England > Finest Country Side traveling.

21 Days,  UK’s Country Side traveling holiday.

UK’s Finest Country Side Holidays with Castle’s, scenic roads and magnificent countryside, be driven in style while traveling in optional  prestige sports car from London to London. The trip takes you through England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Wales visiting Cambridge, Hadian’s Wall, Sweet Hearts Abbey, Ferry the Irish Sea, Ashford Castle and Welsh dragons.

With medieval towns of beauty, rural countryside, mountainous Passes, its foods, beers and spirits, flowers, inland waterways, historic points, wineries, small villages, café’s, market towns and Regional Capitals with their fine shopping, all provide a magical backdrop to this, one of UK’s Finest Country Side holidays trip.

UK’s Finest Country Side Holidays takes you driving to Cambridge visiting the University houses. From there onto Hadrian’s Wall, England’s Great China Wall which stretches the breath of England. Leaving England we travel to Edinburgh, the Trossacks Loch Lomond and along the tidal Solway Firth past Sweethearts Abbey and across the Irish Sea.

Staying in castles we drive through green Ireland, visiting Galway and experiencing the best Castles Ireland can offer. Again we catch a ferry across the Irish Sea to Wales where we experience the scenic beauty of this region stopping at Llandrindod, Wye and onto Shrewsbury before our UK’s Finest Country Side trip arrives at our destination, making a memorable luxury holiday never to be forgotten.

Your trip includes –

* Centrally located Luxury hotels each night.

* Twin share accommodation (single rooms available).

* Meals including: –

20 X breakfasts, 21 X lunches.

* Premium personal (Optional-sports) car travel (group travel in suitable vehicle) with good luggage capability, driver/guide plus all fuel, ferries, tolls and parking fees.

From – London, Hilton Hotel Heathrow Airport T4 return – London Heathrow Airport.

2023 COSTINGS –

SINGLE TRAVELER TRIP;     A$ 17,787.00 

Reduced rates for couples or more, request a quote.

As per all our tours, all details (hotels, locations, points of interest and tour length) can be customized to suit locations, budget or specific stops.

Day 1 Cambridge

After meeting we leave London Heathrow airport and drive across country to the University City of Cambridge, where time is spent both in the beautiful Medieval city, even a punt from the river banks prior to retreating for Dinner. There are Ghost tours of the city should you wish to visit the past and maybe one of the old famous students; Wordsworth, Byron, Tennyson, Marlowe, Milton, Cromwell, Darwin and many more to consider. Additional tours of the World famous University are available.

 

Overnight: Double Tree (or similar)

Day 2 Rippon

Leaving  Cambridge we drive North to Rippon, if possible on to the much loved Langley Castle just South of the Scottish border, which is our destination for the night, after signing in, we enjoy our evening meal in the Castle taking in the medieval atmosphere.

 

Overnight: Langley Castle (or similar)

Day 3 Langley

We spend the day exploring the Roman built Hadrian’s wall, stretching the breath of England, with its museums and forts for all to admire. A significant portion of the wall still stands and can be followed on foot along the adjoining Hadrian’s Wall Path. The largest Roman archaeological feature in Britain, it runs a total of 117.5 kilometres options include heading for the nearby golf course to stretch the legs and sign off another card.

Overnight: Langley Castle (or similar)

Day 4

Leaving Langley region we head up through Moffat which lye’s on the River Annan. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. The Moffat House Hotel, located at the northern end of the High Street, was designed by John Adam. The nearby Star Hotel, a mere 6 m wide, was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the narrowest hotel in the world.

The town is said to be the ancestral seat of Clan Moffat. The Devil’s Beef Tub near Moffat was used by the members of Clan Moffat and later the members of Clan Johnstone to hoard cattle stolen in predatory raids. Heading Northeast onto Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland arriving late in the afternoon. The evening is free time to explore Edinburgh nightlife.

Overnight: TBA (or similar)

Day 5

 

Edinburgh, we visit the Magic Castle where the world renown Tattoo is performed and see the position of the lonely piper. Edinburgh is Scotland’s compact, hilly medieval capital with it’s Old Town and elegant Georgian New Town offering gardens and neoclassical buildings. Looming over the city is the Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish rulers. a visit to Arthur’s Seat being a imposing peak in Holyrood Park with sweeping views, and Calton Hill is topped with monuments and memorials including the Wallaces tower.

Overnight: TBA (or similar)

Day 6

Driving North West we visit  The Falkirk Wheel which is a rotating boat lift in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The lift is named after Falkirk, the town in which it is located. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project. Passing through City of Stirling to arrive at Doune Castle, where many a Monty Python episodes were filmed. We track over to lake of Menteith our overnight stop. Hopefully a visit to the islands Inchmahome Priory or a spot of Trout fishing can be undertaken while in the region.

