LAKE DISTRICT, HADRIAN'S WALL, THE PENNINES AND THE YORKSHIRE DALES

This four day tour of the Lake District, Hadrian's Wall, the Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales is based at Penrith, near Ullswater. Approximate cost is £400 per person, including breakfasts and lunches, luxury bus travel and accommodation on twin share basis.

25 August: Depart Cambridge for the Lake District - leaving Cambridge at about 5.00pm. The journey will take about 6 hours plus a stop for refreshments en route.

26 August: In the footsteps of Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth - Hawkshead and Grasmere Drive over the dramatic Kirkstone Pass, the highest road pass in the Lake District, to Windermere and on to Hawkshead. Here you can join an optional walking tour with your guide and explore the hidden alleyways and squares of this historic village where William Wordsworth attended school. There will be time to visit the Beatrix Potter Gallery and view a selection of her original illustrations and enjoy some time at leisure in the village before continuing on to visit Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's farm. Travel on through the heart of the Lake District tGrasmere for lunch on your own and time to wander around this attractive village. Visit the famous Grasmere Gingerbread Shop, the ancient church of St. Oswald and possibly Dove Cottage, the home of William Wordsworth. This afternoon drive across Dunmail raise to Keswick on Derwentwater. We shall take a short walk along the lakeshore before driving into the beautiful valley of Borrowdale. Stop for a cup of tea before returning to the hotel.

27 August: The Eden valley, the Pennines and Hadrian's Wall Discover the hidden and aptly named Eden valley - an unspoilt area of pretty sandstone villages in the lee of the Pennines. Drive bway of Brampton, an old town associated with Bonnie Prince Charlie, to Lanercost priory. Here we shall stop to visit the evocative monastic ruins and part of the priory church that is intact and in use today. An exciting and fascinating drive now awaits - along Hadrian's Wall. We shall follow the course of this World Heritage Site just over the border into Northumberland stopping to view a Roman fort nearly 2,000 years old. After lunch we shall drive up into the Pennines, stopping at Alston, the highest market town in England before descending back to the Eden valley enjoying spectacular views towards the Solway Firth and Scotland, weather permitting!

28 August: Day at leisure Day at leisure - guide to be on duty to help with suggestions of things to do, places to see etc. An optional walk in the Ullswater valley will be offered.

29 August: Dent fault and the Yorkshire Dales National Park This morning we shall drive through the Yorkshire Dales National Park. We begin with a stop to view the Dent Fault, named after the 19th century geologist Adam Sedgwick, a renowned geologist who attended Cambridge University. We will stop in the market town of Hawes (it is market day) and then drive through Wensleydale, a beautiful limestone valley made famous by the vet James Herriot . This afternoon the journey takes us through Masham and Ripon before joining the A1 and returning to Cambridge for the early evening.