Bus Museum - Hants & Dorset / Wilts & Dorset - Holidays - 1963
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3 to 15 day
holiday tours
 
3-DAY TOURS      
Lincolnshire Tulip Fields   No. 16
Blackpool Illuminations   No. 10
4-DAY TOURS      
Welsh Highlands   No. 1
Isle of Thanet and Canterbury   No. 9
Devon-Cornwall and Isles of Scilly   No. 20
5-DAY TOUR      
Norfolk Broads and East Coast   No. 6
6-DAY TOURS      
Welsh Highlands and The Lakes   No. 2
Devon and Cornwall   No. 3
English Lakes   No. 5
Harrogate and Yorkshire Dales   No. 11
7-DAY TOURS      
Wye Valley and North Wales   No. 4
Edinburgh and The Trossachs   No. 21
8-DAY TOURS      
Scotland - The Lakes   No. 14
Southern Ireland   No. 17
Scottish Highlands and John o'Groats   No. 18
Loch Maree and Western Highlands   No. 19
9-DAY TOUR      
Scotland and Western Highlands   No. 15
12-DAY TOUR      
Scotland and The Lakes   No. 7
15-DAY TOUR      
Scottish Highlands and John o'Groats   No. 8
 
INTRODUCTION

Each year nearly five thousand people use Hants and Dorset coach touring holidays and enjoy complete freedom from the worry of planning and obtaining accommodation.

For 1963 there is a new seven-day tour to Scotland (No.21) which gives three whole days and nights in Edinburgh, with excursions to the surrounding places of beauty and interest.

For those who have not travelled before, the following special features of these fully inclusive tours are worth consideration:

The best possible hotels, restaurants and cafes are used, and these are regularly inspected.

The fares include reserved coach seats, hotel accommodation, with dinner, breakfast, early morning tea and newspaper, and all luncheons and teas throughout the holiday. Coffee after lunch and dinner is included, together with all gratuities for hotel, restaurant and cafe staff.

The coaches used are especially designed for long-distance observation touring, with adjustable armchairs seats, spaced so as to give ample leg room, and with adjustable back rests.

The Couriers are drivers of long experience, selected for their courtesy and skill.

Prompt reservation is recommended, as many of these tours become fully booked early in the season.

Seating Plan
Pricing information
Guineas (gns) to Pounds Conversion
1gn = £1.1s.0d (one pound and one shilling) or £1.05 in decimal currency.
gns   £ s d   £ p   2010
11   £11.11s   £11.55   £181
12   £12.12s   £12.60   £198
15   £15.15s   £15.75   £247
16   £16.16s   £16.80   £263
20   £21   £21.00   £329
23   £24.3s   £24.15   £379
25   £26.5s   £26.25   £412
25½   £26.15s.6d   £26.77½   £420
31   £32.11s   £32.55   £510
32   £33.12s   £33.60   £527
34   £35.14s   £35.70   £560
39½   £41.9s.6d   £41.47½   £650
44   £46.4s   £46.20   £724
55   £57.15s   £57.75   £906
Prices were often shown in guineas rather than pounds so that they appeared lower than they actually were (55gns is nearly £58) although there were no guinea coins or bank-notes. This table shows the tour prices in pre 1971 pounds, shillings and pence with the post 1971 decimal (£p) equivalent.
2010 values are an approximate guide to the amount these prices would be today using the retail price index. In relation to average earnings, the 2010 price would be about double that shown.
The coach driver would have been earning about £10 per week. Hants & Dorset holidays were aimed at relatively well off people.
Source: measuringworth.com
Comment
The Holiday Brochures
The holiday descriptions in these brochures clearly show the age in which they were printed. The sentences would nowadays be regarded as much too long and the punctuation is dated.

There are no tours numbered 12 or 13 in the 1963 brochure.
 
TOUR No. 1 Welsh Highlands 15 gns.
4 DAYS

This is a tour of Central and North Wales, with the first day's journey through the Cotswolds and Shropshire Hills to Church Stretton. The next two nights are at Llanberis at the foot of Snowdon, with local excursions through Snowdonia and to Conway, Llandudno, Colwyn Bay and the famous Swallow Falls. Historic buildings viewed include Conway Castle.

DEPARTURE DATES
Fridays 31st May, 26th July, 16th August and 13th September.
TOUR No. 2 Welsh Highlands
and Lake District
23 gns.
6 DAYS

The first two night's stay are at Llanberis, the centre for local excursions through the magnificent coastal and mountain scenery of North Wales. The next two nights are at Grange-over-Sands from which there is a whole day tour of the Lake District. The return journey from Grange-over-Sands is through Lancaster and Shrewsbury to spend the last night of the tour at the inland resort of Church Stretton, beautifully situated among the Stretton Hills at the foot of the Long Mynd.

