Scottish Dream Tours
Presents
Welsh, Irish  and Scottish
Castles, Tearooms and Pubs Tour
June 23rd - July 8th, 2013

Bradford-On-Avon, Cardiff, Cardiff Castle Banquet, Caerphilly Castle,
Castle Coch, Snowdonia North Wales, Harlech Castle, Caernarfon Castle,
Conwy Castle, Beaumaris Castle, Betws-y-Coed, Dublin, Malahide Castle,
Newgrange Megalithic Passage, Beaghmore Stone Circles, Giants
Causeway, Bushmills Distillery, Belfast, Doune Castle, Stirling Castle,
Pitlochry, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Blair Castle, Scone Palace, St.
Andrews, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle, Bentley's Tearoom, Royal Mile,
Princes Street, Open Top Tour Bus

16 Days on a small intimate tour of Wales, Ireland and Scotland.  This tour
is limited to 12 people in order to provide a more personal experience. In
keeping the tour size small we are able to take advantage of
accommodation, restaurant and sightseeing options that would not be
available to a larger group.  We will not rush you from venue to venue and
each tour is designed to spend as little time on the minibus as possible. We
will stay in delightful and elegant city guest houses and fine country
house hotels. Includes all accommodation, breakfast daily,
all listed meals, all entrance fees and admissions,
all taxes and guided minibus travel

$5195US per person.  
$995US single supplement.
$500 per person deposit to reserve your spot on the tour.

Click here to make your deposit
Day 1 - June 23rd, 2013 - We will all meet at London Heathrow Airport but our adventure starts in South Wales
and Monmouthshire. Along the way we stop at The Bridge Tea Rooms in Bradford-On-Avon for Afternoon
Tea. We will take some time to investigate this lovely village before we then continue to Wales where we are off to just
the capitol city of Wales, Cardiff. After getting settled into our accommodation we will gather for a Welcoming
Dinner tonight to kick off this tour. Get a goods night rest before our adventures begin in City. Overnight near
Cardiff. (L,D)   

Day 2 - After a good Welsh breakfast we will visit Castle Coch. The name means Red Castle in Welsh and is truly a
fairytale creation designed by William Burges for the 3rd Marquis of Bute. The castle is known as a romantic folly
supposedly reproducing a small medieval Welsh chieftain's stronghold. It possesses the most remarkable interior
decoration. This afternoon we will return to Cardiff where you will board an Open Top Bus complete with guide for a
Tour of Cardiff City with hop on and off service taking in Cardiff Castle, National Museum and Gallery,
Millennium Stadium and Cardiff Bay. You will want to visit Cardiff Castle while in the city. The interior is
another collaboration between the Marquis and Burges. This evening we visit Cardiff Castle for a Medieval
Banquet. Overnight near Cardiff. (B,D)

Day 3 - Upon leaving the city behind, we visit Caerphilly Castle just north of Cardiff. Caerphilly Castle is one of the
great medieval castles of western Europe and the second largest in Britain after Windsor. A late 13th century castle, it
was considered a revolutionary masterpiece of military planning. We then drive through the Breacon Beacons, a
National Park with scenery which is both beautiful and diverse - rolling countryside and valleys along with wide open
spaces. Eventually we will find our way to Abbey Cwm Hir, mid Wales most unique and beautiful stately home and
historic house. This 52 Room Victorian Revival Gothic Mansion sits in 12 acres of gardens overlooking the ruins
of the 12th century cistercian abbey. Before our tour of the house we will have a lovely lunch in the house. Our drive
next takes us to the lovely village of Aberystwyth. Dinner and Overnight Aberystwyth. (B,L,D)

Day 4 - We will see some breathtaking countryside and spectacular coastline as our drive takes us further north to
Harlech and Harlech Castle. As if its spectacular situation, foreboding might, and great power were not sufficient to
ensure the fame of this magnificent castle, Harlech is also inseparably linked in Welsh myth with the tragic heroine of
Branwen, the daughter of Llyr, of the Mabinogion. We then travel through the beautiful Snowdonia Region
of Wales on our way to Caernarfon and Caernarfon Castle. Lunch stop at Portmeirion before we reach
Caernarfon. Caernarfon is architecturally one of the most impressive of all of the castles in Wales. Most impressive of all
is the Eagle Tower crowned by its triple cluster of turrets. Dinner and Overnight Near Caernarfon. (B,L,D)

