Pre Tour - June 9th - Arrive into Heathrow International Airport and spend the day resting up at our accommodation at the airport before the tour starts the following morning.
Day 1 - June 10th - This morning we will meet at our Heathrow Airport Accommodation after breakfast and then we begin our long journey west towards North Devon. Our first stop is the market town of Marlborough, situated in the picturesque rural northeast of Wiltshire. The High Street is one of the widest in the UK and lined on both sides with characterful old buildings housing an array of high quality shops. We then make our way to Tetbury and Chavenage House, originally built in 1383, there have been additions and renovations to the property over the centuries. Since Tudor times, only two families have owned Chavenage. The house has been used for filming many projects including being used as Trenwith House in Poldark, BBC's Lark Rise to Candleford and Tess of the D'Urbervilles. We will have Afternoon Tea at the House after we have our own personally guided tour of the house by one of the Lowsley-Williams family members. You will be thoroughly delighted and entertained from the moment we walk in the door until we depart. After we leave Chavenage behind we continue on through spectacular scenery taking us into North Devon to our home for the first week, Hallsannery House, an Amazing Manor House set in yawning acreage of perfect parkland. The house sits high above Bideford Bay and deep within the Devon dream. We will have a Welcoming Dinner after getting settled into the house. Dinner and Overnight North Devon. (B,L,D)
Day 2 - June 11th - Today we will take a leisurely and relaxing drive along Devon's North Coast and through the Exmoor National Park, a unique landscape of moorland, woodland, valleys and farmland, shaped by people and nature over thousands of years. We then make our way along the coastline dotted with lovely little villages, sandy beaches, hidden coves and spectacular coastlines. We will stop in Minehead and then make our way through Porlock and Combe Martin before reaching Ilfracomb. This is one of the Loveliest Coastlines in England and we will take our time to enjoy it before we make our way to the Hele Corn Mill and Miller's Wife Tearoom where we have Afternoon Tea freshly prepared by the Miller's Wife! After tea we will have a Tour of the Mill which dates from 1525 and is a unique working watermill. The Miller will tell us about the history of the mill, from how flour has been made here over the centuries, to some of the mishaps which have befallen the millers! After our visit, we wind our way through the park taking in more lovely villages as we travel toward home taking in the perfect summer light of North Devon. Dinner and Overnight North Devon. (B,L,D)
Day 3 - June 12th - This morning we take in Arlington Court and Carriage Museum near Barnstaple. Arlington Court is an unexpected jewel on the edge of Exmoor National Park, a complete family estate held by the Chichester Family for over five hundred years. The collection consists of treasures for all tastes, from model ships to shells, collected over several generations. The Carriage Museum in the stables has a vehicle for every occasion from cradle to grave. There is over forty vehicles, ranging from elegant coaches used for state occasions to humble carts used to carry servants. From the ever-changing display of flowers in the formal Victorian Garden to the many varieties of fruit and vegetables in the Walled Kitchen Garden, Arlington looks beautiful whatever the season. After a thorough exploration of the house and grounds, we venture a short ways to the Watersmeet Hotel in Woolacombe for Afternoon Tea. We will travel along more of the Devon Coast where the hotel has one of the finest coastal locations in the whole of the West Country. Then we return home for dinner. Dinner and Overnight North Devon. (B,L,D)
Day 4 - June 13th - Today will be spent in and around home where you have become Lord or Lady of the Manor, acting out your childhood dreams at the exquisite Hallsannery House, known as Devon's Little Downton Abbey. Perched high above Bideford within Five Acres of Glorious Private Parkland, this Grade II Listed Georgian Manor has all the charm and finery you'd expect from a restored period home. You will have all day to explore the house and estate and then we will meet on the Terrace for a Traditional Full Devonshire Prosseco Afternoon Tea prepared by the Scottish Dream Tours Team. The sprawling lawn tempts a game of croquet and boules tournaments before a refreshing Jug of Pimms and an afternoon snooze. There is an on-site Tennis Court, and an Undercover Games Room with table tennis tables for tournaments if the weather is wet. Wander through the woodland to find tree-top swings and views across the grounds. Later in the day we make our way to Barnstaple, possibly the Oldest Borough in the United Kingdom having been granted its charter in 930 AD by King Aethelstan - the grandson of Alfred the Great. It is a former river port, located at the lowest crossing point of the River Taw, flowing into the Bristol Channel. Dinner on your own in Barnstaple this evening. Overnight North Devon. (B,L,)
