Description
7-Night Stay in London, Gloucestershire, York (England) and Edinburgh (Scotland) with Tours and Rental Car for 2
This Experience Includes:
2-night stay at Melia White Hotel, London
Harry Potter Walking Tour and Harry Potter Studio Tour, London
1-night stay at Greenway Hotel, Gloucestershire
Harry Potter Walking Tour, Oxford
Gloucester Cathedral and Hardwick Hall
2-night stay at Grand Hotel & Spa, York
North Yorkshire Moors Railway Trip
York Ghost Walk, Durham Cathedral, Alnwick Castle
2-night stay at Bonahm Hotel, Edinburgh
Harry Potter Walking Tour, Edinburgh
Daily full English breakfast for 2
5-day rental automatic car
London arrival - Edinburgh departure
Winspire booking & concierge service
Enter the magical world of witchcraft and wizardry and follow in Harry, Ron and Hermione's footsteps around the muggle world of the U.K. Pay homage to the bespectacled boy who became a literary hero.
Itinerary:
Day 1 - Arrival Day - London
Upon arrival at the airport, meet with your chauffeur for a transfer to your city centre hotel, drop off your bags and check in. You will have the afternoon at leisure to explore this wonderful cosmopolitan city. Suggested visits include the London Eye and Westminster Abbey.
London
One of the world's most visited cities, London has something for everyone: from history and culture to fine food and good times. Immersed in history, London's rich seams of eye-opening antiquity are everywhere. The city's buildings are striking milestones in a unique and beguiling biography, and a great many of them are instantly recognizable landmarks. Architectural grandeur rises up all around you in the West End, ancient remains dot the City and charming pubs punctuate the historic quarters, leafy suburbs and riverbanks. It is also one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities, and diversity infuses daily life, food, music and fashion. London is as much about wide-open vistas and leafy landscape escapes, as it is high-density, sight-packed urban exploration. Central London is where the major museums, galleries and most iconic sights congregate, but visit Hampstead Heath or the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to escape the crowds and enjoy the wide-open green expanses. You can also venture further out to Kew Gardens, Richmond or Hampton Court Palace for beautiful panoramas of riverside London followed by a pint in a quiet waterside pub.
Harry Potter Walking Tour of London
Take a small group walking tour into the magical world of wizardry in London. Learn about London?s rich muggle and wizarding history, amazing facts about the books and films and see many of the Harry Potter film locations used in London, including the Ministry of Magic and the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. The tour features familiar Harry Potter film locations as well as iconic London landmarks and attractions including St Paul?s Cathedral, Millenium Bridge, Tate Modern, Borough and Leadenhall Markets and Monument. Along the route of your Harry Potter walking tour, you?ll have plenty of chances to take lots of pictures and see the film locations up-close.
Melia White Hotel
Enjoy a 2-night stay in a classic room with full English breakfast for 2. The 4-star deluxe hotel is your home away from home located in the heart of London. Indulge in round-the-clock service with full concierge, top international cuisine, a private lounge, and the internationally famous cocktail bar Dry Martini by Javier de las Muelas, or experience the sights and sounds of the city with Regent?s Park, Harley Street and Soho right on your doorstep.
Day 2 ? Harry Potter Day Tour
Make your way to Victoria Station where you will join a coach tour to Warner Brother's Harry Potter Studios. No Potter fan?s trip to Britain would be complete without a visit to this studio. The award-winning tour gives you access to spectacular sets from the Harry Potter movies and a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at their production. Enjoy an audio guided tour of the studios and return to London later in the day.
Day 3 ? London to Gloucestershire via Oxford
Pick up your automatic rental car and depart London for Oxford. Rental includes VAT, collision damage waiver insurance, theft protection insurance and unlimited mileage. Does not include drop-off fee.
Harry Potter Walking Tour of Oxford
Lights, camera, action!!! Grab your wand and enjoy a fantastical walking tour around Oxford ? home to the oldest University in the English-speaking world. Suitable for both muggles and wizarding folk alike, this nearly 2 hour guided walking tour of Oxford will take you to some of the film locations used in the Harry Potter movies as well as other blockbuster films shot in Oxford. As part of this tour of Oxford, you will be spellbound as you learn about life at one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world and find out why Oxford?s Colleges make the perfect setting for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and other on screen locations. No tours on Sunday. Continue on to Gloucestershire.
Greenway Hotel
Enjoy a 1-night stay in a deluxe room with full English breakfast for 2. Set on eight acres of stunning countryside grounds in a 16th-century Cotswold stone manor house, this upscale hotel is tucked away on the outskirts of the rolling Cotswolds, near the Regency town of Cheltenham.
Day 4 ? Gloucestershire to Yorkshire
Depart your hotel and drive into central Gloucester to visit the imposing Gloucester Cathedral on a self guided tour. The cathedral?s cloisters are used as various settings for Hogwarts' interiors, most notably the Fat Lady portrait in the first film and the writing on the wall and the flooded corridor scenes in the second film. After your visit, continue north to Yorkshire, perhaps stopping to visit Hardwick Hall along the way, which is the main setting for Malfoy Manor, the home of the Malfoy family and the Death Eaters? main hideout in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Arrive at your hotel in Yorkshire late afternoon.
York
Nowhere in northern England says 'medieval' quite like York, a city of extraordinary cultural and historical wealth that has lost little of its pre-industrial luster. A magnificent circuit of 13th-century walls encloses a medieval spider's web of narrow streets. At its heart lies the immense, awe-inspiring York Minster, one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in the world. York's long history and rich heritage is woven into virtually every brick and beam, and the modern, tourist-oriented city ? with its myriad museums, restaurants, cafes and traditional pubs ? is a carefully maintained heir to that heritage.
