This tour includes a guided tour of the Warner Brothers’ Harry Potter Film Studios, London.

TOUR OVERVIEW.

STYLE : SPACE-BUS. 28 Tour Buddies max.. Much more space.
WHEN : Starts at Glasgow Airport (GLA), Scotland on Monday 10th June 2013. Finishes with transfers to London Gatwick (LGW) & Heathrow (LHR) airports on Sunday 23rd June 2013.
WHERE : Scotland including the Highlands, Wales & England with London. Part of our England tours program.
DURATION : 13 hotel nights, 14 touring days. [Excludes flying day from USA/Canada.] Add an exciting extra day in London – see Day 13 in the itinerary below.
WHY : Timed as a perfect graduation gift with stacks of history but loads of fun.
WHO FOR : Not just for graduates as this tour is ideal for all ages from 12 to 212. Perfect for first time visitors to Great Britain. In addition to the regular features of such tours there will be exciting things like Harry Potter stuff including the Harry Potter Film Studios & The French Lieutenant’s Woman etc..
TOUR PRICE : US$3,797 twin/double share per person. US$4,828 single. Tour prices exclude airfare & traveler’s insurance.
COMPARE OUR TOUR VALUE & PRICES : Here.
OVERNIGHT [O/N] STAYS : Number of nights in [ ]. Glasgow [1], Fort William [1], Edinburgh [2], Scarborough [1], Stratford-upon-Avon [1], Oxford [1], South Coast [1], Plymouth [2], Bristol [1], London [2].

Standard features INCLUDED in the tour price :

• Dinner every night from Day 1 to Day 13. Will be a mix of hotel restaurants, pub dinners, posh places & independent dining.
• Breakfast daily from Day 2 to Day 14.
• 1st class touring coach with seat belts, emergency washroom & a/c..
• Professional & experienced UK Tour Driver.
• Experienced, entertaining & knowledgeable UK Tour Director.
• Experienced & attentive Lady Hostess.
• Accommodation in 3* & 4* hotels, mostly centrally located.
• Tips for porterage of one suitcase per person at hotels.
• Tips to restaurant staff when we dine as a group.
• Group photo.
• For the various individual INCLUDED pre-paid visits & features please refer to the ‘Daily Itinerary’ below.

Items NOT included in the tour price :

• Airfare.
• Traveler’s insurance.
• Meals not listed in the itinerary.
• Tips for Tour Driver (Suggest US$7 per person per coach touring day.)
• Tips for city guides. (Suggest US$3 per person.)
• Tips for restaurant staff on independent dining nights.
• Hotel room charges for things like laundry [Avoid! It's cheaper to buy new knickers in Primark.], wifi connections where there are charges [Suggest go to Starbucks etc..], hotel room mini-bar use, telephone calls, all your personal room service.
• All other personal expenses. As a rough guide US$50 should be enough per person per day spending money for things like tea, coffee, lunch, postcards, postage and a few souvenirs but obviously depends on your personal spending habits.
• On this tour it is not necessary to tip the Tour Director & the Lady Hostess.

DAILY ITINERARY.

For your guidance we indicate in the daily itinerary the following :

Touring Coach miles traveled during the day (CM).
Time spent on the touring coach during the day (TC).
Arrival time at the end of day destination (EOD). This does not necessarily indicate hotel room access time.
Places where restrooms (WS) are available during the day.
Places where refreshments (RF) are available but does not mean that refreshments are included in the tour price unless specifically mentioned in the itinerary.
The above information is only a guide and is subject to normal traveling & operating conditions of course but we hope it helps you a bit.
INCLUDED indicates a pre-paid feature that is INCLUDED in the tour price.
[GTA] below means ‘with guided tour if available at the venue at the time of visit’.

