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Day 0 - Depart US - Travel day needed to schedule your overnight departure flight.
Day 1 -
(Aug 31) - Arrive in London -
If you need help getting from the airport to the hotel, a guide will
meet you at the airport and get you to our elegant hotel
in the central Earls Court neighborhood. The whole group
will get together at the hotel around 4pm for wine,
cheese and introductions along with
some
"how to's" for getting
around London. After our intro, we will head out
to kick off our Scotland and England tour with a stroll along the south bank of the Thames and then
on to the London Eye for our introductory highlights of
London from above. On the London Eye we will be able to
get a birds eye view over London while the European
Discovery guide will introduce you to the landmarks and
history of this great city. Dinner together is at a
fabulous local Indian restaurant - Khan's of Kensington
- in the exclusive South Kensington neighborhood. (D)
Sleep in London
Day 2 - Highlights
of London - In the morning we will meet our local Blue Badge guide for our
personal historic tour of the famous sites and 
secret alleyways of London. We
will start our London guided tour package with with government dignitaries and over a thousand years of British
royalty - Old Westminster, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and
Westminster Abbey. After the Abbey a historic walk along Whitehall to Admiralty
Arch and Trafalgar Square. Lunch will be at one of Britain's classic old
Pubs (except with great food!) followed by a peek at the Old Scotland Yard and a
boat ride down the Thames. Our afternoon will be highlighted by an
insider's tour of Christopher Wren's architectural masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral,
and a visit to the nearly 1,000 year-old Palace/Fortress/Torture center and home
to the most impressive collections of crown jewels in the world - the Tower of
London. The tour will conclude in the early evening and dinner is on your
own. This would be a perfect evening to go to the London Theater.
If you like theater at all, it is a "must do" in London.
You can get help with bookings and recommendations from
European Discovery. (B,L) Sleep in London
Day 3 - London Discovery Day
- T
he entire day is dedicated to things you want to do and your
discovery of London. You can wake up late and wander through the old city
or do some shopping at the famous Harrods down the street from our hotel. There are also incredible
choices of museums in London - the British Museum with its priceless collections from the
ancient world, the British Library with the original Magna Carta, the Tate
Modern housing Picasso and Monet, the National Gallery with its remarkable
collection of European painters and many more. If you feel more like an
adventure outside of London, Windsor castle, the official home of England's
royal family, and the old university town of Cambridge are only a 50-minute
train ride away. Closer to London are the Royal Gardens of
Kew and Henry VIII's palace at Hampton Court.
Whatever you choose, European Discovery will make sure you can
do it with ease. The European Discovery guide will also be
leading to some of these local sites for those that want to
join. In the evening, there will be wine and cheese to
share your day's discoveries. Dinner is on your own tonight and
it is also another good night for the theater. (B) Sleep in
London
Day
4 - London to Bath - We will have a relaxing morning
then pack our bags and say
good-bye to London. In our mini-bus we will take
the short drive to the creamy town of Bath with a lunch
stop on the way. After
checking into our B&B we will head out for a walking
tour of Bath given by a local guide and Bath resident.
Bath has the highest number of protected historic
buildings per capita of anywhere in England - with its
Georgian architecture, flowers, parks, all so centrally
located. It is a beautiful town that just envelops you.
After our walk, we will have dinner together at a local
restaurant famous for its
fresh seafood. (B,D) Sleep in Bath
Day 5 -
5000 years of History - We will meet our local guide and British
historical expert and drive the southwest countryside surrounding
Bath. We will start with the famous archeological site of
Stonehenge - you will get the "real scoop" about this
3,000+ year-old mysterious site. Next, we will visit the
lesser known, but bigger and more "touchable" circle
site of Avebury and the mysterious West Kennet long
barrow. You can almost feel the magnetic lines of the
earth here. After a hearty pub lunch we will drive to
and visit the Salisbury Cathedral - an awe inspiring
church that also contains one of the best
preserved of the four surviving original Magna Carta. We
will return to Bath in the early evening and dinner is
on your own. Theater in Bath is also excellent.
(B,L) Sleep in Bath
Day
6 - Bath Discovery Day and off to the Cotswolds - The morning will be
reserved for you to explore Bath on your own. If you have not done
so yet, the ancient Roman Baths are a must. Built by the Romans, they give an excellent view to
how Roman culture affected the direction of Britain. The Gothic
Bath Abbey, the Costume Museum and the Museum of Bath at Work are also
wonderful choices. Your tour handbook will describe all of these
in detail. After lunch on your own, we will make the short move to the Cotwolds. On
the way we will stop and see Blenheim Palace - the current home of the Duke of
Marlboro and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. After the palace,
we will continue on to one of the "postcard-pretty" villages of the Cotswolds
- Broadway. Here we will settle in our B&B and
head out for dinner together in the tiny village of Kineton for the most
incredible home cooked elegant pub meal - you will think you are in a
thatched heaven! (B,D) Sleep in Broadway
Day
7 - The Cotswolds -
One of the downright prettiest places in all of Great Britain, the
Cotswolds were built by the
rich woolen industry. With the coming of the Industrial revolution
they were left "as is" - a step back in time. We will begin with a loop drive
through the highlights of these villages with some stops for wandering,
and visiting gardens, castles and stately homes. Today our pub lunch together
will be complete with an outdoor beer garden. The afternoon will be for your
half-day of Discovery. There will be plenty to choose from again.
