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Day 1 Saturday – Chester – Betws y Coed
Mid morning, meet with our Tour Guide and board a luxury small coach for a two hour drive to northern Wales. On route, and just a few miles short of the border we will visit The Historic Town of Chester which was founded as a Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix in the year 79 AD. Today’s Chester is one of the most beautiful historic cities in England, famous for its galleried rows, black & white timbered buildings, Roman remains, magnificent cathedral, shops & boutiques, town crier, ghost walks and complete city walls. Your guide will take you on a short walking tour of the City centre, after which there will be some free time before we continue our journey to Betws y Coed.
After dinner, as a wonderful introduction to Wales, we will be joined by Dr Elwyn Hughes an expert on ‘Wales and Welsh, ’ who will give us a light hearted presentation on the Welsh language, culture, traditions and heritage with anecdotes and some unusual facts. (BD) Overnight Betws y Coed
Day 2 Sunday – Betws y Coed, Great Orme, Bodnant Garden (NT)
After a leisurely breakfast there will be some free time to enjoy the village before we visit Conwy, a medieval Walled Town, with its walls extending to over three quarters of a mile incorporating eighteen towers. This is where we can step back in time and wander through the narrow streets, and enjoy the shops and the quaint houses of this ancient town ending our visit with a tour of its mighty castle. Later in the day we visit to the magnificent Bodnant Garden (NT) – this is one of Britain’s premier gardens. (BD) Overnight Betws y Coed
Day 3 Monday - Pottery, Art Gallery, Male Voice Choir Rehearsal
Our first visit today is to meet Vicky Buxton at her pottery studio and workshop in very remote woodland by Porth Llwyd Falls where she makes a selection of ceramics, decorative stoneware and porcelain. We then drive to the Isle of Anglesey to visit Oriel Mon, a premier, purpose built art gallery and show-place for local artists and craftspeople. A visit to “Llanfairpwllgwyngychgogerychwyrndrobwyllllandusulioggogogoch” the smallest village with the longest name in the world is a must after which we will travel to Y Bont, a delightful restaurant overlooking the Menai Strait, for dinner. Evening visit to the Penrhyn Male Choir at their rehearsal room in Bethesda, formed in the late 19th C, it’s one of Wales’ oldest and best known male choirs. (BD) Overnight Betws y Coed
Day 4 Tuesday –Great Little Trains, Portmeirion, Aberaeron
Departing Betws y Coed, we journey through the Lledr valley to the mountain town of Blaenau Ffestiniog to board one of the 'Great Little trains of Wales' on a twelve mile scenic journey through the vale of Ffestiniog to the sea at Porthmadog, after boarding the coach our journey continues to Portmeirion. This unique 'fantasy village' was built between 1925 and 1975 by the late architect Clough Williams-Ellis, primarily to show how 'the development' of a naturally beautiful site need not lead to its defilement'. Portmeirion welcomes visitors both for the day and to stay the night, either in the Hotel Portmeirion, situated on the shore of a very beautiful estuary, or the many cottages that make up the village. After lunch, we travel south along the coast to the seaside town of Aberaeron, where we stay for the next three nights. (BD) Overnight Aberaeron
Day 5 Wednesday, Aberaeron, Llanerchaeron
Aberaeron's most striking feature is its architecture. One house in every four is listed either as being of special architectural or historical interest. This small town was constructed in the 19th c by a 'mad' clergyman, the Reverend Alban Jones - Gwynne and his wife Susannah. They had inherited a vast fortune which they spent building the town and harbour from which grew a thriving trading port and a shipbuilding centre. Today it is a quiet seaside resort known countrywide for its exquisite ice cream and most amazing ‘fish and chips’. Morning is at leisure and the afternoon will see us travel up the beautiful Aeron valley to Llanerchaeron (NT). This is an 18th century Welsh gentry’s estate designed and built by John Nash with house, walled gardens and home farm, with many unaltered features including two walled gardens. (BD) Overnight Aberaeron
Day 6 Thursday – Ancient times
St David’s cathedral is considered the holiest site in Wales due to its relics of St. David; the cathedral was a major pilgrimage destination throughout the Middle Ages and remains a thriving church today.
