June 16-27, 2017
Imagine traveling with other wool lovers exploring the countrysides of England, Wales, and Scotland to discover the rich history and modern methods of the wool industry in Great Britain! This will be a “sheep to shawl” experience beginning on the farm and experiencing British wool production all the way to finished products. Our itinerary will include the following:
- A sheep farm in Hampshire utilizing their wool in the production of beautiful hand-dyed yarns (along with homemade cakes, teas, and coffees!)
- Working textile mills with historical exhibits in England, Wales, and Scotland…each with a unique history and each producing yarns and wovens from British wool.
- Wool scouring and combing plant
- Wool dye house
- And the “big event”…Woolfest in Cockermouth, Cumbria!
Throughout our travels, we’ll also visit the sites of London, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Hidcote 
Manor Gardens, the Caernarfon Castle, passage on the steam train from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog, and Edinburgh! Whew! Our trip will conclude with a traditional Scottish dinner and show before we say farewell and depart the next day bound for the United States with an abundance of good memories and new treasures!
Should you decide you want even more, you are invited to stay a few extra optional days to explore Scottish fiber arts, including a visit to Shetland.
The itinerary has been planned with visits at many fiber-related businesses as well as to take in the great scenic beauty of Great Britain. The scenery will be an inspiration to you in designing the hand-dyed and/or hand-spun yarns, handknits, and weaving projects that you engage yourself in following the trip.
Knitters will enjoy participating in our shawl knit-a-long throughout the tour, beginning with the selection of yarn from our farm stop at the beginning of the trip.
You will find this trip to be a very good value when you consider everything that is included such as all breakfasts, one pub lunch, 7 dinners, luxury motorcoach transportation, quality accommodations, our own private tour director and local guides, and all admission fees. AND…CIE Tours will never “up-sell” during a tour. This means that no one will try to sell you additional tours, etc. for an additional fee. These additional tour costs can add hundreds of dollars to your trip cost. AND…the group size will be very limited for this tour with a size ranging from 15-26 travelers. A small group size is a great value in and of itself as you will be able to get “up close and personal” much easier.
Complete information and reservation forms for this amazing journey are below. If you have any questions, please e-mail deb@fibergarden.com.
Trip reservation and deposit due date is January 1, 2017!! This tour is filled! Join us in Scotland in 2018!
- NEW! Added 5/10/2017. Departure Presentation for 6-2017
- New! Added 5/10/2017. Recording of Prepare to Travel Webinar
- Tour communications. These are the e-mail updates sent to tour participants.
- 2017 Great Britain Flyer (Please print and distribute freely!)
- 2017 Itinerary. A day-by-day look at the fabulous places we will be visiting and where we will be lodging.
- Air Transportation.
- 2017 Great Britain FAQs. Answers to many of the questions you might be wondering about.
- Travel Insurance Policy. This is a copy of the policy that will be purchased for travelers requesting insurance. Please take note of the “extra coverage” section on page one that outlines additional coverage provided when the policy is purchased within 15 days of the trip deposit being paid.
- Scotland Optional Five Night Tour Extension Itinerary and Information. June 27- July 2, 2017. This five-night tour is filled with a waiting list. Please e-mail for information on being added to the waiting list.
- Reservation forms. (Includes trip reservation, air transportation information, insurance waiver, credit card authorization.) There is a lot of information covered, but hopefully, we have made it easy to complete. If you have any questions completing the form, don’t hesitate to contact Deb. Space on the tour will be allocated first come, first served based on the date the reservation form is received by the Fiber Garden. Reservations and deposits are due by January 1, 2017! After January 1, 2017, you can contact the Fiber Garden to check for any remaining available space. There are two formats below.
- Reservation Form 2017 Great Britain – Word. The Word document is a form that will allow you to tab through the fields and complete the information in Word. (You might first need to “enable editing”.) Be sure to “save” the form after you complete it! The completed form should be e-mailed to deb@fibergarden.com.
- Reservation Form 2017 Great Britain – PDF. The PDF document can be printed and completed by hand. The finished form can be sent via U.S. mail or faxed to the Fiber Garden. Address and fax information is on the form.