Overview
Somewhere in North Wales there is a chapel where your family were married, a parish register with their names in it, and a field or a quarry where they worked. We take you there.
The research comes first. For over ten years we have worked with Segontium Searchers, run by the genealogist Keith Morris, who traces families through the parish and civil records, census returns and archives of north-west Wales. Once Keith has found where your ancestors lived, worshipped, worked and are buried, we build a private day around those exact places, and he can join you on it.
The journey
Segontium Searchers are professional genealogists specialising in family history research across Caernarfonshire, Anglesey, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Merionethshire, drawing on the Caernarfon and Conwy Record Offices and the University Archives at Bangor. Their work also extends across England and Wales, and they have carried out research projects for clients all over the world.
Celticos designs and delivers bespoke, guided tours of North Wales. Once we know where your ancestors lived, worshipped, worked and are buried, we build a private itinerary around those exact places.
How the process works
Research with Segontium Searchers. Keith traces your family history, digging into parish and civil records, wills, census returns and local archives to build a documented picture of your ancestors: the family homes, the schools, the churches and graveyards where marriages, baptisms and funerals took place, and the places they worked.
Handover to Celticos. Once the research is complete, Segontium Searchers share the findings with you. Where you choose to go on to a tour, we work hand in hand with Keith to build the itinerary for your day among those sites.
Your tour, built around your family. We design a private, guided itinerary around the places the research uncovered, with the wider history, landscape and culture of Wales worked in, so you see how your ancestors lived as well as where.
Guided by Celticos and Keith. As with all our tours, you are accompanied throughout, with the logistics, transport and pacing of the day handled for you.
Why we work this way
Genealogical research and running a tour are different skills. Archive research takes patience, local knowledge of the record offices, and an eye for the small details that separate one family line from another. A tour takes a different kind of local knowledge: routes, access, timing, and how to bring a place to life for the people standing in it. We set aside an extra day, separate from the tour itself, to pin down the exact spots and arrange access to properties, churches and graveyards.
So instead of trying to do both under one roof, we work closely with a specialist we know and trust. After more than ten years together we understand each other's standards, and Keith's research gives us what we need to build a tour around your family rather than a generic one. Segontium Searchers do the research and we do the tour, and both get done properly.
Getting started
If you would like to explore your Welsh ancestry, you can begin with Segontium Searchers' research service, or get in touch with us and we will help you through the whole process.
- Group size
- Up to 7 guests
- Vehicle
- Mercedes V-Class
Includes
- Expert bilingual local guide
- Travel in a Mercedes V-Class
- Daily pick-ups & drop offs
- Fully customisable
Excludes
- Flights, transfers and accommodation
- Food and drink
- Entry fees to attractions
- Ancestry & genealogy
- Heritage & culture
Videos
What guests say
We were finally able to make our trip to Wales happen! We found Celticos on the internet. John worked with us prior to our trip, helping us plan our “ancestry tour” and introduced us to Keith who was able to fill in some missing pieces on my tree. My goal was to visit homes where my ancestors once lived. The trip met far more than my expectations. Everyone was so kind and welcoming! John was fantastic at finding churches and homes, maneuvering the tightest “roads” pointing out so many interesting facts along the way. For me to see the home my great great grandmother lived in, to find her grave at the little church nearby, to see the church where so many ancestors were baptized married and buried still gives me goosebumps. Thank you John and Keith for helping this journey become a reality.
My tour was an amazing tour of my Welsh ancestry. We visited many sites related to my family's life in Wales before they came to the United States. It was thrilling to walk in the places that they would have lived, worked, and worshipped.
Richard was so friendly and personable. It was obvious from the beginning that he loves Wales and was happy to welcome us to his country.
I will never forget this tour and the great memories we made!
My sister and I hired Celticos to take us to visit the home of our grandfather in a remote Welsh village in the mountains. John's enthusiasm and expertise made our visit to the land of our grandparents exciting and memorable. John went above and beyond what any tour professional would do to make our experience the best it could be. Most impressive was that he visited the home of my grandfather ahead of our arrival to confirm its location and to assure that our visit there would be welcome to the current owner. And when the day came and heavy rains were in the forecast, he adjusted our entire itinerary to be sure we’d get to this place (our ultimate destination) before roads became flooded possibly making the ancestral home inaccessible. That visit was amazing and we will be forever grateful for this extraordinary experience! John is the best!
