PHS-PTA Minibreaks Group†
Organiser: Elaine Roe
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SPRING MINI BREAK - NORTHERN IRELAND - Sunday 18th May - Friday 23rd May 2025 On Sunday we will leave Poynton High School at 7.30am and head north, breaking our journey at Gretna Green for an early lunch before heading to Cairnryan for the 3.30pm ferry to Belfast. After docking in Belfast we will take the short 20 minute journey to the Dunadry Hotel and Gardens. On Monday we will travel to Belfast where we will have a guide join us on the coach for a tour of the city taking in the sightseeing attractions, famous landmarks and historical places of interest as we travel between the peace lines and visit both sides of the political divide. We will then visit Titanic Belfast which tells the Titanic story through a series of interactive galleries housed in its iconic building. Learn about the RMS Titanic from its conception to its tragic end more than 100 years ago. The rest of the day is yours to explore Belfast and perhaps visit significant points of interest, including HMS Caroline, SS Nomadic, St George's Market, St Anne's Cathedral and City Hall. On Tuesday we will head north to the iconic World Heritage Site, the Giant's Causeway with its unique landscape of over 40,000 basalt columns, formed some 60 million years ago. The Visitor Centre, an award-winning sustainable building, has an interactive exhibition and visitor services including a cafe and shop. Audio guides or guided walking tours are available. You can walk to the stones or if you prefer there is a shuttle bus for a small fee (£1 each way). Entrance to the Visitor Centre is free for National Trust members (£13.50 extra to pay in cash on the day for non members). If time allows we will drive along the coast to another National Trust property, the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. In the afternoon we will visit the Old Bushmills Distillery, the world's oldest licenced working distillery, where Bushmills Irish Whiskey is made. Here we will have a guided tour to discover how the Whiskey is made. (please note, there are numerous steps and stairs on the tour so whiskey tasting in the bar is available for those who want to opt out). On Wednesday morning we will visit the Ulster Folk Museum, home to a rich collection of authentic period buildings including a Picture House, Post Office, Corner Shop, Bank, Churches, houses and cottages some of which have been meticulously transported from their original locations around Ulster. There are demonstrations of traditional crafts such as blacksmithing, willow weaving and printmaking. There is a cafe and gift shop. In the afternoon we will move on to Mount Stewart, a 19th century National Trust property on the east shore of Strangford Lough, home to the Stewart family (Marquesses of Londonderry) for generations. The house and its contents reflect the history of the family's leading role in social and political life in Britain and Ireland. The gardens are spectacular, and universally renowned for their plant collections and the originality of their features. (entrance is free for National Trust members, £13.50 extra to pay in cash on the day for non members) On Thursday we will head to Derry (officially Londonderry), Northern Ireland's second largest city, the only remaining completely walled city in Ireland and one of the finest examples of Walled Cities in Europe. We will spend the day here and you can walk the walls and visit some of the other attractions which include the Guildhall, St Columb's Cathedral, St Eugene's Cathedral, the Peace Bridge, the Bogside Artists and other murals, the Bloody Sunday Memorial and many award winning museums. On Friday we will check out of the hotel and board the 11.30am ferry for our journey to Cairnryan. To break up the journey home we will call in at the National Trust Threave Gardens for a short visit to stretch our legs and then take a comfort break at the famous Tebay services. We expect to be back in Poynton around 8.30pm. Price: £777 per person based on two people sharing a room (single room supplement £175) The price includes:
SEPTEMBER MINI BREAK - Thursday 4th - Monday 8th September 2025 Itinerary: We will leave Poynton at 7.45am and travel to the historic market town of Warwick, where the attractions include the medieval Warwick Castle, founded by William the Conqueror, the Market Hall Museum, picturesque streets, St Mary's and St Nicholas churches, the Racecourse, Mill Gardens, Hill Close Gardens and the timber-framed buildings of the 14th-century Lord Leycester Hospital by the city's West Gate. Mid afternoon we will continue our journey to our hotel in Woking. After breakfast on Friday we will set off to spend the day at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley, a large and spectacular garden covering over 240 acres. The site contains many formal and informal gardens, several glasshouses, orchards and arboretums. In addition, there are a number of small-scale "model gardens" which are intended to show visitors what they can achieve in their own gardens, and a trials field where new cultivars are assessed. There is an on-site cafe, restaurant and large garden centre featuring both indoor and