Grand Hotel & Spa
Enjoy a 2-night stay in a classic room with full English breakfast for 2. Experience the luxury, opulence and style of the golden age of travel at The Grand Hotel & Spa, housed in the iconic former headquarters of the North Eastern Railway Company. History and heritage combine with everything a modern traveller could wish for in this iconic Edwardian building. The Grand is the only 5-star hotel in York and they offer the very best in traditional English style and service, set off with a friendly Yorkshire welcome.
Day 5 ? Yorkshire
On a day tour of North Yorkshire, park your car in Goathland and hop on board the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to enjoy a day filled with vintage charm and amazing scenery on one of the world?s greatest heritage railways. Let their fleet of steam and heritage diesel trains transport you to Whitby along 24 miles of National Park countryside and back in time to experience a taste of a bygone era. Goathland station acts as Hogsmeade Station, the main station for Hogwarts in the films. The seaside town of Whitby is a fascinating town with connections to Captain Cook and Dracula. The Yorkshire coast is particularly a great place to sample delicious, freshly caught seafood, and for many a trip to the area just wouldn't be the same without indulging in some delicious Whitby fish and chips.
Ghost Walk York
The Walk was established before 1973 and was an original creation believed to be the first in the world. The Walk aims to be accurate, authentic and genuine, exploring a world of folklore, legend and dreams. Experience a unique opportunity to discover the hidden magic of the ancient city through the real art of storytelling. Tales are drawn from the immense history of York and are told against a backdrop of haunting beauty. Walk in the very footsteps of those who have passed before. The stories are renowned and retold all over the world.
Day 6 ? York to Edinburgh
Depart Yorkshire and travel north towards Scotland. Before you reach the border, stop in in the historic county town of Durham. Visit Durham Cathedral, used to shoot various exterior and interior shots of Hogwarts, including classrooms, corridors, and outdoor courtyard shots. The most notable of these is Professor McGonagall's classroom. Continue further north to visit Alnwick Castle, the second largest inhabited castle in the country; home to the Duke of Northumberland's family, the Percys, for over 700 years. The castle's rich history is brimming with drama, intrigue, and extraordinary people; from a gunpowder plotter and visionary collectors, to decadent hosts and medieval England's most celebrated knight: Harry Hotspur. In recent years it has also taken starring roles in a number of film and television productions, such as Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter films.
If you wish, you can even have a Quidditch lesson while here! Alnwick Castle has been used as Hogwarts for several exterior shots throughout the films, including Quidditch training in Philosopher's Stone, the Flying Ford Anglia scenes in Chamber of Secrets, and Hagrid bringing in the Christmas Tree. Cross the border into Scotland and continue to your hotel in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh, the inspiring capital of Scotland, is a historic, cosmopolitan and cultural city. The setting is wonderfully striking: a city perched on a series of extinct volcanoes and rocky crags, which rise from the generally flat landscape of the Lothians, with the sheltered shoreline of the Firth of Forth to the north. Edinburgh Castle dominates the city-centre skyline and from its ramparts you can look down on medieval lanes and elegant, sweeping terraces that hold over a thousand years of history, mystery and tradition. Yet Edinburgh is also a modern, dynamic capital where international festivals attract the world's leading performers, galleries display cutting-edge art, and bars, restaurants and clubs create a lively, cosmopolitan atmosphere with a distinctly Scottish twist. 'Edinburgh,' said writer Robert Louis Stevenson, 'is what Paris ought to be'.
Bonham Hotel
Enjoy a 2-night stay in a classic room with full English breakfast for 2. The Bonham Hotel is a luxury boutique hotel with an uplifting contemporary ambiance within the classic timelessness of a Victorian town house. Overlooking tree-lined gardens in Edinburgh's exclusive West End, the hotel is just a short walk from the city's many excellent shops & boutiques, the financial district & Edinburgh Castle.
Day 7 ? Edinburgh
Follow in the footsteps of J.K. Rowling as you explore the city which inspired her novels on a 2-hour walking tour, a must for any Harry Potter fans. Explore the exquisitely magical world that Harry and his friends found themselves in. Marvel at locations such as the entrance to the fictional Hogwarts, invisible to the Muggle world, the inspirational winding streets of old town Edinburgh to the spot where J.K. Rowling wrote the books. Use your knowledge of spells to outwit the guide and seek out inspirations and film locations around the stunning city of Edinburgh. The afternoon is free to explore the city, perhaps enjoy a cup of tea at the Elephant House café, famous as the place of inspiration to J.K. Rowling, who sat writing much of her early novels in the back room overlooking Edinburgh Castle.
Day 8 ? Departure - Edinburgh
Today you will make your way to Edinburgh Airport and return your rental car for departure.
Winspire Booking & Concierge Service
Winspire provides a team of seasoned travel professionals who will help you redeem your experience. All travel related details and reservations are handled for every part of your Winspire experience. Operating as a full-service travel agency, Winspire can assist with extra hotel nights, airfare, and additional guests. This service also provides you with an established network of onsite contacts who can help you book additional experiences, activities and tours.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Must be booked a minimum of 60 days in advance. Reservations are subject to availability. Certificates cannot be replaced if lost, stolen or destroyed. All purchases are non-refundable. Packages cannot be resold. Airfare not included. Ground transportation is not included unless where specified.