Summer Excursions 2012

Harrogate Spring Flower Show or Shopper, 8.00am Pick Up

Visit Britain's largest and most beautiful flower show. The show gives florists and flower arrangers, as well as daffodil, tulip & alpine garden enthusiasts a platform to stage their own spectacular show-within-a-show. Over 100 of the UK’s top horticultural nurseries will be staging major exhibits, competing for medal awards, selling plants & offering advice.

(Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)
Prices for coach only - entrance fee for flower show is an extra £15.00.

Alternatively, visit the attractive spa town of Harrogate for a shopping trip.

Kielder Forest Drive and Cruise, 7.15am Pick Up

We travel to Kielder Water & Forest Park, named the most tranquil place in England. An amazing oasis of adventure & scenery. We take a cruise on Kielder Water which is the largest man made lake in Northern Europe. The visitor centre and lakeside café offers welcome refreshments.

(Lake Cruise included in the price. Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)

Picture courtesy Tom Curtis

Beamish Open Air Museum, 8.00am Pick Up

Visit the museum that celebrates over 90 years of industrial heritage, spend a full day of nostalgia seeing how life was at the turn of the century.

There is always something new to see.

(Entrance fees included. Refreshments not included in the price)

Durham City, 8.00am Pick Up

Visit this beautiful city for shopping & sightseeing

(Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)

Newcastle "Quay to Sea" Summer on the Tyne, 8.00am Pick Up

We climb aboard the special "Quay to Sea" three hour cruise, a fantastic way to see the changing face of the River Tyne from the best vantage point in town. The cruise takes you under the magical Gateshead Millennium Bridge, which opens especially for the cruise to enjoy the panorama of the Tyne gorge before returning down river as far as the river mouth. On your cruise you will see the legendary shipyards of Tyneside, the international ferry terminals, the port of Tyne, the fish quays and the glorious vistas of the river mouth including Tynemouth Castle & Priory, the memorial to Lord Collingwood and the beautiful sandy beaches of South Shields. The cruise turns at the piers, where seals and dolphins are regularly seen and returns to Newcastle Quayside. The cruise is complimented by a live commentary.

We have free time on the Quayside – perhaps a bite to eat or see the latest exhibits at the Baltic.

(River Cruise included in the price. Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)

Newcastle Gateshead Quayside, 8.00am Pick Up

Explore the famous Quayside Market, visit the Baltic & The Sage, or take time to visit any of Newcastle's attractions, museums and many shopping opportunities.

(Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)

Alnwick Gardens, 8.00am Pick Up

Experience one of the most spectacular public water gardens of the 21st century. Partake of a guided tour of the poison garden, enjoy the tranquility of the bamboo labyrinth, and explore the largest tree house in Europe.

Alnwick Town itself is a medieval market town with many fine Georgian buildings. An (optional) informative scenic open top bus 1 hour tour departs regularly from the Alnwick Gardens coach park.

(Entrance fees included. Refreshments not included in the price)

Howick Hall Gardens – “The Home of Earl Grey”, 8.00am Pick Up

The gardens at Howick are deliberately aimed at garden lovers with the extensive grounds offering a wide variety of plants throughout the year. In the spring and early summer the woodland garden is particularly lovely with rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias. The formal gardens, including the herbaceous borders, are in front of the house and come into their own from June onwards. A bog garden has been developed, mostly planted with herbaceous material grown from seed collected in the wild, which will be of particular interest to dedicated plantsmen. In April there are spectacular drifts of daffodils to be seen throughout the grounds, and the late season brings brilliant autumn colour. Howick Hall gardens has been rated by the BBC Gardener's World magazine as one of the top 5 coastal gardens in the country and rated the independent magazine as 'one of the best 10 gardens to visit this spring'

(Entrance fees included. Refreshments not included in the price)

Pennine Moonraker Canal Cruise "With Tea & Scones" & Holmfirth, 7.30am Pick Up

We travel over the Pennines to Saddleworth where we enjoy a late morning canal cruise along the beautiful Huddersfield narrow canal complete with complementary tea and scones. After our cruise we travel to Holmfirth in the Holme Valley, the Peak District National Park is only four miles away. Bamforths saucy seaside postcards were made here and more recently well known as the location of "Last Of The Summer Wine".

(Canal cruise, tea & scones included in the price. Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)

Holy Island & Northumberland Coastal Drive, 7.30am Pick Up

A scenic excursion visiting the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Sample the Lindisfarne mead, and the local delicious crab sandwiches! Popular places to visit are Lindisfarne Castle, the Priory where St Cuthbert was Bishop and the Lindisfarne Gospels were created, and the heritage centre where the "turning the pages" exhibit allows visitors to see an electronic version of the famous Gospels. The stunning scenery of the Northumberland dramatic coastline is well worth seeing, passing Bamburgh Castle and with a stop at Seahouses which overlooks the Farne Islands.

(Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)

Keighley & Worth Valley Railway & Brontes Haworth, 8.00am Pick Up

The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is a 5 mile long branch line that once served the mills & villages in the Worth Valley, it was closed in 1962 by British Rail and today it is a heritage railway renowned for its association with the  Railway Children. You have free time at Haworth, the quaint hillside town, famously associated with the Bronte sisters. Visit the Haworth parsonage – now a museum or Haworth church. The steep cobbled main street is lined with tea rooms, souvenir shops, bookshops, restaurants and pubs

(Train ride included in the price. Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)

Lake District - Ullswater Steamer & Bowness On Windermere, 7.30am Pick Up

Ullswater “steamers” are celebrating over 150 years of operating lake cruises on the picturesque Ullswater. They remain an ideal way to enjoy the contrasting scenery of the valley as you sit back & relax on board one of the beautiful heritage boats as we enjoy a journey from Glenridding to Pooley Bridge. We then travel over the famous Kirkstone Pass to spend time in Bowness on Windermere.

(Lake cruise included in the price. Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)

Scotlands Tweed Valley & Berwick Upon Tweed, 7.00am Pick Up

Our tour heads north across Carter Bar to Jedburgh where we enjoy a break before making our way via the Tweed Valley to Berwick before returning via the Northumbrian coastline.

(Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)

Harrogate Autumn Flower Show or Shopper, 8.00am Pick Up

Early autumn is a glorious time to be out and about in the garden. Time to take stock, from new innovations to traditional favourites, the show is packed with great ideas. Over 90 of the UK’s leading horticultural nurseries will be exhibiting. 15 national amateur societies – from bonsai & beekeeping to cacti & chrysanthemums will be in the renowned specialist societies’ marquee. Most will hold their own show-within-a-show – a spectacle not to be missed.

(Entrance fees & refreshments not included in the price)

Prices for coach only - entrance to flower show is an extra £14.00.

Alternatively, visit the attractive spa town of Harrogate for a shopping trip.