bakers dolphin harry potter tour

Busman's Holiday

The occasional adventures of a heritage bus driver, out and about with bakers dolphin, it’s about time i posted something new so here’s part one of a brief look at some of the outings i had last year with bakers dolphin..

I always look forward to the summer months because this is when most of the work is private hire jobs or Bakers Dolphin ‘Great Days Out’. Writing in February about summer outings reminds me how little I’ve posted about my current full time work with what is now Weston-super-Mare’s only remaining coach operator, so I apologise for that!

I try to take photos at most of the destinations to remind me where I’ve been and, of course, for your benefit dear reader. So, in roughly chronological order, here are some photos from some of my more memorable trips. I’ll aim to post some more later.

Back in June I had the pleasure of taking a coach load of primary school children from Cheddar to the West Somerset Railway. I’ve been there often with Bakers Dolphin – I’m sure that somebody in the Operations Department knows that I like heritage railways! Anyway, I delivered the children to Bishops Lydeard station where they caught the first steam-hauled train of the day to Minehead. While the train steamed 20 miles down the line to Minehead, I drove to meet them and donned a period bus conductor’s uniform in which to welcome them back on the coach. This, as you might guess, went down very well!

If you have ever been to The Making of Harry Potter you will know how popular the tour is, and with good reason too. Based around the film sets at Warner Bros’ Elstree Studios, the tour takes you on a magical journey through many scenes from the films featuring the actual sets and props created for the films. One of the more recent additions has been the Gringotts Bank set which is breathtakingly elaborate.

If I play my cards right, I might get the chance to drive a proper RT later in the year on a local private hire job for Crosville Vintage .

The journey down was a bit fraught due to the remoteness of the centre, which could only be reached by going down a narrow road from Kingsbridge. At one point I was held up for about 20 minutes while traffic from both directions inched through the village of Stokenham.

The American M4 Sherman tank pictured was salvaged from its watery grave in 1984 by Ken Small and stands as a tribute to more than 600 Allied servicemen who died when German E-boats torpedoed and shelled vessels taking part in Exercise Tiger. This was a (supposedly) secret dummy-run for the Normandy invasion.

The day’s drama was not over, as the coach I’d driven down refused to start after my break. However, that’s a story for another day…

One of the many private hire jobs I had last year saw me taking a social club from Weston down to Sherborne Castle . In common with most day trips during term time, I had to do a school contract run first, in this case to Churchill Academy. Having arrived at the castle I parked the coach (see main pic above), one of several Mercedes-Benz Tourismos in the fleet, on the driveway and joined my passengers for a tour of the castle and a wander in the grounds. The castle was built in the 16th century by Sir Walter Raleigh and now showcases 400 years of interior design styles. The grounds were shaped by the legendary Capability Brown and I count myself very fortunate to be able to visit such places as part of my daily work.

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2 comments on “ out and about with bakers dolphin ”.

John, It’s always good to hear stories of your travels. Keep them coming please. Ray

Hi John, Nice to see your reminiscences from your PH work – all very interesting as I know from past experience. I used to do the odd job for the notorious ‘Travellers’ coaches of Hounslow and these involved London sightseeing tours, often with very polite, but appreciative, Japanese visitors. I accompanied a party on a guided tour of St Pauls cathedral on one occasion as I hadn’t been there since I was at school. The guide gave the party all the spiel about the history of the building and stated that it was ‘built’ by Sir Christopher Wren. One of the visitors expressed surprise that one man could have achieved the construction of such a large and magnificent building. When it was explained the Wren was only the architect he was somewhat befuddled that one man should be credited with the work achieved by probably hundreds of artisans. I absolutely agree with his sentiments and more attention should given to the crafstmen who actually created these magnificent buildings for, without them, there would have been nothing to show. I am sure Sir Christopher Wren would have been the first to agree that his artisans should get the credit for the construction of St Pauls and likewise the architects of other historical buildings. There is a difference between the words ‘designed’ and ‘built’ which tour guides need to recognise. The Routemaster bus is largely credited as the work of the late Colin Curtis but, knowing Colin as I did, he would have been the first to acknowledge that without the team in the Chiswick workshops, the RM would never have got off the ground, so to speak. Keep ’em coming, all grist to the mill.

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Warner Bros. Studio Tour London provides an amazing new opportunity to explore the magic of the Harry Potter films - the most successful film series of all time. This unique walking tour takes you behind-the-scenes and showcases a huge array of beautiful sets, costumes and props. It also reveals some closely guarded secrets, including facts about the special effects and animatronics that made these films so hugely popular all over the world.

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Departures From: Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Devon, Wiltshire, Dorset

Bakers Dolphin have won a variety of accolades including 'Holiday Programme of the Year 2012' at the Coach Tourism Awards which demonstrates the commitment they give towards customer expectations and feedback. There are in the process of featuring 40 new and exciting tours to their holiday programme for you to choose from.

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Bakers Dolphin prides itself as being of the oldest and most established travel companies in the south west of England but still retains its family charm whose aim is to make sure that you have a trouble-free holiday from start to finish. You will find a wide range of holidays available to stunning UK and European destinations and their programme of day trips is outstanding. For the ultimate holiday experience, upgrade to their Gold Service and you won't be disappointed.

