MYSTERIOUS WALES
Land of Merlin

A Mystical Tour in the Realm of Dragons, Druids and Saints
May 14 – 23, 2024

2 Spaces Open

Tour operated in cooperation with Gothic Image Tours

Wales is a magical land of hills, mountains, valleys and coasts. The rugged mountains of Snowdonia and the green hills of South and Mid-Wales have been peopled for millennia, and mythologies of giants, dragons, druids, saints and magical characters are woven into their fabric – and even into their place-names.

This is the land of the Mabinogion, the ancient mystical saga of the Welsh people, of Merlin the Sage, of cromlechs, stone circles, holy wells, waterfalls and many secret and magic places.

Wales is a green, watery country – its rivers, coastline and periodic soft rains are unforgettable. When you visit Wales, it feels like you’re coming home – even if you’re ancestors come from elsewhere.

Highlights of our small group spiritual tour of Wales include:

• Snowdonia and the Fairy Glen at Betws y Coed
• Druid ceremony at the Moel ty Uchaf stone circle
• Beddgelert and Dinas Emrys with its legends of Merlin, dragons and hidden treasure
• Stone circles and dolmens – Mitchell’s Fold, Pentre Ifan, Arthur’s Stone, Trelleck stones
• Bryn Celli Ddu and Beaumaris Castle on the Druid Isle of Anglesey
• St David’s Cathedral
• Gower Peninsula and Carmarthen, the city of Merlin
• Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley
• Tarot readings in sacred sites, which reveal insights into your own spiritual journey.

Your Tour Hosts

Jamie George
Director of Gothic Image Tours, Jamie has been taking spiritual pilgrims on tours since the mid 1980s. “It’s been an honour to journey with so many interesting and inspiring people, helping them tune in to the history, mystery and magic of ancient sacred places, where every site has a story to tell. I imagine myself coming there for the first time, and if you put yourself in that position, all kinds of things can open up. For me, it’s a dance between memory and revelation. Some of the most memorable times are those when we’re just having fun. You find yourself laughing and joking because you’re opening up, you’re becoming much more at one with yourself and the land. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of organising this mystical Ireland tour many times and look forward to warmly welcoming you to this magical land.”

Linda Marson
A professional Tarot reader, teacher, video producer and founder of Global Spiritual Studies, Linda has been in a working partnership with Gothic Image Tours since 2013. “The Tarot cards tell a story about the universal human journey…from the big challenges in life to the mundane,” she says. “Travel is a way of life for me and those 78 cards are my favourite travel companions. Consulting the Tarot as you travel can yield amazing insights into stuff that’s going on in your life. Think of those cards as a GPS, one that puts you in the driver’s seat and alerts you to road blocks and shortcuts to where you want to be in your life.” During this mystical Ireland tour, Linda facilitates a process for using Tarot to explore the messages sacred sites and landscapes have for each person.

Your Tour Guests

Kristoffer Hughes is Chief of the Anglesey Druid Order, a Mount Haemus Scholar, and a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. He is a teacher, writer, workshop leader, and guest speaker at Pagan conferences, camps, and festivals throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America. Kristoffer has also contributed to Welsh and English television and radio. He’s the author of four books and the creator of the Celtic Tarot. He works professionally for Her Majesty’s Coroner service and is a teacher of Death Midwifery. He lives on the isle of Anglesey just off the northern coast of Wales. Kristoffer joins us for the Druid ceremony at Bryn Celli Ddu on Anglesey.

Halo Quin is a storyteller, singer-songwriter, author, and bard who facilitates pagan rituals and storytelling circles and events in West Wales. An initiated witch and a druid in the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, Halo has been fascinated by myth, magic, folk and fairytale since childhood, teaching magic and witchcraft through her online school, The Enchanted Academy at festivals, conferences, and events. She has officially been a storyteller since a summer in an Iron Age roundhouse, over a decade ago. Her published works include Gods and Goddesses of Wales and Faeries, Folktales, and Spirits and she hosts the annual Goblin Masquerade each spring, near the petrified forest from the legendary land under the sea known as Cantre’r Gwaelod. Halo joins us near Carmarthen.

