Sunday, September 14 - DEPART THE USA
Depart on your international overnight flight.
Monday, September 15 - ARRIVE IN ENGLAND
Arrive in London and enjoy time in London to rest, and explore, on your own. Check in to your hotel.
Tuesday, September 16 - OXFORD
Begin your journey north to Oxford. On the way, stop at the Wynyard School where Jack (C.S. Lewis) and his brother, Warren, attended a miserable boarding school. Check into your hotel for an overnight stay.
(Breakfast and Dinner Included)
Wednesday, September 17 - OXFORD
This morning, you will enjoy a walking tour of Oxford. Stop at University College, the oldest college in Oxford (1249). Jack received a scholarship to attend here in 1916, and after entering the Officers Training Corps, was later sent to France in World War I. Stop at Exeter College, where Tolkien studied before traveling to serve in World War I. Continue to Christ Church College and visit the dining hall where John Wesley and other alumni are honored on the walls. Walk around the exteriors of Pembroke College, where Tolkien first served as a professor after the Great War. Walk through the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. Here, the Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy, and John Wesley preached until his views were rejected. Walk through the Sheldonian Theater, where scholars have graduated or been granted honorary degrees since 1669. John Wesley, Charles Wesley, and C. S. Lewis were among the many famous people who celebrated their degrees here.
The tour includes a visit to the Bodleian Library, the main research library for Oxford with 12 million items. Spend the afternoon in the Ashmolean Museum, the world's first university museum. The museum contains a vast and unique collection, ranging in pieces from Da Vinci and Picasso to a Stradivarius violin and Cromwell's death mask. Stop at the Eagle and Child Pub, where C.S. Lewis, J.R. Tolkien, and other writers occasionally met as part of the "Inklings" club. Return to your hotel for the overnight.
(Breakfast and Dinner Included)
Thursday, September 18 - OXFORD
Start with a walking tour of Merton College, where J.R.R. Tolkien was a professor twice. From here just a few steps to visit Magdalen (pronounced "Maudlin") College, where C.S.Lewis was a fellow for most of his academic career. Here, Jack worked through his beliefs from Atheism to Theism to Christianity, and became the prolific writer and apologist known today. From here, travel to The Kilns, Lewis's home. Built in 1922, the Lewis brothers moved into it in 1930. This would remain Jack's home until he died in 1963. Drive by Churchill Hospital, in Oxford, dedicated by the Duchess of Kent on January 27, 1942. The hospital was started to aid orthopedic injuries because of air raids during the Second World War and was leased to the U.S. Army, today it is a teaching hospital. This afternoon departs Oxford in time for afternoon tea in a village in the Cotswolds, home to thatched-roofed cottages and shops. Finish your day in Bristol and stay overnight.
(Breakfast and Dinner Included)
Friday, September 19 - BRISTOL & BATH
In the ancient port city of Bristol, you'll have a lecture in one of Wesley's early centers of ministry, the "New Room". This oldest Methodist building in the world is unusually alluring in its basic simplicity. Then visit the home of Charles Wesley, the famous hymn writer. Then, it's on to Bath, a spa town of Roman origin, that deserves its name. Since the first century, the warm waters have refreshed and healed. You'll see the unique Roman baths and enjoy this beautiful city of 18th-century streets and quaint shops. Continue to London for an overnight stay.
(Breakfast Included)
Saturday, September 20 - CITY OF LONDON
Start your tour of the City of London at St. Paul's Cathedral and admire its iconic dome. Enjoy a tour of the church to see its art and learn about its history. Wander outside the church to see the column and statue of St. Paul built where St. Paul's Cross an open-air pulpit originally stood in the churchyard. Wander through the area of Cheapside; the historic and modern financial center of London. Visit the shops at One New Change and go up to the rooftop terrace for a spectacular view of London City. Travel down Bow Lane to visit St. Mary le Bow Church founded in 1080, destroyed and rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666, and destroyed again in 1941 before being rebuilt in 1964. Wander to Watling Street to see St. Stephen Walbrook Church a site of worship since the 2nd Century when a Roman Temple was on this spot near the Thames. Walk by the Mansion House, home of the Mayor London, the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange Shopping District, St. Mary Woolnoth a Queen Anne Church, and the Coleman Street Ward. Visit Guildhall Yard and its Art Gallery. See the Garden where the remains of St. Mary Aldermanbury Church are. Wander down Cloth Fair to St. Bartholomew the Great, London's Oldest Parish Church built by Henry I. Wander through Smithfield and see St. Sepulchre and the London Wall.
(Breakfast Included)
Sunday, September 21 - WESLEY'S LONDON & WESTMINSTER
John and Charles Wesley left their marks on the town of London. You'll have a lecture at City Road Chapel, the site of Wesley's home and grave. Across the street, in Bunhill Fields Cemetery Susanna Wesley is buried along with other famous personages such as John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe. Walk on to Aldersgate Street, where on May 24, 1738, John Wesley had his "Warming of the Heart" experience. You will walk past the entrance of "Little Britain," where Charles Wesley had his conversion experience just three days earlier. This afternoon tour Westminster. Visit the Abbey, begun by King Edward the Confessor in the 11th century. It is the traditional coronation place for British monarchs, and the royalty and famous of England are buried or memorialized here. See Westminster's chapel and then on to Parliament and see Westminster Hall where state functions were held for 1,000 years. See the Chamber of the House of Commons before exploring Parliament Square and the status of Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Milicent Fawcett. See the Old Palace Yard that was the center of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. Guy Fawkes and his confederates attempted to tunnel from a home here to the House of Lords, Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded here, and the Statue of Richard the Lionheart has stood in the yard since 1851.
(Breakfast Included)
Monday, September 22 - RETURN TO THE USA
Return home with memories of England or stay on for the Northern Ireland Extension.