Thursday, March 27, 2014
Destinations
&Travel
401 S. Main St. * Stillwater
405-372.1647 •
British Sampler
Have you had enough offer you the vacation of welcomes no less than eight
beach vacations to last a your dreams.
lifetime? Are you looking London is one of my
for a "cultural" experience? favorite cities in the world,
Are you worried about lan- but there's a world waiting
0000eJo,yi: 04 waveL'
By Joy Gawf-Crutchfield
for you beyond England's
gleaming capital city.
Would you like to surf in
Wales? Cook with a chef
in Scotland? How about
antique shopping in ancient
Bath? Great Britain goes
way beyond your expecta-
tions.
To start with, it's easy
to get to Great Britain.
All of our major carriers
provide seamless service
to cities throughout Great
Britain. London Heathrow
A birdseye view of London.
guage barriers?
Great Britain is the top of
the heap when it comes to
destinations preferred by
American travelers, and by
me. From urban hotspots
to medieval market towns;
from mined castles perched
on seaside cliffs to chann-
ing country manors; from
garden framed Kent to
music-impassioned Man-
chester; from Dylan Thomas
to Shakespeare. If you can
dream it, Great Britain can
daily flights from DFW
alone.
One train ticket will pro-
vide you with unlimited
travel on Britain's national
rail networks. Of course
I prefer an escorted tour
where you'll enjoy the com-
fort of a luxury motor coach,
and someone else carries the
luggage.
The breadth of Great Brit-
ain's cultural offerings will
leave you amazed. There
is so much to see and do it
actually becomes a rather
daunting task to figure out
which attractions are most
worthy of your time. With
world-class museums, gal-
leries, festivals and literary
sites to discover, you'll want
to do your homework before
you go. Or, opt for the escort
tour that provides you the
places and events that most
suit your interests.
Three of the top five
most visited museums in
the world are in Great Brit-
ain. The British Museum
simply cannot be missed.
With the Parthenon sculp-
tures, Rosetta Stone, and
Egyptian Mummies, this
museum couldn't get any
better. Wait, yes it could,
because admission is free.
If you love Van Gogh
you'll love the National
Gallery, home to Van
Gogh's "Sunflowers". If you
enjoy the impressionists the
National Museum of Cardiff
offers the most impression-
ist and post-impressionist
paintings outside of Paris.
One of my favorite places
in Great Britain is Gras-
mere. Grasmere is famous
as the favorite residence of
William Wordsworth, Poet
Laureate of England. Word-
sworth called Grasmere "the
loveliest spot that man hath
ever found". I concur.
We all know about Buck-
ingham Palace, but what
about Hampton Court, Kens-
ington, Windsor, Alnwick,
Blenheim, Leeds, Dover,
the Tower of London,
Highclere (the setting of
Downton Abbey), Urqu-
hart and Caernafon? Oh
wait; we loved Edinburgh
Castle and Floors Castle in
Scotland as well. If you like
ancient sites, Great Britain
will more than satisfy.
If you love gardens Great
Britain will seem like para-
dise to you. There are actu-
ally garden tours, as well as
hiking tours, coastal tours,
biking tours, and mountain
tours.
As an American, I was
particularly interested in the
John Muir Way. Opening
this year, this trail stretches
from Dunbar, the birthplace
River Welland
of the 19th century Scot-
tish-American naturalist
John Muir, to the waters of
the Clyde at Helensburgh
in Scotland. It's an idyllic
way for you to explore the
natural spaces and land-
scapes of Central Scotland
and visit Loch Lomond and
The Trossachs National
Park.
Last year I escorted a
group on the "Britain Sam-
pier", and it was one of the
most enjoyable tours I've
experienced so far. This
tour is a fast, huge loop
around Britain, including
London, Hampton Court,
Bath, Stonehenge, Stow-
on-the-Wold, Stratford-
upon-Avon (and the home
of Shakespeare), Llangollen,
Chester, Grasmere, Gretna
Green, Edinburgh Abbots-
ford, Jedburgh, York, Cam-
bridge, and Stamford.