DEPARTURE DATES
Saturdays 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th June, 6th, 13th, and 20th July, 3rd, 10th, 24th and 31st August.
TOUR No. 3 Devon and Cornwall 23 gns.
6 DAYS

Within six days it is almost impossible to see the whole of these two lovely counties, but this tour takes you through the length and breadth of Devon and Cornwall and shows you most of the best known places of interest. Ilfracombe, and Penzance, are the centres from which you tour the countryside, with visits to such well known places as Land's End, Tintagel and Lynton.

DEPARTURE DATES
Every Monday from 20th May until 30th September.
TOUR No. 4 Wye Valley and North Wales 25 gns.
7 DAYS

The first two nights of this tour are spent at Cheltenham, an ideal centre for the second day's tour of the Wye Valley. The next two nights are at Llanberis with a whole day tour of Snowdonia and Caernarvon, giving those who wish to an opportunity of ascending Snowdon by mountain railway when this is running. The return journey from Llanberis is through country so well described in George Borrow's Wild Wales to the famous view point 'Devil's Bridge'; then on to spend the fifth night at Hereford before returning to Cheltenham for the last night of the tour.

DEPARTURE DATES
Every Sunday 12th May until 22nd September
TOUR No. 5 Blackpool and
English Lakes
23 gns.
6 DAYS

In this tour there is a contrast between the gaiety of Blackpool and the grandeur of the Lake District. Grange-over-Sands is chosen as the centre for the Lake District and a whole day tour gives you an opportunity of seeing Keswick, Ambleside and Windermere, where, if you wish, you may take a steamer trip on the Lake. In the Autumn this tour is a most pleasant way of combining a week's holiday with the viewing of the Blackpool Illuminations.

DEPARTURE DATES
Every Monday from 3rd June until 7th October.
TOUR No. 6 Norfolk Broads
and East Coast
20 gns.
5 DAYS

The Angel Hotel, Bury St. Edmunds, is a fitting introduction to this tour through the East Anglian countryside culminating in the wide waters of the Norfolk Broads. You then travel on up the East Coast, taking in Sandringham and King's Lynn on the way to Woodhall Spa. Two nights at Woodhall Spa with a whole day excursion to Lincoln and Skegness bring you to the fifth day with the homeward journey through Aylesbury and Reading.

DEPARTURE DATES
Mondays 10th June, 8th and 22nd July, 19th August.
TOUR No. 7 Scotland and The Lakes 44 gns.
12 DAYS

Through England by way of the Yorkshire Moors, over the border, and into Scotland, this tour takes in the beauties of the Trossachs with the gateway to the Highlands through Pitlochry, and also gives an opportunity for you to stay three nights in Scotland's capital city - Edinburgh. Northwards through the Cairngorm mountains, the Spey-side resorts of Newtonmore, Kingussie and Carrbridge are visited on your journey to Stirling and Inverness. On the return journey homeward one whole day is set aside for a local excursion through the Lake District.

DEPARTURE DATES
Saturdays 25th May, 20th July, 10th August and 7th September.
TOUR No. 8 Scottish Highlands
and John o' Groats
55 gns.
15 DAYS

This tour has been designed for those wishing to see the extreme northern Highlands of Scotland, and to do this in a leisurely fashion. Stirling, Oban, Pitlochry, Inverness and John o' Groats are a few of the places visited. Travelling south through Glencoe, the return journey includes Loch Lomond, Keswick, the Lake District, Lancaster and the Shakespeare Country.

DEPARTURE DATE
Saturday 29th June
TOUR No. 9 Isle of Thanet 15 gns.
4 DAYS

This tour is designed to explore the far south-eastern tip of England, which has an unusual character and historical association. Three nights are spent at the Chaucer Hotel, Canterbury. On the second day the tourist is left with the whole day to explore rhe ancient cathedral city, and on the third day there is a grand coastal tour of Thanet and the Cinque Ports, giving a comprehensive survey of this area.

DEPARTURE DATES
Mondays - 3rd and 24th June, 1st and 22nd July, 12th and 26th August, 9th September.
TOUR No. 10 Blackpool Illuminations 11 gns.
3 DAYS

The Autumn Illuminations at Blackpool are such an outstanding annual attraction that many like to make a special visit for this alone. This weekend tour has been designed to take you there, and give you a complete day and two nights in which to view Blackpool and the illuminations.

DEPARTURE DATES
Fridays
Ex Bournemouth 6th September and 4th October.
Ex Southampton 13th September and 18th October.
TOUR No. 11 Harrogate and
Yorkshire Dales
23 gns.
6 DAYS

This tour shows you some of the character and beauty of England's largest county - villages and market towns, famous spas and resorts, trout-streams and water falls, gentle valleys, bare wind-swept moors and high passes - all these suggest the variety of scenery the Yorkshire Dales offer. Harrogate is the centre for this tour and excursions are made to York Minster, Fountains Abbey, Ripon Cathedral, Bolton Abbey and many other places. The journeys up and back are each completed in one day, leaving four days for leisurely touring of this beautiful district.

