Barge, Blooms & TV in the North West

Day 1

Depart home area and stop in the beautiful city of Lichfield with its magnificent three-spired medieval cathedral. Walk along the historic streets lined with tempting shops and restaurants. We continue to our hotel with time to freshen up before our evening meal.

Day 2

After breakfast, we travel to Wigan pier for a 2-hour barge cruise to see the beauty of the outlying Douglas Valley. Whilst onboard enjoy a cup of tea/coffee with biscuits. Afterwards we travel to the spectacular RHS Bridgewater Gardens. Opportunity to purchase lunch here with the rest of the afternoon at leisure to explore this 150-acre site. See the Weston Walled Gardens which contain multiple garden rooms, complementary sub-gardens each exploring different horticultural style and characterful listed buildings, the wider woodland, meadows and stunning lakes.

Day 3

Today we head to Salford for a Coronation Street tour at MediaCity. Discover the stories behind the life on the nation’s favourite street as you go behind the scenes and walk the cobbles! This unique opportunity gives us access to all areas to the outdoor Coronation Street set, revealing off-air secrets and fascinating facts. Afterwards, to the Trafford Centre for a shopping experience with over 200 retailers, opportunity to purchase lunch in the New Orleans food court.

Day 4

Today we travel to the picturesque city of Chester, where we meet our guide, Tom Jones, for a guided coach tour around Chester. The rest of the morning is ours to explore the pretty medieval streets and the famous Rows, time to obtain lunch before our afternoon visit to Port Sunlight Village. It is a beautiful model village originally designed to house ‘Sunlight Soap’ factory
workers, but today is home to a fascinating museum, beautiful architecture, a world-class art gallery, stunning parkland and a thriving community. It was used as the location for Aunt Polly’s Sutton Coldfield house in the very popular BBC gangster drama, Peaky Blinders. Time to purchase afternoon refreshments here before returning to our hotel.

Day 5

Today we return to home area stopping enroute at Melton Mowbray, famous for the Melton Pork Pie and as the centre of Stilton Cheese production making it the ‘Rural Capital of Food’.

B=Breakfast Included, D=Dinner Included