T-Shirt Rebate list shows the approximate amount (US$) of rebate to you if you opt out of any listed prepaid features :
Airport Transfer Glasgow $9.
Edinburgh Castle visit $21.
Blenheim Palace $19.
Stonehenge $11.
Devon Cream Tea $9.
Anne Hathaway’s Cottage $12.
The Roman Baths $17.
Plymouth harbour boat cruise $9.
Combo ticket : London city bus tour & River Thames cruise $32.
London dinner/theatre around $65 depends on show. Note this rebate applies to the theatre ticket only. Dinner will still be INCLUDED in the hotel.
Gatwick or Heathrow Airport transfers $29.

Day 1.    Monday 10th June.

• You arrive at Glasgow Airport.
• We transfer you to your hotel in Glasgow. HOTEL ROOMS ARE NORMALLY AVAILABLE mid-afternoon.
• This evening we have our INCLUDED informal ‘Welcome Drinks’ get-together before dinner.

O/N : Glasgow.  CM : 17 miles.  TC : 30 mins.  EOD : Depends on flight.

Day 2.    Tuesday 11th June.

• We travel into the Scottish Highlands for breathtaking views of the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond (WS) and other freshwater & seawater lochs.
• Mountains on view as we stop en-route at Glencoe scene of the treacherous massacre of the MacDonalds by the Campbells in 1692. I would like to say, being partly a Campbell, that it was all a complete misunderstanding.
• Some of the most glorious scenery in Europe awaits us around Fort William (WS/RF) with beautiful sea lochs on the west coast of Scotland.
• Here we take the Road to the Isles stopping for photographs of the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct. This was famous well before Harry Potter came along in his flying car. This was near the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie came ashore in 1745 at the start of his ill-fated rebellion.
• If railway timetables allow in June 2013 we will take an INCLUDED train ride [Not steam though.]  (WS/RF) along the viaduct as well.
  

O/N : Fort William.  CM : 153 miles.  TC : 3 hrs 44 mins.  EOD : 12.15pm. Then afternoon R/T excursion along the Road to the Isles.

Day 3.    Wednesday 12th June.

• More awesome Highland scenery in the Trossachs as we drive through Rob Roy country.
• Then a mid-morning stop in the quaint Highland town of Crieff (WS/RF).
• Now we head to another Loch Leven for views of Loch Leven Castle. (Subject to Scottish mist!) This is the beginning of our association with Mary Queen of Scots as we follow her doomed overnight dash for freedom.
• Next we cross the mighty Forth Road Bridge & stop in South Queensferry (WS) for photos of the unique Forth Railway Bridge made famous in the Hitchcock film of John Buchan’s book “The Thirty Nine Steps”.
• Then a short drive around the south of Edinburgh for an INCLUDED visit into the mysterious Rosslyn Chapel [GTA] (WS) with its associations with the Da Vinci Code.
• Now we are about to enter one of the greatest cities in the world, Edinburgh. On arrival we have an orientation tour.
  

O/N : Edinburgh.  CM : 161 miles.  TC : 3 hrs 55 mins.  EOD : 4.03pm.

Day 4.    Thursday 13th June.

• After our INCLUDEDvisit into magnificent Edinburgh Castle (WS/RF) your day is at leisure. For those interested I will do a walking tour around historic Edinburgh.
  

O/N : Edinburgh.

Day 5.    Friday 14th June.

• Our INCLUDED Inter-City Express train (WS/RF) from Edinburgh to Durham will whisk us along the rugged Scottish coast & over the Royal Borders Bridge into England.
• Just 2 hours later we will be in Durham for our INCLUDED visit into Durham Cathedral (WS/RF) described by Bill Bryson as ‘the greatest Cathedral on planet Earth’. This was also one of the locations used for Hogwarts School.
• We now drive to the Yorkshire coast for an INCLUDED visit into Count Dracula’s spooky Whitby Abbey (WS/RF). The last time we took a group here 28 people went in but only 26 came out. Weird.
• A short drive takes us to our overnight seaside stop in Scarborough.

O/N : Scarborough.  CM : 80 miles.  TC : 1 hr 57 mins.  EOD : 4.07pm.

Day 6.    Saturday 15th June.

