Cumbrian Discoveries CrimeFest Trips

A day tour of the Cotswolds Spend the day exploring the honey coloured villages of the Cotswolds. With its prehistoric burial mounds, Roman roads, churches, manor houses, inns, mills, canals, and endless pretty cottages, this is quintessential England. Many of the lovely villages feature in Rebecca Tope's Thea Osborne mysteries, and Rebecca will travel with us as we unravel the fascinating story of the area enjoying its history, architecture and sheer beauty. We shall stop for lunch in a typical country pub and Rebecca will talk about her books. There will be time for a leisurely stroll through some of the villages, or for a cup of tea, along the way. Cost - including lunch: £60.00

Depart for Wells - location for the movie Hot Fuzz - where we shall stop to admire the great Gothic cathedral on a short walking tour. From here we drive to Glastonbury to visit the beautiful ruins of Glastonbury Abbey in search of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. The more energetic may wish to climb Glastonbury Tor, steeped in legends, myths and history. Meet historical crime novelist Michael Jecks for lunch and hear about his West Country based Knights Templar mysteries, before continuing to Capability Brown's Stourhead Gardens. This outstanding example of an English landscape garden with classical temples set around a lake and magnificent vistas featured in the movies Barry Lyndon and Pride and Prejudice (2005). Cost - including lunch & entrance fees: £65.00

John Betjeman (former Poet Laureate) described Bristol as "the most beautiful, interesting and distinguished city in England". On a tour around the city we shall hear about the story of this famous seaport with its magnificent setting on the Avon gorge. We shall see the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Britain, both great feats of engineering by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and drive through the elegant streets of Clifton before taking a walking tour around its historic centre. The walk will reveal Bristol's fascinating past as a bustling port, brought to life with stories of the characters that lived here, many linked with America. Cost: £25.00

A beautiful drive over the Severn Bridge into Wales and up the Usk valley by way of Usk and Raglan and Abergavenny. Stop for coffee in Crickhowell before entering the Brecon Beacons National Park. Spectacular scenery as the drive takes you through the Black Mountains to Hay-on-Wye. Plenty of time at leisure here to enjoy the second hand bookshops and have lunch. The return journey travels through the beautiful Golden Valley in Herefordshire with a stop for tea at the Skirrid Inn, reputed to be the oldest public house in Wales. Cost - including tea: £40.00