Bakers Dolphin have a variety of coaches within their fleet that are used for featured holidays as well as for coach hire. Executive coaches featuring a WC on-board will only be used for breaks to Europe, Scotland and Ireland. If you book a UK break or day trip then it is likely that the coach will not feature WC facilities on-board but there will be plenty of comfort stops. More luxurious coaches are used for the Gold Holidays.

2010 – WINNER - Tourism Director of the Year, Coach Tourism Awards

2012 – WINNER – Holiday Programme of the Year, Coach Tourism Awards

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Bakers Dolphin offer a 'Home Pick-up Service' on the majority of their tours which is free of charge as long as you are within a 10 mile radius of the local pick-up point. If you are outside of the 'Home Pick-up Zone' you may still be eligible for collection from your front door for a nominal fee that will be explained to you at the time of booking. There are a variety of local pick-up points available in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

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Bakers Dolphin are members of The Guild of British Coach Operators, the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT), The Consortium of Independent Tour Operators (CITO). Head Office Address: Bakers Dolphin Coach Travel 48 Locking Road Weston-Super-Mare BS23 3DN

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Kingdom of Northumbria & the Scottish Borders GOLD

This tour covers a variety of splendid scenery, contrasting countryside, historic towns, rugged coastlines, rolling hills and quaint northern villages. The ancient Kingdom of Northumbria offers some of the most striking unspoilt beauty in England.

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This holiday covers a variety of splendid scenery, contrasting countryside, historic towns, rugged coastlines, rolling hills and quaint northen villages. The ancient Kingdom of Northumbria offers some of the most striking unspoilt beauty in England.

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6 Days, 5 night's hotel accommodation with dinner, bed & breakfast

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Gold Coach travel with Hostess service

Visit to Alnwick Castle

Visit to the villages of Ford and Etal

Ride on the Heatherslaw steam light railway

Journey through beautiful countryside to the capital of Coquetdale, Rothbury

Magnificent National Trust Cragside House

We depart and make our way to Northumberland where we enjoy 5 nights stay with dinner, bed and breakfast.

During your stay

• Visit to Alnwick and a visit to the delightful Alnwick Gardens, described by the Victorians as the ‘Windsor of the North’. The Castle has recently featured in the Harry Potter films and Alnwick Garden was the inspiration of the Duchess of Northumberland. • Visit to the villages of Ford and Etal, a vast rural estate with Visitor Centre and the Black Bull, Northumberland’s only thatched roof pub. • Lady Waterford Hall, a ride on the Heatherslaw steam light railway and a visit to the Heatherslaw corn mill. • Berwick-upon-Tweed, with its Castles and Towers. • Our excursion takes us across the causeway to Holy Island and the mysterious Lindisfarne Castle – visible in the distancefrom Bamburgh. NOTE: The crossing of the causeway to Holy Island is governed by tide times. It may be necessary to amend this excursion. • Journey through beautiful countryside to the capital of Coquetdale, Rothbury. • Magnificent Cragside House, now in the care of the National Trust. Cragside was the first house to be lit by electricity – a wonder of the Victorian age.

After breakfast we leave and begin our journey home

The Holiday Inn Gosforth Park hotel is an ideal

base for this holiday and facilities include indoor

swimming pool, gym, steam room, sauna and

spa bath. All bedrooms are en suite with TV,

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The hotel has a lift

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'Harry Potter' Is Coming to Food Network with New Show: 'Wizards of Baking'

And the Weasley twins are hosting—wicked! Here's everything we know so far.

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The Food Network has a very exciting lineup of new shows coming out this year (ahem, Selena+Restaurant ), and things are about to get even more magical. Wizards of Baking , the cooking channel's latest production, is a Harry Potter -themed competition show where wizards and Muggles alike compete with baked goods inspired by the Wizarding World itself. 

Announced on Food Network's Instagram on May 15, the post has received nearly 228,000 likes and over 2,100 comments.

Even sweeter than chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Wizards of Baking will be hosted by none other than the Weasley twins from the original movies, James and Oliver Phelps. We can only hope they get up to their usual antics and pranks.

And if you’re a serious Harry Potter fan, you’ll be enchanted to learn that bakers will compete on the films' actual sets. From Gringotts Bank to The Great Hall in Hogwarts itself, contestants are bringing back the magic of the original films—complete with real deal costumes and props. So far, Food Network has confirmed viewers will also get to see Platform 9 ¾ and The Burrow, among other locations from the series. 

Naturally, this means that the new show is being shot in the UK—and it’s still in production right now. There’s no official premiere date, but it appears Food Network plans to release it in time for this year's holiday season (aka Harry Potter -binging season). This gives you plenty of time to reread and rewatch the entire series before the first episode of Wizards of Baking airs. 

As for the goodies themselves, the latest official trailer for the series shows edible Mandrakes and even Hedwig—Harry Potter’s beloved owl—sculpted out of various desserts. They certainly look impressive (though we may feel slightly bad for eating them). You can expect to see many more cakes and pastries depicting your favorite magical creatures and scenes throughout the episodes.

To learn more about Wizards of Baking and tune in for updates on its release, follow Food Network on social media. We’re hoping to see an official release date announced soon. Once it’s out, you’ll be able to stream the series on Max or watch it on The Food Network channel.

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