Introduction - 2 Day Tour - 3 Day Tour - 9.Day.Tour - 20.Day.Tour - 25.Day.Tour - 29.Day.Tour - 31.Day.Tour -  34.Day.Tour

The 20 Day England, Scotland & Wales Tour combined six days of independent travel based in London with a fortnight ['two week'] package tour.  Our general adversity to group tours was overcome by the opportunity to share the company of like-minded railway enthusiasts.

Since the BritRail Passes (another link) were issued individually, we were able to break-away from the group to pursue our own interests.  On Day 10 we skipped the group tour to a distillery and - travelling on ahead to Edinburgh - visited Edinburgh's Royal Mile and Princes Street.  On Day 16, we left Newcastle-upon-Tyne an hour earlier than the group.  We got off at York Station to see a model railway exhibition and then got on the same train as our tour group was taking to London.  Having been in London on a previous holiday, we skipped the bus tour in favour ['favor'] of our own schedule.

This tour marked the first-time that we hired ['rented'] a car and drove on-the-left.  The incentive to overcome this colonist's right-sided mentality for a day was the opportunity to visit Sudeley and Eastnor Castles of Pallisers fame.

The restrictions in the group air fare discount required our arrival and departure airport to be Manchester.  It would have been better to have an 'open jaws' itinerary, arriving in London and departing from Manchester.

While the major portion of this holiday was a unique, one-off ['one-time only'] group bus tour, much of the itinerary could be duplicated by self-driving a hired ['rented'] car.  In such case, allowance should be made in estimating the time required to duplicate any given day.  Keep in mind that we had experienced drivers who were totally familiar with the routes. 

The group tour was specially organised by Northways Travel Ltd of Ponteland, Northumberland.  Northways deserve a 'Jolly Well Done! for putting together an excellent itinerary and, when the odd ['occasional'] schedule fell apart, for all the 'behind-the-scenes' maneouverings to keep the tour on-track.

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	BHP =	British Heritage Pass (alternate link)
= travel by Train	NT =	National Trust
= Group Bus Tour	EH =	English Heritage (alternate link)
= Self-drive Car  = Taxi	NTS =	National Trust for Scotland
=  Overnight in (city or town)		Hudson's 2000+ Links

DAY  1                    London
		Arrive Manchester International Airport.
		Virgin Trains from Manchester Piccadilly Station (alternate link) to London Euston Station (alternate link)
BHP		Kensington Palace (alternate link)
DAY  2                    London
		Britain Visitor Center
		South West Trains from London Waterloo Station (alternate link) (another link) to Hampton Court
BHP		Hampton Court Palace  (alternate link) See our entry in 'Best of the Best'.
		South West Trains from Hampton Court to London Waterloo Station (alternate link).
		The Metropolitan Cathedral of Westminster
DAY  3              London
		Thames Trains from London Paddington Station (alternate link) (another link) via Slough to Windsor & Eton Central Station
BHP		Windsor Castle (another link) (and another) See our entry in 'Best of the Best'.
		Tussaud's 'Royalty & Empire Exhibition'  has - unfortunately - closed its doors forever.
		Thames Trains from Windsor & Eton Central Station via Slough to Paddington Station (alternate link)
DAY  4                    London
		First Great Western from London Paddington Station (alternate link) (another link) to Cheltenham Spa.
		Collect ['pick-up'] hired car.
BHP		Sudeley Castle & Gardens
		Eastnor Castle (another link)
		Drop-off hired car.
		First Great Western from Cheltenham Spa to Paddington Station (alternate link)
DAY  5                    London
		St James's Park
		Cabinet War Rooms   See our entry in 'Best of the Best'.
BHP		The Tower of London (alternate link) (another link)
		The Museum of London
		Virgin Trains from London Euston Station to Chester (alternate link) (another link)
DAY  6              Chester
		Chester City Centre - The Rows
		The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chester (another link)
BHP		With friends to Little Moreton Hall & Garden (NT)
DAY  7                    Chester
		Church of St Werburgh
		Joined up with the group tour.
		Halton Miniature Railway (7¼" gauge) Society
DAY  8                    Sleeper Train
		Snowdon Mountain Railway
		Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway
		Shrewsbury
		ScotRail (Caledonian Sleeper train) from Crewe to Inverness
DAY  9                    Aviemore
		ScotRail from Inverness via The Kyle Line to Kyle of Lochalsh
		Culloden
		Loch Ness
		Eileen Donan Castle
DAY  10                        Edinburgh
		Great North Eastern Railway from Aviemore to Edinburgh Waverly Station (another link) via the Forth Railway Bridge  (another link) (and another)   See our entry in 'Best of the Best'.
BHP		Edinburgh Castle (another link)
		St Giles' Cathedral   See our entry in 'Best of the Best'.
		John Knox House (another link)
		The Royal Mile
BHP		Palace of Holyrood House
		Princes Street
DAY  11                  Darlington
		Great North Eastern Railway from Edinburgh Waverly Station (alternate link) to Darlington
		Richmond
		Bowes Museum
		Darlington Railway Centre & Museum (snaps)
DAY  12                  Darlington
		Arriva Trains Northern from Middlesbrough to Grosmont
		North Yorkshire Moors Railway (snaps) (more snaps) (and still more) Steam Train from Grosmont to Pickering
		The Cathedral and Metropolitan Church of St Peter in York (another link)  See our entry in 'Best of the Best'.
		Castle Museum  See our entry in 'Best of the Best'.
		National Railway Museum (snaps) (more snaps)  See the 'Best of the Best'.
DAY  13                  Newcastle-upon-Tyne
		Mallard steam train excursion  from York via  Settle and Carlisle line to Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central Station (another link)
		Elizabethan Banquet at Lumley Castle (alternate link)
DAY  14            Newcastle-upon-Tyne
		Bus tour through Northumberland
		Bamburgh
BHP		Cragside House (NT)
BHP		Corstopitum - Corbridge Roman Station (EH) (alternate link) (another link) (and another)
DAY  15            Newcastle-on-Tyne
		The Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin (Durham Cathedral online tour)
		Beamish - North of England Open Air Museum
		Causey Arch (another link)
		'Jazz Band River Boat' cruise on the River Tyne
DAY  16                        London
		Great Northeastern Railway from Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central Station to York
		York Model Railway (another link) ...was then called 'Rail Riders' World'.
		Great Northeastern Railway from York to London King's Cross Station (alternate link)
		London Transport Museum
		Harrods  See our entry in 'Best of the Best'.
		Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Starlight Express' at the Apollo Victoria Theatre
DAY  17                  London
		Venice Simplon Orient Express(See our entry in 'Best of the Best'.) from Victoria Station (another link) (and another) (and one more) to Bristol (another link)
		Harvey's Wine Cellars
		Avon Gorge (Clifton Suspension Bridge)
		Venice Simplon Orient Express from Bristol to Victoria Station (alternate link)
DAY  18                  Penrith
		Virgin Trains from London Euston Station (alternate link) to Lancaster
		Carnforth Steamtown Railway Museum (snaps)  ...unfortunately now closed.
		Bus tour through the Lake District (another link) (and another)
BHP		Wordsworth's Dove Cottage
		Grasmere
DAY  19                  Penrith
		Ravenglass & Eksdale Railway
		Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway from Haverthwaite to Lakeside
		Steam Boat Museum (another link)
		Cruise on Lake Windermere to Ambleside (another link)
		Bus Tour over Kirkstone Pass and along the shores of Ullswater to Penrith
DAY  20            Home
		Bus to Manchester
		Manchester International Airport and Home!

 

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