Northeast England & Scotland

Estimated Tour Pricing Inclusions: Roundtrip air transportation, 11 nights’ accommodation (1 on plane);  baggage handling; 11 breakfasts; 1 lunch; 11 dinners; private motor coach transportation throughout; admissions, entrance, and guide fees as stated in the itinerary, including taxes, and gratuity (excluding gratuity for guides and driver, unless requested).

• Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Hadrian's Wall
• Durham
• Angel of the North
• Lumley Castle
• Bowes Museum
• Beamish Museum
• Alnwick
• Alnwick Castle
• White Swan Hotel
• Bamburgh Castle
• Lindisfarne
• Glasgow
• Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
• Museum of Piping
• Balloch
• Loch Lomond
• The Kelpies
• Edinburgh
• Palace of Holyroodhouse
• The Royal Mile
• Holyrood Distillery
• Edinburgh Castle
• Real Mary King's Close

• Depart Washington-Dulles Airport.
• Have dinner on board the plane.

• Enjoy breakfast on board the plane.
• Arrive in London Heathrow Airport then meet your full-time tour escort.
• Transfer on your private motor coach to Newcastle-upon-Tyne for an overview guided tour of the city, and lunch on your own.
• Check into your local hotel and attend an orientation meeting with your tour director.
• Dinner will be served at Blackfriars' Restaurant, the celebrated venue used by King Edward III to receive royal Scot, Edward Balliol, in 1334, and boasting authentic and bespoke banners, chandeliers, wall coverings, stained-glass windows, reclaimed wooden screens, large oak dining tables and matching chairs, all created by local craftsmen.
• Return to your hotel.

• Enjoy a full English breakfast at your hotel.
• Depart for an ancient fort site at Hadrian's Wall, the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire, constructed in the 2nd Century AD.
• Take advantage of free time in the medieval city of Durham to explore and have lunch on your own. Durham is renowned for its fine Norman Cathedral and Castle. Before departing, make sure to take a close-up look at the Angel of the North, the largest sculpture in Britain.
• Dinner will be provided this evening at Lumley Castle, a 14th-century quadrangular castle, near the city of Durham, and a property of the Earl of Scarborough.

• Enjoy breakfast at your hotel.
• Depart for the town of Barnard Castle to visit the Bowes Museum. The museum contains paintings by El Greco, Francisco Goya, Canaletto, and Francois Boucher, together with a sizable collection of decorative art, ceramics, textiles, tapestries, clocks, and costumes, as well as older items from local history. A great attraction is the 18th-century Silver Swan automaton, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
• After lunch on your own in Barnard Castle, visit the Beamish Museum, the first regional open-air museum in England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural Northeast England at the climax of industrialization in the early 20th century. Much of the restoration and interpretation is specific to the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, together with portions of countryside under the influence of industrial revolution from 1825. On its 350 acres estate it uses a mixture of translocated, original, and replica buildings, a large collection of artifacts, working vehicles and equipment, as well as livestock and costumed interpreters.
• Dinner this evening is at Stables Restaurant and Bar, attached to Beamish Hall in the converted 18th century stable block. The Pub and Restaurant features a large external courtyard. The building itself has been lovingly restored and retains the building’s original features. You will be greeted by original stone floors, exposed beams, antique furniture, and of course our famed northern hospitality.

• Prior to checking out, breakfast at your hotel.
• Visit Alnwick Castle. The castle’s rich history is brimming with drama, intrigue, and extraordinary people; from a gunpower plotter and visionary collectors, to decadent hosts and medieval England’s most celebrated knight, Harry Hotspur. Combining magnificent medieval architecture with spectacular Italianate State Rooms, Alnwick Castle is one of the UK’s most significant heritage destinations. In recent years it has also taken starring roles in a number of film and television productions, featuring as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter films and as a location for ITV’s Downtown Abbey.
• Lunch is included at the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick. Originally established in the 18^th Century, the hotel has undergone various extensions and renovations, including one in 1936 when its then owner, Algernon Smart, bought various elements from the decommissioned RMS Olympic and incorporated them into the fabric of the building.
• Check into the White Swan Hotel, then enjoy free time to explore Alnwick.
• Dinner will be at your accommodation.

• Breakfast at your hotel this morning.
• Tour Bamburgh Castle. Bamburgh Castle is the Kingdom of Northumbria’s epicenter and home of the Armstrong family since 1894. Crowning nine acres of the Great Whin Sill, Bamburgh Castle has stood guard above the Northumberland coast for thousands of years. Discover a castle like no other and find out why Bamburgh Castle truly is England’s finest coastal fortress.
• Visit Lindisfarne, also called the Holy Island. Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which has a recorded history from the 6th century AD. Enjoy lunch on your own. The island was an important center of Celtic Christianity under Saints Aidan of Lindisfarne, Cuthbert, Eadfrith of Lindisfarne, and Eadberht of Lindisfarne. After the Viking invasions and the Norman Conquest of England, a priory was re-established, and a small castle was built on the island in 1550.
• Dinner will be provided at a local restaurant before returning to your accommodations.

