Overview

A great success from last year’s programme. Enjoy discovering lovely Lancashire by steam train and narrow boat on our super North West packaged tour. With visits to Samlesbury Hall and Gawthorpe Hall also included, we find heritage and history around every corner.

Your Accommodation:

The Mercure Dunkenhalgh Hotel & Spa was originally a 700 year old country manor house, which has been sensitively converted into a 4 star hotel. It has retained many original features in the public areas, including an impressive gothic staircase in the entrance hall. All 175 bedrooms are beautifully decorated and of a good size, and each is equipped with a TV, hairdryer and tea/coffee making facilities. Breakfast and dinner are served in the elegant restaurant and there is also an atmospheric bar area where customers can relax. The hotel has extensive landscaped grounds, an indoor heated pool, modern fitness centre and spa. Although the hotel does not have a lift, low floor rooms are available upon request.

Your Itinerary:

From your front door to the waiting Club Class coach for the relaxing drive north to Lancashire. We arrive at our hotel for a welcoming cup of tea/coffee whilst our luggage is taken to the rooms and time to settle in before dinner.

We begin our day with a guided tour of Samlesbury Hall, a fabulous half-timbered black and white medieval house, before making our way to Riley Green Marina to embark upon a narrow boat cruise along the Leeds Liverpool Canal. Our 3 hour round trip passes through delightful countryside including Withnell Fold Nature Reserve. During our cruise, we enjoy a 2 course lunch on our spacious, accessible boat, with each table offering panoramic views of the canal.

This morning we head straight to Bury and its famous market - voted Britain’s best – where we can browse the extensive stalls in the large market hall and outside. After an early lunch it is time to board our train as we step back in time for a nostalgic trip on a steam train along the East Lancashire Railway. Our final visit is Gawthorpe Hall, affectionately known as the “Downton of the North” and is a fine example of Elizabethan architecture.

This morning, we are joined by a local guide for a scenic drive through the picturesque Ribble Valley, taking in some well-known places. Our journey ends at the Oswaldtwistle Mills shopping village and garden centre. This award winning former weaving mill has over 100 retailers under one roof, 5 restaurants, an ice cream parlour, garden centre, mill grounds, craft and sewing centre, Textile and Heritage Museum and even its own wildfowl reserve. After time browsing the shops, we take the weight off our feet and sit down for a traditional Lancashire lunch of homemade pie & mushy peas followed by tea or coffee and a scone.

After breakfast, we make our way home taking a scenic drive through the Peak District.

* Insurance Premiums are renewed from 1st January 2024.