• We pop down to the medieval city of York (WS/RF). Note that on this tour our Cathedral visit was Durham yesterday. York of course has a magnificent Cathedral, York Minster but we are primarily in York for an INCLUDED visit into the National Railway Museum to get up close and personal with the actual Hogwarts Express which is now retired in the museum. There will be limited time in York this morning.
• We now drive to Stratford-upon-Avon via a brief convenience motorway service station stop (WS) & through Sherwood Forest [What's left of it.] where we have an INCLUDED visit into Anne Hathaway’s Cottage – not the film star but William Shakespeare’s wife!

O/N : Stratford-upon-Avon.  CM : 193 miles.  TC : 3 hrs 46 mins.  EOD : 3.07pm .

IMPORTANT : Please do make sure you are paying attention to all the history as there will be a test on the British Royal Family on the last night of the tour. This should help.

Day 7.    Sunday 16th June.

• Today we tour the delightful Cotswolds area and stop in one of the most charming villages in England, Bourton-on-the-Water (WS/RF).
• From quaintness to awesome as we arrive at spectacular Blenheim Palace (WS/RF) birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill for an INCLUDED  visit [GTA].
• Now join me on an extended walking tour amongst the ancient Oxford University buildings going back 800 years exploring the ancient passageways and lanes. Oxford truly is an amazing place and who could forget the wonderful Inspector Morse.
• This evening we will enjoy an INCLUDED dinner in one of the ancient university pubs.
  

O/N : Oxford.  CM : 60 miles.  TC : 1 hr 28 mins.  EOD : 2.13pm.

Day 8.    Monday 17th June.

• Today begins with an INCLUDED 3 hour visit into the Warner Brothers’ Harry Potter Film Studios (WS/RF) [GTA]. See many of the original sets. Wicked!
• We head to the seaside via an INCLUDED visit into one of the most famous ancient monuments in the world, Stonehenge (WS/RF).

O/N : Poole area.  CM : 172 miles.  TC : 3 hrs 44 mins.  EOD : 5.45pm.

Day 9.    Tuesday 18th June.

• Our first port of call is the Cobb (the pier/jetty) in Lyme Regis (WS/RF) where you can do your impression of Meryl Streep (or at least her stand-in), in the ‘French Lieutenant’s Woman‘. This is where the famous scene was filmed. We will provide you with a black/grey cloak to wear which will either be made by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd Convent in Limerick or my daughter in Cornwall, whoever is the cheapest.
• From here we travel along the Jurassic Coast to the most charming of English seaside resorts, Sidmouth (WS/RF). Fish and Chips on the beach anyone? Now up into bleak Dartmoor and stop in Widecombe-in-the-Moor (WS/RF) where we listen out for the blood curdling sound of the Hound of the Baskervilles the most famous of all Sherlock Holmes stories. Is that its anguished howls carried through the swirling mist or is it the coach driver moaning about the coach parking fees going up again? A yummy Devon cream tea is INCLUDED whilst we are here provided the hound doesn’t beat us to it.
• Now its off to the great naval port of Plymouth.

O/N : Plymouth.  CM : 138 miles.  TC : 3 hrs 13 mins.  EOD : 4.57pm.

Day 10.    Wednesday 19th June.

• Today begins with an INCLUDED 1 hour Plymouth Harbour boat cruise (WS/RF).
• We head off to Bodmin Moor. In the heart of the moor we visit one of the most haunted inns in England, Jamaica Inn (WS/RF). This was the home of blaggards, smugglers, wreckers & highwaymen in days gone by. Sit in this ancient inn & think of all the dastardly plots hatched within these walls. Stand on the very spot where Joss Merlyn was murdered. Gruesome! Daphne du Maurier made Jamaica Inn famous with her book of the same name.
• The afternoon is free in Plymouth to explore the Mayflower Steps where the Pilgrim Fathers walked as they boarded the Mayflower in 1620. There’s Capn. Jaspers famous grill bar on the quay. Explore the Hoe where Sir Francis Drake played bowls.
  

O/N : Plymouth.  CM : 62 miles.  TC : 1 hr 31 mins.  EOD : 12.45pm.

Day 11.    Thursday 20th June.

