Cornwall, Devon & Dorset Tour 2025

Breakfast. Meet our guide and walk next door to Paddington train station. Relaxing, first class train journey from London to St Erth. Our guide, Russell, and coach will meet us here and we travel on to St Ives on the north Cornwall coast. We will be staying, for 4 nights, at the rather unique Chy Morvah Country House Hotel and enjoy a welcoming Cornish Cream Tea on arrival. Dinner tonight will be as a group but on other nights at this hotel, you can mix and meet with the other, mostly British, guests. (B, T, D)

Accommodation: Chy Morvah or similar

Accommodation: Chy Morvah or similar

Hearty breakfast. Our first stop today is the almost perfect stone circle, Merry Maidens. Our guide will tell us the story of the nineteen maidens being turned to stone… perhaps we shall all dance in the circle? This site dates from the late Neolithic-early Bronze Age (approx. 2500-1500 BC).

Next we go to Botallack for a walk along the wild Tin Coast, home to the famous Crown engine houses clinging to the cliffs and recognizable as a Poldark filming location. Keep watch on our coast line walk for dolphins, seals, red-billed choughs, seabirds and other unique wildlife. 

Our visit this afternoon takes us underground at Geevor Tin Mine where we will put a hard hat on and explore the mines. Copper and tin were the primary metals extracted. The mine closed in 1990 and, with many areas left untouched since, we will experience what life was like working at Geevor.

Drive back to St.Ives. (B, L – picnic, D)

Accommodation: Chy Morvah or similar

Breakfast. As we head to the Roseland Peninsulas, we will make a short visit to Come-to-Good Quaker Meeting – a cob and straw thatch building dating from 1710 and containing glass dating from 1640. There is a wonderful sense of the continuity of Quaker worship for over 300 years.  

We continue into the Roseland Peninsula to visit and tour (and tea tasting experience!) the Tregothnan Tea Estate –  truly English tea grown in England and not in Asia! Across the estate, about 20,000 tea bushes are planted every year. Tregothnan is known as an expert Camellia grower but the full range of luxurious teas offered here range from black teas, green teas and a list of grown herbal infusions. 

Next we go to one of the prettiest churches in England – St Just in Roseland Church, a Grade 1 listed parish church. The gardens are a lovely space to wander. 

We continue on to St Mawes and visit the Tudor Castle, a four-story artillery fort built in the 1540s. For 450 years, St Mawes protected Falmouth against invasion, alongside its sister fortress – Pendennis Castle. We will see elaborate carvings and text on its walls and learn of this castle’s history and what castle life was like through time.

In the afternoon, we take a ferry trip to Falmouth where you have some free time before returning with the coach to hotel for dinner and overnight. Falmouth is a charming harbor town – with great shopping and delicious Cornish Pasties! Check out the National Museum or Falmouth Art Gallery.

Return to hotel for dinner. (B, L – picnic, T, D)

Accommodation: Chy Morvah or similar

We check out today and, after breakfast, we journey to east Cornwall with a visit to the Wheal Martyn China Clay Museum. On route, we stop in Charlestown Harbour, Saint Austell for some free time. This working port is vibrant with tall ships, beaches, shops and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Our guide, Russell, has a surprise for you in Charlestown Harbour!

Wheal Martyn China Clay Museum is an indoor and outdoor museum that encourages you to dig deep into the China Clay Mining industry, the workers and the landscape.

Our afternoon rounds off with a visit to the world famous The Eden Project where the inter-linked biodomes are built in an old quarry, of course! The world’s largest indoor rainforest is a biodome not to be missed!

Continue on the south coats of Devon to Plymouth, check into hotel for 2 night stay. Group dinner at hotel restaurant – Marco Pierre White. (B, D)

Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Plymouth or similar

Leisurely day in Plymouth; the famous naval and port city. After breakfast we head out on foot and discover the town trail with our guide. One of our discoveries will be the Mayflower Steps which mark the point from which 102 pilgrims departed for America in 1620. On this theme, we will also explore four floors and four centuries at The Mayflower Museum.

Enjoy some time at the Barbican waterfront. Perhaps visit Plymouth Gin Distillery? Since 1793 Plymouth Gin has been made according to the original recipe and this is the oldest working distillery in England. Free time to explore in the Old Custom House area. Time at leisure.

