|
 DAY
01: NORTH AMERICA / LONDON.
We begin our British Isles
Tour by boarding our trans-Atlantic flight to London.
DAY 02: LONDON / SALISBURY / BATH /
BRISTOL AREA.
Upon arrival at London's Heathrow Airport
we are met by our tour escort and motor coach. We will drive swiftly to
the market town of Salisbury to visit its Cathedral, which has the
tallest spire in England. Then on across Salisbury Plains to mysterious
Stonehenge to visit the fascinating collection of ancient monoliths
placed there nearly 2,000 years before the birth of Christ. They were
once used to calculate the eclipses and equinoxes. We continue via the
beautiful Georgian town of Bath set upon the River Avon in a natural
amphitheatre of steep hills, to Bristol, rich in seafaring tradition and
linked with the colonization of America. We will visit the New Room,
Wesley's first chapel built in 1739. This is the least changed
Methodist shrine. When John and Charles Wesley preached in the New Room
during the early years of Methodism, they inspired many people to join
them. The New Room was also the center for John's work in the training
of lay preachers. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in the area.
DAY 03: BRISTOL AREA / OXFORD / STRATFORD
/ COVENTRY. Leaving the
Bristol area we drive via Gloucester to visit the small church from
which Robert Raikes launched the Sunday School movement and where an
early Women's Missionary Movement had its beginnings. It is here also
that George Whitfield lit the fires of the revival movement. On to the
university town of Oxford, where we will visit Lincoln College where you
can imagine him as a gowned figure presiding over the Holy Club which
consisted of a few fellow students nicknamed "Methodists". See the John
Wesley memorial room and College Chapel before also visiting Christ
College where John graduated in 1724. We then skirt the picturesque
Cotswolds area on our way to Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of the Bard
William Shakespeare. We will visit his birthplace, see the 16th century
Harvard House, the Guildhall and other points of interest in this
beautiful old market town with numerous timbered old buildings. A short
drive then brings us to Coventry, where we will visit the new cathedral
designed by Sir Basil Spence which is situated next to the old one
destroyed by the tremendous air raids of World War II. Dinner and
overnight at our hotel in Coventry.
DAY 04: COVENTRY / CHESTER / LAKE
DISTRICT. Our journey today
takes us swiftly to West Bromwich to visit the childhood home of Francis
Asbury, founder of the American Methodist Church. He sailed for America
in 1771 and spent his life spreading the Methodist message, traveling
more than a quarter of a million miles on horseback and preaching nearly
18,000 sermons; in 1784 he was ordained a Methodist Bishop in America
and died in 1816 at the age of 71. We then continue to the fascinating
old city of Chester, where our sightseeing will include the medieval
walls that completely enclose Chester, the "magpie" houses - so called
because of their black timbers and white plasters - the 12th century
Cathedral and St. John's, an impressive Norman church. Then we travel
to the renowned Lake District, favorite area of poets, writers and
artists, for dinner and overnight.
DAY 05: LAKE DISTRICT / CARLISLE /
EDINBURGH.
We have a scenic tour through the Lake
District National Park, a lovely region of inland water, forests and
mountains. We will see Lake Windemere, the largest lake in the area,
and then drive through the quaint old town of Ambleside and the
picturesque village of Grasmere on the fringe of Lake Grasmere to the
pleasant old town of Keswick situated on the wooded shores of
Derwentwater. After passing through Carlisle, we depart England at
Gretna Green, the village famous for its "runaway" marriage ceremonies,
and enter the land of the kilts - Scotland. We head for Edinburgh, the
city of Sir Walter Scott, John Knox and Robert Louis Stevenson, amongst
many others. Dinner and overnight in Edinburgh.
DAY 06: EDINBURGH.
Our morning sightseeing tour of Edinburgh will include a visit to
Edinburgh Castle; we also see the Palace of Holyrood House, so
tragically associated with the reign of the Stuarts. We drive to the
Scott Monument, Princes Street, St. Giles Cathedral (Thistle Chapel),
the prestigious Edinburgh University, Greyfriars and the Mound. This
afternoon is at leisure for shopping or other independent activities.
Dinner and overnight in Edinburgh.
DAY 07: EDINBURGH / YORK / HARROGATE
AREA.
Today we drive to Abbotsford, the
turreted mansion built by Sir Walter Scott and his home until his death
there in 1832. We then continue southward through the wind-swept
Cheviot Hills to Newcastle and on across Yorkshire's high open moors to
York, founded on Roman and Viking towns. Our sightseeing of York
includes a visit to the Minster with its majestic towers and priceless
stained glass windows, and a walking tour through medieval streets where
the upper stories of houses lean precariously across the roadway towards
each other. The names are fascinating - Stonegate, Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate
and Shambles, the old butchers quarter. We then drive the short
distance to the floral town of Harrogate for dinner and overnight.
DAY 08: HARROGATE AREA / EPWORTH /
LONDON. Today's drive takes
us southward through the Midlands to Epworth in Lincolnshire, birthplace
of John and Charles Wesley. The Old Rectory was rebuilt in 1709 after a
fire (from which the young John Wesley was rescued) has destroyed the
earlier house. Here we will visit the Old rectory, Memorial and Parish
Churches; it was here in Epworth that the seeds of songwriting were
sown in Charles Wesley's mind. Continue to the University city of
Cambridge. We will have some time at leisure here to stroll around this
beautiful old city, perhaps viewing one of its many colleges, or just
strolling along the "Backs", a picturesque area on the River Cam.
Continue to London overnight and dinner on your own.
DAY 09: LONDON. Our morning sightseeing tour of England's exciting
capital city will include Marble Arch, Mayfair, Piccadilly, the Houses
of Parliament and Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the
Guard ceremony (if held). The highlight of our tour will be a
visit to Westminster Abbey. The afternoon is dedicated to the
Wesley sites - we will visit Wesley's Chapel and house and Museum of
World Methodism, the Mother Church of World Methodism and the house
where John Wesley lived from 1779 until his death in 1791 and which has
been refurbished as it was in Wesley’s day – the Museum tells the story
of Methodism from the 18th to 20th centuries. The
tomb of John Wesley is in the churchyard. We also see Bunhill Fields
with the graves of Susanne Wesley, John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe. Our
tour concludes with Aldersgate Street, Charter House School that John
attended, St. Luke's - Wesley's Parish Church - and Susanna's
birthplace. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 10: LONDON / USA. This morning we transfer to
the airport for our return flight to the United States at the end of our
enjoyable tour. |
