Travel to England from Dublin Port to our hotel in Cumbria. We will break for a comfort stop between the port and our hotel. The Lake District is located in the Northwest of England and is an inspiring area of natural beauty offering stunning scenery of breathtaking mountains and 16 sparkling lakes. Cumbria’s Lake District has inspired the works of many writers and poets including William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. Famous for its local produce, make sure you sample Cumberland sausage, Kendal Mint Cake, Grasmere Gingerbread and Sticky Toffee Pudding!

Relax and unwind on arrival before dinner together in the hotel.

Our first stop today to the famous William Wordsworth associated village of Grasmere, set beneath the jagged Lakeland Fells, where we have time to visit at leisure. Wordsworth described Grasmere as ‘the loveliest spot that man hath found’. It is also where England’s poet laureate was laid to rest in St Oswald’s Churchyard. We’re going to visit Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread Shop, made famous by the Victorian cook who invented Grasmere Gingerbread in 1854 in this village. The tiny shop is a delight and visitors to the shop are greeted by the wonderful aroma of freshly baked Grasmere Gingerbread hanging in the air. We will hear the story of Sarah Nelson brought to life in a talk held outside the shop (if it is raining bring an umbrella) and enjoy a cuppa and the best gingerbread in the world!

Afterwards explore this gorgeous village and perhaps you may like to visit the famous Wordsworth Museum and Dove Cottage (admission charges apply)

Our coach travels to Ambleside, the northern tip of Lake Windermere, here we’ll board our awaiting cruise boat for a 90-minute journey sailing the entire length of the largest and most beautiful lake in England down to Lakeside where your driver and coach will be waiting to take you to the wonderful Holker Hall, Cumbria’s premier stately home. Holker Hall is the Victoria Stately home of Lord and Lady Cavandish, dating back to the early 1600’s. The Hall contains superb examples of fine art and furnishings by such names as Van Dyck and Chippendale and is nestled amongst romantic formal gardens, meadows, and woodland. Don’t miss visiting the magnificent Holker Food Hall when you are there.

Dine this evening at our hotel with new friends.

Enjoy the morning free in Kendal, our coach departs late morning from outside our hotel to the nearby Levens Hall. Once a stark, imposing Pele Tower built c1250-1300, Levens Hall has grown into an impressive Elizabethan house, with each generation leaving its mark on the architectural fabric of the building. The result is a stunning family home with spectacular interiors and impressive collections of furniture, clocks and paintings.

The Hall has an intriguing history and fascinating links to the Duke of Wellington. Designed in the 1690s by Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont, gardener to King James II and Colonel James Grahme, these ten acres of gardens retain many original features. With over 100 ancient box and yew trees sculpted into abstract or geometric shapes, the garden is a remarkable place to explore. Our group enjoys a free-flowing self-guided tour of the Hall and the stunning gardens and a delicious homemade cream tea served in the Howard room.

We travel to Pooley Bridge and board our Ullswater Steamer boat to enjoy a one-hour cruise, travelling 8 miles through the Lake District National Park to Glenriding where we join up with our coach again. This lakeside is where one of the most famous poems ever written, ’The Daffodils’ was penned after a lakeshore walk by William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy in April 1802. Donald Campbell broke the world water speed record here in 1955. The valley is home to Red Squirrels, Holly Blue Butterflies, Peregrine Falcons and to England’s last wild Red Deer herd whose bloodline dates back to William the Conqueror. Our coach awaits us at Glenridding where we board the coach again and travel to the shores to Lake Windermere with time to explore the very pretty and bustling Victoria-Edwardian town of Bowness on Windermere right on the water’s edge.

An early rise this morning as we make our way to Holyhead to meet our ferry taking us back to Dublin Port. Our final journey together will give you time to reflect and chat about the wonderful places we have visited, and new friends made.