We had a fabulous trip through Wales, thanks to John and Celticos! We really appreciated that John is a native of Wales, knowledgeable and an experienced guide – not to mention being a kind, considerate and enjoyable person to travel with. He communicated with us many times during the planning process, always quickly and clearly, to ensure we would see and experience all the “must do’s” as well as the things on our wish list. He also gave us advice and new ideas, as he learned our interests and adjusted our itinerary both before and even during our tour to work around rainy days and to accommodate what we wanted to do each day. He went above and beyond to investigate and get input from an expert and was able to take us to the location of our ancestor’s farm and church burial sites – that was an amazing experience for our family. We had so much fun learning some of Wales’ amazing history, trying to learn a few words and listen to his fluent Welsh language, and Welsh songs, as we saw this beautiful country. John even took us to many of the best places for excellent local and historic dishes to try – we loved them! We highly recommend John for a fantastic trip through Wales!
Research into my Griffiths family history began in the early 1980s, prompted by my Dad who told me his grandfather John Griffiths was a butcher who came from Bangor, North Wales and his grandmother Mary Williams came from Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey. Sadly, he knew little else about them and regretted not asking more questions when his father and grandmother were alive. In those early, pre-computer years we spent many hours searching microfiche indexes and scrolling through countless rolls of microfilm. Gradually, over many years, we began to piece together snippets of information to build our family tree.
Having continued my family history research and with the recent assistance of Keith, I have gathered an extensive collection of facts including family names, births, marriages and deaths, dates and places.
When planning a recent visit from Australia to the UK, Wales was on top of the list of places to visit and explore streets, cemeteries and churches related to my family history. But with limited time in Wales, we opted for a one-day Celticos family history tour with our Celticos guide and Keith, who did all the planning and organising.
We were picked up by our Celticos guide, who told us he was sworn to secrecy about the itinerary, and with Keith as our guide the day unfolded as a magical mystery tour. We visited so many places in Caernarfon, Bangor and Anglesey: churches, cemeteries, streets and houses we would never have found by ourselves. It was thanks to Alwyn and Keith's extensive research and local knowledge that it became possible to connect the lives of ancestors with each location.
Thanks so much for putting together the tour itinerary AND finding the impossible-to-find locations AND including so many surprises in one day!
We thoroughly enjoyed our guide. Our time with them was outstanding! He was so knowledgeable about Wales. If he didn't have the answer on the spot he would find it asap! He was very warm and easy to get to know, one of a kind, he was very welcoming and felt like part of the family by the time we departed. Keith did a wonderful job on the family ancestry, so much information! If we were to do it over we wouldn't change a thing! Always wondered about why our family left Wales at such a young age. Now I understand. Thank you for an unforgettable experience.
Frequently asked questions
- What happens before the tour?
Most of the work happens before you arrive. Keith's research and our planning go back and forth with you by email, and the final itinerary and instructions are sent before the touring dates.
- Can we change the itinerary?
Yes. Every tour we run is customised, so treat this itinerary as a starting point. Tell us what interests you and we will build the days around it.
- Can this tour be combined with other tours, or made longer or shorter?
Yes. A day tour can be built into a multi-day tour, and a multi-day tour can be shortened, extended or joined to another. Tell us how many days you have and we will plan around them.
- Are admission fees included?
No. Entry to castles, gardens and other attractions is paid on the day, where a fee applies. Many of the castles are cared for by Cadw, and we can advise on the best-value tickets when you book.
- Is food included?
No. As we tour we will suggest eating places that our guests have enjoyed.
- What should we wear and bring?
Sensible footwear for some light walking, and a rain jacket, just in case.
- How much walking is involved?
Some, and none of it strenuous: the walk from the car to a castle gate or a viewpoint. If walking is a concern, tell us and we will plan the stops accordingly.
- Where should we stay?
Somewhere central, so that touring time is not spent driving to the start. Our accommodation advice lists places our guests have used, and we are happy to suggest a base for your tour.
