| Wednesday, June 23 1999 |
|
| 9:10 am |
Arrive Manchester International on DL64 |
| O/A |
Met by Denise in the Arrivals Hall |
|
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Cholmondeley Castle Gardens
Malpas
Tel: 01829 720 383 |
Price: HHA/£3.00
Open: 11.30 am
Last Admission: 4.00 PM |
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Imaginatively designed gardens featuring an abundance of rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias, cornus, acers and many other acid-loving plants, dominated by a romantic Gothic Castle built in 1801 of local sandstone. |
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Chirk Castle
Chirk
Tel: 01691 777 701 |
Price: NT/£4.80
Grounds open: 11.00 am
Castle opens: 12.00 noon
Last Admission: 4.00 PM |
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Owned by the Myddleton family for over 400 years and surrounded by formal gardens and parkland, Chirk Castle is a fine example of a Marcher fortress, built during the reign of Edward I. The state rooms contain elaborate plasterwork, superb Adam-style furniture, fine tapestries and portraits. |
| 7.30 PM |
Dinner reservation at Madeley Court
Dress code: Smart casual |
|
| Overnight: |
Madeley Court
Castlefields Way
Madeley Telford
Shropshire,
TF7 5DW
Contact: Victoria
Tel: 01952 680 068
Fax: 01952 684 275 |
Post Office House
6 The Square
Ironbridge
Telford
Shropshire,
TF8 7AQ
Contact: Mr and Mrs Hunter
Tel: 01952 433 201 |
| |
Accommodation reserved:- 1 x Historical double room with ensuite bath and shower 1 x standard twin room with ensuite bath and shower
|
| Thursday, June 24 1999 |
|
| 9:00 am |
Depart hotel for tour |
|
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Caernarfon Castle
Caernarfon
Tel: 01286 677 617 |
Price: CADW/£4.00
Open: 9.30 am
Last Admission: 5.30 PM |
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Caernarfon Castle, set on a peninsula at the southern end of the Menai Strait overlooking the Isle of Anglesey, has been both a royal residence and seat of government for North Wales and a World Heritage Site since the 1969 investiture of the current Prince of Wales. |
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Lleyn Peninsula heritage coastline and villages |
|
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Known locally as the Land's End of Wales the Lleyn Peninsula offers plenty of opportunities for browsing and walking through the tiny villages scattered round this lovely coastline. |
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Portmeirion Village
Portmeirion
Tel: 01766 770 000 |
Price: £4.00
Open: 9.30 am
Last Admission: 4.30 PM |
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 Nestling on the shores of Cardigan Bay and surrounded by the sub-tropical 'Y Gwyllt' woodlands, Portmeirion was the inspiration of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis who built his 'ideal' village and in the process saved many buildings from destruction elsewhere. |
| 7.30 PM |
Dinner reservation at Lake Vyrnwy Hotel
Dress code: Smart casual |
| Overnight: |
Lake Vyrnwy Hotel
Llanwddyn
Montgomeryshire
Mid-Wales,
SY10 OLY
Contact: Reservations
Tel: 01691 870 692
Fax: 01691 870 259 |
Cyfie Farm
Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa
Nr Llanfyllin
Mid-Wales,
SY22 5JE
Contact: Mr and Mrs Jenkins
Tel: 01691 648 451
Fax: 01691 648 451 |
| |
Accommodation reserved:- 1 x standard double ensuite room with lake view 1 x standard twin ensuite room with lake view
|
| Friday, June 25 1999 |
|
| 9:00 am |
Depart hotel for tour |
Luggage day |
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Stokesay Castle
Craven Arms
Tel: 01588 672 544 |
Price: EH/£3.20
Open: 10.00 am
Last Admission: 5.00 PM |
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 The wool merchant Lawrence of Ludlow is known to have started building this property in 13th century and although called a castle is in fact one of the country's finest fortified manor houses. |
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Hidcote Manor Gardens
