The Unique UNESCO Sites Multi-Day Tour (4 days)

Within a relatively small area encompassing Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, we have an intriguing array of UNESCO sites of very special interest and importance.

During this four day tour, you will be taken to some very different geological environments, hearing and learning about the history of the tin mining industry (yes, think ‘Poldark’!), fossil hunting, and three different species of humankind.

We will take you to an array of beautiful and contrasting environments, including spectacular coastal locations, wild and evocative Moorland, and charming old English communities. This tour offers you a great deal of variety from one hour to the next, and will not only educate you about our fabulous array of UNESCO sites, it will entertain you too - after all, we always try to make sure that our guests are happy on tour.

Day 1: The Jurassic Coast

A day that takes us along some of the fascinating UNESCO status Jurassic Coast, through various geological time zones, and that provides us with the opportunity to go fossil hunting.

This 95 mile stretch of coastline is hugely important in that within the sedimentary rock that’s exposed in the cliffs, the history of Earth is revealed across 185 million years, forming a near complete record of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It is so important that it became England’s first natural World Heritage site back in 2001.

Day 2: The English Riviera Global Geopark

Today we explore the English Riviera UNESCO Geopark contained within beautiful Torbay, visiting Kents Cavern, the UK's most important cave system, Berry Head, an internationally acclaimed heritage site, and various other locations of note.

The key sites of the Geopark provide us with the perfect opportunity to give our guests an insight into its history, formation and environment. To get down into the depths of the Geopark, we pay a visit to Kents Cavern, Britain’s “oldest home” and a key archaeological site where bones of sabre-toothed tiger and mammoth have been unearthed. We also pay a visit to the Napoleonic fort at Berry Head National Nature Reserve in Brixham, revealing the Geopark’s fascinating man-made and natural heritage

Day 3: Cornwall Tin Mining Heritage

Cornwall, along with West Devon, was granted the highest level of UNESCO World Status Heritage in 2006, and covering 20,000 hectares, there is a great deal to see here. For over 200 years from the early 1700s through to the early 1900s, the metal mining industry dominated the lives of thousands of people, and shaped the landscape around them.

During this day we will visit some of the places that have great relevance to this tough and uncompromising industry. We're actually spoilt for choice as to where we go, so we'll plan this day with you, in advance, creating a bespoke itinerary to suit you.

Day 4: Dartmoor National Park

Dartmoor National Park is the perfect place in which to spend your final day of this multi day tour, since it is a place that has been shaped by humankind for thousands of years, and mining has taken place throughout all those years.

On this day we will explore some of the areas that were so busy during the tin mining and granite quarrying period, visiting abandoned communities, and seeing the pits and gullies they dug during those toughest of times. We'll also see evidence of the much earlier Bronze Age residents of Dartmoor, who also left an indelible mark on this most beautiful and atmospheric of national parks.

Tour Information