We will meet back at the hotel for dinner to share our discoveries. (B, D)

Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Plymouth or similar

Breakfast. Dartmoor National Park is roughly the same size as London and filled with things for us to do. We will visit the villages and take in the wildlife landscapes while keeping watch for wild ponies!

We discover the National Park Visitor Centre, Princetown. The visitor centre has bags of history and is a great place to start our visit in Dartmoor. Learn about the moorland’s wildlife.

During our exploration of Dartmoor National Park, we will also visit the Museum at the notorious Dartmoor Prison. The prison has been home to some of the UK’s most dangerous criminals for more than 200 years.

Time permitting we will visit Tavistock, hometown of Sir Francis Drake. 

We will take a photo stop at the ancient Postbridge Clapper Bridge on our way to Exeter for our overnight. 

This evening we will stroll to Exeter Cathedral for Choral Evensong.

Group dinner at hotel. (B, D)

Accommodation: Hotel du Vin Exeter or similar

Breakfast. Discover Exeter, one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in England, on a guided walking tour with Exeter’s Red Coat Guide. Free time for lunch and to explore more. 

Our day today takes us from east Devon to west Dorset.

Our first stop near the seaside village of Beer which was noted in Britain’s earliest public record, the Domesday Book of 1086, as one of the earliest pre-industrial societies. The name Beer is derived from the Old English word bearu, meaning “grove.” We will visit Beer Quarry Caves which have been worked by hand from Roman Times until 1920. The underground complex has inspiring caverns, mighty halls of vaulted rooms, a cathedral, pillars of many sizes and provides a home to the rare Horseshoe bats in the winter.

We will continue into the heart of the Dorset visiting National Trust – Branscombe. Tucked away in a valley that runs down to a beach on the famous Jurassic Coast, there is a timeless magic about this old village. Discover the 18th-century forge and Manor Mill, restored and in full working order.

Onto Bridport to check into our hotel for 2 nights. On our drive, we will pass through Lyme Regis and admire the Jurassic Coast.

Group dinner tonight. (B, D)

Accommodation: The Bull or similar

Enjoy breakfast and the morning at leisure. Free time in the bustling market town of Bridport. perhaps visit the museum to learn the history of the town dating back to Domesday and how Bridport became the centre of the netmaking industry worldwide. Perhaps wander a local street market to get some shopping done.

This afternoon we visit the Abbotsbury Swannery. Besides being one of the best things to do in Dorset, this is the only place in the world where you can walk through the heart of a colony of nesting Mute Swans. The Swannery was established by Benedictine Monks in the 1040’s who built a monastery.

This evening a group pub dinner at The Three Horseshoes – a beautiful three hundred year old thatched stone property on the Jurassic Coast serving 2 course dinners. 

Return to hotel. (B, D)

Accommodation: The Bull or similar

Breakfast and check out hotel. We start today with the short trip to Dorchester, the County Town of Dorset with a history dating back to the Iron Age. It also hosts the only Roman Town House in its entirety in Britain. This is “Hardy Country” and we will visit Thomas Hardy’s cottage now a National Trust property, with its typical cottage garden and interior displays of furniture original to the period. Plus, of course, learn more about the English novelist & poet and his life.

We then go to Swanage to take the Heritage Railway to Corfe Castle. The railway operates full-size steam and diesel passenger trains. 

At Corfe Castle we learn of the English Civil War as we stroll the imposing ruins originally built by William the Conqueror. The castle dates back to the 11th century. 

We make our way to Poole with plenty of choice for dinner. (B)

Accommodation: Harbour Heights Hotel or similar

Breakfast. We travel along the Jurassic Coast to Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove and Stair Hole with its natural limestone arch and distinctive rounded bay. The clear blue waters are surrounded by unique geological landforms giving us a chance to take fantastic photos of the English Channel. 

Upon our return to Poole, we will embark on a cruise. Experience breathtaking panoramas of sky, sea, sand and chalk formations. Including Old Harry Rockʼs that is said to be named after a notorious pirate, Harry Paye. 

Tonight, a special 3 course farewell dinner at the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institute) College – Riggers Restaurant and Slipway Bar. (B, D)

Accommodation: Harbour Heights Hotel or similar

Relaxed morning with breakfast at leisure. We depart hotel at 10:00am and return to London by coach.

Drop off London Heathrow Airport, arriving approx. 12:30pm for flights departing 3:50pm onwards.

Ask us about extending your stay in London or beyond. (B)