Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

 Basic cost £450 pp sharing, £90 singles supplement

Booking Information RL 18 Jan 2015

Summary

 

Many people are unfamiliar with the stunning scenery of the Plymouth area, which will form the backdrop to this 5 night/6 day study tour. The main themes will be the rich maritime, mining, and railway heritage of South West England but, as usual for YPS trips, many extras will be thrown in to suit most tastes.

Based on feedback from the tentative programme issued late last year, a number of choices are offered on the attractions you may wish to see. Some of these involve extra modest cost, as indicated.

The basic cost will be £450 per person sharing, with a singles supplement of £90. A deposit of £50 pp is payable on booking, preferably by Thursday 12 February 2015. Subject to numbers being adequate to make the tour viable, the balance will be due by Tuesday 3 March 2015. The balance will be £400 pp sharing or £490 per single person, plus any extra items requested on the booking form. The balance required from each participant will be advised when the viability of the tour is confirmed- we need a minimum of 35 participants.

Basis of Costs

This cost includes travel; dinner, bed and breakfast for 5 nights; entry to most attractions; tips; the standard YPS admin charge of £3 pp per day, and a prudent contingency. Some teas/coffees/ lunches are also included where this streamlines the itinerary or where it has been possible to negotiate good deals. Excluded are: some optional attractions; National Trust Properties as these are free to most YPS members; and some teas/coffees/lunches.

Please note that a justification of YPS trips is to provide modest additional funds to support the Society’s charitable objectives. Hence, any unspent contingency is donated to the YPS. In addition, the tour organiser donates to the YPS the value of any free places or other perks he would otherwise receive. Full accounts will be submitted to the YPS at the end of the tour, and will be available for inspection on request.

The Hotel

We will be based in the 3 Star Jury’s Inn, Exeter Street, Plymouth- within easy walking distance of Plymouth’s shopping centre, the historic Barbican, Sutton harbour, and plenty of pubs. The hotel has a bar, coffee bar, lifts, and free WiFi, but no swimming pool. All rooms are ensuite, with complimentary toiletries. We have been promised our own dining area. A couple of rooms with walk-in shower may be available.

 

Booking Terms and Conditions.       Please note that YPS Council has recently introduced the following formal Booking Terms and Conditions for YPS events and tours. These also define a new cancellation policy, and emphasise the need for personal travel insurance which should include cancellation cover.  

 

YPS Booking Terms & Conditions

Booking               To book an event, complete and return a booking form together with the full sum due (for short visits), or the stipulated deposit (for tours), as appropriate.  A receipt will be issued.  This is not a guarantee that the tour is viable and will run.

When the number of people booking reaches the point at which the tour / visit becomes viable (viability point) you will be sent a confirmation of your booking and that the event will run, subject to booking numbers remaining above the viability point. This will confirm the date by which any balance payment must be made. In the case of day or part-day visits, a date will be specified beyond which no refunds will be made in the event of cancellation.

Balance payments should reach the Lodge at or before the stated due date.

Cancellations

By YPS   YPS will endeavour to offer an alternative event of equal or greater value than the one cancelled. Where that is not possible all moneys paid against the cancelled event by the member booking will be repaid in full.

By the person booking   Cancellation charges will be made as follows –

• All cancellations will incur an administration charge of £3/person/day of event or tour. Liability for this charge will occur from the date of booking. No charges will be made in the case of an event failing to attract the numbers of people needed to become viable, and all moneys sent with a booking form will be returned in full.
• A cancellation made after the notified viability date will lead to the loss of deposit.
• A cancellation after the date set for balance payments, or the set refund cut-off date, as appropriate, will lead to the loss of all moneys paid out by the person booking.

Insurance.           The YPS accepts no responsibility for any loss or injury suffered while taking part in one of its visits.  Participants are advised to consider taking out appropriate travel insurance, which should include cancellation cover.

 

Identification Needed

Two attractions have indicated that they need identification for security purposes. Please bring as appropriate.

For Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth- Passport, Driving Licence or Senior Citizens’ Bus Pass.

For the Royal Citadel, Plymouth – to be confirmed, but probably the same as the BRNC, Dartmouth.

Also     – NT and EH cards- Proof if you are a Senior.

Outline Programme.

The outline programme is shown below, subject to confirmation of telephone bookings and travel times. Some minor changes are possible if unforeseen circumstances occur.

Easter Monday 6 April          Coach to Plymouth via Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge

0800 Leave Memorial Gardens, York

1230 Buffet lunch at Theoc House, Tewkesbury

1430 Guided tour of Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge

1900 arr at Hotel

2000 Dinner

Tuesday 7 April          Plymouth, partly self guided

0845 dep Hotel. Short coach tour for overview/orientation of Sutton Harbour, marinas, Barbican, National Aquarium, boat landing, Mount Batten, Citadel, Hoe, Plymouth Sound, Napoleonic forts, Breakwater, Eddystone Lighthouse, Smeatons Tower, Drakes Island, Union Street, City Centre.

0930    Harbour boat trip. See Mount Batten, Plymouth Hoe, Drakes Island, Dockyard, warships, nuclear submarines, Brunel’s iconic Royal Albert Bridge, the 1960s suspension bridge.

1030    Self-guided at own cost. There is a lot to see on an ad hoc basis, including the Mayflower Steps; Elizabethan House; Merchant’s House; cobbled streets; touristy shops; harbour; Plymouth Hoe; Smeatons Tower; views over Plymouth Sound, the breakwater, and the distant Eddystone lighthouse etc. However, you may wish me to book one or more of the following optional extras –

Option A          Anytime.          National Aquarium.

