Britain

6 Days / 5 Nights — Cotswolds, Wales, Yorkshire, Lake District

London to Edinburgh or Edinburgh to London...you choose. Either way its brimming history, with thatched cottages, castles, picture-post card villages and jolly good fun.

Mallory Court

DAY 1 — London, Thornbury

Leave London in the morning and head for the open road via amazing Avebury, which is actually older and a bit more mysterious than Stonehenge. In fact, it's the largest monolith stone circle in Europe. Continue deeper into the English countryside to the "The West Country." Your destination is Thornbury Castle, whose history dates from the year 1510, and is rich with the connections to Henry VIII, Ann Boleyn and Mary Tudor. Lodging: Thornbury Castle Hotel

DAY 2 — Cotswolds

The next morning, travel through the rolling countryside to the traditional Cotswold villages that still evoke the charm of a bygone era. Continue deeper through the English pastoral landscape to Mallory Court. It is an outstanding example of period architecture built in mellow stone with leaded light windows, and set in 10 acres of landscaped grounds in the heart of the Cotswolds. Lodging: Mallory Court

Middlethorpe Hall

DAY 3 — North Wales

Prepare for an early start this morning, as there is much to see on this journey into Wales. The landscape becomes more rugged as you pass towns with tongue-twisting names like Glndyfrdwy, Cerrigydrudion and Betws-y-Coed. Your destination is the elegant Bodysgallen Hall, a 17th century manor house standing in over 200 acres of parkland, with spectacular views of the Snowdonia region of North Wales. Lodging: Bodysgallen Hall

DAY 4 — Yorkshire

Resume your adventure today along the north coast to the delightful half-timbered town of Chester. As the Roman city of Deva, it was the headquarters of the Roman 20th Legion, one of the three Roman legions in Britain. Continue into the famed Peak District, where you can visit stately Harewood House, which Chatsworth made famous in the PBS series "Brideshead Revisited." Continue on towards York and stay at a 300-year-old country house set on the edge of the city, Middlethorpe Hall. Lodging: Middlethorpe Hall

Photo: Kim Van Dijk

DAY 5 — Lake District

Arise to see the wonders of the ancient, walled city of York. Explore the back streets of the "Shambles" and the Viking Museum where everyday life, sights, and even smells, of the 10th century come alive. Continue through the Yorkshire Dales and the tiny hamlets and villages immortalized in the works of author James Herriott. Here you truly will see "All Creatures Great and Small" as you wind your way through this unique landscape, into the Lake District and the singular charms of Sharrow Bay. Lodging: Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel

DAY 6 — Edinburgh

On this final day, travel north to Scotland and allow time to explore along the way. Hadrian's Wall, which was the furthest northern boundary of the Roman Empire, The Cheviot Hills, The "Border Abbeys" of Jedburg and Dryburg, and finally Edinburgh. Here your Post Road ends as your treasured days of Britannia provide a lifetime of memories.

: Top