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Itinerary
Day 1
We board our private executive coach at our designated pick up points. En route to our hotel we visit the National Trust’s Sizergh Castle and Gardens in Cumbria, a medieval house extended in Elizabethan times and surrounded by beautiful grounds. We continue to the 4* Glasgow Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld for a four night stay on a half board basis.
Day 2
Our Blue Badge guide meets us at our hotel this morning and accompanies us throughout the day. During our guided tour of Glasgow this morning we see sights such as St Mungo’s Cathedral. We continue to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Scotland’s most visited museum and home to one of Europe’s greatest civic art collections. This afternoon we visit the unique House for an Art Lover, which opened to the public in 1996 and was inspired by Mackintosh’s competition entry of 1901. The attraction incorporates a permanent exhibition of decoratively furnished rooms, realised by contemporary artists and crafts people, which allow visitors the opportunity to compare the original drawings against each completed room.
Day 3
With our Blue Badge guide we visit Edinburgh today. On arrival we visit the National Gallery of Scotland. Including paintings by renowned artists such as Van Dyck and Tiepolo, the Gallery is home to Scotland’s greatest collection of European paintings and sculpture from the Renaissance to Post-Impressionist eras. This afternoon we visit the Royal Yacht Britannia. Serving the Royal Family for over forty years, the Royal Yacht played a leading role in some of the defining moments of recent history. The audio tour takes in the State Dining Room, the Bridge and the Queen’s Sitting Room.
Day 4
This morning we visit the newly refurbished Burrell Collection where we see an extensive collection of over 9,000 works of art including important displays of medieval art, tapestries, alabasters, stained glass, English oak furniture and European paintings by such notable artists such as Degas and Cézanne. This afternoon we continue with our Blue Badge guide to The Hill House at Helensburgh. Built at the start of the 20th century for publisher Walter Blackie, this house is an outstanding example of the Glasgow Style. Charles Rennie Mackintosh not only acted as architect for the building, he designed every aspect of the major interior rooms, down to the smallest detail. Though much of the furniture was custom made to Mackintosh's designs, he also had to incorporate furniture brought by the Blackie family from their previous home into the overall decorative scheme. Mackintosh's wife, Margaret Macdonald, was responsible for many of the textiles and for a gesso panel in the drawing room. The Hill House is remarkably complete and remains the best-preserved example of Mackintosh's work, a mix of Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, Japanese, and traditional Scottish Baronial style.
Day 5
After checking out of our hotel and en route home we visit Dumfries House for a guided ‘Grand Tour’, followed by included tea or coffee, and shortbread. Designed 250 years ago by renowned 18th century architect brothers John, Robert and James Adam, Dumfries House is an imposing Palladian mansion nestled within 2,000 acres of scenic countryside in Ayrshire in south-west Scotland. It contains a fine collection of Chippendale furniture designed for the house. Today the house is widely acknowledged as one of the most architecturally significant stately homes within the United Kingdom. Taking carefully selected comfort stops en route, we return back to our original pick up points.
NB: Please note we reserve the right to alter the above itinerary if required for operational reasons. Given the historic nature of the places visited, a certain degree of walking will be involved, and this holiday may not be suitable for those with mobility problems. Price based on twin share. Minimum numbers required. Normal booking conditions apply.
Featuring
4* hotel
Half board accommodation
All excursion travel & guided tours included
Entrance fees to non-National Trust properties included
Blue Badge guide on Days 2 to 4
Executive coach throughout
Audio headsets included on Days 2 to 4
Gratuities included
Sizergh Castle & Gardens
Glasgow - guided tour
Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum
House for an Art Lover
Edinburgh
National Gallery of Scotland
Royal Yacht Britannia - audio tour
Burrell Collection
The Hill House
Dumfries House - guided ‘Grand Tour’, and included tea or coffee & shortbread
Hotel
We stay four nights on a half board basis at the 4* Glasgow Westerwood Hotel (www.thewesterwoodhotel.co.uk) in Cumbernauld near Glasgow. Set in its own 400 acres of woodland, the hotel is excellently situated for the itinerary. Facilities at the hotel include a restaurant, bar, indoor swimming pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, steam room and a gymnasium. All rooms are en suite and feature television, hairdryer and tea & coffee making facilities.
Extras
Insurance (including Covid cover) £36
Single room supplement £149
Entrance fees to Sizergh Castle & Gardens & The Hill House (free to National Trust members)
Lunches
Donations at any churches or cathedrals visited
Optional Excursions
All excursion travel & guided tours included