The Cotswolds have some of the best English country walks with
amazing views that go right through the farmers' fields. The handbook will give
you some choices along with gardens, old churches, castles and stately homes you
may want to visit. The mini-bus can
take you where you want to go and pick you up. The Discovery Day
wine and cheese get-together will be in the early evening and dinner will be on
your own tonight. (B,L) Sleep in Broadway
D
ay 8 - To York with a
Medieval Castle stop - Off to the north of England and the
city of York. We will break up
the drive with a stop or two. The first will be at England's finest medieval
castle - Warwick Castle. There is something here for everyone - Madam Tussaud's wax "King Maker" exhibition, "Ghosts alive" live tour,
an impressive jousting and horseman display, a birds of prey show and a walk along the old
castle wall. Lunch will be on your own - a picnic on the lawn by the castle moat
is a fun option. We will
arrive in York in the late afternoon and have a five-star "melt in your mouth" early dinner.
After dinner you can head back to the hotel or join an entertaining and
historic Haunted Walk of the city. (B,D) Sleep in York
Day
9 - Highlights and Discover York -
We will start our day by meeting our
local York guide for a half-day tour of
the highlights of the medieval city of
York and its Gothic
church - York Minster. York Minster contains more
medieval original stained glass than any other building in England. Our guide will make this city and its long history come alive. We
will enjoy a local pub lunch together and then the afternoon will be
free for you to discover other parts of York on your own - the castle
museum, the railway museum and "wandering walk" along the top of the old
wall are just a few. There will be Discovery Day
wine and cheese and dinner is on your own. (B,L) Sleep in York
Day
10 - Head to the Highlands - We will make the long but beautiful drive to the
Scottish Highlands with a
break for a picnic lunch at either a lake or a castle. To kick off
the Highlands of Scotland tour, we will arrive early enough into Oban
to check into our sea-view B&B and have a little wander around this
Scottish sea port and go for a Highland dinner together. Dinner
will be accompanied by
an entertaining show of
traditional Scottish music and dance. You should try the haggis
here - it is good and you cannot go to Scotland without having a bit of
haggis, neeps and tatties to tell your friends about. (B,L,D) Sleep
in Oban
Day 11 -
Discover the Scottish Highlands - Just the title of this day sounds fabulous doesn't
it? Today you will have the
entire day to explore
and tour the Scottish Highlands from Oban.
Queen Victoria fell in love with the
Highlands and so will you. You can take
a ferry to the remote islands of Iona
(birthplace of Christianity in Scotland)
and Mull to see castles, abbeys, and the
rugged coastline. You could also hitch a
ride from our mini-bus to the valley of
Glencoe or Glen Nevis (a.k.a. where they
film most Scottish Highland movies) to
take a Highland walk or visit the many
nearby gardens and castle ruins. A
fun distillery tour that shows how
Scotland makes its famous golden liquid (always
with a tasting) is a good choice.
Perhaps the Links golf courses nearby
may be calling you to play a wee round.
We will have our wine and cheese in the
evening to share our discoveries and
dinner is on your own tonight. (B)
Sleep in Oban
Day
12 - To Edinburgh via Glencoe - We will head out of Oban in the morning, taking the route
through the valley of Glencoe and the Rannoch Moor. This is
MacDonald-clan territory and we will stop in the newly built Glencoe
visitor center that tells the sad tale of the massacre in 1692. After
lunch at the plaid-covered Clachaig
Inn in Glencoe with its "well-stocked" Scottish Bar, we will say
good-bye to the Highlands and make the three hour drive to Edinburgh. We will settle in our Victorian B&B in the early evening with a bit of wine and cheese. Dinner is on your own tonight
with plenty of things to do in the city - theater, ghost walks or
just plain wandering down the main street looking up at the beautifully-lit Edinburgh castle.
(B,L) Sleep in Edinburgh
Day 1
3
- Discover Edinburgh - In the morning we will meet our local kilt-wearing Edinburgh
guide at our hotel. We will tour the city of Edinburgh in a mixture of
mini-bus and walking including the
Palace of Holyroodhouse, new Georgian
Edinburgh, views of the city and a
complete tour of Edinburgh Castle. This
fortified castle has sat proudly on a
rock above the city since the 7th
century and has been the home to
Scottish royalty and military - still
holding the Scottish crown jewels. Our guide will fill us with the history
of this place and of the proud Scottish
people as we roam its halls. Lunch and the afternoon will be on your
own for your Edinburgh Discovery -
the rest of the Royal Mile, the Museum
of Scotland, St. Giles Cathedral,
National Gallery - not to
mention some easy nearby visits to world-famous Scottish golf and the royal vessel Britannia. We will have our farewell dinner together in the shadow
of the castle and raise our glasses to an incredible two weeks in
England and Scotland! (B,D) Sleep in Edinburgh
Day 14 - The tour is over after breakfast. You can head to the airport or if you have made other arrangements, stay on in Great Britain or head over to the continent on your own. Whew, what an awesome British experience! (B)