From Stonehenge to
the Beatles, Great Britain
truly offers something fol
everyone. If you've never
ventured beyond the US
or the Caribbean, it's the
perfect choice for your first
European adventure. And
everyone there speaks Eng-
lish, sort of.
Joy Gawf-Crutchfield owns
and operates The Joy oJ
Travel LLC. Stacy Buck i
the loca! agent for The Joy oj
Travel and can be contactea
at (405) 742-8609 travelwil
hstacy@ymail.com
Grasmere from Stone Arthur
,00tn Irish 00L00yssey
Have you ever been Belfast with local guides, of Cong.
somewhere and liter- In Dublin there will also We'll love the stepdanc-
ally yearned to go back? be an open-top bus tour ing display and our over-
That's how we feel about with a visit and drink at night stay at Cabra Castle,
Ireland. We toured Ireland Guinness Storehouse or home to a huge Irish wolf-
hound who escorted us
around the grounds back
in 2011.
We'll visit Kilmainham
Gaol, Russborough House,
By Joy Gawf-Crutchfield House of Waterford Crys-
back in 2011, and with Old Jameson lDistillery, tal (a great souvenir stop),
pricing that's extremely You'll love the views of Blarney Castle (yes, we
affordable in2015, we've Dublin from the top of will kiss the "stone of
decided that's when we the Guinness Storehouse eloquence" again), and the
are going to return, while you're drinking Blarney Woollen Mills, a
The 11 night IrishOdys- your dark beer. Don't great outlet to buy even
sey is the most perfect forget to peak at the Book more Irish souvenirs.
tour of Ireland I've seen of Kells at Trinity College, Blasket Centre, the mag-
available in over nine it's amazing, nificent Cliffs of Moher,
years. The tour offers Then there is a farmhouse Kylemore Benedictine
all of the expected inclu- visit for tea and scones. Abbey, Museum of Coun-
sions: round trip airport Walking tours of Cork, try Life, W.B. Yeats grave,
transfers, sightseeing by Derry and Drogheda with Belleek Pottery Factory,
luxury coach, the services local guides are included, and the Tower Museum
of a professional driver/ as well as the Sheepdog are other wonderful attrac-
guide, full Irish break- trials on the Ring of Kerry. tions that are included.
fast daily, eight dinners, Won't that be great? One of the strangest
two lunches, a welcome My favorite experience formations on earth, the
reception, all taxes, hotel will be the horse-drawn Giant's Causeway, is
fees and service charges, jaunting car ride in Killar- included in the tour, as
and porterage. But it's ney (remember those in is Titanic Belfast, Boyne
the sightseeing that puts the "Quiet Man" with Valley Visitor Centre, and
it over the top. John Wayne and Maureen the Newgrange or Knoth
Included in the itinerary O'Hara?). There's also a Tomb.
are tours of Dublin and : "Quiet Man,' walking tour Whew. With two nights
in Dublin, one night in
Cork, two nights in Killar-
ney, two nights in Galway,
two nights in Knockranny,
two nights in Derry, one
night in Cabra Castle and
one night in Drogheda,
this tour makes a huge
loop around Ireland.
These tours also include
headsets for the walking
tours which make a won-
derful difference in your
experience. It's so nice
to actually be able to hear
what your professional
guide is saying.
This tour is avail-
able from early March
through early November
annually. We are going in
April because I prefer to
go during the spring when
the hundreds of contrast-
ing greens of Ireland are
literally exploding out of
the ground.
But no matter when you
go, Ireland will make you
wish you were Irish. The
people are friendly and
welcoming, the attrac-
tions are fascinating, the
scenery is breathtaking,
the food is sumptuous,
and the cost is unbeat-
able.
Joy Gawf-Crutchfield
owns and operates The
Joy ofTravel LLC. Stacy
Buck is the local agent for
The Joy of Travel and can
be contacted at (405) 742-
8609 travelwithstacy @ym
ail.com
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