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Boon’s Calibre Travel 2021 Splendours of Durham & Northumberland Departs Tuesday 31st August 2021 for 5 days, half-board
An exciting tour, which explores the splendours of Durham and Northumberland, a region boasting a wealth of beautiful scenery, stunning beaches, imposing castles and award-winning attractions. Highlights of our three carefully planned excursions include: magical Holy Island, wonderful NT Cragside, magnificent Alnwick “Windsor of the North”, Shildon’s National Railway Museum, Grace Darling’s Bamburgh, the fascinating Beamish Open Air Museum and the university city of Durham. In addition, we pass through the Northumberland National Park and alongside Hadrian’s Wall. There will be included visits to exquisite York and Georgian Newark, and a photo opportunity at Gormley’s “Angel of the North”.
Our base for this tour is the AA 4* Holiday Inn Gosforth Park, a popular hotel set in 16 acres of grounds, conveniently located at Seaton Burn, just north of Newcastle. Each stylish bedroom boasts en-suite bathroom and is fully equipped with all the usual facilities. Accommodation is arranged over two floors (there is a lift), with many ground floor rooms and two bedrooms adapted for the disabled. Meals may be taken in the chic Blagdon Brasserie and a relaxing drink in the Mercury bar. For the energetic, there is a leisure centre with indoor swimming pool.
Holiday Inn Gosforth Park, Great North Road, Seaton Burn, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, NE13 6BP Tel: 0191 201 9988 www.hinewcastlegosforthpark.co.uk
Day 1: On leaving our local boarding points, we make our way northward, stopping en-route in the picturesque, riverside town of Newark-on-Trent, with its imposing 12th century, riverside castle and attractive, Georgian market square, one of the finest in England.
Day 2: Following breakfast today, we head northward, through the colourful fishing village of Seahouses, and along the coast road to Bamburgh, former home to heroin Grace Darling; a coastal resort boasting award-winning beaches, an imposing castle and views across to the Farne Islands. Continuing on, we reach the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, birthplace of Christianity in Northumbria, accessible only at low tide via a causeway. Time to explore this unique settlement, with its castle, priory, harbour, and other attractions, before returning to our hotel.
Day 3: Today’s tour takes us to Northumberland’s medieval town of Alnwick, with its cobbled streets and traditional shops & pubs. The centrepiece is Alnwick Castle, reputedly one of the finest in England, and often referred to as the “Windsor of the North”. On leaving Alnwick we visit NT Cragside House & Gardens. Known as “a wonder of its age”, Cragside, former home of Lord Armstrong (Victorian inventor, innovator and landscape genius) was the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity, is crammed full of ingenious gadgets (most of them still working) and boasts incredible gardens. We return to our hotel across the scenic Northumberland National Park and alongside Hadrian’s Wall. Admission to Cragside extra, NT members FREE
Day 4: Today, we have the opportunity to experience the award-winning Beamish Open Air Museum, a wonderful recreation of Northern life in the 1820s, 1900s and 1940s (admission extra). The 350 acre site, set in beautiful countryside, can be explored on foot or by vintage tram, and boasts a 1900’s town, pit village & colliery, a 1940’s farm, 19th century Pockerly Hall, an Edwardian railway station, a school house and various other carefully restored buildings and exhibits. For those who have already been to Beamish, we offer an alternative excursion to the National Railway Museum “Locomotion” (free entry) at Shildon (the world’s first Railway town) and the university city of Durham, beautifully situated in a loop of the River Wear, with its winding cobbled streets and iconic cathedral, dominating its magnificent skyline.
Day 5: We depart after breakfast, and commence our return journey. Our visit today is to the fascinating, walled city of York, renowned for its exquisite architecture, tangle of quaint cobbled streets, including the famous Shambles, and the iconic York Minster, the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe.
Includes: 4 nights half-board (dinner, bed & breakfast) in en-suite bedrooms, ground floor rooms, lift, porterage, leisure facilities. 3 excursions & visits to places of interest en-route. Note: Poterage may not be available if COVID-19 restrictions are still in place.
Cost per person: £469 Supplement for single occupancy of a double room: £66 (first 9 only)
Payment terms: Deposit: £50 per person. Balance due: 6 weeks prior to departure |