RED DRAGON - South Wales
Mini-Tour - Four days / Three nights
This superb, four-day, three-night tour will introduce you to the very
best of South Wales, while affording you a glimpse of West Country England.
It's the ideal tour for those who really want to get down the back roads on
the discovery trail. The group size is limited to just eleven persons,
traveling by comfortable mini-coach and staying in a traditional Welsh
country farmhouse, vineyard or manor house. You'll see fabulous history,
wonderful scenery, and visit with local people.
DEPARTURE DATES & PRICES FOR YEAR 2003:
Saturday to Tuesday: 12Apr, 26Apr, 10May, 24May, 07Jun, 21Jun, 05Jul,
19Jul, 19Jul, 26Jul, 09Aug, 23Aug, 06Sep, 20Sep, 04Oct, 18Oct
Price: $649 per person in a twin. Single
supplement: $135
Includes four days of touring, three night’s accommodation with full
breakfast and three course dinners, all entrance fees and services of a
driver/guide /companion.
Day One - Saturday
Leaving London early, we shake off the city dust using the M40 freeway to
speed our journey to wonderful Wales. Our route will give us a glimpse of
the the beautiful English Cotswolds as we head for the Royal Forest of Dean,
bordering Wales, and the stunning Wye Valley, with a lunch stop beside the
river Wye. What better introduction to Wales, "Land of Song", than the
imposing 12th century Norman castle of Chepstow and the romantic Tintern
Abbey (inspiration for one of William Wordsworth's loveliest poems). If
there's time we'll also see the fallen walls of the once mighty Roman city
of Caerwent, reputed by some to be the home of the great King Arthur and his
Knights of the Round Table. Our accommodation is at a 17th century working
Welsh Farmhouse, imposing country manor or vineyard depending on the time of
year.
Day Two - Sunday
The civic centre of the Welsh capital - Cardiff - is magnificent by world
standards. It will be the showpiece of a panoramic city tour (which will
also feature the Millennium Stadium, formally known as the Arms Park, Mecca
for the millions of Rugby Football fans worldwide). On then to the superb
cathedral at Llandaff before arriving at the open-air Museum of Welsh Life
in the nearby village of St Fagans. This fascinating mirror of hundreds of
years of Welsh life embraces dozens of authentic buildings, removed from all
corners of the country and painstakingly and faithfully rebuilt and
refurbished here. Houses, churches and chapels, a mill, bakery, pubs and
even a school, have been wonderfully preserved. This afternoon we explore
the verdant Vale of Glamorgan, choosing from the market town where Sir
Anthony Hopkins went to school, the Valley of Kings where the wizard Merlin
was schooled, rugged coastline where smugglers lured ships to the rocks, and
we'll cross a river by 13th century stepping stones.
Day Three - Monday
According to our accommodation stop, today will either begin or end in
the once grey and hard world of a Welsh mining valley, now transformed, but
a time so memorably captured in the great novel 'How Green Was My Valley'.
We'll climb the rim of the saucer of Rhigos Mountain to view the sole
surviving deep Welsh coal mine and the breathtaking scenery of the Brecon
Beacons, our next calling point. 'There'll be a welcome in these hillsides'
sing the Welsh. The market town of Brecon could be our lunch stop (where
there's an interesting military museum ), or perhaps Wales's oldest inn,
used by the infamous 'Hanging Judge' Jefferies as a court room. We'll also
view the remote and atmospheric ruins of Llantony Priory and a historic
'hidden' rural church. Depending on time, we'll also be visiting Abergaveny
and its cattle market or the historic town of Monmouth, well-known to
Admiral Nelson, Mr. Rolls of Rolls Royce and Henry V.
Day Four - Tuesday
On our way back to London we'll visit the mysterious ancient standing
stones of Avebury and the amazing Silbury Hill. But this will only be after
a final memorable morning in Roman Wales. The now small village of Caerleon
was named after the camp of the Roman Legions - perhaps up to 6000 Roman
legionaries were based here almost 2000 years ago. The imposing remains of
that camp include the barracks, the only complete amphitheater in Britain,
the Roman baths, and the remains of a Roman port. We'll take our leave of
the land of the Red Dragon, crossing the river Severn in a most unusual
fashion before heading east and experiencing a spectacular exit from Wales.
Our drive back to London sees us passing through some of England's timeless
West country scenery and we'll arrive back into London in the late
afternoon. |
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