Overnight: TBA (or similar)

Day 7

 

A short drive across country to find the hamlet of Balmaha on the East banks of Loch Lomond. We stay in the local pub on the banks of the Loch enabling us to take a boat onto the Loch. Likewise there is the option of a float plane for some spectacular aerial views of the Loch and surrounding mountains which is in southern Scotland. It’s part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. The surrounding highlands area is home to red deer and oak woodlands. On the eastern shore, footpaths and cycle trails criss-cross craggy Ben Lomond mountain and the smaller Conic Hill. Opposite bank offers the Luss Heritage Path which winds through rolling countryside and ancient Luss village, with its stone cottages.

Overnight: TBA (or similar)

 

Day 8 Kirkcudbright

 

Leaving  Loch Lomond and the mountainous regions behind us we drive via Aye which is rich in Burns history. We stop at Brig a Doon before heading the Southern coast of Scotland and the artist town of Kirkcudbright on the river Dee. In 1453 Kirkcudbright became a royal burgh. Approx. a century later, the magistrates of the town obtained permission from Queen Mary to use part of the convent and nunnery as a parish church. From around 1570, Sir Thomas MacLellan of Bombie, the chief magistrate, received a charter for the site, its grounds and gardens. MacLellan dismantled the church in order to obtain material for his new castle, a very fine house, which was built on the site.

 

Overnight: Selkirk Arms Hotel (or similar)

Day 9

 

Today we have a leisurely drive along the Solway Firth exploring such places as Sweet Hearts Abbey – The abbey, located on the banks of the Pow Burn, was founded by Dervorguilla of Galloway, in memory of her husband, John de Balliol. After his death, she kept his embalmed heart, contained in a casket of ivory and silver, with her for the rest of her life, and it was buried alongside her when she died. In line with this devotion to her late husband, she named the abbey Dulce Cor (Latin for Sweet Heart). Their son, also John, became King of Scotland, but his reign was tragic and short. We visit Kippford, Dundrennan Abbey, The Steamboat Inn all in an area beset with stories of the Davy Jones Locker.

Overnight: Selkirk Arms Hotel (or similar)

Day 10 Leslie Castle

We travel through the Scottish Lowlands to the port town of Stranraer where we await and board our ocean going ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Crossing the Irish Sea,  Belfast comes into focus and we disembark driving directly to Leslie Castle our overnight stop where we enjoy the ambiance of the medieval times with twenty First Century luxury. There is time to sit and view the lake while waiting an evening meal after our eventful day.

Overnight: Leslie Castle (or similar)

Day 11

From Leslie we take the Irish byroads to the coastal stop of Sligo with its surf beaches. The town set in the north of Ireland, straddles the Garavogue River where it meets Sligo Bay. It’s known for its literary heritage and rugged countryside. Ruined medieval Sligo Abbey has carved tombs and a 15th-century altar. Sligo County Museum displays memorabilia of local poet W.B. Yeats, paintings and Stone Age artefacts.

Overnight: TBA (or similar)

 

Day 12 Ashford Castle

A country drive along the coast Ashford Castle takes us through the green rolling hills of Ireland , through Longford  home of the legend ‘The Wooing of Étain’, a place of magic, myth and mystery. Steeped in ancient Irish mythology, Longford has many impressive archaeological sites as well as a wealth of historical, literary and musical tradition.  Ancestral home of the Farrell Clan, Longford is a tranquil and mainly low-lying county area, renowned for its angling, boating and outdoor sporting activities. It is ideally located in the heart of the ‘Lakelands and Inland Waterways’ region, we round Lough Ree on our way to the North Atlantic coast and Galway our overnight stop in Ashford Castle.

Overnight: Ashford Castle (or similar)

Day 13 Ashford Castle

Today being a free day to explore the regions Lough Corrib and take part in some of the local activities including horse riding, fishing, walking, kayaking, shooting to name a few including a day spa to relax in comfort. We take a short drive to our overnight stop in Letterfrack a small town developed by the Quakers.

Free day for Ashford Castle and district.

Overnight: Overnight: TBA (or similar)

Day 14

Leaving the West coast of Ireland our drive to day takes us South to the renowned location of Killarney. The town is on the shores of Lough Leane in southwest Ireland’s County Kerry. It’s a stop on the Ring of Kerry scenic drive, and the start and finishing point of the 200-km Kerry Way walking trail. The town’s 19th-century buildings include St. Mary’s Cathedral. Across the bridge from the cathedral is Killarney National Park.

Overnight: TBA (or similar)

Day 15 Waterford

From Killarney we drive via way of the Blarney Castle where you may hang upside-down over a sheer drop to kiss the stone, which is said to give the gift of eloquence. We continue onto the town of Waterford reviewing the local small shops and cafes in this pretty town being the oldest in Ireland and founded by the Vikings in 914. This medieval town with riverside bustle tells a 1000 years of history when visiting the Museum of Treasures. We head around the coast to our over night stay  Dunbrody House a small luxury hotel located on the dramatic Hook Peninsula on Ireland’s south coast. Fine food and a friendly, relaxed service combined with luxury accommodation all within the centuries-old walls of this beautiful Georgian property.

