CREAM TEAS AND PASTIES
Dorset, Devon & Cornwall
7 Days / 6 Nights
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This well-balanced tour features the best of the UK's southwestern region. It's a cliché to write that there's something for everyone here but sometimes the cliché is the most accurate word or phrase to use. For lovers of countryside there are rolling downs, rugged seascapes, atmospheric moorlands and the lush, green country that is so representative of England. For those who enjoy history there are castles aplenty, the King Arthur connections, the prehistoric and Roman sites, the more recent war time remains and everywhere the mighty maritime past.
Literature lovers will be thrilled to see the lands of Thomas Hardy and Daphne Du Maurier. Gourmets will die for the cream teas, real Cornish pasties and farmhouse cooking.
This is a real Back-Roads Touring Co. Ltd experience. You'll never forget the narrow country lanes where the hedgerows grow higher than the cars, the villages where it's difficult for bicycles to pass let alone motorized vehicles, the thatched cottage hamlets and small fishing harbours accessible only on foot.
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DEPARTURE DATES & PRICES FOR YEAR 2008
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Tour Code
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Depart London
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Return London
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CTEA
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Sunday
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Saturday
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CTEA1
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11 May
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18 May
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CTEA2
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07 Sep
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14 Sep
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Prices: Twin share GBP£945 / Single: GBP£1065
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TENTATIVE ITINERARY
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NIGHTSTOP |
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DAY ONE
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| You are collected from one of our hotel collection points as per your choice. Then our first day's touring takes us into England oldest counties, Wiltshire and Hampshire. The purpose of our visit is to see King Arthur's Round Table at the Great Hall in Winchester, before continuing through the timeless landscape of Thomas Hardy's Dorset to Honition in Devon. En route, we'll stop at Cadbury castle, an iron-age, hilltop fortress and one of the possible sites of Camelot. A further highlight of our day will be a local stately home such as Montacute House or Stourhead. |
Honiton, Devon |
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DAY TWO
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| Our routing for the day will offer us great choice. There's the maritime city of Exeter, the English Riviera, and Plymouth, where we'll see the harbour from which the Mayflower set sail. Next, we follow the Cornish coast through delightful fishing villages and harbours stopping en route, perhaps, to visit the pirate museum at Looe or the shipwreck centre at St Austell. Readers of Daphne Du Maurier will also enjoy our time at Fowey and discovering the real Jamaica Inn. |
Falmouth/St Ives |
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DAY THREE
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| There's so much to see in this region. There are the wonderful harbours of St Ives and Penzance, the coastal walks along cliff tops and beaches, the prehistoric village at Chysauster, the famous open-air Minack theatre, some of the most beautiful gardens in Britain, including the new Eden Project. There are old lead mining museums, castles and Land's End itself. And then, of course, we've afternoon cream teas to take and Cornish pasties to eat! Our flexible touring concept will allow tour participants to decide on the day's priorities in consultation with their guide. |
Falmouth/St Ives |
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DAY FOUR
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Continuing our Cornish adventures. Today we'll spend enjoying the atmosphere of St Ives. There's plenty to entertain. This is an artists' haven and you'll delight at the range of local galleries, but perhaps of even greater interest will be the extension of the prestigious Tate Gallery. There are also some fine walking opportunities. The sailors or deep sea fishers amongst you might just find the opportunity of taking to the water just to good too pass up! You're free to dine independently in St Ives this evening and to return to our accommodation by local taxi at your leisure.
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Falmouth/St Ives |
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DAY FIVE
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| We turn north, following the north Cornwall and Devon coasts. Our itinerary today will include Padstow, King Arthur's Tintagel, the impossibly pretty village of Clovelly (where donkeys are still used to haul goods and people up and down the narrow cobbled street to the sea) and the Devon countryside north of Dartmoor and Dartmoor itself. |
Dartmoor or Exmoor |
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DAY SIX
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| We tour today through Somerset. This is a county famed for its cider apples and so we must, of course, visit a cider farm and sample the wares! There are also the mystic town of Glastonbury where Arthur is said to have been buried, and the magnificent Wells cathedral. If time permits, perhaps we can also visit the massive gorge and caves at Cheddar. Even with all of the other memorable days on this tour, past participants have still named it one of their most memorable - perhaps because the treasures we discover are just so unexpected. |
Bath |
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DAY SEVEN
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Today, we'll first soak up the splendour of Gerogian Bath. Your guide will deliver a panoramic tour on our mini-coach, introducing you to the many fine aspects of this famed city. You'll then have some free time to visit the Roman Bath pump room, the cathedral, or simply to shop.
This afternoon we take the olde coaching road back to London, stopping en route at the unspoilt mediaeval Lacock (home of photogaphy and a well-known film location site), the prehistoric World Heritage site of Avebury, and perhaps the antique centre of 17th century Hungerford depending on time and group choice. You'll be dropped back at one of our central London hotel pick up points as per your choice.
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London
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| NOTE: Many of the historic properties we visit on our tours are either owned by the National Trust (www.nationaltrust.org.uk) or the English Heritage (www.english-heritage.org.uk). Why not visit their sites to get further descriptions of some of the super places included on the tour? |
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