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WALES & NORTHWEST ENGLAND

7 DAYS, 6 NIGHTS | Peckforten Hills, Chester, Castles of North Wales, Snowdonia, Ludlow, Hay-on-Wye & Cardiff 
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  Included with this private tour:

  • 6 nights of hotel accommodation

  • 6 full Welsh or English breakfasts

  • 6 three-course gourmet dinners

  • Your very own professional driver-guide and luxury vehicle

  • All entrance fees

  • Flexible itinerary

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 Just a few tour highlights:

  • Peckforten Hills

  • Roman Chester

  • Snowdonia

  • Caernarfon Castle & Conwy Castles

  • Ludlow

  • Hay-on-Wye & Brecon Beacons 

  • St. Fagan's National Welsh Museum

  • Caerphilly Castle 

  • Caerleon Roman Fortress 

  • Tintern Abbey

                        2024 Prices 

 

Subject to availability, you may choose your own travel dates. 

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All prices are per person in US dollars includes hand-picked Superior lodging and based on sharing a room for double occupancy.

 

From $2,990 per person (group of 6 people)

From $3,690 per person (group of 4 people)

From $4,990 per person (group of 2 people)

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Want a luxury private tour? This tour can be customized to your wishes or offered with 5-star luxury boutique option. Simply email or call us with your specifics and we'll plan a program that's right for you. 

CUSTOMER REVIEWS

 CHOOSE YOUR ACCOMMODATION

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Superior Boutique

In this category we have hand-picked five-star guest houses or smaller luxury hotels. These lodgings are often family owned and offer a truly unique, authentic and welcome atmosphere where you are more likely to engage with local people than in a higher-end hotel. Some tours involve a mixture of both Superior and Luxury Boutique.

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Luxury Boutique 

Through years of experience we have hand-picked luxury boutique hotels which are not only very comfortable in the traditional sense, but as importantly offer gourmet food, and an ambience of lasting memory. All our hotel choices are of unique character, range from 4-star to 5-star, and are either downtown, or enjoy a spectacular rural or village setting. 

Our detailed offer to you will specify the hotels recommended.

 

PRIVATE TOUR ITINERARY

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Discover both Wales and Nouthwest England on this 7-day private tour! Journey through the less visited and unspoiled countryside of the Peckforten Hills in the Northwest of England. Visit the former Roman fortress town of Chester, famous for its black-and-white Revival buildings. Enjoy lunch in Ludlow, the gastronomic capital of Shropshire with more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other town in England. In North Wales, you'll see the most complete medieval castles in Europe. On this private tour, experience the beauty of the border country of England and Wales, known as the Welsh Marches, and the fascinating culture and history of the area. 

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Day 1) Peckforten Hills
Depart London for the Peckforten Hills in Cheshire, gloriously unspoiled countryside close to Wales, for a three-night stay at a quintessentially English country inn. With views towards North Wales, this hidden treasure inn offers 12 rural-chic bedrooms and is a retreat for locals and visitors alike, championing delicious, honest, homecooked food. Tonight, a welcome dinner awaits you at the inn’s restaurant.

 

Day 2) Beeston Castle & Chester
This morning, explore the beautiful surroundings and villages of the Peckforten Hills with an opportunity for an optional hike. Visit one of England’s most dramatically situated medieval castles, Beeston Castle. This afternoon, enjoy a private-guided walking tour of Chester. Founded as a Roman Fortress in the 1st century, Chester became an important town in the medieval ages and a prosperous city in the Victorian era, famous for its Black-and-White Revival buildings. Dinner is included tonight at the inn’s restaurant. 

 

Day 3) Castles of North Wales & Snowdonia

Today, depart for the north coast of Wales and the castle-topped town of Conwy and the lovely coastal town of Caernarfon for a visit to Caernarfon Castle, part of a system of English garrison castles that Edward I built to enforce English rule over North Wales 700 years ago. This afternoon, enjoy a scenic tour of Snowdonia including views of Mount Snowden, Wales’s highest mountain. Dinner tonight is included. 

 

Day 4) Ludlow & Shropshire Hills

Today, depart the Peckforten Hills for the Shropshire Hills, another area of outstanding beauty which borders with Wales. Visit Ludlow, the gastronomic capital of Shropshire, featuring more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other town in the country. Visit Ludlow Castle, built by William the Conqueror to help defend the border with Wales. Explore this town of over 500 historically listed buildings, featuring a wide range of local shops. Continue to Hay-on-Wye, which enjoys a unique position on the border between Wales and England, for a three night stay at a local inn. Dinner is included this evening.

 

Day 5) Hay-on-Wye & Brecon Beacons

This morning, explore Hay-on-Wye, a village littered with book shops—both secondhand and new—and home to the popular Hay-on-Wye Book Festival. Visit Hay Castle, one of the great surviving defense structures on the border of England and Wales, home to the self-declared King of Hay. This afternoon, tour the Brecon Beacons & Gospel Pass—home to canals, waterfalls, red kites and natural beauty and the ruins of Lanthony Priory. Dinner is included this evening. 

 

Day 6) Caerphilly, Cardiff & St. Fagan’s National Welsh Museum

Today, take a whole-day excursion to South Wales. Visit the mediaeval Castle of Caerphilly. Afterwards, continue to Cardiff Castle, a Victorian Gothic revival mansion of medieval origin, which dominates the city center of the capital of Wales. This afternoon, visit St. Fagan’s National Museum, an open-air museum chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture, and architecture of the Welsh people. Return to Hay-on-Wye where dinner is included this evening.

 

Day 7) Caerleon Roman Fortress & Tintern Abbey

Today, depart Hay-on-Wye for Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths, one of only three permanent fortresses in Roman Britain. This visit includes the most complete Amphitheatre in Britain, the beautifully presented Fortress Baths, and the only remains of a Roman Legionary Barracks on view anywhere in Europe. Your final visit in Wales will be to Tintern Abbey, a ruined Cistercian monastery founded in the 12th century, which was featured by Wordsworth in his poem Lines Written A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey. Continue to London where your tour ends at London Heathrow Airport or in central London.

Wales - August 2023

In early August of 2023 we went on a 10-day tour of Wales with Hugh Barnes of Wanderlust.  We had told Hugh what towns, scenic areas, castles, and stately homes we wanted to see some months ahead, and he seamlessly planned the trip!  If there were any places which were not as worthy to fit into our time, he let us know.  He also chose wonderful hotels for us to stay in, two of them large manor houses with gorgeous views, converted into hotels. The rooms were spacious and comfortable. The breakfasts and dinners were included, and the food was outstanding!...One of Hugh’s invaluable skills was somehow to plan the day so that you were entertained but not too overwhelmed, and he was able to pace the activities and schedule different types of places to see during the day so that the scenery and castles were varied. The beauty of a private tour...was that we could do the activities we enjoy the most. The Mercedes van was very comfortable...We were so thankful to have Hugh to plan our trip and drive us. He took the anxiety out of planning, trying to find our way— especially driving on the left!— and scheduling, really all of the hard parts of any trip, and we could relax and enjoy Wales. We are planning another trip with Hugh next summer, this time to southwest Ireland, and we very much look forward to his expertise in planning, finding wonderful hotels, and taking us through another beautiful country.  

Elinor and Tom J., Georgia

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