Overnight: Dunbrody House Hotel (or similar)

Day 16 Milford

 

Today we journey to Wexford and Rosslare docks as we leave Ireland via ferry boat which takes approx 4 hours across the Irish Sea to Wales. Arriving at the small market town of Fishguard located in north Pembrokeshire, Wales. The town overlooks Fishguard Bay which is the main commercial and shopping center for the region. The town has become increasingly popular with tourists as Fishguard is ideally located to explore the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the Coast Path, the Gwaun Valley and the many other towns and villages along the coast and inland towards the Preseli Hills. We take a short drive south to our overnight location of Wolf’s Castle.

Overnight: Wolf’s Castle (or similar)

Day 17 Llandrindod

 

Leaving the mist shrouded castle we travel north through the Brecon Beacons nation park then Builth Wells and onto Llandrindod a fascinating Spa Town with so much to see and do, including welcoming restaurants, hotels and shops.  The town is distinguished by fine Victorian and Edwardian buildings laid out along wide streets, which also define the several open spaces, including Temple Gardens in the town Center. The market town of Builth Wells possesses a Monday market and has a range of family shops where you receive a level of friendly personal service that you will long remember.  A visit to the Wyeside Arts Center and stroll down the Groe Park along the riverside, or to Hay on Wye renowned for is quaint bookshops of old.

Overnight: The Lake House Hotel (or similar)

Day 18 Ross on Wye

Country roads take us to Leominster and on to the medieval market town of Ledbury where we stop and review the country town with its oak beam houses and quaint market center before arriving in Ross on Wye. The river Wye snakes and creates the green valley with its water fowl and willow trees making this an enchanting location to visit.

Overnight:Wilton Court Hotel (or similar)

Day 19 Shrewsbury

 

Leaving Ross on Wye behind us we pass the Forest of Dean, then on up to Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in western England. It sits inside a loop of the River Severn, and its Tudor centre is lined with half-timbered houses. The medieval, red-brick Shrewsbury Castle houses the Shropshire Regimental Museum, where military artefacts include uniforms and weaponry. St Chad’s Church is defined by its unique circular nave, and St Mary’s Church has elaborate stained-glass windows.

Overnight: TBA (or similar)

Day 20

Today is a pleasant drive South to Stratford-upon-Avon, a medieval market town in England’s West Midlands, is the 16th-century birthplace of William Shakespeare. Possibly the most famous writer in the English language, Shakespeare is known for his sonnets and plays such as ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Hamlet’. The Royal Shakespeare Company performs his plays in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and adjacent Swan Theatre on the banks of the River Avon. This stop will enable you to explore the town possibly enjoy a theatre play while visiting.

Overnight: Bristol Hotel (or similar)

Day 21 London

Today we leave Shrewsbury, it is our final day, as we make our way to London Heathrow Airport to board your homeward flight from one of the world’s busiest airports situated on the West of London, lunching before the final stop of this fascinating 5 Country trip.

6P/M arrival time at London LHR Hilton Hotel Airport T4

The above provides a glimpse of the flexibility and options open to you when travelling with Europe Driving Holidays.

You needed: Camera, open mind and plenty of smiles.

For day by day details:
Request more information here.

Fully inclusive of:
Pick up, Drop Off, Vehicle Travel, Luxury Hotels with breakfast and lunch each day for the duration of the agreed tour.

Enquire or book now to take advantage of these exciting personal trips.

Options and alterations:
Alterations and personalisation of our driving tour is welcomed.

• This map is indicative only.
• As per all tours, all details (hotels, locations and points of interest) can be customised to suit your individual taste.

• Subject to currency fluctuation.
• Subject to availability.
• Trips described on this site are not a quote or a set schedule, but a suggested trip that can be modified and await your confirmation.
• All driving travel is subject to road and traffic conditions. If unforeseen conditions, deviations may be necessary.
• Any nominated roads are shown as an indication only and not necessarily the roads travelled.
• Full Travel/Health/Baggage Insurance is to be taken out by each traveller.
• There are some accommodation locations that are most popular therefore the earliest confirmation of your intentions is recommeded.
• Double room accommodation; Single room options available.
• Free Day or Free time indicates that you have time to yourselves to explore, rest or sit around the pool.
• Lists of sightseeing opportunities are available.
• Non smoking trips
• Full disclosure of any medical conditions is imperative including next of kin details.
• Meal inclusions indicated are to a given value.
• Legend:
  • [B] Breakfast included
  • [L] Lunch included
  • [D] Dinner included