Itinerary

• DAY 1:

  USA

  Depart for your overnight flight to England.

• DAY 2:

  LONDON

  Upon arrival, you will be greeted by your Homeric Tours representative and private motorcoach. Begin with a panoramic orientation tour of the city of London. Sites include: Southwark Cathe-dral, Lambeth Palace (home of the Archbishop of Canterbury), Buckingham Palace (time permitting, we stop for the changing of the guard), Old Bailey, St. Paul’s Cathedral (visit), Tower of London, and Trafalgar Square. Our day ends as we attend Even-song at Westminster Abbey (if possible). Welcome dinner at your hotel.
  Dinner included

• DAY 3:

  LONDON

  After breakfast, we begin our “Windsor Castle, Hampton Court & River Cruise” tour. Highlights include St. George’s Chapel, Windsor River Cruise, Changing of the Guard, a visit to Windsor Castle & Hampton Court State Apartments. Dinner and overnight accommodations at your hotel.
  Breakfast and Dinner included

• DAY 4:

  CANTERBURY

  After breakfast, we will stop at St. Albans Cathe-dral, dedicated to the Roman soldier who was beheaded in 209AD for sheltering the priest Am-phibalus. Alban is the Proto-martyr of the English church, and the cathedral stands on the site of Alban’s martyrdom, dedicated in 1116. Continue to Cambridge University, whose highlight is the 15th century King’s College Chapel. Continue to Canterbury via Rochester Cathedral for a brief visit, then to Canterbury, the most important ancient city in all of England. In 560 it became the Kingdom of King Ethelbert and his Queen Berta, who was a Christian. In 597, Pope St. Gregory sent St. Augustine and his missionaries there and were welcomed by the king, who provided them a monastery and a church where Ethlebert was later baptized. Canterbury became the burial place of kings and archbishops. The present cathedral was built in 1070 by Archbishop Lanfranc loyal to William the Conqueror. Canterbury became the center of English pilgrimage after St. Thomas Becket was martyred by the knights of Henry II in 1170. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.
  Breakfast and Dinner included

• DAY 5:

  SALISBURY

  After breakfast attend Prayer at Canterbury Cathe-dral. Then continue to Leeds Castle built in 857 AD on two islands in a lake and rebuilt by the Nor-mans in 1119. Proceed to Winchester, which was the capital of England from 829 until the Norman Conquest. Visit Winchester Cathedral (the longest medieval church in Europe). Winchester was Evangelized by St. Birinus in 634 AD and 40 years later, became an archbishop. Many great English saints are associated with Winchester, namelySt. Swithun, St. Ethelwold, and St. Dunstan (Abp. of Canterbury). Our final stop is Salisbury and its great cathedral with its majestically elegant spire (tallest in England). Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
  Breakfast and Dinner included

• DAY 6:

  GLASTONBURY / BATH / BRISTOL

  Our first visit today is the site of Old Sarum Ca-thedral famous for the beautiful “Sarum Rite” that became the ritual for all South England until 1550. Take a short drive to the Salisbury plain to prehis-toric Stonehenge. Continue to Glastonbury and the ruins of its abbey. King Arthur and Queen Guine-vere are said to be buried here. Another legend holds that St. Joseph of Arimathea planted his staff in the ground which bloomed into a thorn tree which is said to bloom on Christmas Eve. But a French legend connecting St. Joseph of Arimathea to the Holy Grail gave Glastonbury Abbey its great importance. Next we visit Bath, which began as a Roman Spa more than 2000 years ago. We stop for a visit to the Roman Baths, and also Bath Abbey, the last of the great pre-Reformation built in 1499 (built on the foundation of a church dated 676, and later a Norman cathedral). Now a parish church, Bath Abbey is remarkable for its size. We end our day at our hotel in Bristol. Dinner will be served at the hotel.
  Breakfast and Dinner included

• DAY 7:

  NOTTINGHAM

  Today visit Oxford, the “City of Dreaming Spires,” and its ten centuries old Oxford University. During the Reformation, Protestant bishops Crammer, Latimer, and Ridley were burned at the stake in Oxford Yard. In the 19th century the Oxford Movement produced such greats as Keble, Pusey, and Newman. Oxford is also home to the smallest cathedral in England. Next is Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare. We pass by an-cient timbered buildings as we stop by the Shake-speare home. Our last visit of the day is Coventry Cathedral, which was bombed to smithereens by the Germans in the blitz of 1940, but which rose from the ashes with a message of forgiveness. The bombed hulk of the old cathedral joined to the new one. After touring the cathedral we see a short film entitled “The Spirit of Coventry.” Continuing north we reach Nottingham, with its fine castle in the heart of “Robin Hood Country.” Dinner and overnight in Nottingham.
  Breakfast and Dinner included

• DAY 8:

  YORK

  After breakfast we drive to Lincoln and its mag-nificent cathedral. The cathedral has been said to be “the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles,” and is the 4th most important in England. Composer William Byrd was the organist here from 1563-1572. Also tour Lincoln castle, founded by William the Conqueror. Continue to York, which was a Roman provincial capital called “Eboracum” in AD 71. In 306 Constantine was proclaimed emperor here. In the fifth century it was the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria and was called “Eoforwic.” A church has been here since 627 when the city became an early center of Christian learning. The Archbishop of York holds the title “Primate of England” and is the second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury who holds the title “Primate of All England” in the Anglican Church. We tour the massive York Minster, the largest medieval cathedral in England built in 1080. Visit preserved medieval quarter. Dinner and overnight accommodations.
  Breakfast and Dinner included

• DAY 9:

  USA

  An early breakfast then transfer to the airport for our flight home.
  Breakfast included