Northumberland at New Year

Meet your Tour Manager and the rest of your group at the 4-Star MacDonald Linden Hall. After dinner, we visit Alnwick Garden to experience its Christmas lights trail. Soak up the festive atmosphere as you walk through the enchanting grounds, transformed into a winter wonderland by an array of kaleidoscopic lights. (D)

• Dinner

Today we transfer to Tanfield for a journey on what is reputedly the oldest railway in the world, the Tanfield Railway. Boasting an incredible history and outstanding countryside views. We pass through Causey Gorge, home to the oldest surviving single-arch railway bridge in the world, before we disembark at Andrews House Station. You have free time here to explore the station, as well as Marley Hill Engine Shed, which dates back to 1854. We continue by coach to the market town of Alnwick, where your afternoon is at leisure. Perhaps visit the acclaimed Barter Books; set inside a former Victorian railway station, this is one of the largest antiquarian bookstores in the country and is a must-visit for bibliophiles everywhere. (B,D)

• Breakfast, Dinner

We take a step back in time today as we visit Beamish, an open-air museum which recreates life as it would have been in a north-eastern industrial community during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. A truly unique museum experience, Beamish boasts attractions including a recreated mining village, an Edwardian railway station, a 1940s farm and a 1900s town. Here, we can experience the beginning of the twentieth century as we stroll down the quaint street, lined with buildings including a pub, Co-operative store, sweet shop, bank and chemist; all sourced from local towns and rebuilt brick by brick. (B,D)

• Breakfast, Dinner

We begin today with a visit to the Roman Army Museum, close to Hadrian's Wall. Here, you have time to explore the fascinating exhibits, which feature numerous artefacts and reconstructions of what life might have been like during the Roman times. After, we transfer by coach to Vindolanda, the ruins of a Roman fort that was built before the construction of Hadrian's Wall. This evening, we transfer back to our hotel for a celebratory Gala dinner to ring in the new year. (B,D)

• Breakfast, Dinner

Today you are at leisure. (B)

Our tour concludes after breakfast, and you are free to depart at leisure. (B)