For further information on this tour, contact Across the Pond Vacations at 310-791-6101, or e-mail info@atpvacations.com. www.atpvacations.com
Follow the Ghost Hunters (International)
12 Days/10 nights – from $2,595.00* per person, land only, double occupancy. Independent travel package.
Your Tour Price Includes:
- Airport transfer from Edinburgh Airport to your centrally located Edinburgh hotel
- 10 nights in 3-star to 4-1/2 star hotels and bed & breakfasts, including a stay at the haunted Elvey Farm and the haunted Grange Courtyard Hotel **
- 6 days car rental in an automatic shift, air-conditioned mid-size car with GPS
- Full breakfast, daily
- Admission*** to:
- Edinburgh Castle
- Tower of London
- Hampton Court Palace
- Ghost and Ghouls Extended Walking Tour in Edinburgh
- Richard Jones Ghost Tour in London (walking tour)
- You will also visit*** (entrance fees on own):
- The Ragged School and Camera Obscura, Edinburgh
- The Real Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh
- Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh
- Chillingham Castle, Northumberland
- Alnwick Castle, Northumberland
- Belvoir Castle, Grantham, Leicestershire
- Belgrave Hall, Leicester
- Leicester Castle, Leicester
- The Guildhall, Leicester
- Newarke Houses, Leicester
- Leeds Castle, Kent
- Black Horse Inn, Kent
- Elvey Farm, Kent
- Viaduct Tavern, London
- National Maritime Museum (Tulip Staircase), London (Greenwich)
- Hellfire Caves, Buckinghamshire
* Land only, per person price - if airfare required, please inquire with an ATP Vacations Tour Manager
** Accommodations listed in tour description indicate first choice. Equivalent accommodations of same star quality and location supplied if first choice unavailable.
*** Please note: all venues are not open year round. Please check with us to confirm opening dates and times.
All independent tours can be made into group tours for already assembled groups.
SUMMARY
Day 1 - Departure from U.S. to U.K.
Day 2 – Airport transfer from Edinburgh airport to Edinburgh 4-star hotel
Day 3 - Full Scottish breakfast, The Ragged School and Camera Obscura, Edinburgh Castle, Ghost Tour, 4-star Edinburgh hotel
Day 4 - Full Scottish breakfast, exploring on own (The Real Mary King’s Close), 4-star Edinburgh hotel
Day 5 - Full Scottish breakfast, pick up rental car, drive to Chillingham Castle, Alnwick Castle, 4-1/2 star hotel in Northumberland
Day 6 - Full English breakfast, drive to Grantham and visit Belvoir Castle, drive Leicester, 3-1/2 star haunted hotel in Leicester**
Day 7 - Full English breakfast, visit Belgrave Hall, Leicester Castle, Guildhall and Newarke Houses in Leicester, 3-1/2 star haunted hotel in Leicester**
Day 8 - Full English breakfast, drive to Kent, visit Leeds Castle and the Black Horse Inn, 4-star Elvey Farm (haunted) hotel in Ashford **
Day 9 - Full English breakfast, drive to Hellfire Caves (Buckinghamshire) and Hampton Court Palace, return rental car in London, 4-star London hotel
Day 10 - Full English breakfast, visit Viaduct Tavern and National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, 4-star London hotel
Day 11 - Full English breakfast, visit Tower of London, Richard Jones’ Ghost Walk Tour, 4-star London hotel
Day 12 - Full English breakfast, airport transfer to London Heathrow Airport, depart or continue on (please inquire for additional tour days)
NOTE: Ireland can be added to this tour to complete the Ghost Hunters’ sites visited, including Leap Castle and Lisheen Castle Ruins… inquire with Tour Manager.
Grab your EVP recorder and EMF detector! Tracing the footsteps of The Atlantic Paranormal Society, made famous by the Sci Fi Channel’s television program “Ghost Hunters” (and “Ghost Hunters International”), you’ll visit all the chilling U.K. locales that the TAPS team has verified as being “haunted”, as well as a few locations they have yet to visit. Hold on to someone close because in the U.K., things do go bump in the night!
Day 1 – Departure – You depart on your overnight transatlantic flight.
Day 2 – Welcome to Ghostly Great Britain! – You’ll be met at Edinburgh airport by your driver and taken in to the city of Edinburgh, a city that holds over a thousand years of history, mystery and tradition. The day and evening are yours to get acquainted with this extraordinary city. (Edinburgh Hotel: Edinburgh Grosvenor Hilton or 4-star equivalent.)