DEPARTURE DATES
Mondays 3rd and 17th June, 1st, 15th and 29th July, 12th and 26th August, 9th September.
TOUR No. 14 Scotland - The Lakes 31 gns.
8 DAYS

This tour is for those wishing to see as much as is comfortably possible of Scotland and The Lakes in one week's holiday. The tour is planned to include many, well-known beauty spots and places of unusual interest. After a night's stay in Ilkley three nights are spent in the Scottish Capital with local excursions before returning through the Lake District where one whole day is set aside for a tour of the best known beauty spots.

DEPARTURE DATES
Saturdays 18th May, 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd June, 6th, 13th and 27th July, 3rd, 17th, 24th and 31st August, 14th and 21st September.
TOUR No. 15 Scotland and
Western Highlands
34 gns.
9 DAYS

This tour has as its main objective the Western Highlands and Scotland's West Coast. Ediburgh is visited on the second day, after which you drive through the wild passes of the Western Highlands, Glencoe and Fort Augustus to Inverness. You visit Scotland's West Coast, with its many glens, fast salmon rivers, lochs, and wonderful mountain scenery. Travelling south from Inverness, the return journey includes Lossiemouth, Pitlochry, Killin, Airdrie and the Lake District.

DEPARTURE DATES
Saturdays 18th May, 1st, 15th and 29th June, 13th and 27th July, 10th and 24th August, 7th and 21st September.
TOUR No. 16 Lincolnshire Tulip Fields 12 gns.
3 DAYS

This tour, centred on Woodhall Spa, takes in the Fen Country. On the second day you visit the Tulip Fields and enjoy the vivid beauty of the blooms at their best.

DEPARTURE DATES
Thursday 18th April, Monday 22nd April, Sunday 28th April.
TOUR No. 17 Southern Ireland
BY AIR TO DUBLIN
39½ gns.
8 DAYS

This tour is more than a holiday - it is an adventure. The route followed is ever changing, always interesting. On the first day you fly by special Aer Lingus charter flight from Bristol, Lulsgate Airport, arriving for a first night's stay in Dublin's fair city. On the circular tour of Southern Ireland the coach leaves Dublin by way of the Slieve Bloom Mountains and the Shannon to Killarney. The enchanting 'Ring of Kerry', Cork, Blarney Castle, Waterford, Wexford and the Vale of Glendalough are a few of the many delightful places visited before the return journey to England.

DEPARTURE DATES
Every Thursday from 30th May until 12th September.
TOUR No. 18 Scottish Highlands
and John o' Groats
32 gns.
8 DAYS

This tour is intended for those with limited time who wish to see the full extent of the Scottish Highlands and visit the northernmost tip of our island. Stirling, Fort Augustus, Inverness, John o' Groats and Crathie are but a few of the places visited. The details of the itinerary given below with its romantic place names are sufficient guarantee of eight days packed with interest.

DEPARTURE DATES
Saturdays 8th June, 6th July, 3rd and 31st August, 14th September.
TOUR No. 19 Loch Maree and Western Highlands 32 gns.
8 DAYS

Many towns and cities steeped in Scottish history are visited on this tour, but for many the greatest attraction will be the natural beauty of the countryside. By way of the Yorkshire Moors and Peebles, this tour passes through Stirling and on by loch-side and mountain pass through Fort Augustus at the western end of the Caledonian Canal, Inverness, Strathpeffer, Loch Maree, Gairloch and Inverewe Gardens. Braemore Lodge, Lossiemouth and Harrogate are visited on the return journey homeward.

DEPARTURE DATES
Saturdays 25th May, 22nd June, 20th July, 17th August.
TOUR No. 20 Devon - Cornwall
and Isles of Scilly
16 gns.
4 DAYS

This tour gives you the many charms of Cornwall's rugged and picturesque scenery and an opportunity of visiting the Isles of Scilly. It includes visits to Dawlish and the popular seaside resorts of Torquay and Penzance. On the third day there is an optional boat cruise to St. Mary's, the principal of the Scilly Islands. The return journey home takes you through Redruth, Bodmin, Liskeard and the Cathedral City of Exeter.

DEPARTURE DATES
Every Saturday 1st June until 14th September.
TOUR No. 21 Edinburgh and the Trossachs 25½ gns.
7 DAYS

In one week's holiday this new tour gives the maximum time in Edinburgh, with a restful and interesting journey each way. Local excursions cover the Trossachs and Southern Highlands, and on the fourth day there is a conducted morning tour of the city with the afternoon left free for shopping. In Edinburgh the hotel used is well situated in the world famous Princes Street.

DEPARTURE DATES
Every Friday from 31st May until 13th September
   
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