• Breakfast at your hotel prior to checking out.
• Experience a guided tour of Glasgow, Scotland.
• Visit Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum which has a fine collection of British and continental paintings, including such gems as Van Gogh's portrait of the Glaswegian art collector Alexander Reid, and Salvador Dali's Christ of Saint John of the Cross. An exceptional series of galleries feature the Glasgow School of Art and its best-known figure, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, with complete furnished rooms, pottery, metalwork, furniture, and other works of art. Scottish archaeological finds include Bronze Age tools and jewelry from Arran, Kintyre, and Glenluce. Other exhibits of interest include weapons and armor, such as helmets, crossbows, and swords from the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as Flemish tapestries, Glasgow-made jewelry, silverware, glassware, and pottery from various periods.
• Check in to your local hotel before partaking in dinner at a local restaurant.

• After breakfasting at your hotel, visit the Museum of Piping, which includes piping memorabilia belonging to Robbie Burns and the 17th-century Iain Dall MacKay chanter, the world's oldest surviving bagpipe relic.
• Following the museum visit, enjoy free time and lunch on your own in Glasgow.
• Dinner will be provided at a local restaurant.

• Set out for Balloch after breakfasting at your hotel.
• Spend some free time exploring the shores of Loch Lomond. Cruise out on a loch and take in the view of the surrounding mountains, islands, and widlife.
• Before departing Balloch, enjoy lunch on your own.
• Visit Helix Park, the home of The Kelpies - the largest equine sculptures in the world. Standing at 100ft tall, the magical Kelpies are a man-made wonder and a feat of engineering. The works of art, created by artist Andy Scott, have become iconic on the landscape after being modelled on real-life icons of times gone by — Clydesdale horses Duke and Baron. The Kelpies represent the lineage of the heavy horse of Scottish industry and economy, pulling the wagons, ploughs, barges and coal ships that shaped the geographical layout of Falkirk.
• Journey to Edinburgh and check into your hotel.
• Dinner will be included at a local restaurant.

• Breakfast at your hotel.
• Spend the day in Edinburgh, Scotland's majestic capital city, dominated by its own impressive castle. With your Edinburgh guide, you will see the grand Palace of Holyroodhouse, the late Queen's official residence when she visited Scotland. There are countless stories and secrets tucked into the wynds, courtyards, and houses along The Royal Mile. Running through the heart of Old Town, this famous, historic stretch is lined with the city’s top sights and the best way to explore is on your guided tour.
• Enjoy lunch on own while remembering to shop for those unique Scottish souvenirs along the Royal Mile and Princes Street.
• No visit to Scotland would be complete without a visit to a distillery. Holyrood Distillery exists to create whiskies that have put Edinburgh back on the Scotch Whisky making map. Inspiration comes from the distillery’s surroundings and the city’s rich brewing heritage, exploring recipes, malts, and fermentation ideas that time left behind, giving them a new purpose for today, to shape the Scotch Whisky legacy of tomorrow.
• Dinner will be provided at a local restaurant.

• After breakfast at your hotel, visit Scotland's most famous landmark, Edinburgh Castle. Highlights of a visit include hearing the famous One O'clock Salute from Half Moon Battery (cannon fire commemorates the tradition of helping ships synchronize their clocks), the impressive Scottish National War Memorial and National War Museum, and the stunning collection of Crown Jewels housed in the Royal Palace.
• Enjoy some free time and lunch on your own along the Royal Mile or Princes Street.
• Tour the Real Mary King's Close which offers visitors a fascinating glimpse into one of the oldest sections of the Royal Mile. Located under the historic Old Town area, Mary King's Close was buried and closed after being partly dismantled in the 1700s to make way for the Royal Exchange. This network of narrow streets, now underground, was once a vibrant neighborhood lined with tenement homes, and has long been the subject of myths of ghosts and murder. Your guide will lead you to some of the best preserved areas of this fascinating underground world.
• Enjoy a Farewell Dinner.

• Enjoy breakfast at your hotel.
• Transfer to the airport for your flight home.
• Fly home.

*Base rate does not include motor coach transportation, airfare, airport transfers, driver gratuity, guide gratuity, (student groups exempt) or any upgrades or add-ons unlisted from itinerary as stated. Pricing may vary based on day of arrival or other conditions. Personalized itineraries with custom pricing and/or additional transportation can be created and added based on client needs and upon client’s request. MARS will customize quotes or personalize itineraries for FREE.