...What I enjoyed most in Northern Ireland was Giant’s Causeway. They say it is worth seeing, but not worth the trip, so I’m glad it was included in our tour. It really is a marvel. Of course there are two stories as to how it came to be. One is the story of the giant who built a pathway across the sea to Scotland. The other is the scientific explanation which none of the locals believes.
Much of our time in Dublin was at leisure but we did have a local guide take us around the city to see St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin Castle and visit Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. Along the river there is a series of statues depicting the plight of the people migrating to Dublin during the potato famine which was particularly heartbreaking for Mom since some of her relatives came over during that time. There is also a replica of one of the “famine ships” that took people to America.
Our tour continued back across the Irish Sea to Holyhead and the drive through Snowdonia to Conwy Castle and continuing to Liverpool. Our highlight here was all about the Beatles so we saw Abbey Road, Penny Lane, etc. We did have a few minutes to pop into the Beatles shop and pick up a few souvenirs.
Continuing on through the English Lake District and on to Gretna Green on the Scottish border where English couples would run off to elope. We heard several romantic stories about that. In Scotland we visited Glasgow, traveled along the banks of Loch Lomond toward Glencoe to Fort William for a quick overnight before heading to the Isle of Skye. Evidently we stayed at the nicest hotel on Skye, which was a shock to say the least. The hotels on Skye are not even close to American standards of comfort and thankfully we only stayed on night.
Dinner was a treat at a pub/inn which is reputed to be haunted. Several of us took the tour down into the basement areas and the hallway with the room where one of the serving wenches got locked into a room that could not be locked. It was fun listening to the stories, but not worth the trip to the island in my opinion.
Once back on the mainland we traveled along the banks of Loch Ness, eagerly hoping to see Nessy. We didn’t, of course, but we did stop at a hotel and took a walk down to the lake to dip our toes in Loch Ness. Burrrr! We also stopped off at the battlefields of Culloden with our guide telling us very intense tales of the battle and the history leading up to it. By the time we arrived at St. Andrews we were ready for something more lighthearted. While some went off to see the Royal golf course the rest of us went into town for lunch and shopping before heading on to Edinburgh. Our city tour included a visit to Edinburgh Castle, which was amazing. Unfortunately, we arrived a few days after the conclusion of the Military Tattoo, so we did not get to see this spectacular presentation which happens every year in August.
As we traveled back through the Scottish Borderlands to England we stopped off at Hadrian’s Wall, then onto York. We walked down the cobbled street known as the Shambles and ended our walking tour at York Minster which is even more stunning in person than all the pictures and post cards could capture.
Our drive along the eastern side of England was uneventful, but we did have a photo stop at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and stopped off in Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of Shakespeare, for lunch and shopping.
Our tour ended in London for a quick overnight before we headed back home. No time to do any additional sightseeing since we arrived in the evening, so be sure to see everything you want to visit in London during the free days at the beginning of the tour. Or, plan to spend an extra night or two after the tour.
I enjoyed this tour a great deal. It was paced a bit faster than I would want for future, which allowed us to see as much as we did. Now, I know where I want to go back to spend more time. I think I could even adapt to driving on the left pretty quickly, so my next trip to Ireland may be driving.
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