Worldcon 2005 UK - Guided and Fan-Run Tours

Fan-Run and Other Guided Tours

This page has been provided as a resource for members who are looking to join a guided or fan-run tour of Scotland or the UK before or after the convention.

A section on tours is also provided on our LiveJournal forum. This is a good place to look for other people who may be interested in forming a group and coordinating travel arrangements.

Whilst Interaction is pleased to provide this information for members, please note that these tours are not official Interaction events, and therefore Interaction cannot accept any responsibility for them. Any queries should be directed to the relevant provider.

If you would like to recommend any other tours that we should be listing here, please contact us at webmaster@interaction.worldcon.org.uk.

Fan-Run Tour - Ron and Val Ontell

Ron and Val Ontell are trying to put together a group tour around Interaction. Their plans are not yet finalised and they invite people to contact them with questions and ideas.

You can find Ron and Val Ontell's web site here. Here is an extract from their information.

The plan is to visit parts (and we emphasize "parts") of England, Scotland, and Wales. Some of the places and sights being considered are:

England - London (of course) - Tower of London and Crown Jewels, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Queen Mary's Dollhouse, Hampton Court, Oxford, Blenheim Palace, Longleat (one of England's stately homes, with a great maze), Stonehenge and Avebury, the Lake District, Hadrian's Wall
Wales - Ruthin Castle and its medieval banquet, Swansea, Tintern Abbey, Cardiff Castle, Caernarvon Castle, Portmerion (for you Prisoner fans)
Scotland - Edinburgh - Edinburg Castle and the tattoo, Holyrood House, Sir Walter Scott statue, Princes Street, Stirling Castle, Loch Ness, Castle Urquat, Inverness and points north (i.e. the Highlands)

Yes, there will be a visit to a whiskey distillery and/or a woolen mill. We will also be trying to maintain our tradition of dinner with an author. Suggestions are welcome.

Fan-Run Tour - Ken Smookler

Ken Smookler us running a pre-con tour. The full tour will run from July 22 to August 4, 2005, with an option to tour Scotland only from July 28 to August 4.

You can find Ken's web site and tour information here. Here is an extract from the web site.

Take four days in London to see Big Ben, the Thames Gates, the Houses of Parliament, 221 B Baker St, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Globe Theatre, perhaps a show or two and much, much more.

Add on a walking tour of the Ripper murders, the Law courts or any part of historic London that calls out to you.

Spend a day in Stratford (with theatre?), a day in Bath (with the Roman Baths), and much more.

Compare Stonehenge with the even more mysterious stone pillars of Avebury.

Visit King Arthur’s grave among the ley lines of Glastonbury.

Take a train to Scotland and see the English countryside, don’t just fly over it.

Tour Edinburgh and visit the Royal Mile, the Scott monument, Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyrood House and even have time to walk around the city.

Visit a Weaving Mill, take a boat trip on Loch Ness, perhaps a visit to Glenkinchie Whisky (never spell it whiskey) Distillery or enjoy a day in Gleneagles Golf Course.

Do it all, and then transfer to Glasgow, tour that city and settle into the Convention.

Guided Tours - Globus

Globus are one of the world leaders in guided tours. They offer an 8-day tour of Scotland starting and finishing in Glasgow.

The Globus code for this tour is "GG" and you can find information for it on their website here.

The price for the land part of the tour (they also do a flight-inclusive version) is $1,249. There is a departure on 27 July (returning 4 August for the start of the convention) and another on 10 August (finishing 18 August).

Page last updated 17^th March 2005