 – 4 July
2016
from £475.00
ITINERARY
Day 1 – Friday 1 July 2016
We depart this morning on a
direct flight from Luton to Edinburgh.
On arrival at Edinburgh Airport we will be met by our coach and transfer to
the centre of Edinburgh
for a panoramic coach tour of this historic city. Notable sights include the Castle, which sits on top of a rocky crag and dominates the city centre skyline;
the Royal Mile, which leads down the hill from the castle past St Giles
Cathedral and the controversial Scottish Parliament building to the Palace of Holyroodhouse,
where Mary, Queen of Scots once lived and where Queen Elizabeth II still stays
on her official visits to Edinburgh and the New Town, with its sweeping
terraces of elegant Georgian townhouses where notable Scots such as Robert
Louis Stephenson once lived.
After an opportunity for
lunch (not included) we cross the Forth
Road Bridge
into Fife and visit Kellie Castle, home
to the Earls of Kellie, which was restored by the Lorimer family in 1878. The
oldest tower, dating back to 1360, is said to be haunted but today the castle
is a tranquil spot. Visit the old
stables, now housing an exhibition on Hew Lorimer’s life, or take a stroll in
the magical Arts & Crafts garden. But spare a thought for the 5th Earl of
Kellie, who hid in the garden for an entire summer in a burnt-out tree stump
after the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
Following
our visit we will depart for our hotel in Stirling,
where dinner is served in the evening.
Day 2 – Saturday 2 July 2016
After
breakfast this morning we depart for Glasgow, where we will
visit the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery,
which re-opened in 2007 after a major refurbishment. Kelvingrove first opened
its doors to the public on 2 May 1901 when it formed a major part of the
Glasgow International Exhibition and since then has established itself as one
of the finest civic collections in Europe.
French, Italian and Dutch art feature alongside exhibits as diverse as Ancient
Egypt, Dinosaurs and Scotland’s
Wildlife.
(Alternatively, visit the Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel or the Botanic Garden. The new transport museum on the banks of the River
Clyde celebrates this rich industrial heritage with an extensive collection of
more than 3000 objects that includes trams, buses, cars, motorcycles, majestic
steam locomotives and finely detailed models of Clyde-built ships. The
botanic garden is
internationally renowned for its impressive glasshouses and extensive tropical
and plant collections from around the world.)
Later
we transfer to the Lomond Shores
retail outlet on the banks of Loch Lomond
where there will be an opportunity for lunch (not included) and some shopping
before we continue on a tour through The
Trossachs and then have a cruise on the steam ship Sir Walter Scott on Loch Katrine. The SS Sir Walter Scott is the
only surviving screw steamer in regular passenger service in Scotland. The
grand old lady has been sailing majestically on Loch Katrine since 1900. She
was launched in 1899 and today retains her original engines, which are powered
by steam using smokeless solid fuel.
We return to our hotel in Stirling where dinner is served in the evening
Day 3 – Sunday 3 July 2016
After
breakfast we check out
of the hotel and head for the New
Lanark World Heritage Site at its stunning location on the banks of the
River Clyde. The fascinating history of the village is brought to life in an
award-winning visitor centre. The village first rose to fame when Robert Owen
was mill manager from 1800 – 1825. He transformed New Lanark with ideas and
opportunities which were at least a hundred years ahead of their time. Child
labour and corporal punishment were abolished and villagers were provided with
decent homes, schools and evening classes, free health care and affordable food. New Lanark is still a living community and
the village is in the care of an independent charity, while profits from the
hotel and visitor attraction help the Conservation Trust continue to restore
and maintain the historic village. You can see working textile machinery, visit
Robert Owen’s house, the School and the Village Store.
Crossing
the border into England, we
continue to The Lake District, where we will visit Holehird, a garden owned by the Holehird Trust
and run by the Lakeland Horticultural Society, probably the only garden in Britain run
entirely by volunteer gardeners and open every day of the year. A working farm until the mid-19th
century, it is now a wonderful 10 acres of vibrant and interesting planting –
described as ‘many high quality gardens within a larger garden, which is part
of an outstanding landscape.’
We
continue to our hotel in Grange-Over-Sands at the southern edge of the Lake District. Dinner is served in
the evening.
Day 4 – Monday 4 July 2016
Enjoy your
breakfast. We check out of the hotel and begin our homeward journey,
which we will break with a visit to a house/garden on the way. Possibilities
include:
Calke Abbey, which tells the story of the
dramatic decline of a country house estate. The house and stables are little
restored, with many abandoned areas vividly portraying a period in the 20th
century when numerous country houses did not survive to tell their story. We
will discover the tales of an eccentric family who amassed a vast collection of
hidden treasures as we visit the beautiful, yet faded, walled gardens and
explore the orangery, auricula theatre and the kitchen gardens. We can also
explore into the ancient and fragile habitats of Calke Park
and its National Nature Reserve.
The award-winning gardens of Trentham
Hall in Staffordshire. The contemporary revival of the famous Italian Gardens was led by renowned designer and
multi-Chelsea gold-medal winner Tom Stuart-Smith. To the east of the Italian Gardens
are the Rivers of
Grass and
the adjacent Floral Labyrinth. Both these schemes were designed by eminent
Dutch plantsman, and Chelsea
gold medal winner, Piet Oudolf. At the centre of Trentham
Gardens is the mile long, Capability
Brown designed, Trentham
Lake. Take the circular
lakeside walk all the way round as it takes you beside the River Trent, by the
bird hide, through Capability Brown’s cascading weir and along atmospheric
woodland trails. The show gardens offer further inspiration to gardeners on a
more domestic scale.
Haddon Hall,
an intensely romantic place set in the hilly woodland countryside. The castle
was built between 12th and 17th centuries and has a
rather haphazard architecture, with turrets, crenellations and tracery windows.
The gardens are laid out over a number of levels and still have some of their
17th century character, evident in the knot garden. There is a
fountain and an immense collection of roses, which will be at their best in July,
but the eye is constantly drawn to marvellous views of the old stone walls of
the castle and to the river looping across the rural Derbyshire landscape
below.
Following
our visit we continue our homeward journey, arriving back at our original
departure point in the early evening.
Included in the price
·
3 nights’ hotel accommodation on a dinner, bed and breakfast
basis: 2 nights at the Golden Lion Hotel, Stirling
and 1 night at the Cumbria Grand Hotel, Grange-over-Sands. All rooms have
private facilities.
·
Comfortable coaching throughout
·
Visits to Kellie Castle, Kelvingrove Museum/Riverside
Museum of Transport and Travel/Glasgow Botanic Gardens, New Lanark and Holehird
plus a visit on the final day; cruise on the SS Sir Walter Scott; tours of
Edinburgh and The Trossachs
Not included (per person)
·
Single room supplement £75.00
·
Insurance £18.50
(under 65); £37.00 (65-74); £55.50 (75-90)