Day 3 – Let the Haunt Hunt Begin… – After a full Scottish breakfast, you will explore Edinburgh Castle which has a history dating back over 900 years. Edinburgh Castle is reputed to be one of the most haunted spots in Scotland. In fact, Edinburgh itself has been called the most haunted city in all of Europe. On various occasions, visitors to the castle have reported a phantom piper, a headless drummer, the spirits of French prisoners from the Seven Years War and colonial prisoners from the American Revolutionary War - even the ghost of a dog wandering in the grounds' dog cemetery. This evening, you’ll join a walking tour, “Ghosts and Ghouls”. A long history of murder, torture, hangings and plague has left a haunting legacy on the city's Old Town and ghostly apparitions are said to now walk its streets. You’ll end your tour with a complimentary drink in the atmospheric Megget’s Cellar, a candlelit nook located above the Underground Vaults, where the guide will continue to entertain you with eerie tales from Edinburgh’s past. (Edinburgh Hotel: Edinburgh Hilton or 4-star equivalent.)
Day 4 – Exploring Eerie Edinburgh – After a full Scottish breakfast, you’ll visit The Ragged School and Camera Obscura, investigated by the TAPS Ghost Hunters International team and confirmed to be haunted through EVP's and photographs. Spirits were detected on EVP to have said, “… out of here…” and when asked if a particular ghost went by another name than ‘George’, he was heard to have whispered, “Yes.” Find out for yourself what spooky spirits await! (Edinburgh Hotel: Edinburgh Hilton or 4-star equivalent.)
Day 5 – In to England – You’ll collect your mid-sized, automatic transmission, air-conditioned rental car, with GPS, today and head out of Edinburgh. You’ll drive south to the Northumberland area, home of Chillingham Castle. Chillingham Castle is widely regarded as one of, if not the, most haunted places in the country. Dating back over 800 years this castle was built for one purpose and one purpose alone - killing. In the heart of Northumberland the castle was the first line of defense, preventing the Scots getting over the border to invade England back in the days of William Wallace when the castle was ruled over by King Edward I (Edward Longshanks). It has a truly amazing, yet horrific history. Then it’s on to Alnwick Castle. You may recognize the castle from many movie scenes, including the ‘Harry Potter’ movies. It is said that a vampire once frequented this castle! This one-time lord of the estate lived underneath it and would emerge at night to attack the local villagers. An outbreak of plague was also attributed to the unholy creature, and this resulted in the villagers digging the monster up from its shallow grave and burning it. Continue driving south to a bit of luxury – your home for the night, Macdonald Linden Hall. (Northumberland Hotel: Macdonald Linden Hall or 4-1/2 star equivalent.)
Day 6 – Deeper into England – This morning, a long, lovely drive awaits. After breakfast, you’ll drive south to the town of Grantham, where you will find Belvoir Castle. Belvoir (pronounced “Beaver”) Castle is said to be haunted by 3 former employees of the castle (a mother, Joan Flower, and her 2 daughters, Margaret and Phillipa), self-proclaimed witches, who lived in the castle in the early 17th century. Having cursed the owners, fatal events befell the count and countess of the castle, resulting in the death of 2 of their children and sickness upon the rest. The outcome in all this was even more death. When being examined by a Justice of the Peace, Joan Flower called for bread and butter and cried that she wished, “it would never go through” her if she were guilty of her crimes. She put the bread into her mouth, mumbled a few words and promptly choked to death. Her guilt was affirmed and with it, the fate of her 2 daughters, who were hanged in Lincoln jail in 1618. Do they still haunt Belvoir Castle, seeking their revenge? Explore on your own and find out. Tonight, we’ve booked you into a reputedly haunted hotel, the Grange Courtyard in Leicester. (Leicester Hotel: Grange Courtyard or 3-star equivalent.)
Day 7 – Investigating Leicester – After a full English breakfast, you’ll head out to see all of Leicester’s haunted locales, including Belgrave Hall, Leicester Castle, the Guildhall and Newarke Houses. Visual and audible evidence of hauntings have been captured at all of these sites. The evening is yours to review your evidence or perhaps discuss your findings with the locals at a nearby pub. (Leicester Hotel: Grange Courtyard or 3-star equivalent.)
