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WALES: MOUNTAINS & LAKES
4
days / 3 nights - Saturday to Tuesday
DEPARTURE DATES & PRICES FOR YEAR 2008
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Tour Code
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Depart
Manchester
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Return
Manchester
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WML
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Saturday
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Tuesday
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WML
01
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19 Apr
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22 Apr
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WML
02
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03 May
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06 May
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WML
03
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17 May
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20 May
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WML
04
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31 May
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03 Jun
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WML
05
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14 Jun
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17 Jun
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WML
06
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28 Jun
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01 Jul
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WML
07
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12 Jul
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15 Jul
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WML
08
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26 Jul
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29 Jul
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WML
09
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09 Aug
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12 Aug
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WML
10
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23 Aug
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26 Aug
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WML
11
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06 Sep
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09 Sep
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WML
12
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20 Sep
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23 Sep
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WML
13
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04 Oct
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07 Oct
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Price: GBP £460 pp twin share / GBP £480 single room
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What
your tour price includes
- Your
accommodation for 3 nights while on the tour is included
in your tour price, and this includes both full breakfasts
and dinners;
- Your
price also includes all entrance fees to attractions,
transportation, services of driver/guide-companion
and all taxes and tips other than those you may wish
to give your guide;
- Airport
transfers and accommodation pre and post tour is not
included but can be reserved at a specially discounted
price.
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| TENTATIVE
ITINERARY |
NIGHTSTOP
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DAY
ONE - SATURDAY
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We depart central Manchester
at 08.30. En route to North Wales, we stop at Chester to collect
tour participants who are combining this tour with our previous
three day Peaks and Cheshire Explorer. We'll enjoy a tour of
the Roman walled town of Chester with its cathedral and medieval
shopping 'rows' before continuing to Llandudno.
Llandudno is an elegant Victorian
seaside resort. The pier with its pier-end theatre, the wide,
flower-filled promenade, the imposing Victorian buildings that
face the sea and the covered shopping streets are all reminiscent
of a bygone age. The town also boasts a funicular railway that
takes us to the top of the Great Orme where we'll get splendid
views of the Snowdonia we have set out to explore.
We follow the coast a short distance
to our second walled city of the day at Conwy. This wall was
erected in the 12th century by Norman conquerors and with the
massive castle dominating one corner, it makes this harbour
town one of the most interesting in the UK. We'll find what
claims to be Britain's smallest house, as well as an impressively
restored mediaeval one. Climbing the turrets of one of Edward
I's most imposing fortresses will not be forgotten in a hurry!
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near
Conwy
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DAY
TWO - SUNDAY
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Today we explore the heart of
Snowdonia. This National Park is one of dominating peaks (the
highest in England and Wales), narrow mountain passes, flowing
stream, cascading waterfalls, sheep-covered uplands and verdant,
hidden valleys. It has been claimed that these secluded valleys
were home to the real King Arthur. Certainly, an ancient Welsh
culture and language still thrives here today. We'll explore
it in true Back-Roads fashion taking you beyond the regular
tourist haunts downs tracks and paths that will have you gasping!.
Our day will also include a visit
to the great slate mine at Blaenau Ffestiniog, or copper mine
at Sygun, a steam train journey through the mountains on a half-gage
railway, a woollen mill, Harlech and the Llewyn Peninsular.
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near
Conwy
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DAY
THREE - MONDAY
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Following an obligatory visit
to Caernarfon, we continue to the Isle of Anglesey, crossing
the Menai Straits by Thomas Telford's famed suspension bridge
- a wonder of the age of the industrial revolution.
This ancient and mystic island
offers an astounding wealth of attractions including prehistoric
burial chambers and monuments, Celtic and Viking settlements,
fabulous flora and forna, and the village with the World's longest
name - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerchwyrndrobwllllandysilliogogogoch.
There's the fabulously pretty
harbour of Beaumaris with its Victorian gaol (it has the only
working tread-mill wheel in Britain), a magnificent 12th Century
Norman castle, and a Roman Army museum, in addition to a 900
year old pub!
The island's geography is a natural
haven for birds, with its wildly contrasting variety of sheer
cliffs, sheltered coves, estuaries, dunes, heaths, wetlands,
lakes and woodlands. Along the coast you will discover major
breeding colonies of puffins, guillemots, razorbills, terns
and cormorants - among many other species. Spring and summer
turn the Isle of Anglesey into a giant rock garden, carpeted
with flowers of every hue. Seal colonies are a common sight
on the rockier stretches of the coastline, whilst dolphins can
sometimes be glimpsed from shore.
We'll spend the full day exploring
this unique corner of the British Isles.
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near
Conwy
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DAY
FOUR - TUESDAY
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Garden lovers are in for a treat
this morning with a visit to Bodnant gardens. Quoting from their
own website, it's "one of the most beautiful gardens in
the UK", spanning some 80 acres and is situated above the
River Conwy on ground sloping towards the west and looking across
the valley towards the Snowdonia range. The garden has two parts.
The upper garden around Bodnant Hall consists of the terraced
gardens and informal lawns shaded by trees. The lower portion,
known as the "Dell" is formed by the valley of the
River Hiraethlyn and contains the Wild garden.
This afternoon we drive via Lake
Bala to Llangollen. From the canal wharf you embark on either
a horse drawn boat trip along the feeder for the main canal,
or a motorised aqueduct cruise which takes you across the famous
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct built by Thomas Telford. It's an unforgettable
way to complete our North Wales explorer.
We return to Manchester, dropping
off those who are joining our Lakes
and Lancashire Dales tour at our accommodation near Knutsford,
Cheshire.
Accommodation is not included in Manchester tonight for those leaving the tour here. We can book additional arrangements as required.
Those travelling south to join our South Wales Red
Dragon tour take the train from Crewe (16.30) to Newport
(arr. 19.30) where they will be met by our local representative.
You spend a leisurely few hours exploring the local village
on the Wednesday morning before being collected at approx. 10.30
for the Red Dragon tour. Accommodation is included in South Wales if booking the two consecutive Wales tours.
>> Go to tours departing from Manchester
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Return Manchester
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