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Tour Code: GF
Tour Length: 8 days
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THE BEST OF THE WEST COUNTRY
Day 1 - (Fri.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight. Day 2 - Arrival in London, England. (Sat.) Uniformed Globus Hosts will be waiting to welcome you. After checking into your hotel and an afternoon at leisure we recommend our optional Taste of London excursion with dinner followed by a guided illuminations cruise on the River Thames. Day 3 - London'Stonehenge - Plymouth. (Sun.) Meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and depart London at 8 a.m. for a memorable day's sightseeing. First, a special visit to admire the breathtaking ORNAMENTAL GARDENS of Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace. Your Tour Director will take you on a walk to see the Great Vine, Pond Garden, Privy Garden, and the flower borders of the Great Fountain Garden. Take a stroll in picturesque Salisbury with its vast cathedral, the ultimate in Early English Gothic; try to figure out the riddle of STONEHENGE; drive through Thomas Hardy's Dorset and head for England's scenic West Country. On the way, take a detour to quaint Widecombe in the Moor in Dartmoor National Park. The next three nights are spent in Plymouth, home of historical figures such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh. Before dinner join your Tour Director for a toast to happy touring with a congenial group. (FB,D) Day 4 - Plymouth. Cornwall Excursion. (Mon). A day full of West Country sights as you head through Daphne du Maurier's Cornwall and hear intriguing stories of shipwrecks and smugglers. After viewing St. Michael's Mount, rising boldly out of the sea, take your photos at Land's End, then follow the Atlantic coast strewn with its derelict tin mines and recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, before exploring the popular seaside resort of St. Ives. Back in Plymouth, your Tour Director will have dining suggestions for this evening. (FB) Day 5 - Plymouth. Excursion to Buckfast Abbey. (Tue.) More exciting visits today. First, call at Dartington Craft Centre, then at Staverton Station join a lovingly restored steam locomotive train for a scenic ride through the River Dart valley on the Primrose Line branch of the South Devon Railway. Disembark at Buckfastleigh for a visit to BUCKFAST ABBEY, a Benedictine monastery where one of the monks takes you on a guided tour and tells you about their lifestyle and work. Afternoon at leisure back in Plymouth. Take a stroll in the Elizabethan Barbican area and see the Mayflower Steps where the Pilgrim Fathers embarked in 1620 for the New World. Your Tour Director will arrange an optional evening visit to a local inn for dinner. (FB) Day 6 - Plymouth - Bristol. (Wed). Drive along the western slopes of Dartmoor via the market towns of Tavistock and Oakhampton and into North Devon for a visit to picturesque Lynmouth. Follow the scenic coastal route, then head into Exmoor National Park, home of the legendary nomadic brigands called the Doones. Final highlights are Glastonbury and its King Arthur associations and Cheddar Gorge with its caves and limestone cliffs. On arrival in Bristol, your orientation tour focuses on Brunel's daring Clifton Suspension Bridge, SS Great Britain, and the historic harbor from where John Cabot sailed in 1497 to discover America. (FB,D) Day 7 - Bristol - Bath - Oxford - London. (Thu). In Bath this morning see the amazing excavations of the ROMAN BATHS, then head for Cirencester and the scenic Cotswold Hills. Drive via pretty Burford and in Oxford, city of the dreaming spires, a walking tour takes in the colleges where Britain's elite receive their outstanding education. Return to London around 3:30 p.m. How about celebrating an enjoyable travel experience by taking in a West End show tonight" (FB) Day 8 - (Fri.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (FB) |