Our Wales Tour Itinerary

DAY 1: Tuesday, May 14: To Montgomery (B,D)
Rendezvous at 1PM at Bristol Airport at Ritazza café on the ground floor at the arrivals end of the concourse, Travel across the Bristol Channel into southern Wales and north to Montgomery.
Overnight: Montgomery

DAY 2: Wednesday, May 15: To Betws y Coed (B,D)
We drive to Betws y Coed where we visit the nearby Fairy Glen, with its impressive waterfalls and magic atmosphere. The thickly wooded gorge is a protected wildlife site and has a large population of rare ferns and lichens. Flowering plants include globeflower and early purple orchid. Otters have been reported to have been sighted at the spot. As you walk down the path and sit by the water it’s easy to slip into another dimension where you hear the faeries and sprites sending whispered messages from the trees around you.
Overnight: Betws y Coed

DAY 3: Thursday, May 16: In Betws y Coed (B,D)
We drive through the rocky mountain passes of Snowdonia and over the Menai Bridge to visit the Isle of Anglesey or Mona, one of the last vestiges of Celtic/Druid religion in Roman times.The Druids controlled the trade in gold that passed through Wales on its way from the Wicklow Hills in Ireland to the east and thence over the North Sea to Europe. Being in charge of this key economic trade made them a natural target. We meet our guest Kristoffer Hughes, author and Head of the Anglesey Druid Order, who joins us for a Beltane ceremony at the impressive chambered cairn Bryn Cellli Dhu. We also visit St Seirol’s holy well on the eastern tip of Anglesey and, if time permits, another ancient site on the island.
Overnight: Betws y Coed.

DAY 4: Friday, May 17: To Harlech (B,D)
Onwards through Snowdonia, via Dinas Emrys to Beddgelert. There are very few actual remains of the ancient hill fort Dinas Emrys, but the location plays a vital role in Arthurian and Welsh mythology. The 5th century King Vortigern was trying to build a castle here, but the walls kept mysteriously falling down. A boy wizard – Merlin – identified the problem: two dragons, one red and one white, fighting in a pool beneath the castle. The red dragon won, and became the symbol of the fight against the Saxon foe.
Overnight: Harlech

DAY 5: Saturday, May 18: To St David’s (B,D)
We travel south along the scenic coast to Aberystwyth on our way to Nevern in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. Here we visit the town’s ancient church, with its bleeding yew trees and Celtic crosses. Saint Brynach, a sixth century Welsh saint is traditionally associated with Pembrokeshire. We visit the classic megalithic dolmen Pentre Ifan and travel on to the small cathedral city of St David’s.
Overnight: St David’s

DAY 6: Sunday, May 19: In St David’s (B,D)
At St David’s we visit the cathedral named after Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, who was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw during the 6th century. We also visit the holy well and chapel of St Non, who, according to Christian tradition, is the mother of St David. The ruin is thought to be on the site of St Non’s house and is one of the oldest Christian buildings in Wales. In medieval times the chapel was one of the main sites visited by Christian pilgrims. Free time in the afternoon.
Overnight: St David’s.

DAY 7: Monday, May 20: To near Swansea (B,D)
We travel on to the scenic Gower peninsula , the first place in Britain to be designated as an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’. The Gower Peninsula is a sacred place, imbued with myth and ancient mysticism. Its landscape contains a plethora of holy wells, standing stones, megalithic burial tombs and ritual cairns. Embroidered onto this hugely evocative series of archaeological monuments is a fascinating tapestry of folklore, ghost stories and faery tales. En route to the Gower Peninsula we stop at Carmarthen the city of Merlin. Caerfyrddin, as the town is known in Welsh, became associated with Merlin (Welsh Myrddin), especially after it was given currency in the 12th century by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his History of the Kings of Britain. The Black Book of Carmarthen contains Arthurian legends and tales of the Mabinogion including Merlin, a character who is sometimes a prophet and sometimes a ‘wild man of the woods’. This afternoon Halo Quin is our guest.
Overnight: near Swansea