Hidcote
Bartrim
Tel: 01386 438 333 |
Price: NT/£5.60
Open: 11.00 am
Last Admission: 6.00 PM |
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Possibly one of the most beautiful English gardens, Hidcote was formally laid out by the great horticulturist, Major Lawrence Johnstone, with imaginative and informal planting which gives one the impression of a large cottage garden. |
| 8.00 PM |
Dinner reservation at the Lygon Arms
Dress code: Smart, but jacket and tie aren't necessary |
| Overnight: |
The Lygon Arms
High Street
Broadway
Worcestershire,
WR12 7DU
Contact: Mary-Anne Reed
Tel: 01386 852 255
Fax: 01386 858 611 |
The Olive Branch
High Street
Broadway
Worcestershire,
WR12 7AJ
Contact: Clive Mason
Tel: 01386 853 440
Fax: 01386 859 070 |
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Accommodation reserved by yourselves
|
| Saturday, June 26 1999 |
|
| 9:00 am |
Depart hotel for tour |
Luggage day |
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Castle Combe |
|
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 Located at the western end of the Cotswolds and considered to be one of the prettiest villages in England, the village of Castle Combe is bisected by the By Brook which has cut its way through this steeply wooded valley. |
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Roman Baths and Pump Room
Bath
Tel: 01225 477 785 |
Price: £6.70
Open: 9.00 am
Last Admission: 5.00 PM |
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The Spa of Aquae Sulis still produces hot spring water at a constant 46.5oc in the centre of the finest Roman remains in Britain. The museum features the Great Bath, Roman plumbing, the Spring itself, cold plunge pools and a hypocaust room, together with many significant archaeological artefacts. |
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No 1 Royal Crescent
Bath
Tel: 01225 428 126 |
Price: £4.00
Open: 10.30 am
Last Admission: 4.00 PM |
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No 1 Royal Crescent was the first house to be built in the Royal Crescent by John Wood the Younger and has been fully restored as a grand town house of the late 18th century with authentic furniture and artefacts throughout. |
| 7.30 PM |
Dinner reservation in The Brasserie & Bar - The Royal Crescent Hotel
Dress code: Smart casual |
| Overnight |
The Royal Crescent Hotel
16 Royal Crescent
Bath,
BA1 2LS
Contact: Lauren Bright
Tel: 01225 823 333
Fax: 01225 339 401 |
Apsley House
Newbridge Hill
Bath,
BA1 3PT
Contact: Jean Brooke
Tel: 01225 336 966
Fax: 01225 425 462 |
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Accommodation reserved:- 1 x standard double room with ensuite bath and shower 1 x standard twin room with ensuite bath and shower |
| Sunday, June 27 1999 |
|
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Windsor Castle
Windsor
Tel: 01753 868 286 |
Price: £10.00
Open: 10.00 am
Last Admission: 4.00 PM |
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William the Conqueror built a wooden castle here in 1070 in order to guard the western approaches to the capital. The castle was enlarged and later rebuilt in stone and has remained inhabited since it's construction. Today tours of the castle include St George's Chapel, The Albert memorial Chapel; and the State Apartments. Windsor remains one of HM The Queen's official and favourite residences. |
| Overnight: |
Eastwell Manor
Boughton Lees
Ashford
Kent,
TN25 4HR
Tel: 01233 219 955
Fax: 01233 635 530 |
Home |
| |
Accommodation reserved:- 1 x standard double room with ensuite bath and shower 1 x standard twin room with ensuite bath and shower
|
| Monday, June 28 1999 |
|
| 5.30 am |
Depart Eastwell Manor for France and Belgium (Please remember passports and your medical/travel insurance documents, which I presume you will have taken out in the USA) |
| 7.45 am |
Depart Dover by P & O Stena's ms Pride of Burgundy
Booking Ref F00000000 Club Class reservations and priority loading |
| 10.00 am |
Arrive Calais.
