15 Day British Isles and Ireland

DAY BY DAY ITINERARY
This is a partial list, and subject to change as needed to accomplish everything we can in each area we visit. We will have local guides who will make sure we see the very best in the time we have.

Day 1 – Today we fly to London.

Day 2 – We have an early morning arrival into Gatwick airport.  After arrival we will spend the day in London.  We will have a city tour with a full visit to the infamous Tower of London, a castle, prison and the most famous execution site in Europe.  You will have the opportunity to see the English Crown Jewels.  Our next stop is the British Library, home to the greatest documents in the English language and world from the original lyrics of the Beatles, to the notebooks of Da Vinci, to the Magna Charta, to the oldest New Testament in existence.  If time permits we will stop at the British Museum, unquestionably the home of the greatest cultural treasures from around the world, including the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon and the Rosetta Stone, key to breaking the meaning of Egyptian Hieroglyphics.  We will end the day in a Marriott Hotel.

Day 3 –.  We will start this morning with a visit to Runnymede, the meadow where King John was forced by the barons to sign the Magna Charta, the foundation document of English freedom.  We then travel the short distance to Windsor Castle, home of the Kings and Queens of England for centuries.  In the afternoon we take a walking tour of Oxford, the college town of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, William Tyndale, Lewis Carroll and dozens of other great English thinkers. Oxford was the scene of the most famous martyrdoms in English Protestant history for it was here Archbishop Cranmer was burned at the stake along with Bishops Latimer and Ridley.  It was also used in Harry Potter films.  At the end of the day we will return to our Marriott Hotel. 

Day 4 – This morning early we will depart to ancient Stonehenge, the mysterious circle of stones that still carries the aura built into it over four thousand years ago.  We will then travel to Southern Wales and visit the Tintern Abbey.  The afternoon will be spent visiting the most significant LDS church history sites in England and enjoy a drive through the English countryside.  We visit Benbow’s Farm where Wilford Woodruff baptized over 600 members of the United Brethren Church.  We will also stop at the Gadfield Elm Chapel, the oldest LDS chapel in the world.  We will then travel to our Hilton Resort and Golf Club near Tewkesbury. 

Day 5 – This morning we will travel the short distance to Warwick Castle, perhaps England’s most famous.  You’ll have time to explore the towers and dungeon and watch demonstrations of medieval archery, catapults, sword fighting and falconry.  In the afternoon we travel to the literary center of England, Stratford-Upon-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare.  You will have hours to roam the Tudor streets, have some fish and chips in a local pub, shop, visit Shakespeare’s grave, his grammar school, his home, or just amble along the River Avon.  Early this evening we will return to our Hilton Hotel. 

Day 6 – This morning we are off to Northern Wales and the castle and walled town of Conwy.  Built by Edward I as part of a ring of castles to cower the Welsh into submission, Conwy stirs images of the legends of King Arthur, for Wales was the origin of the famous Camelot stories.  After climbing the towers for a view of the sea we head for Liverpool.  Though home of the Beatles, Liverpool is most famous as the scene of thousands of hope-filled and tear-stained goodbyes as immigrants poured through its docks to sail to America and a new life.  The Albert Docks still carry the memory of the sounds and sights of tall-masted ships bulging with cargo and small knots of families settling on board for the long voyage down the Mersey River and across the Atlantic.  Later this afternoon we will reach our Marriott Hotel in Leeds. 

Day 7 – Our morning will begin with a tour of York, one of the best preserved medieval cities in the United Kingdom.  We will visit the famous Minster Cathedral the largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe, almost one thousand years old.  It contains the oldest and some of the most beautiful stained glass in England.  After our tour you will have time to walk the streets and lanes on your own enjoying the atmosphere of this remarkable medieval city.  This evening we return to our Marriott Hotel.

