The Vera Tour

Day 1

Morning departure from your local pickup point, we make our way North to Durham. The remainder of the day is at leisure. The hotel has an excellent position in the centre of the city with many of the attractions just a short walk away. Durham City is home to one of the most recognisable landmarks in the UK, majestic Durham Cathedral. Together with adjacent Durham Castle, this UNESCO World Heritage Site forms one of the most stunning city panoramas in Europe and well worth a visit. Later on, return to the hotel to enjoy a delicious 3 course meal.

Day 2

After breakfast, we head to Newcastle for our four-hour guided Vera tour by coach, where we get behind the scenes information about how the show is made and learn about the history of the places you visit. Ann Cleeves’ brilliant and no-nonsense DCI Vera Stanhope (Actress Brenda Blethyn) in her trademark mac and rain hat has attracted a following of fans all over the world in ITV’s best-loved detective drama. During the Vera tour you will get to visit more than 10 actual locations from episodes such as The Prodigal Son, Changing Tides, Shadows in the Sky, A certain Samaritan, Death of a Family Man or Castles in the Air. You may be surprised to find how many seemingly different scenes were filmed in the same locations over many different seasons.

Some of the crime scenes you can re-visit include where the body was found floating in the Tyne from Death of a Family Man, where the murder victim falls off the top floor of a multi-storey car park in Shadows in the Sky and the body found in the fishing trawler in The Sea Glass.

Throughout the Vera filming location tour, you will be able to get on and off the bus and see the locations up close with plenty of opportunities to take photos. The tour will start and end back in the centre of Newcastle. You can also order your Vera hat online and look the part on your location tour. Please note that there is little walking involved in the tour. Guests will be able to get off the coach and the longest walk is approx 5 minutes.

We stop for a panoramic shot of Newcastle with its iconic seven bridges that are the backdrop to many of Vera’s episodes before having a little free time. Later we rejoin the coach and make our way back to the hotel for our evening meal.

Day 3

After a leisurely breakfast we check out of the hotel and call at Thirsk before returning home.

Includes

Return coach travel
2 nights Marriott Durham half board
Guided Vera Tour in Newcastle
Free time in Newcastle, Durham and Thirsk