Extra cost £10.50 adults, £8 seniors. The UK’s largest aquarium. Shark tank. Get discounted tickets that allow you to come and go as you please.

Option B          1315                2 hour guided tour of Royal Citadel.

Extra cost £5 (£4 for EH members).No large bags allowed. At top of steep hill.

Option C          1630                1 hour guided tour of Plymouth Gin.

Extra cost £6. Free gin or whisky, to set you up for the evening meal.  The building dates from the early 1400s and was where the Pilgrim Fathers stayed before their departure. I need a bit more interest in this option please.

1800    Coach pickup for those who do not fancy the walk back to the hotel.

1930    Dinner

Wednesday 8 April    Cornwall

0845    dep Hotel.       View the Tamar Bridges- Brunel’s Royal Albert Bridge and 1960s suspension bridge.

Option D          1015- 1215 Charlestown Shipwreck Museum. Also covers: the old Scarborough lifeboat; life in the Georgian village and harbour of Charlestown; the history of diving, salvage, & shipwrecks; exhibits on the Mary Rose, Titanic, and HMS Victory; Cornish mining; etc

1230-1430  Wheal-Martyn China Clay Museum. Many exhibits, plus a working china clay mine. Cafe.

Or Option E     1030-1500 Eden Project, including introductory talk. See over 1 million plants in a series of spectacular geodesic biome domes. Full facilities.

1545    Jamaica Inn of Daphne du Maurier fame, for cream tea and Smugglers Museum.

1815    arr Hotel

1930    Dinner

Thursday 9 April        Dartmouth, partly self guided

0845 dep Hotel

0915-1015       Buckfast Abbey. See the church, and stock up on your tonic wine!

1100                Sail down the scenic River Dart from Totnes to Dartmouth.

Option F          Stop off at the National Trust’s Greenway House and Garden, the home of Agatha Christy.

Extra cost £9.20 group rate for non-NT members. The walk from Greenway Quay to visitor reception is steep in places along a winding bark chip path through the Greenway woodland.  The 800 yard walk takes about ten minutes and there are plenty of benches  for resting/admiring the view on the way. Greenway can offer the service of a car which meets the ferries and can shuttle up to three people to visitor reception. Catch the 1445 ferry to Dartmouth. Dep Dartmouth at 1515hrs.

Or Option G    Sail direct from Totnes to Dartmouth, arr about 1200hrs, and self direct until departing Dartmouth at 1515hrs.

Or Option H    Sail direct from Totnes to Dartmouth, arr about 1200hrs, dep 1300 by coach.

1315 -1530 Guided tour of the Britannia Royal Naval College, with tea/coffee/biscuits.

Extra cost £12 BRNC is now the sole training centre for Royal Naval officers and is widely considered one of the most prestigious officer training establishments in the world.. The original college was housed in hulks in the R. Dart, but the current buildings were finished in 1905. .  I need a bit more interest in this option please.

1530    dep Royal Naval College for Totnes.

Fleeting look at Totnes pumping house for Brunel’s doomed vacuum operated railway.

1630    Steam train along scenic River Dart to Buckfastleigh.

1715    Coach across southern DartmoorNational Park. See Princetown, the notorious Dartmoor Prison, and other landmarks.

1830     arr Hotel

1930    Dinner

Friday 10 April           Morwellham & Buckland Abbey

0845    dep Hotel.  20 minute stop to see remains of Drake’s Leat, and of the Dartmoor (horse) Railway.

1000    arr Morwellham Quay & Copper Mine.

Self guided tour of the greatest copper ore port in Queen Victoria’s Empire, the BBC’s ‘Edwardian  Farm’, traditional workshops, scenic walks along the River Tamar, and morning coffee at own cost.

1200    We will split into two groups. One group will have a train ride into the copper mine, while the other has a light lunch (included in the tour cost). The groups will swap over just before 1300hrs.

Lunch Option I             Pasty with salad, tea/coffee. Some chips will be available for sharing.

Lunch Option J            Baked potato with vegetarian filling, tea/coffee (some choice on day)

Lunch Option K            Baked potato with non-vegetarian filling, tea/coffee(some choice on day)

1350 dep Morwellham

1430 – 1730    Buckland Abbey- a Cistercian  Abbey that became the home of Grenville and then Sir Francis Drake.

Extra cost of £8.50 for non members of National Trust. See Drake’s Drum, the newly discovered self portrait by Rembrandt, the Great Barn, and the Gardens. Tea/coffee included.

1815    arr Hotel

1930 Dinner

Saturday 11 April      Coach to York via Brunel’s SS Great Britain

0845    dep hotel

1115    arr SS Great Britain in Bristol. Start with Museum and Dry Dock

1200    Private lunch (soup and sandwich) on board the SS Great Britain included in the cost. There is only room  for 45, so if we have more tourists than this then the latecomers will have to eat in the public dining area.

Guided tour of SS Great Britain. She was launched in 1843, was the longest passenger ship in the world, the first ocean going ship to combine an a iron hull and screw propulsion, and the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic (1845, in 14 days)

1430    dep SS Great Britain

2000    arr York

 

Many thanks for your support,

Rod Leonard

Tour organiser

Please click here to download Booking Form   Booking Form SW England