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 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 2000 years before the birth of Christ. They were
once used to calculate the eclipses and equinoxes. We continue via the
beautiful landscape to Exeter. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 03: EXETER / CORNWALL / BRISTOL. After breakfast we have a full
day visiting the Wesleyan sites in Cornwall. Visit Trewint (Wesley
Cottage), Gwennap Pit near Redruth and Paal Mall Rock close to St.
Ives. We then continue to Bristol for dinner and overnight.
DAY 04: 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 05: COVENTRY / CHESTER / LAKE
DISTRICT / WINDEMERE. 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 in Windemere.
DAY 06: WINDEMERE / 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 07: 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 08: EDINBURGH / ABBOTSFORD / 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
09: 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.
DAY 10: 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 11: LONDON / USA. This morning we transfer to
the airport for our return flight to the United States at the end of our
enjoyable tour. |
