If you only have a short time and want to maximize your use of it and see the West of England and a small part of Wales, this is a great tour.
Booking and information
Stumbling towards the tube at 7am, you make your way to the Haggis Adventures office near Victoria Station to book in for the tour. The tour starts on a Monday and ends on a Friday, giving you time to spend the weekend in Scotland or even pop over to Dublin, if you choose. Greeted by our enthusiastic driver and guide, Kenny, we all loaded into the bus, 24 of your best friends to be.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of what makes this tour so complete, let me mention that there is a fair amount of country to cover and that means stretches of up to 2 or more hours sitting on the bus with only a potty break in between.
Day 1
With the English weather being true to form we headed off on day 1 into a foggy, dreary morning. Briefly exploring a new area due to a bridge closure we finally found King Alfred’s Statue (Alfred the Great who chased out all the Vikings). Then a quick glance at Dragon Hill where St. George slayed the dragon and became the patron saint of England.
Then on to one of my favorite sites in England, the Avebury Stones. Built by Neolithic man, if Stonehenge is a church then the Avebury Stones is a cathedral. 97 stones set in 3 circles all around a village. Makes for a great exploration and you can feel the power there, it wasn’t just the wind or the rain that was pelting us sideways.
Our stop for the night was Bath (photo right), famous for the Roman Baths and their healing waters. St. Christopher’s Inn and Bar, one of only 2 hostels in Bath, was our pillow for the night. Even though it is in a prime location there were a few things we all found fault with. The doors didn’t close properly, the bathrooms were grungy, there was a lot of noise till early morning since the bar was public access and just in general not the best I have stayed in. However, the beds were clean.
Day 2
Day 2 we headed over the Severn Bridge, apparently where the initial sound for the light saber from Star Wars came from (by hitting a metal pipe on the cables), and into Wales. Stopping for lunch at the beautiful Tintern Abbey, located in the Wye Valley. Built in 1157 it was destroyed by Cromwell in 1568, but is still a hauntingly beautiful place. To stretch our legs we walked across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (photo left), (1006ft / 307m long), it carries the Llangollen Canal across the Vale of Dee, and is the longest in Britain.
Day 2 ended in the middle of nowhere off the A5 in North Wales at a wonderful place called Tyddyn Bychan Rural Bunkhouse (photo at the bottom of page). Truly stunning farm scenery and fabulous hosts with a full breakfast in the main house. That night we had a BBQ and all got appropriately inebriated as our “Beer Wench” served us.
Day 3
Day 3 we left Wales and went to discover the fantastic Tudor era town of Chester. Feeling like you had just stepped back in time the buildings are truly spectacular. There is also an amazing pasty (in the pie sense) shop in one of the numerous nooks and grannies.
Rumbling into the small town of Windermere in the Lake District we decided to take a little rowing trip. This had to be my favorite activity of the whole trip, not only because it got us out in the fresh air but also because I discovered I am a fairly kick ass rower!!
Our stop for the night was in Ambleside at Ambleside Backpackers (photo right). On the whole a nice hostel, run by a couple who planned to move here to retire and ended up opening the backpackers. The showers were a little confusing and required a group effort to figure out how to work them, but it is a beautiful old stone building with a huge chill out room with those massive old couches and chairs you might find at granny’s.
Day 4
Day 4 we wound our way up and then down the Kirkstone Pass out of the Lake District, quite a hair-raising experience, but the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Since the sun had finally come out to join us we decided to have a 30min stop along a lake and skip stones. A few of the more adventurous stripped down for a turn at skinny dipping. Our last night was York. Let me just say this, I LOVE THE SMELL OF YORK!!!! There is a chocolate factory on the outskirts and when the wind blows just right all you smell is chocolate. I swear you gain calories by breathing.
Day 5
Day 5 meant returning to London, but not before we rolled into Sherwood Forest appropriately blasting Bryan Adams’ “Everything I do” from the speakers, followed by a quick stop to discover the home of Shakespeare in Stratford-Upon- Avon.
Conclusion?
All in all it was a glorious trip, despite the rain and wind (which made it truly atmospheric), with an amusing guide and good people. Highly recommended to one and all. Thanks to the crew from Haggis Tours.
London Office/pick up point:
Busabout Office
258 Vauxhall Bridge Road
Victoria, London
SW1V 1BS
Cost: £149.00 GBP
Get more information on the Brit Explorer 5-day tour from Haggis Adventures
More photos from the tour:
Tyddyn Bychan Rural Bunkhouse
Tintern Abbey
Tudor Chester
Rowing in Windermere
York Minster Abbey
Rape Flowers
Left in England , Right in Wales
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share             
|