• We drive up to the spectacular Severn Bridges via a motorway convenience stop (WS).
• We cross the bridge into Wales and head to charming Tintern Parva (WS/RF) nestling beside the River Wye. Buy your Welsh Red Dragons here beside the ruined abbey.
• Back in England we spend most of the afternoon in the City of Bath (WS/RF) with an INCLUDED visit into the unique Roman Baths. A short drive will take us to our hotel in the ancient slave trading port of Bristol.
  

O/N : Bristol.  CM : 185 miles.  TC : 3 hrs 44 mins.  EOD : 5.07pm.

Day 12.    Friday 21st June.

• We jump on our INCLUDED Inter-City Express train (WS/RF) from Bristol to London to arrive in one of the greatest cities in the world late morning.
• On arrival we hop onto our INCLUDED  open top double deck bus tour of London. Afterwards we enjoy our INCLUDED River Thames cruise from Westminster to Tower Bridge (WS/RF).
• This evening we enjoy our INCLUDED theatre evening with dinner (WS/RF). You also have FREE travel INCLUDED on the London Underground today.
  

O/N : Central London.  EOD : Late morning depending on train time.

Day 13.    Saturday 22nd June.

• INCLUDED is FREE London Underground train travel all day. Don’t forget that you can easily get to Platform 9 3/4 at King’s X Station using your travel pass. Have fun today. Special note. Today is Saturday so most theatres will have matinees as well as evening performances so you have the chance to go to 2 shows today if you are a theatre addict.
• Add an exciting extra day in London for just US$249 p.p. twin/double or US$323 single : INCLUDES breakfast, dinner & FREE travel all day on the London Underground. Ground crew around all day to assist you. INCLUDED dinner can be enjoyed with the group or independently.

O/N : London.

Day 14.    Sunday 23rd June.

• After breakfast you board your INCLUDED Gatwick Express train or Heathrow Express/Connect train to the airport. Note that your breakfast arrangement will depend on your flight time. Any very early flights that require a transfer before the trains run will be undertaken by road but it is Sunday morning so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Thanks for coming have safe flights home. Toodle pip!

This tour is ideal for all ages from 12 upwards. There will be lots of living history like standing on the Mayflower Steps where the Pilgrim Fathers boarded the Mayflower in 1620. There will also be lots of fun related to movies in particular Harry Potter.

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We drive alongside the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond dominated by snow covered Ben Lomond.

Loch Leven is a seawater loch. Western Scotland is one of the most beautiful places in Europe.

The Glenfinnan Monument at Loch Shiel is associated with Bonnie Prince Charlie and Harry Potter!

Glenfinnan Viaduct where Harry and Ron flew the Ford Anglia car.

Enjoy our INCLUDED visit into Rosslyn Chapel, Edinburgh. This has ‘real associations’ with the Da Vinci Code.

Our INCLUDED visit into Durham Cathedral. Feel the history. Feel the spirits. Feel the atmosphere. Feel the Hogwarts!

Enjoy our INCLUDED visit into Count Dracula’s eerie Whitby Abbey.

Touch and smell the magic of THE ACTUAL Hogwarts Express in the National Railway Museum, York during our INCLUDED visit.

This is ‘Wonderland’. Christ Church College, Oxford is one of many ancient University buildings we see.

See original sets and all the trickery of Harry Potter during your INCLUDED 3 hour tour of the film studios.

We journey into the heart of bleak Dartmoor famous for War Horse for our INCLUDED Devon cream tea.

Awesome! Stand on the very spot the Pilgrim Fathers boarded the Mayflower in 1620.

Jamaica Inn. Stand on the very spot Joss Merlyn was murdered! Police are on the look out for a one-legged man wearing a white tennis shoe.

Enjoy your INCLUDED River Thames cruise. London is one of the greatest cities in the world.

Enjoy FREE travel on the London Underground and easily get around.

Platform 9 3/4 at London King’s X Station. Give it a go. It can be done. Harry does it.

Whoops! Apparently it can’t be done after all. Do not try this at home!