Departs Dublin

Returns Dublin

Wednesday

Friday

30 Apr

02 May

PRICES:  GBP £365 pp twin share / GBP £390 single room

TENTATIVE ITINERARY

DAY ONE - WEDNESDAY

An early morning ferry from Dublin takes us across the Irish Sea to Ynys Mon, known in English as the Isle of Anglesey, and part of Wales. You'll be met at the ferry terminus by in Holyhead, by our Back-Roads touring vehicle.

This ancient and mystic island offers an astounding wealth of attractions including prehistoric burial chambers and monuments, Celtic and Viking settlements, fabulous flora and forna, to the village with the
world's longest name -
'Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerchwyrndrobwllllandysilliogogogoch'.

There's the fabulously pretty harbour of Beaumaris with its Victorian gaol (it has the only working tread wheel in Britain), a magnificent 12th Century Norman castle, and a Roman Army museum, in addition to a 900 year old pub!

The island's geography is a natural haven for birds, with its wildly contrasting variety of sheer cliffs, sheltered coves, estuaries, dunes, heaths, wetlands, lakes and woodlands. Along the coast you will discover major breeding colonies of puffins, guillemots, razorbills, terns and cormorants - among many other species. Spring and summer turn the Isle of Anglesey into a giant rock garden, carpeted with flowers of every hue. Seal colonies are a common sight on the rockier stretches of the coastline, whilst dolphins can sometimes be glimpsed from shore.

We'll spend the full day exploring this unique corner of the British Isles and see its Irish connections including St Patrick's church and cave, one of the oldest Christian sites in Wales, possibly dating from 440 AD, and from where it is said Patrick set off to Ireland.

Finally, we cross the Menai Straits to Bangor on the Wales mainland by Thomas Telford's famed suspension bridge - a wonder of the age of the Industrial Revolution.

Snowdonia. A leisurely day absorbing the stunning mountain scenery of the Snowdonia National Park. The National Park covers 823 square miles of the most beautiful and unspoilt countryside in north west Wales. Snowdonia has some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in England and Wales with Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in the North and Cadair Idris in the South. In all there are more than 90 summits over 2,000 feet and 15 0ver 3,000. Inevitable, set amidst the sheep covered hills, there are waterfalls, mountain lakes and fairy glens to discover.

In addition to stunning scenery the area abounds with sites evocative of Celtic myth and legend unsurprising in a region where over 65% speak the ancient Welsh language as their first tongue. This is home to the legend of the two dragons; the white symbolising the Saxons and the red, the Britons. According to the legend, the two dragons fought; the red was victorious, and was adopted as the symbol of what was to become the Welsh nation. Again according to legend, King Arthur was the first to carry the red dragon into battle, and there are many stories about Arthur's life and death associated with Snowdonia.

Then there are the slate mines, the woollen mills, and mountain villages such as Betws-y-Coed, Llanrwst, Beddgelert. There are early Christian sites where Welsh princes lie buried, castles built by original Welsh princes (before the English came…), and no visit would be complete without a ride on one or Wales's great little trains - narrow gauge steam railways with a history spanning well over 100 years. All of them have in common the charm of old-time steam trains with plenty of polished paintwork and brass.

Towns and villages along the North Wales coastline is the subject of today's visit.

Edward I built a ring of mighty castles in the 1300s to subjugate the Welsh tribes. We'll visit Caernarfon and the walled town of Conwy as amongst the best examples. Then there's the elegant Victorian seaside resort of Llandudno with its lovely promenade and pier. We'll take a train to the top of the Great Orme, and enjoy a spectacular view. Finally, we'll visit the famed Bodnant Garden. Covering over 80 acres, Bodnant Garden is one of the finest gardens in Britain, let alone Wales, with magnificent rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias in the spring followed by herbaceous borders, roses and water lilies in the summer and good colour in the autumn.

Alas, we must depart and take an afternoon ferry returning to Dublin. Altrnatively, you can take a train to London to join one of our other tours or fly home.

© As we publish full tour descriptions, you may find others offering our unique itineraries.  But, just as you find when others sing the songs of Paul McCartney, they're often not quite as good as when sung by the original composer!