What will we see each day?

Our itineraries are designed to be not too full - or too empty! Each day we'll have breakfast at our hotel, followed by the day's activities. In the evenings, you'll have the opportunity to join the devotional time. Enjoy browsing the proposed itinerary.

IF = In flight meals, B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner

Day 1: Monday, June 18, 2012: Depart USA
Our adventure begins as we depart Boston on our international flight, and wing our way over the Atlantic to the Netherlands!  Meals will be served in flight as arranged by the airlines. INF

Day 2: Tuesday, June 19, 2012: Amsterdam
Upon arrival in Amsterdam, we collect our luggage and after departing customs, we embark on a panoramic tour of the unofficial capital of Holland. Here medieval gables, time-worn churches and tranquil courtyards are the stage for the activities of a vital, exuberant culture. We become acquainted with the historical and contemporary sites of the city and its many miles of canals and bridges. We also visit the Anne Frank House and the Rijksmuseum, one of the world's great art galleries, to admire Rembrandt's famous "Night Watch" painting and many others. If time permits, we can also visit the Van Gogh Museum. We have dinner at the Hotel Mercure Amsterdam aan de Amstel.   D

Day 3: Wednesday, June 20, 2012: Amsterdam / Overnight Ferry
We make a drive out of the city today to explore the areas where the Pilgrims lived before coming to America. The original 16th century house in Leiden provides an excellent picture of how life was for the Pilgrim Fathers. Although made welcome, they still could not feel peace and security. We will explore the history of the Pilgrims before they decided to flee to America to save their children from becoming “Dutch” and from being pressed into military service. Next we will have a look around the old harbor and the Reformed Church at Delfshaven near Rotterdam where in 1620 they sailed back to England to board the Mayflower bound for the New World.  This evening we embark on our overnight ferry bound for Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England. B/D

Day 4: Thursday, June 21, 2012: Lindisfarne, Edinburgh
On arrival in the United Kingdom, we meet our local coach and drive to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. We’ll learn about the monastery’s fantastic wealth and walk in the grounds where brutal Viking raiders plundered the priory, forcing monks into refuge on the mainland. The lively and atmospheric museum explains what life was like more than a millennium ago and illustrates the drama of Lindisfarne. The Lindisfarne Gospels, a manuscript produced on the Northumbrian island monastery of Lindisfarne at the end of the seventh century, is one of the world’s masterpieces of book painting. It is a precious relic of early Christianity in England, and one of the nation’s greatest treasures. We return to the mainland before the tide comes in and continue on to the Edinburgh area. Tonight we stay in the Mercure Edinburgh Mount Royal. B/D

Day 5: Friday, June 22, 2012: Edinburgh
This morning we enjoy a panoramic tour of Edinburgh, a beautiful city, often referred to as the "Athens of the North"! Highlights will include the Walter Scott Monument, the elegant Prince's Street, the Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace, plus much more! We have an inside tour of Edinburgh Castle, with its foreboding ramparts and walls, amazing city views, and crown jewels. We also visit St Giles’ Cathedral and the 15th century house where John Knox, leader of the Scottish Reformation and founder of the Presbyterian Church, lived for a short time before he died. Today it is a museum that holds an exhibition about his life. The remainder of the afternoon is open for options, an opportunity to visit other museums, explore, or perhaps shop for that special "Scottish Tweed." B

Day 6: Saturday, June 23, 2012: York
We depart the land of Mary, Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie and drive through the rolling meadowlands to the English border, where we see Hadrian's Wall. On arrival in the walled city of York, we enjoy a walking tour, visit York Minster (Cathedral), and view the excavations of the Viking city, Jorvik. No one knows when Christianity first arrived in the city but by 306 when Constantine The Great was proclaimed Emperor in York, it is probable there was a small Christian community among those who proclaimed him. In 312 he issued a general edict of toleration for the Christian Church. However, by the year 314, York already had its own bishop, implying that the Christian community had been meeting there for some time. In the evening we can take a walk around the ramparts. We stay tonight in the Park Inn York Hotel. B/D

