manchester, lakeland poets and bronte country

'I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.'

These lines must be amongst the most often quoted in the English language. Our short Lakeland literary explorer is designed to introduce you to the very lakes and hills that so inspired William Wordsworth and other Lakeland poets and authors, including Samuel Coleridge,

Beatrix Potter, John Ruskin and the landscapes of J W Turner. We also explore the Lancashire and Yorkshire dales, specifically the area known universally as Bronte Country in memory of the three Bronte sisters.

This tour combines with our four-day Southern England Literary tour. You depart from Oxford by train, late afternoon on a Tuesday, arriving in Manchester at approximately 19.00.

Price: GBP £360 pp twin share / GBP £380 single person

What your tour price includes

Your accommodation for 2 nights while on the tour is included in your tour price, and this includes both full breakfasts and dinners;
Your price also includes all entrance fees to attractions, transportation, services of driver/guide-companion and all taxes and tips other than those you may wish to give your guide;
Airport transfers and accommodation pre and post tour is not included but can be reserved at a specially discounted price.

TENTATIVE ITINERARY	NIGHTSTOP

DAY ONE - WEDNESDAY
We depart from Manchester at 08.30. Our first stop will be at the Lancashire cotton town of Wigan made famous by George Orwell in his 1939's study 'The Road to Wigan Pier'. This is a very interesting stop as this town is often neglected on the tourist trail. Those joining this tour are recommended to read Martin Cruz 'Rose' as a wonderful and entertaining way of learning about the harsh realities of Victorian life in the cotton towns. Next, to the Lakes themselves and we'll visit the homes of two authors - Wordswroth's Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount, his last home, to admire the grounds he lovingly landscaped, and then to Beatrix Potter's Sawrey Hilltop Farm. Naturally, as these are set amidst the beauty of the Lakes, breathtaking scenery will be part and parcel of our day!	Lake District
DAY TWO - THURSDAY
Today we have a full day discovering and sharing the vistas that so inspired the areas literary tradition. We simply have to use the cliché 'breathtaking' to describe the spectacular scenery you'll be seeing as it is so very appropriate. We'll also see another of Wordsworth's properties at Cockermouth and tour Ruskin's preserved Victorian home at Brantwood. In keeping with our literary theme, we'll also visit the Pencil Museum. Did you know that the graphite for pencils uniquely comes from the Lakeland?	as above
DAY THREE - FRIDAY
We'll take a beautifully scenic route through the Lancashire Dales, calling in at Ingleton and Settle to Hawarth. The dramatic moorland we see enroute inspired the Bronte Sisters to pen the novels which are classics of English literature. In our explorations of Hawarth you'll be able to imagine the everyday lives of the Bronte Sisters as you walk round Haworth Church and the Bronte Parsonage Museum. If we've time, we'll also visit the National Trust's East Riddlesden Hall which, during the Civil War was a Royalist stronghold in a Parliamentarian area. We arrive back in Manchester by 18.00. Your accommodation is not included in your tour package. You can be dropped at either the rail station or airport for onward travel if you're leaving today. Those joining our Wales, Mountains and Lakes four-day tour on the following morning will be dropped fittingly near the Knutsford home of Mrs Gaitskill's, the nearly now forgotten Victorian writer.