Day 5 - Following breakfast our first visit of the day is Conwy Castle. Words cannot do justice to Conwy Castle it is by
any standards one of the great fortresses of medieval Europe. Conwy's well-preserved castle wall helps the town maintain
a medieval character lost by other Welsh castle-towns over the years. Conwy is also home to Britain's smallest
house, measuring 10 feet by 6 feet. The structure was used as a residence from the 16th century until 1900 when the
owner was a 6ft 3 inch (1.9 meters) fisherman named Robert Jones. Afternoon Tea in Llandudno, a seaside resort
which has kept its Victorian and Edwardian elegance and splendour. This afternoon we visit Aberconwy House, the
only Medieval Merchant's House in Conwy to have survived the turbulent history of the walled town over nearly six
centuries. Dating from the 14th century, The house is the oldest recorded dwelling of its kind anywhere in Wales.
Dinner on your own and Overnight near Caernarfon (B,L)   

Day 6 - We will stop at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch on our way to the
ferry terminal at Holyhead. This small village in Wales has the longest name in Wales and translates to  "The church of
St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave".  Once in Dublin we
will take a short drive out of the city to visit Malahide Castle. Malahide Castle is one of the oldest and most historic
castles in Ireland.  From 1185 until 1975, it was the home of the Talbot family.  This was a remarkable tenure by a single
family and is one of the longest in Ireland. In 1169, at the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion, Malahide was under the
control of Hammund Mac Turkill, the last Viking King of Dublin. Dinner and Overnight Dublin. (B,D)

Day 7 - Following breakfast you will tour the city aboard an Open Top Tour Bus. After the tour you will want to
spend time possibly taking in Trinity College and the Book of Kells and also visit St. Patrick's Cathedral or
Christ Church Cathedral. The afternoon is free for Shopping on Grafton Street or Henry Street. We will meet
this evening for Dinner and Traditional Music Night. Overnight Dublin. (B,D)

Day 8 - Our first stop of the day is at Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb. Newgrange was built about 3200 BC.
The kidney shaped mound covers an area of over one acre and is surrounded by 97 kerbstones, some of which are richly
decorated with megalithic art. We will stop at Newry for Lunch before heading north to visit the Beaghmore Stone
Circles. Beaghmore, "the moor of the birches", was first uncovered in 1945 when 1269 stones were uncovered.  
Further work in 1965 revealed a total of seven circles, six of which are paired, along with many cairns, some of which
have associated stone rows. Dinner and Overnight near Maghera, Northern Ireland. (B,L,D)

Day 9 - This morning we take in the Causeway Coast with the first stop being Bushmills and the Old Bushmills
Distillery, the oldest distillery in the world! We will take a Tour of the Distillery and end up with whiskey sampling
in the 1608 bar. Lunch Stop at in Bushmills at the Distillers Arms. The rest of the day will be spent taking in the
splendor of the Northern Ireland Coastline. We will follow the coastline taking in The Giants Causeway where
37,000 basalt columns extend from the cliffs and into the sea. No matter how many times I have seen this, the sheer
wonder and magic of the columns never fails to impress! We will continue along the coastline of Northern Ireland on
our way to Belfast. Along the way we will make a few stops as we will be seeing some amazing scenery. Dinner on
your own and Overnight near Belfast. (B,L)

Day 10 - Today we spend in Belfast, Northern Ireland's largest city and one of my favorite European cities! You
will board an Open Top Bus for a Tour of the City. You can get off an on all day long with your ticket. You may
want to make a lunch stop at the Crown Liquor Saloon, a flamboyant Victorian drinking palace. Belfast's downtown is
full of wonderful shops. Other places of interest are City Hall, The Linen Library, St. Anne's Cathedral and the
Titanic Quarter. The Titanic's Dock Tour takes in Thompson Dock and Pump House where the celebrated
RMS Titanic had its final fit-out.  A must see, The Pump House is one of the few most significant remaining heritage
buildings from the Titanic technology era. After a day of investigating the city we will meet up for Dinner. Overnight
near Belfast. (B,D)