Day 7: Sunday, June 24, 2012: Scrooby, Cambridge, Oxford
The Pilgrim story begins in the small north Nottinghamshire village of Scrooby. In about 1606, a group of religious dissidents (the Pilgrims) formed their own church independent of the Church of England and its head, King James I. They felt that their Christian faith required a greater degree of church reformation than was possible in the King's established Church. Such a move was considered treasonous, and the Separatists, were forced to flee the country lest they be imprisoned or even executed for their beliefs. They were eventually able to immigrate by 1609 to the tolerant haven of the Netherlands. We’ll visit the sights in Scrooby and then move on to Cambridge, the focal point of reformation thought in the 16th-17th centuries, where both Wycliffe and Tyndale engaged in the then heretical activity of translating the Bible into English. We end our day in the small village of Elstow to learn about John Bunyan. After a stroll down the high street to familiarize ourselves with buildings from Bunyan’s day, we drive via Olney to the Oxford Spires Four Spires hotel. B/D

Day 8: Monday, June 25, 2012: Oxford
A local guide will lead us on a walking tour of Oxford, including the Reformers Monument and the Cathedral. Founded by Cardinal Wolsey as Cardinal's College in 1524, this twelfth century church is one of the oldest buildings in Oxford and one of the smallest Anglican cathedrals in England. It is also the only church in the world to be both a cathedral and a college chapel. The college buildings took over the site of St. Frideswide's Monastery, which was suppressed by Wolsey to fund his college. Oxford is dominated by the University, the oldest in the English-speaking world.  Famous alumni include Charles and John Wesley, Lewis Carroll, William Penn, Albert Einstein, and John Locke. The afternoon will be free to enjoy Oxford. Dinner at the Eagle and Child Pub, frequented by C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and their literary group, the Inklings. B/D

Day 9: Tuesday, June 26, 2012: Bath, Plymouth 
We tour The Kilns, where C.S. Lewis lived, before continuing on through the idyllic Cotswolds region to Bath, with its honey-colored Georgian houses and architecture, including the Royal Crescent, Pulteney Bridge, and Bath Abbey. It was once an important Roman town, but all that remains of its presence are the ancient baths. We will visit them as well as the Pump House, and of course we’ll pay homage to Jane Austen. Continuing southward we arrive in Plymouth, in the heart of the English Riviera. One of England’s original trading posts, it was the point from which the Mayflower set sail on its famous voyage. We’ll visit the interactive exhibition and explore the harbor to see how Plymouth’s coastal location has shaped its history. Our hotel is the Jurys Inn Plymouth. B/D

Day 10: Wednesday, June 27, 2012: Stonehenge, London
We depart for “London Towne” today, stopping at the mysterious "hanging stone" formations at Stonehenge. After learning something about this prehistoric enigma, we continue to London. Our activities in London begin with a locally guided tour of the world's most visited city. Highlighting our tour will be Big Ben and Parliament, Trafalgar Square with the Lord Nelson Column, Buckingham Palace, and of course, Piccadilly Circus. We will visit the Gothic masterpiece, Westminster Abbey, including the naves, cloisters, Poets' Corner, and Royal Chapel.  An architectural masterpiece of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, Westminster Abbey also presents a unique pageant of British history - the Confessor’s Shrine, the tombs of Kings and Queens, and countless memorials to the famous and the great. It has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066 and for numerous other Royal occasions. Today it is still a church dedicated to regular worship and to the celebration of great events in the life of the nation. Late in the afternoon we transfer to the Lancaster Gate Hotel Hyde Park to relax before dinner on our own. B

Day 11: Thursday, June 28, 2012: London
On our agenda this morning is a tour of the medieval masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, including the transepts, porticos, towers, and domes. We will learn of its fascinating transition from the ruins of the Great Fire in 1666 to its present grandeur and the place where Diana married Prince Charles in 1981. Next we visit the magnificent Tower of London, where we will see the crown jewels and learn something about the lives of child-king Richard II and of Henry VIII.  Many of Henry VIII's political opponents were jailed and then beheaded here, including two of his wives. We enjoy the remainder of the afternoon free to shop or visit other attractions such as the British Museum. This evening we enjoy a farewell dinner at a London restaurant.  B/D

Day 12: Friday, June 29, 2012: Return
Regretfully, it's time to say "cheerio" and transfer to the airport, where our flight is waiting to return us to the New World. We return, however, with memories of lovely landscapes, fabulous castles, inspiring new insight on American history and its pilgrims, and most importantly, a wealth of new friends! Welcome home!  B

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