1 day

Full Day

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About this activity

Our driver and guide will entertain you on the way with stories and the history of Scotland’s ancient enmity with England, while you pass over the lush green hills of the borders. Enjoy the beauty that has been famed through poetry and song in Scotland and England for hundreds of years.

Enjoy a mid-morning rest and refreshment at “The Hirsel”. This idyllic country manor and estate is home to the ‘Home’ family who welcome you to enjoy one of their home-made cakes, scones or sweet treats available in the tea room. As “The Hirsel” is situated directly on the border, the journey will continue with immediately entering England and the first main attraction of the tour, the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne.

Lindisfarne is a small, but beautiful island accessible at low tide. Famed for its dominating castle, delicious mead and ancient monastery ruins. In 793AD, the monastery was attacked and pillaged in the first recorded contact the British Isles had with Viking raiders.

Once the coach departs Lindisfarne, our driver will take you on to the highlight of this tour, Alnwick. This massive castle has been present for at least 1,000 years, in one form or another. It has been the residence of the Percy family for the last 700 years and they have opened its gates to the public to enjoy it’s splendour. Recently, the castle has enjoyed it’s time in the limelight, having been used in the filming of the 'Downton Abbey' Christmas special in 2014 and also in some scenes as Hogwarts from the Harry Potter films. For 2015, Alnwick Castle has a new 'Downton Abbey' exhibit. This fine display boasts photography, period costumes and props from the shoot. The stop at Alnwick is for about two and a half hours which grants our passengers opportunity to enjoy the castle, beautiful castle gardens and have lunch.

After Alnwick castle, the coach will return to Edinburgh for city center drop offs.

Please note: The tour routing and availability are subject to the tidal timetable at Lindisfarne which may result in the tour having to operate in reverse. In the rare event that Lindisfarne cannot be reached due to unworkable tide timings, a suitable substitute will be implemented at the driver’s discretion

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Included

Driver/guide
Hotel pickup

Not included

Food and drinks
Gratuities
Hotel drop-off

Additional

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Children must be accompanied by an adult

Features

Tourism

95%

Cultural

65%

Reviews

3.9

14

b

blbell77

4 | 2019-09-25

Very enjoyable and interesting. Seeing the path pilgrims take while the water level is low was fascinating. Alnwick Castle and finding out scenes from Downton Abbey were filmed there was exciting.

M

Marilaine P

4 | 2019-07-03

It was a nice day ... lindisfarme Castle the timing was just a bit short but no choice I we wanted to do the two castles and the botanic garden . Bill was a great guide ( either if it s difficult for me understand well with accent ... but he explained me very well about the way and the time we have to be back at the bus . Thank to him

N

Naomi H

4 | 2017-08-31

What a lovely day out this was! Two wonderful sites to visit and other comfort/leg stretch stops along the way. The reason I gave 4stars is that the time allowed at Alnwick isn't really enough to see all that's there. To do castle and gardens properly you need at least another 30 minutes.

K

Kathy P

3 | 2017-07-26

The good...The scenery of the pastoral Scottish and English countryside was beautiful. The small towns we passed were quaint. Alnwick Castle was delightful and a lot of fun. The bad...The tour did not start at 9 am. We had to wait around for an extra 40 minutes because they were picking up other passengers. We left at 9:40 and arrived back at 5:30. We had to skip Lindisfarne because it was high tide that day and we would not be able to make it in an out on time. We were compensated with an extra time at Alnwick. But even with the extra time, it was not enough time to tour Alnwick and the gardens. It would have been better if the tour was longer. The tour guide was bland. I wished he had more stories to entertain us on the long drive. Overall, it's okay. It could be improved by being punctual and allotting more time at the castles. A major bonus point for me would be a tour guide that could entertain us with the colorful stories of the Scots. I've been on quite a few tours and even the average tour was made more enjoyable with a knowledgeable and funny tour guide.

E

Erling S

3 | 2016-08-17

I had a good trip to Lindisfarne and Alwick Castle. I was somewhat disappointed at Lindisfarne. Our stay there lasted for a little more than an hour, which is far too little. It's a place for contemplation, but there was no time for that. The highlight of the tour was obviously - according to the bus driver - Alnwick Castle. Alnwick Castle was very nice, but two hours would have been enough, not three. Lindisfarne would have been a better experience with one of those hours added. All in all it was a good trip though with a friendly bus driver, who provided us with information on the way to island and castle.

E

Emily S

3 | 2016-06-19

This trip was great, however there are things that could have been better. You have to take into account the weather for one thing, and the tides. I would recommend booking when you know what the weather is going to be and after checking the tide times for Lindisfarne. It is also 2.5 hours to Alnwick, and 2.5 hours back, which really cuts into the time you have at each stop. You also need to keep in mind that Alnwick Castle entrance fee is not included in the price of the tour. This is something they really should advertise before buying. Also, if you're not a big fan of Harry Potter, you may get overwhelmed by all the brooms and wizards flying around. Overall, it was a fun experience and I would do it over again.

Collections This experience is part of these collections

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Alnwick Castle 12 Activities

Alnwick Castle and Lindisfarne Day Trip from Edinburgh

Edinburgh

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