outdoor plants and gardening products. As an added bonus our visit falls in the week of the annual flower show, a late-summer floral celebration with spectacular displays, specialist nurseries, inspirational expert talks and the chance to buy from a fantastic range of trade stands selling garden and homeware from pruning tools to garden art and outdoor ovens. On Saturday morning we will travel the short distance to Guildford, the historic riverside county town of Surrey. In the centre are the ruins of Guildford's Norman castle with its award-winning landscaped gardens and the intact Medieval Great Tower which offers panoramic views of the whole town from the top. There is an attractive cobbled High Street with several listed buildings including the medieval Guildhall with its iconic 17th century gold clock, Guildford House, a 17th-century town home which houses a gallery with rotating exhibitions and Guildford Museum where you can discover the town's rich history from Saxon times to the present day. Other attractions include; the red brick 20th century Cathedral, High Street stores and independent shops, quirky alleyways, old churches, famous coaching inns and the historic Dapdune Wharf on the river Wey. We will have time to explore the town and have lunch before moving on to the Denbies Wine Estate, one of England's largest vineyards, situated on the outskirts of Dorking in the Surrey Hills. Denbies produces internationally award-winning, cool climate sparkling wines using the traditional grape varieties, grown on chalky soil and in a micro-climate along the North Downs and also has an excellent reputation for producing world-class premium still wines. Here we will take a 50-minute vineyard tour by land train with a recorded, informative commentary, to experience the magnificent panoramic views of the Denbies Estate and the North Downs. (The train is covered in case of rain) On the tour we will enjoy a glass of Denbies specially selected Award winning Sparkling Cuvee. On Sunday we will set off early to the popular cosmopolitan resort of Brighton to enjoy a day at the seaside. We will first visit the iconic Royal Pavilion, King George IV's seaside fantasy palace with its Indian domes and oriental interiors, one of Europe's most extraordinary royal palaces.The rest of the day is yours to do with as you wish. You could take a stroll along the seafront; admire the elegant Regency architecture; visit the Victorian Pier; take a trip on the world's oldest working electric railway; visit the 17th Century Lanes, a maze of narrow alleyways crammed full of independent shops selling antiques, jewellery, and designer clothes; take in the exhibitions at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery or if you have a head for heights take to the sky and glide up 450ft in a glass pod on the Brighton i360 for the best views in Brighton. After breakfast on Monday we will check out of the hotel and journey to the National Trust property, Cliveden with its magnificent gardens and woodlands overlooking the Thames. There are a series of gardens including the formal Parterre with vibrant floral displays, the Long Garden with quirky statuary and topiary, the Rose Garden with around 850 roses, an Oriental-inspired Water Garden, the War Memorial Garden and the Round Garden. The formal gardens give way to secluded glades, tree-lined avenues and picturesque riverside with miles of woodland walks to discover. The garden also contains an ornate chapel, an amazing maze and impressive sculptures, many collected by former owner, Lord Astor. If you fancy boating on the Thames there are skippered cruises and self-hire vessels available at the Cliveden boat house, subject to favourable river and weather conditions. Cliveden House has been home to Royalty, noble families and famously the Astor family. It is now a luxury hotel and is not open to the public. However it is sometimes possible to have a short guided tour of a few rooms in the house if there is a volunteer available to lead it. We will leave Cliveden mid-afternoon and set off for home, making a comfort stop along the way, aiming to be back in Poynton around 7.30pm. Price: £559 per person based on two people sharing a room (single room supplement £128) The price includes:
PLEASE NOTE: Once the monies have been paid over to the coach company and the hotel, they would be non-refundable, this is a condition of the booking. Obviously if someone is unable to go for any reason, we will do our best to find a replacement however this is not always possible, particularly at short notice, so you may wish to take out travel insurance to cover any unexpected cancellations. This is your responsibility. Many people have insurance which covers them for travel for the whole year. If you only want to take out insurance for this one trip there are many companies that you can use. Bullock's Coaches have said that whilst they don't offer insurance themselves or promote particular companies many of their passengers seem to use Age UK or the Post Office. Elaine There are Minibreaks pictures in the Photo Gallery - Click here †Organised on behalf of Poynton High School PTA but open to Poynton u3a members. |
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