Day 8 – An early morning departure starts us on our way to the Lake District of northern England. Here John Taylor spent his boyhood before moving to Canada.  We will take a boat ride on Windermere Lake then on to Grasmere, home of William Wordsworth.  The stunning beauty of this area inspired the age of the Romantic poets as well as Beatrix Potter whose farm lay just to the West of Lake Windermere.  Leaving the mountain stillness of the lakes we turn east toward Newcastle.  We will stop at a section of Hadrian’s Wall, built in the second century C.E.by Roman legionnaires which marked the farthest northern reach of the Roman Empire.

Day 9 – We drive this morning along the eastern coast of England to our first stop, Alnwick Castle.  This was the home of the Percy family and its most famous son Harry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur.  Today it is best known as the location for filming numerous castle scenes of Harry Potter.  It is located in green rolling hills and you will have time to visit both the fortifications and the interior of the main castle.  In the afternoon we cross the border into the lowlands of Scotland to stop at Rosslyn Chapel, who’s intricate and mysterious carvings were used in the Da Vinci Code.  Crossing Scotland towards the west we arrive in Glasgow where we overnight in the 5 star Radisson Hotel.

Day 10 -. Our morning departure sees us heading north into the Scottish Highlands.  We drive along one of Scotland’s most picturesque lochs, Loch Lomond then further north to Loch Tay.  We will stop in the village of Dunkeld then on to Glamis Castle, childhood home of the Queen Mother.  For the golfing gurus we have planned a stop at St Andrews the birthplace of golf and the most prestigious golf course in the world.  You can walk along the greens and view the Old Clubhouse, or if golf is not your game you can enjoy a walk along the beach.  We head south and into Edinburgh.  Your Carlton Hotel is located right in the middle of the Royal Mile.  It does not get any better than this. 

Day 11 - We have an entire day to enjoy Edinburgh.  We will have a morning tour of the city including Edinburgh Castle. Sir Walter Scott created the mystique of the Scottish clans here and there is a monument to this famous Scott.  Edinburgh is also the city of Greyfriars Bobby and J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter from the upstairs window of a local pub.  You will be free to walk the Royal Mile from Holyrood House, the palace of Mary Queen of Scots, to Saint Giles the church where John Knox’s fiery sermons ignited the Scottish Reformation.  You may choose to go underground and visit the buried city alive with Edinburgh’s famous ghosts.  Overnight in the Carlton Hotel – in the middle of the Royal Mile. 

Day 12 – We leave for a drive south through the countryside of Scotland and England to our ferry landing near  Stranaer.  Here we say goodbye to England and board a ferry to the Emerald Isle of Ireland.  Today will be a highlight day!  We begin our time in Ireland with a spectacular coastal drive along the northeastern shore of the island.  We will visit the Giant’s Causeway, one of the most remarkable geological wonders in Europe.  If time permits we will walk across the picturesque Rope Bridge before visiting Dunluce Castle perched precariously on the cliffs above the sea.  We will overnight in a motel at the top of Northern Ireland.  Sorry there are no Marriott’s, Hilton’s, Radisson’s or Carlton Hotels in this part of the world.

Day 13 – This morning early we will head for Dublin.  Just a little south of Dublin we will visit the ancient Monastery of Glendalough.  The history of Ireland is deeply intertwined with Christian monasteries and the inspiring story of Saint Patrick.  It would be difficult to imagine a setting more peaceful.  You will have time to walk the ruins and sit by the lakes or walk the footpaths once trod by Irish monks whose labors saved much of Western Civilization during the dark centuries following the fall of Rome and the barbarian invasions that swept over Europe.  We return to Dublin to visit Trinity College home of the Book of Kells, a beautifully illuminated manuscript of the New Testament and the greatest treasure of Ireland.  We will also visit the Library whose romance will make you want to open a book and linger with the smells of old leather and ink.  This afternoon we will check into our Radisson (Palace) Hotel where we will spend the next two nights. 

Day 14 – Today is a free day to shop in the old town and enjoy the ancient streets of Dublin.  Dublin is one of the great cities in the world and there is much to see and do.  You could visit the Celtic museum, sample the food in the local pubs or just enjoy your beautiful “Palace” hotel. 

Day 15 – This morning you will fly back to the US and home.