Day 5 - June 14th - This morning we make our way to Tiverton Castle. Few buildings evoke such a feeling of history as venerable Tiverton Castle. Originally built in 1106 by order of Henry I, and later rebuilt and much enlarged in the 13th and 14th centuries, Tiverton was once home of the powerful medieval Earls of Devon and of a Plantagenet Princess. With later additions and alterations down the centuries all periods of architecture from medieval to modern can be seen, with beautiful walled gardens within the romantic ruins. Besieged during the English Civil War by General Sir Thomas Fairfax, it fell due to a lucky shot hitting a drawbridge chain. This was the only time in its long history that it saw battle. Our tour will includes seeing the Owners Private House within the courtyard. We will stop in Tiverton for a wee wander and for you to find some lunch before we visit Bickleigh Castle. The castle was owned by three families linked by marriage from the Norman period until 1924. It has close connections with the Plantaganets, the Tudors, especially King Henry VII and VIII, and also with the Stuarts. The 17th Century owner Sir Henry Carew was visited by the Queen in 1644. The site dates all the way back to the 600AD when a Saxon Meeting House was first built. It is now the chapel. A tour of the castle will reveal an amazing history spanning 1400 years! We then return home for dinner. Dinner and Overnight North Devon. (B,D)
Day 6 - June 15th - Today will be spent in and around the Dartmoor National Park, a lovely Region of Moorland in Devon. Dartmoor is a stunningly beautiful ancient landscape with deep wooded valleys, fast flowing rivers, rolling hills, towering rock formations (called tors) and rugged landscapes. This special place is steeped in legend and folklore and you’ll love the country pubs, hidden hamlets and the rugged, free roaming Dartmoor Ponies that make up this spectacular area! And it is not just ponies you will see, but also Foxes, Otters, Weasels, Stoats and Deer. Bird lovers will be able to spot Cormorants, Grey Herons, Owls and Peregrine Falcons. We will wind our way through the center of the park taking in all the delights of this magnificent and magical area of England. We will drive through Dartmeet, Buckland in the Moor and Windecomb in the Moor where we will see many Native Dartmoor Ponies. We will stop all along the way including in Dartmeet for Lunch at Badger's Holt Tearoom. We will explore the park further with stops in Tavistock, Two Bridges and Postbridge before stopping at the Miniature Pony Centre at Wormhill Farm. The miniature pony centre sits on the edge of wild and magical Dartmoor in Devon and is a hidden gem of all things small, cute and cuddly. The farm is full of lovely we creatures including Miniature Shetlands and Miniature Mediterranean Donkeys. Tonight we will have Dinner Combined with A Murder Mystery! Dinner and Overnight North Devon. (B,L,D)
Day 7 - June 16th - Our first visit today is to Hartland Abbey and Gardens on the Hartland Devon Heritage Coast. Built in the 12th Century as a monastery, Hartland Abbey survived longer than any other in the country. In 1539 Henry VIII gifted the Abbey to the Keeper of his Wine Cellar, and today it is the family home of his descendant, Sir Hugh Stucley, his wife, children, grandchildren and dogs! Hartland Abbey is probably the most historically important ancestral home in North Devon containing much of national interest, including architecture and decoration from the Mediaeval, Queen Anne, Georgian, Regency and Victorian periods. We will have lunch in the Abbey Tearoom and then spend some time in the lovely gardens before we make our way to Bideford, an attractive town on the west bank of the River Torridge, where the river begins to widen to form the estuary. The old road has a lovely old bridge crossing the Torridge linking the town of Bideford to its neighbouring village East the Water. In the 16th Century, Bideford was Britain’s third largest port and has the historic Pannier Market holding both produce and crafts markets twice each week. Many antique shops are scattered amongst the narrow backstreets and alleyways that lead up from the quay and the river. Overnight North Devon. (B,L)
Day 8 - June 17th - This morning we make our way to Cornwall where we spend our second week at Burncoose House set within 30 acres of mature woodland gardens offering privacy, tranquility and wonderful views from every window. On our way to Cornwall we will stop at Westward Ho!. Author Charles Kingsley lived here and based his novel in this area of North Devon. The town takes its name from the novel – the only town in Britain known to have been named after a book rather than the other way round and also the only town in Britain with an exclamation mark in it! We then make our way to the lovely and enchanting village of Clovelly. Set into a steep hillside, Clovelly is one of the best known and most Unusual Villages in the North Devon. The cobbled high street winds its way down the hillside through traditional 16th century whitewashed cottages decked with fuchsias and geraniums. This street drops 400 feet in the half mile down to the small harbour! We then stop near Bodmin to visit Lanhydrock, a magnificent late Victorian Country House with Garden and Wooded Estate. This country house has a the feel of a wealthy but unpretentious family home. After a devastating fire in 1881 the house was refurbished with the best in country house design and planning. We will tour the house and then take in the spectacular gardens before making our way to just south of Truro in Cornwall to get settled into our accommodation before gathering for a buffet supper. Dinner and Overnight Cornwall. (B,L,D)