Day 11 - This morning we take the ferry from Larne to Troon, Scotland. The crossing will take about 2 hours but is
a very smooth sailing. Once in Scotland, we will Stop for Lunch before we make our way north. Our northerly drive
today will take us to toward Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. We will stop at the New Lanark Heritage Centre, a
beautifully restored 18th century Cotton Mill Village nestled in the spectacular South Lanarkshire Valley in
southern Scotland. As you explore the village designed by Robert Owen,  it is easy to imagine how people lived and
worked in Owen's time. A highlight of any visit is the fascinating 'Annie McLeod Experience' ride, which features the
ghost of mill girl Annie who magically appears and takes you on a journey back in time to 1820. Our journey then takes us
to just outside of Glasgow where we find dinner waiting. Dinner and Overnight near Glasgow. (B,L,D)

Day 12 - After a good Scots breakfast this morning we are off to Stirling and Stirling Castle. Stirling is a Fairy Tale
Castle with the star features being The Palace and the Chapel Royal. We are very excited as you will be able to step
back into the sumptuous world of Stirling Castle's Royal Court. An ongoing project has returned the six ground floor
apartments in the castle's Renaissance palace to how they may have looked in the mid 16th century. This afternoon we
Stop for Tea at the Tearoom in Stirling before a visit to Doune Castle, a 14th century stronghold which offers a
unique view into the life of the medieval royal household. Before continuing north, we visit Dunblane and Dunblane
Cathedral, one of the few surviving medieval churches in Scotland and always worth the visit! We will then take the
leisurely drive to the Highlands Village of Pitlochry where you will be able to sample one of the many eateries to be
found here. Overnight Pitlochry. (B,L)

Day 13 - After breakfast we will drive to The Queen's View named after Robert The Bruce's wife Isabel but made
popular by Queen Victoria. This is one of the most breathtaking sights in Scotland and will become a favorite of yours.
You can't stop here without Visiting the Tearoom and having a piece of millionaires shortbread! Next we visit Cluny
House and Gardens, a Himalayan and North American woodland garden overlooking the scenic Strathtay valley.
Giant Himalayan lilies, blue poppies, exotic arisaemas, skunk cabbages and copious numbers of candelabra primulas
grow in profusion here. Next we stop for Lunch at the Legends of Grantully before we visit Blair Atholl and
Blair Castle and Gardens. Bonnie Prince Charlie spent 2 days here in this 700 year old rambling, turreted castle with
over 32 rooms open to the public. You can also visit the lovely walled Hercules Garden. This evening's highlight will be
Dinner and Performance at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre! Overnight Pitlochry. (B,L,D)

Day 14 - This morning we leave the Highlands behind on the way to Perth and Scone Palace, the home of the Earls
of Mansfield.  Once the crowning place of Scottish Kings, Scone Palace occupies a unique position in Scotland’s history.
A breathtakingly beautiful place of power and mystery and the rightful home of the celebrated Stone of Scone, Scone
Palace is regarded as a national treasure and is revered as the historic jewel in Scotland’s crown. This afternoon will be
spent in and around St. Andrews. Sightseeing will include St. Andrews Old Course and St. Andrews Castle and
Cathedral. The Castle was the former Bishops' Palace, the residence of the Archbishops of St Andrews. The
Cathedral itself dates from around 1160, and was consecrated in the presence of Robert the Bruce in July 1318. The
rest of the afternoon and evening free for shopping on Princes Street and the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Dinner
on your own tonight. Overnight Edinburgh. (B,L)

Day 15 - After breakfast you will take in the sights of Scotland's Capitol City aboard an Open Top Tour Bus
where on your way about the city you will see Holyrood Palace, Grey Friar's Bobby and Deacon Brodie's.
Edinburgh Castle is a must stop as is The Royal Mile. You will have entrance tickets for both the Castle and
Holyrood Palace. After an afternoon of taking in Princes Street we will gather for a Farewell Dinner and a Scottish
Evening for our last night in Scotland. The evening is complete with Highland dances, song, bagpipes and of course...the
dreaded Haggis. Overnight Edinburgh. (B,D)

Day 16 - July 8th - Today we make our way to Edinburgh International Airport to make our way home.