On arrival, may I suggest that we take the autoroute as far as Steenvoorde, which will get us to Ypres by about 11.30 am. We could then do the sights in town, have lunch at 'Den Anker' - a lovely little restaurant I found in the Grote Markt, if it appeals (huge 'buckets' of mussels, with tiny frites and garlic mayonnaise, which is a Belgian speciality) and then take the back roads to Tyne Cot Cemetery and then south to the Canadian Memorial and Trench Museum at Vimy Ridge. |
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In Flanders Fields Museum
Cloth Hall,
Ypres
Tel: 00 32 57 20 07 24 |
Price: 250 BEF
Open: 10.00 am
Last admission: 5.00 pm |
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This is, in my humble opinion, quite a museum. Located in the reconstructed Cloth Hall, the Museum is devoted to the story of the Great War as it was fought in Ypres during the war years and contains excellent storyboards and dioramas. |
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The Menin Gate
Ypres |
Price: Free |
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Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, the Menin Gate was erected at the point where virtually every man who fell in the Ypres Salient would have seen Vauban's original gate in 1914. This beautiful archway forms the British Memorial to the Missing and bears the names of 54,896 of those who died between 1914 and August 15, 1917, and who have no known grave. |
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Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Cemetery
Zonnebeke |
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 This immense cemetery, is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world, and contains the graves of 11,908 soldiers from many lands and faiths as well as a curved wall behind the Commonwealth Cross with the names of 34,984 missing soldiers inscribed upon it. |
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Canadian Memorial
Vimy Ridge
Tel: 00 33 21 48 72 29 |
Price: Free
Open: 10.00 am
Last admission 5.00 PM |
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 Because of its position dominating Arras, this crest was a strategic point on the west front during WWI. The Canadian Memorial is a magnificent monument commanding great views over the surrounding plains. A wood of 11 285 pines covers the small hill, each one representing a Canadian soldier killed in action here |
| Dinner: |
Le Sole Meunier
Boulevard de la Resistance
62000 Calais |
|
| 8.30 PM |
Check-in for ferry |
|
| 9.00 PM |
Depart Calais on P&O Stena's m/s Pride of Burgundy |
| 9.15 PM |
Arrive Dover and Return to Eastwell Manor |
|
| Overnight: |
Eastwell Manor
Boughton Lees
Ashford
Kent,
TN25 4HR
Tel: 01233 219 955
Fax: 01233 635 530 |
Home |
| |
Accommodation reserved:- 1 x standard double room with ensuite bath and shower 1 x standard twin room with ensuite bath and shower
|
| Tuesday, June 29, 1999 |
|
| 6.30 am |
Depart Eastwell Manor for Gatwick |
Luggage day |
| 8.00 am |
Check-in at Gatwick |
|
| 10.00 am |
Depart London on DL11 |
|
| 13:45 PM |
Arrive Atlanta |
|
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Apart from the hotel reservations, I would like to re-stress that this proposed itinerary is totally flexible, depending on how you feel each day, and the attractions are purely suggestions. If any place of interest particularly appeals to you, then please let me know and we will make a point of getting there above all others, and if we are driving along and you think another road looks more interesting, then let's take it - I am all for discovering new places.
I would be most grateful if you could plan to arrive promptly at any pre-arranged meeting point particularly in towns or cities, where it is often very difficult for me to park or wait for passengers, and any assistance that you are able to give me in this respect will be very much appreciated.
All prices quoted for those places of interest, not included on the Great British Heritage Pass system, are for full 1999 adult entry rate and were understood to be correct at the time of writing. |
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KEY:
CADW: WELSH HISTORIC MONUMENTS
EH: ENGLISH HERITAGE PROPERTY
HHA: HISTORIC HOUSES ASSOCIATION
NT: NATIONAL TRUST PROPERTY
O/A: ON ARRIVAL
TBC/A: TO BE CONFIRMED/ADVISED |