Day 8 – The Most Haunted Village – After breakfast, you’ll check out of your “haunted” hotel and continue driving south to the England’s lovely southeast and enter the county of Kent. Your first stop is Leeds Castle, which is said to also be one of the most haunted castles in England. The castle’s beauty is marred by the ghost of a black dog, supposedly an omen of death. Then, it’s on to lovely Pluckley Village, the ‘most haunted village in England’. You’ll visit the Black Horse Inn, haunted by a ghostly prankster who delights in hiding the personal possessions of staff and customers alike, and has even locked the landlady out of her pub on more than one occasion. Tonight, we’ll book you in at Elvey Farm, also a reputedly haunted inn. (Ashford B&B: Elvey Farm or 4-star equivalent.)
Day 9 – Final Destination: London – If you’ve survived the spooky night at Elvey Farm, this morning after a hearty English breakfast, you’ll drive to the Hellfire Caves in Buckinghamshire. You may remember the TAPS team verifying the haunting of this underground lair. On entering the Caves, long winding passages lead deep underground for over half a mile, through the great Banqueting Hall and past various chambers. In these you will find scenes with various members of the Hellfire Club. The final destination is the Inner Temple which is reached by crossing the River Styx. You are now several hundred feet below the Church on top of the hill. The Hellfire Caves are deep, dark and mysterious. Then it’s on to Hampton Court Palace. Built in 1525, the famous Haunted Gallery at Hampton Court Palace is reputedly stalked by the spirit of Catherine Howard, who was executed on February 13th, 1542, by King Henry VIII, apparently enraged by her pre-marital affairs. Visitors to the room have described hearing screams and seeing apparitions in the gallery. Additionally, security cameras caught an unexplained apparition in December 2003 that, to this day, cannot be explained by anyone, including the palace’s staff or management. Late this afternoon, you’ll drop off your rental car in London and check in to your home for the next 3 nights, which is coincidentally, located right next to the very haunted Tower of London! (London Hotel: Guoman/Thistle Tower or 4-star equivalent.)
Day 10 – London’s Haunts – After a full English breakfast, take a trip down the River Thames to Greenwich. Visit the National Maritime Museum where you will find the Tulip Staircase. There you’ll see the staircase where a famous photograph was taken by Rev. Ralph Hardy, a retired clergyman from White Rock, British Columbia in 1966. He intended merely to photograph the elegant spiral staircase (known as the "Tulip Staircase") in the Queen's House section of the museum. Upon development, however, the photo revealed a shrouded figure climbing the stairs, seeming to hold the railing with both hands. Experts, including some from Kodak, who examined the original negative, concluded that it had not been tampered with. It's been said that unexplained figures have been seen on occasion in the vicinity of the staircase, and mysterious footsteps have also been heard. Take a few snapshots of your own… who knows what will ‘develop’. Tonight, stop by the Viaduct Tavern. The TAPS team stopped by this old pub during their time in London. It dates from 1875, and is the last example of a late Victorian gin palace left in the City of London. It is also prone to suffer from bouts of poltergeist activity. The restless spirit that haunts the Viaduct Tavern has a propensity to haunt the pub’s cellars where several members of staff have experienced its unwelcome attentions. (London Hotel: Guoman/Thistle Tower or 4-star equivalent.)
Day 11 – London’s Tower – Today, you’ll explore one of the most visited and haunted locales in the city of London, the Tower of London. Grim, grey and awe-inspiring, the Tower has dominated the London landscape and the pages of history, since its construction by William the Conqueror in 1078. Ghosts who still hang around are those of its royal past and are said to have been murdered at The Tower, including Henry VI, the “Little Princes” (Edward V, age 12 and Richard Duke of York, age 10), who are thought to have been murdered in 1483 on the probable command of the Duke of Gloucestershire, Anne Boleyn (one of King Henry VIII’s former wives), Sir Walter Raleigh, and many more. Tonight, you’ll take a walk with one of the most renowned experts on the subject of ghost hunting, Richard Jones. Richard Jones’ Ghost Tour features storytelling at its very best, and is guaranteed to send a shiver down the spine and a chill to the marrow. (London Hotel: Guoman/Thistle Tower or 4-star equivalent.)
Day 12 – Fare Thee Well – This morning after a full English breakfast, we’ve arranged an airport transfer to London’s Heathrow airport. We hope you’ve captured some amazing evidence and we know that you’ll just be dying to come back. (For additional tour days, please inquire with us.)
NOTE: Ireland can be added to this tour to complete the Ghost Hunters’ sites visited, including Leap Castle and Lisheen Castle Ruins… inquire with Tour Manager.
For further information on this tour, contact Across the Pond Vacations at 310-791-6101, or e-mail info@atpvacations.com. www.atpvacations.com
Posted by jaggerdiggydog