DAY 8: Tuesday, May 21: Near Swansea (B,D)
Still on the Gower Peninsula, we visit the Parc le Breos chambered burial mound dating back more than 5,000 years. Analysis of human remains found at the cromlech (or dolmen) show the tomb to have been accessed for up to 800 years We also visit Maen Cetty or Arthur’s Stone. Legend says that the stone claims its name from King Arthur, who found a rock in his shoe and threw it all the way from Carmarthenshire, straight over the Burry Estuary, to Cefn Bryn. Touched by the hand of King Arthur, the stone physically grew with pride and the surrounding stones raised it high with admiration. Free time in the afternoon. Overnight: near Swansea

DAY 9: Wednesday, May 22: To Bristol (B,D)
We travel towards Bristol in England. En route we visit the Trelleck stones and holy well in south- east Wales and the graceful riverside Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley. Dating back to 1131 and founded by Cistercian monks, the ruined abbey is a peaceful and much-blessed spot. Overnight: near Bristol.

DAY 10: Thursday, May 23:  (B)
After breakfast we depart for Bristol Airport for international, domestic flights and transfers. We arrive by 10am in time for flight departures from 1pm onwards.

Please note: We reserve the right to vary the itinerary as necessary to provide the best possible experience under the circumstances prevailing at the time.

Tour includes:

• Quality, comfortable accommodation
• Coach travel
• Full English breakfasts and dinners each day
• Entrance fees
• Guide fees, taxes and gratuities (excl. driver)
• Plus protection by BMSJ’s $1,000,000 per traveler Errors & Omissions coverage

What to expect on the tour

We always spend a good amount of time at each site so that you benefit fully from the ambience and subtle magic of the experience. Ours are not “now you see it – now you don’t” tours. Our focus is on experiencing the ‘spirit of place’ and the peculiar enchantment that each site offers, and learning something from it.

We visit inspiring locations where the ancient spirits of each place still reside. In addition, some of you will be returning to the homes of your ancestors. This can raise spiritual and emotional issues. On our tours we seek to build a supportive atmosphere, and your fellow travellers tend to be of a supportive and understanding disposition. At different sites that we visit, you will be given opportunity for reflection and peace. This inner dimension is what makes our tours especially memorable – a pilgrimage and nourishment for the soul.

The pace is not rushed. There are some areas where we climb steps or hills, but otherwise each site is easily accessible and within walking distance from the coach. Nevertheless, you will get some physical exercise!

We reserve the right to vary the itinerary as necessary, to provide the best possible experience under the
circumstances prevailing at the time.

Please read the Terms and Conditions for this tour.

** Bonus! SAVE! You will receive a 5% discount if ALL payments are made by check or money order. This discounted price is noted below in red.

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PRICING

ALL INCLUSIVE PRICES FOR 10 DAYS (LAND ONLY)
All pricing is in US$

Price Per Person

Double Occupancy: $3,839 by check or money order, $4,039 by credit card
Single Occupancy: $4,558 by check or money order, $4,797 by credit card

Special Discounts

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL DISCOUNT (if prepaid by December 31, 2023)

Price Per Person
Double Occupancy: $3,699 by check or money order, $3,899 by credit card
Single Occupancy: $4,419 by check or money order, $4,649 by credit card

FIRST NON-REFUNDABLE PAYMENT
(Due as soon as possible in order to ensure a place on the tour)
Per Person Double or Single Occupancy: $700 by check or money order, $735 by credit card

FINAL PAYMENT

BALANCES for payments (other than Early Bird reservation, for which the total balance is due in full by December 31, 2023)
are due on or before March 14, 2024  as per your invoice.

After you register online you will automatically be re-directed for payment by mail-in check or secure online credit or debit card payment.

Only 2 Spaces Available:
1 Single & 1 Shared Twin

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Photo credit:
Pentre Ifan dolmen: Dave from Leicester, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons