OVERVIEW

Venture into North Wales to explore the charming village of Llangollen, ride on a vintage train and tour a handsome medieval castle. First, settle in for a picturesque drive across the Mersey and southward into the Welsh landscape, transiting historic towns and Horseshoe Pass to reach Llangollen. It’s a charming town known for its annual folk festival as well as its 14th-century stone bridge spanning the River Dee. With free time here you can shop, linger in an inviting pub or watch horse-drawn boats ply the Llangollen Canal. In time, you’ll board a restored passenger train and set off into the unspoiled Dee Valley aboard the only standard-gauge steam railway still operating in the region. During your seven-mile rolling voyage, you’ll pass sheep grazing, hikers hiking, and dramatic limestone bluffs lining the river. On arrival in Carrog – its proper name is Llansanffraid-Glyn Dyfrdwy but only a local can pronounce that – you’ll enjoy a traditional Welsh lunch before heading for Chirk Castle. Dating from 1310, this fortress is lavishly decorated with period tapestries and furnishings in grand rooms where aristocrats once gathered. Its lovely gardens make for an idyllic stroll to top off your day of Welsh discovery.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Journey by comfortable coach through the Merseyside Tunnel and into the pastoral Welsh countryside.
• Take free time to explore the shops, pubs and canal scenery in the classic village of Llangollen.
• Step aboard a heritage train for a throwback rolling voyage through the Dee River Valley.
• Disembark and relax over a traditional Welsh lunch served in the tiny station town of Carrog.
• Travel to nearby Chirk Castle for a guided tour of its sumptuous interior, classic exterior and expansive gardens, yew hedges and parkland.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, and an umbrella as needed.

OVERVIEW

Cross into the Welsh countryside for a delightful exploration of Llangollen, then return to England for an afternoon in Chester, laden with must-see architectural treasures. From Liverpool pier, you’ll enjoy a wonderfully picturesque drive south through the Merseyside Tunnel and into Wales. Transiting historic towns and across winding Horseshoe Pass, you’ll arrive in Llangollen – known for its annual folk festival as well as its 14th-century stone bridge spanning the River Dee. With your free time here you can shop, linger in an inviting pub or watch horse-drawn boats ply the Llangollen Canal. Once it’s time to return to England, your coach will take you to Chester, where lunch at a local hotel is next on the agenda. Afterwards, you’ll have free time for independent sightseeing. Chester abounds in landmarks, not least of which are its red-sandstone defensive walls dating to 100 AD – the most complete Roman and medieval wall system of any UK city. The Chester Rows are another Old City highlight; these charming 13th-century half-timbered shops were built above those on street level for reasons lost to history. Reuniting with your guide, you‘ll tour Chester Cathedral, a remarkable building said to stand on the site of a prehistoric Druid temple.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Travel across the Mersey and into the rolling Welsh countryside for a visit to Llangollen.
• Take time in this classic small town to browse the shops, patronize a pub or watch the goings-on along the local waterway.
• Reboarding your coach, head for your well-deserved lunch, served at a gracious Chester hotel.
• Afterwards, explore cobbled streets lined with half-timbered houses, see Roman ruins, and walk along miraculously preserved medieval city walls.
• Enjoy a guide-led tour of elegant Chester Cathedral, a Gothic stunner built atop much older roots.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, and an umbrella as needed.

OVERVIEW

Spend a memorable day in North Wales, exploring a UNESCO-listed medieval castle and wandering a pair of enchanting Welsh villages. Your comfortable coach will head across the Mersey and through Cheshire, into an unspoiled Welsh landscape of heather-clad hills and hidden river valleys. It’s an area rich in legend, cultural heritage and picture-perfect hamlets – a suitable setting for Conwy Castle, a landmark fortress with few equals. Built in the 13th-century, it took two thousand construction workers to complete. While partially in ruins, more than enough of Conwy’s fortified towers and gateways remain intact to create a dramatically atmospheric vision. After touring the castle proper, you’ll have a free interval to stroll Comwy village, encircled safely by the castle’s 1400 yards of curtain walls and beautifully preserved. Meander through the picturesque old town, walk the serene riverfront, visit the Quay House, Wales’ tiniest residence. Afterwards, motoring across yet another delightful expanse of rural Wales, you’ll arrive at Betws-y-Coed village – a hill-hikers favorite, ringed by mountains and with the River Llugwy running through it. After being served lunch in a town hotel, take some free time to browse shops and galleries well worth your attention.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Travel into Wales to the walled medieval village of Conwy, still protected by its 13th-century castle.
• Tour the caste’s ruined central structure, much of it still intact enough to get a clear sense of the layout.
• Enjoy free time in cobbled Conwy village, where the calendar appears to have stopped centuries ago.
• Motor across another stretch of picturesque Welsh countryside to the village of Betws-y-Coed.
• Savor a refreshing lunch served at a local hotel, then explore this quaint mountain town independently.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, and an umbrella as needed.

OVERVIEW

Enjoy the ultimate tour of the hometown haunts and early places that helped shape the Fab Four, inspiring their sound and lyrics. They took a long and winding Mersey-side road to fame, and you’ll follow right along. This magical history tour begins with a drive to the Beatles Story, an immersive multimedia exhibition devoted to John, Paul, George and Ringo’s lives and times. You’ll see archival photos that just recently came to light – and gain thrilling insights on their childhoods, how they met, and how they led a British Invasion that changed the world of music forever. Moving through the exhibits, you’ll relive the screaming throngs welcoming the band to America, hear music roaring out of the Cavern Club, even go behind the scenes at Abbey Road Studios and through the psychedelic era with Sgt. Pepper. Later, on a walk along Mathew Street, you’ll see shops laden with Beatles memorabilia, along with the actual Cavern Club where the Beatles performed hundreds of shows in the early ‘60s. There’s even a drive down Penny Lane and past Strawberry Field, an orphanage where John attended garden parties as a child. No question, this is the ideal Beatlemaniac experience.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Travel by coach along the Mersey to the Beatles Story, a multisensory exhibition that presents their journey from childhood to world fame, to the breakup, and beyond.
• See rare photos and cool memorabilia; soak up stories of the Fab Four’s former Liverpool homes, schools and famous venues where they played.
• Stop at places made world-famous in song titles and lyrics, like Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields.
• Visit Mathew Street, home of perhaps the most hallowed of Beatles landmarks – The Cavern Club.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Wear warm, weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, and an umbrella as needed.

OVERVIEW

Get historical on a guided walk through Liverpool’s neighbor, Chester, where excavated Roman ruins and famous medieval walls await. The leisurely drive inland crosses the Mersey and brings you to the center of Chester’s renowned Old City, once a powerhouse until its River Dee silted up in the 17th century and Liverpool captured the lucrative sea trade. Your expert-led walk includes up-close views of red-sandstone defensive walls that date to 100 AD and remain the most complete Roman and medieval wall system in the UK. The archeological treasures found inside these walls are just as impressive – from a sizable Norman cathedral, to the Roman cobblestones under your feet, to the Tudor half-timbered buildings all around you. After your expert-led orientation stroll, you’ll have free time to delve even deeper independently. Explore the Chester Rows, half-timbered shops sitting above the ones on street level. Stop in at the Cheshire Military Museum or step into the Dewa Roman Experience for a sampling of life along a reconstructed Roman street. Of course, sometimes the best plan is to have no plan at all, allowing yourself to simply see what happens as you browse interesting shops or seek a typically English bite to eat.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Travel by coach across the Mersey and to the city that once dominated sea shipping in these parts.
• Take a guided walk in the historic Chester and see Roman ruins and the UK’s most complete city walls.
• Admire cobbled streets lined with ornate half-timbered houses, including some from the 1500s.
• Spend some free time after the walk exploring further on your own; there’s a lot to see here.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Wear warm, weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, and an umbrella as needed.

OVERVIEW

Cross the River Mersey to visit the architectural and artistic treasures of Port Sunlight, a charming 19th-century village built by an industrialist for his factory workers. The famous “Soap King” and philanthropist William Lever named the locale after Sunlight Soap, his company’s flagship product in the late 1800s and still a hit. The forward-thinking village remains one of the finest examples of early urban planning. On your guided walk here, you will notice a wide range of building styles, the result of 30 different architects working over the course of 80 years to design the hundreds of structures that make up the town. A museum sits in the heart of the village, with exhibits that clearly present Lever’s vision for Port Sunlight and what it was like to live and work here in the Edwardian and Victorian periods. Just nearby, Lady Lever Art Gallery houses some of the finest-caliber decorative arts in the UK – everything from intricate tapestries to Wedgwood Jasperware, Chinese porcelains and priceless paintings from British masters like Gainsborough and Turner. To end the tour in quintessential English style, you’ll relax over a pot of tea with fresh-baked scones, clotted cream and jam at the Leverhulme Hotel.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Travel back in time to a village conceived and built by a progressive 19th-century soap tycoon.
• On an expertly-guided walk, learn how this early example of purpose-built urban design came to be.
• Visit the Port Sunlight museum, home to a fascinating collection of period furnishings, children’s toys, rare photographs and – of course – soaps.
• Take in the world-class tapestries, porcelains and paintings on display at the Lady Lever Art Gallery.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, and an umbrella as needed.

OVERVIEW

Settle back and admire a parade of architectural landmarks on this leisurely coach tour of Liverpool with a stop to visit the colossal Anglican Cathedral and its intimate Lady Chapel. From the pier, you’ll soon find yourself ogling the trio of astounding edifices that anchor Pier Head, Sitting front and center is the iconic Royal Liver Building, the world’s tallest when constructed in 1911 and topped by twin statues of the mythical liver birds after which the city is named. In downtown Liverpool, the 1754 Town Hall exudes magnificent Georgian elegance while the Cavern Quarter keeps modern pop myth alive – The Beatles rocked the Cavern Club over 300 times during the early stages of their climb to world stardom. Other highlights along the route include the Walker Art Gallery and columned St. George’s Hall, a cultural center with deep Neoclassical roots. Yet rising above all of Liverpool is the Anglican Cathedral, largest cathedral in Britain. You’ll tour its arched interior, where a truly gargantuan pipe organ and the older, surprisingly intimate Lady Chapel are among the features you’ll be introduced to.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Enjoy a spin around the town that was England’s most prosperous city during parts of the 19th century.
• See landmarks like the Three Graces at Pier Head, magnificent domed Town Hall, red-brick Albert Dock and the stadium where the Liverpool Football Club plays.
• Learn about the city’s signature Royal Liver Building, once considered so advanced it couldn’t be built.
• Take an inside tour of the Anglican Cathedral, survivor of two World Wars despite its tower rising some 500 feet above the Mersey.
• Pass the ultimate shrine to Beatles lore – the Cavern Club, where the lads performed in the early ‘60s.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, and an umbrella as needed.