Here is where Dewi Sant (St David) the patron saint of Wales established the first monastic community in the 6th century and has been a site of pilgrimage and worship ever since. No bigger than a village, with only one square and a few side roads, the cathedral's presence earns it the right to be called a city. We will take a private tour with a cathedral guide. In contrast to the massive cathedral, on our way back we'll turn off the road to a secluded valley to discover the tiny sixth century Church of St Brynach. An avenue of 700 year old yew trees leads us through the church yard and near the church entrance is a stunning thirteen-foot high 11th c Celtic cross. Not to be missed, a visit to nearby Pentre Ifan, a Bronze-Age megalithic site is a must. Dating from at least 4000 B.C, it's probably Wales' finest example of a hilltop megalith (BD) Overnight Aberaeron
Day 7 Friday Derwen Welsh Cob Centre, Woollen Mill Museum
Ifor and Myfanwy Lloyd, proprietors of the Derwen Stud and International Welsh Cob Centre, claim the Welsh Cob is the most beautiful and versatile horse in the world. Their stud farm extends to some two hundred and thirty acres overlooking the glorious Cardigan Bay. Welsh Cobs from Derwen have secured the supreme accolade of the breed twelve times, namely "The George, Prince of Wales Cup", awarded at the Royal Welsh Show of Wales and also the "Queen's Cup" presented by H.M. The Queen. Our tour continue to the picturesque village of Dre-fach Felindre in the beautiful Teifi valley which was once at the centre of a thriving woolen industry, Shirts and shawls, blankets and bedcovers, woolen stockings and socks were all made here, and sold in the surrounding countryside - and to the rest of the world. (BD) Overnight Caerfyrddin
Day 8 Saturday Botanical Garden, Talley Abbey, Towi Valley
We start the day with a memorable visit to the 568 acre National Botanic Garden which is the most visited Garden in Wales and one of the most fascinating gardens in the UK. It occupies a truly beautiful location on the edge of the Tywi Valley, surrounded by gentle rolling hills, and boasts the largest single span Glasshouse in the world. We will be helped along to enjoy its unique collection of over 10.000 different plants accompanied by our own specialist guide. After our visit, we will take a relaxing drive along the Towi valley to visit one of the lesser known Monastic ruins in Wales at Talley Abbey. For atmosphere and scenic quality, Talley Abbey fairly represents a case of ‘less is more'. Founded by Lord Rhys c1185, the Abbey is situated in the remote lowlands of Carmarthenshire. (BD) Overnight Caerfyrddin
Day 9 Sunday
A very relaxing day, after a late start we journey to the Gower Peninsula. The peninsula, measuring less than twenty five miles has nearly 400 miles of ‘rights of way’ and walking routes, a wonderful and varied landscape and dramatic coastline, castles, medieval churches and stunning beaches. This was Britain’s first designated ‘Area of Natural Beauty’ by the Countryside Agency more than fifty years ago. But it’s just a land of bewitching natural beauty, myth and history, Gower is also a scattering of small, deep-rooted communities, where over the centuries, women and men have lived off the land and the sea for cockles have been harvested here from Roman times to the present day. It will be our final opportunity to experience the peace and tranquillity of the countryside before we depart for Cardiff in the morning. (BD) Overnight Caerfyrddin
Day 10 Monday- Museum of Welsh Life, Big Bit Aberavon
One of the city’s main attractions is “St Fagan's Museum of Welsh Life” which is part of the National Museum of Wales. Here we will see a collection of interesting buildings that have been moved stone by stone from all around Wales and reconstructed in this 100 acre parkland, with complete period content. The buildings include chapels, churches, houses and shops; there is also a working pottery, tannery, bake house, a Bronze Age village and farm with 'rare breed' animals. Big Pit is a real coal mine and one of Britain's leading mining museums, we’ll visit the pithead bath exhibition, the medical centre, and other exhibitions focus on children in the mines, health, home life and the mining communities, we see how the life and work of the miner has changed between 1850 and the present day. We end the visit by taking a captivating journey around a section of the original underground workings with a former miner as our guide. (Optional) (B) Overnight Cardiff
Day11 Tuesday Cardiff
Cardiff is Wales' largest city with a population of around 350.000 and, during Victorian times, was the biggest coal-exporting town in the world. Since granted Capital City status in 1955, the old coal town has been thoroughly transformed with a series of massive developments, not least the shiny National Assembly Building, the Millennium Centre for the arts and the huge city centre sports stadium - not to mention the rejuvenated waterfront with its giant freshwater marina, shops, restaurants, museums and other attractions. Today will be largely unplanned as some will want do some last minute shopping whilst other might like to see some of the sights, everyone will have a ticket to board the city’s 'hop-on hop-off' open top sightseeing bus.. Our day and indeed our tour will end with a conducted tour of Cardiff Castle followed by a farewell dinner for us all at one of the city’ many eateries. (BD) Overnight Cardiff
Day 12 -30th September
Tour ends after breakfast.
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