Day 9 - June 18th - This morning we then make our way through the Lizard Heritage Coast to Lizard Point, the most southerly point of mainland Britain. The exposed nature of the point has created a wreckers delight as many ships have fallen victim to the currents and strong winds produced as the Atlantic meets the English Channel. The meeting of these two seas however creates fantastic feeding grounds for basking sharks and the seal colony that can often be seen lounging in the sun on the rocks or bottling in the waves below Lizard Point. From here we make our way to Penzance, the market town located in the far west of Cornwall and the last stop on the old Great Western Trainline. A thriving port throughout the ages, the arrival of the railway transformed Penzance into a major holiday resort. Towards the end of the 19th century it became home to Cornwall's only promenade and later the Jubilee Pool, Britain's largest outdoor lido. We will stop for Afternoon Tea and some exploration in Penzance before we visit the Merry Maidens, a perfectly circular stone circles comprised of nineteen stones today but is thought to originally have consisted of just eighteen. Celtic lore has inspired folk tales of dancing maidens turned to stone for merrymaking on the Sabbath! Our next stop is Land's End, the world-famous landmark and resort at the westernmost point of Cornwall. We will also stop in the lovely coastal town of St. Ives for dinner before returning home. Overnight Cornwall. (B,L,D)
Day 10 - June 19th - This morning we start our day with a visit to Tintagel and Tintagel Castle set high on the rugged North Cornwall Coast where you can enjoy dramatic sea views from the castle ruins on the headland and island. Steeped in myths and mystery, this is a spectacular place which has inspired artists and writers throughout history who have associated it with the legend of King Arthur and the story of Tristan and Isolde. We then make our way to the West Coast of Cornwall taking in the village of Port Issac, an attractive fishing village since the early fourteenth century. Its narrow, winding streets are lined with Old White-Washed Cottages and Traditional Granite, Slate-Fronted Cornish Houses, many of which are listed as of architectural or historic importance. This is the perfect place for you to sample a Traditional West Coast Cornish Pasty! This afternoon we discover the excitement and nostalgia of steam travel with a journey back in time on the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, Cornwall’s only full-size railway still operated by steam locomotives. We will relax in style and enjoy a leisurely 13-mile round trip through beautiful Cornish countryside, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of a bygone age, as the era of a Cornish branch line in the 1950s reveals itself during the course of your journey. We will have a Cornish Cream Tea along the way and after our train excursion we return home to get settled in before dinner. Dinner and Overnight Cornwall. (B,D)
Day 11 - June 20th - Today will be spent in and around our home here in Cornwall. Burncoose House is set within 30 acres of mature woodland gardens offering privacy, tranquility and wonderful views from every window. With decor to reflect its Georgian heritage and all the modern touches you could wish for. For relaxation there is a hot tub and shower situated in the sheltered rear courtyard. For recreation, table football, a billiards table and table tennis are all provided along with croquet for the lawn. The conservatory overlooks the gardens and is a wonderful place to sit with a book or to just visit. In the afternoon we will gather in the conservatory for a Traditional Cornish Afternoon Tea prepared by your Scottish Dream Tours Team. Later in the day we will make our way to nearby Redruth in case you are in need of more sustanence! Redruth is a market town dating back to the 12th Century. Fore Street has been Redruth’s main shopping street since the early 18th century. On market days in the 19th century it was packed with stalls selling everything from limpets to pianos.You can still find some interesting treasures along Fore Street. Than we make our way back home. Overnight Cornwall. (B,L)
Day 12 - June 21st - Today we make our way to Tregothnan, home to the Boscawen Family since 1334. The estate is the Largest Historic Garden in Cornwall. We will have a Private Garden Tour of their inspirational Botanical Garden and Cornish Tea Plantation with our host explaining the fascinating history of the garden, its impressive plant collections, and plans for the future. Get lost in ancient Camellias, mountainous Magnolias, and the biggest Rhododendrons in the world! With 40 foot crescendos of full flower, the sheer scale of the garden is breathtaking and the tour finishes with lunch prepared with fresh estate produce. We then make our to Falmouth where we will take a Wildlife Trip exploring the southern coast of Cornwall as we cruise under the impressive granite cliffs, and search for wild animals which inhabit this region of the British Isles, such as huge basking sharks, harbour porpoises, bottlenose dolphins, grey seals and a diversity of coastal birds. We will then spend some time offshore in search of pelagic species such as common dolphins, minke whales and storm petrels. Summer brings sunlight which along with plankton draw in a number of mesmerising jellyfish species, some are very large! These in turn are food for ocean sunfish and leatherback turtles. After our excursion we will have dinner in Falmouth before returning home. Dinner and Overnight Cornwall. (B,L,D)
