2013 Up North: From the Beatles to Hadrian’s Wall

Itinerary

Fly from USA.
Wednesday 10 July Arrive Manchester
After you pick up your luggage, either take the short walk to the hotel or call them and they will pick you up. (Probably quicker to walk.) Take the rest of the day to recover from the long flight over. If you feel adventurous, take the shuttle to the train station and then take the train into Manchester. Dinner and overnight in Bewley’s Hotel Manchester Airport, +44 (0) 161 498 1394
Thursday 11 July Manchester – Ripon
City tour of Manchester, including the spectacular Gothic Town Hall, the Manchester Museum of Science & Industry – great intro to Industrial Revolution and how it made modern Britain, and perhaps The Lowry to see paintings by famous painter of industrial Britain. We will then drive 1 hr 45 minutes to the small Yorkshire cathedral city of Ripon. Dinner and overnight in the Ripon Spa Hotel, +44 (0)1765 602172.
Friday 12 July Ripon
Morning tour of Yorkshire Dales day, visit Aysgarth Falls and Hawes, free for lunch (optional) at Hawes. Return to Ripon for short guided tour and visit of Cathedral. Dinner and overnight in Ripon Spa Hotel, Ripon.
Saturday 13 July Ripon
We will spend today in York (45 minutes away), visiting the cathedral and walking the city walls. We can then split into groups for either the National Railway Museum (excellent) or Castle Museum which has a great reconstructed Victorian street with all its stores. Dinner and overnight in Ripon Spa Hotel, Ripon.
Sunday 14 July Ripon – Alnwick
Drive 1 hr 30 mins to Durham: short walk & visit to Durham Cathedral, the most spectacular Norman cathedral. Drive on 1 hr 15 mins for a visit to Cragside, a stunning Victorian industrialist’s country house & grounds in the Northumbrian hill country. 20 minute drive after to the town of Alnwick, home to Alnwick Castle. Dinner and overnight in The White Swan Hotel, +44 6 932 966, Alnwick
Monday 15 July Alnwick
The wild Northumberland Coast: Bamburgh Castle, Holy Island (Lindisfarne), and a short coastal walk (optional!). Dinner and overnight in The White Swan Hotel, Alnwick.
Tuesday 16 July Alnwick 
Short guided walk around Alnwick followed by a visit to Alnwick Castle, the beautifully preserved home of the Dukes of Northumberland. Group lunch in the Castle’s ‘Hotspur Restaurant’. Free afternoon – your choice between some/all of a visit to Alnwick Castle Gardens (a project of the Duchess of Northumberland, opened in 2002); a browse in one of England’s largest secondhand bookstores (in a restored railway station building, complete with model trains circulating above the books!); cream tea in the town; or a rest! Overnight in The White Swan Hotel, Alnwick. Dinner on your own in town.
Wednesday 17 July Alnwick – Chester
Drive 1 hr 30 minutes west into the Pennines to visit Housteads Fort on Hadrian’s Wall. 3 hrs 45 minutes on to Chester for two nights.  Short evening walk on the fine city walls, taking in the Roman theatre. Dinner and overnight in the Best Western Premier Queen Hotel, +44 1244 305 000, Chester.
Thursday 18 July Chester
Day out to Liverpool (45 minutes away) – visit John Lennon’s & Paul McCartney’s childhood homes, the spectacular modern Roman Catholic cathedral, and the restored dockside. Dinner and overnight in the Westminster Hotel, Chester.
Friday 19 July Chester to Manchester Airport or Train Station
Fly home today, or take the train to London.