Day 13 - June 22nd - This morning we take the west coast drive of Cornwall taking in the lovely coastal towns of Porthtcowan, Perranporth, Newquay, Mawgan Porth, Porthcothan, Padstow and Wadebridge. If you are a fan of the series Poldark, you will recognize much of the landscape. We will make a few stops along the way including Porthcothan where you may recognize views over the Camel Estuary as Porthcothan is used to portray Nampara Cove in the series. At Wadebridge we find the Bedruthan Steps where the dramatic views rarely fail to provide a breathtaking experience and the geology of the cliffs and stacks themselves is intriguing. There is a legend associated with the steps of a giant called Bedruthan using the beach stacks as stepping stones to achieve a short cut across the bay! We will stop in Newquay for Afternoon Tea at the Headland Hotel, the perfect spot to tuck into afternoon tea while we soak up coastal scenes away from the hubbub of Newquay's lively town centre. After tea, you will have some time to explore Newquay known as the Jewel in Cornwall's Crown boasting some of the finest sandy beaches in the country. On the way home we will drive through the St Agnes Heritage Coast and then stop along the coast for dinner. Dinner and Overnight Cornwall. (B,L,D)
Day 14 - June 23rd - This morning we visit the Lost Gardens of Heligan with 200 acres of garden history, mystery and romance. Thirty years ago, Heligan’s historic gardens were unknown and unseen lost to the brambles of time since the outbreak of WW1. It was only the chance discovery of a door in the ruins that led to the restoration of this once great estate. Today, The Lost Gardens have been put back where they belong: in pride of place among the finest gardens in England. We will spend the morning thoroughly exploring the gardens and then stop for lunch in the Kitchen and Bakery. The 200 acre estate, which once served the Tremayne family, now provides the Kitchen with a wide variety of fresh produce. Our next stop at is along the coast at Charlestown, a historic port and a berth for tallships. It is also featured the the Poldark TV series and in many other films including the Three Musketeers and The Eagle Has Landed. We will continue our coastal journey on the way home making our way through the Roseland Heritage Coast, and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We will stop in Mevagissey where narrow streets lead down to the centre of the old Mevagissey where the distinctive twin harbour provides a safe haven for the many fishing boats that land their daily catch of skate, lobster, plaice and sole. In typical picture postcard style, pubs, cafes, galleries and shops cluster around the harbour walls and line the pretty streets. Named after two Irish saints, St Meva and St Issey, the village dates back to at least 1313. We then stop in Truro for you to find some dinner before returning home. Overnight Cornwall. (B,L)
Day 15 - June 24th - On our way back toward London Heathrow this morning we will stop in Britain's Ocean City of Plymouth to take in the Mayflower Steps in the Barbican Area of the city where the Pilgrim Fathers left England aboard the Mayflower, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to settle in North America. You cannot fully understand Plymouth's nautical history without a visit to Plymouth Hoe. Not only is it the backdrop for Sir Francis Drake’s legendary game of bowls, but it’s also one of the most beautiful natural harbours in the world. You can get incredible views of Plymouth from Smeaton’s Tower. After you find some lunch on your own we will continue to Devon's Southwest Coast for a lovely coastal journey that will take us through Totnes, Paignton and Torquay. Torquay is a traditional yet thriving seaside town set on Devon's English Riviera coast. A waterfront stroll along the palm-lined promenade and Princess Pier makes for a very pleasant afternoon. The pier, built in 1890, is the perfect place to stop and gaze out to sea, or to enjoy watching the constant comings and goings in the adjacent marina. We then make our way north to Bridgwater and our home where we can get settled in before meeting up for dinner. Dinner and Overnight Bridgwater. (B,D)
Day 16 - June 25th - This morning we visit Glastonbury Abbey to see where King Arthur, along with his wife Guinevere, are buried in the grounds just south of the Lady Chapel and between two pillars. We will have a living history guided tour hearing stories of the abbey and its history. With 36 acres of stunning grounds, an accredited museum and the spectacular ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, you will find out why Glastonbury is the cradle of Christianity in England. Our next stop will be in the delightful village of Castle Comb for Afternoon Tea at the Old Rectory. Our final stop on the tour is Avebury Stone Circle, the largest known stone ring in the world and one of my favourites in all of the UK. It is older than the more famous Stonehenge, and for many visitors far more spectacular, the multiple rings of Avebury are cloaked with mysteries which archaeologists have only begun to unravel. Avebury is part of an extraordinary set of Neolithic and Bronze Age Ceremonial Sites that seemingly formed a vast sacred landscape. They include West Kennet Avenue, West Kennet Long Barrow, The Sanctuary, Windmill Hill, and the mysterious Silbury Hill. We then continue our way to our accommodation just near London Heathrow Airport for our last night together. Farewell Dinner and Overnight near Heathrow. (B,L,D)
Day 17 - June 26th - This morning we return to Heathrow International Airport for the journey home.
