DAY
1 DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service
on your scheduled wide-bodied flight to Ireland.
DAY
2 ARRIVE SHANNON - KILLARNEY AREA (3 NIGHTS)
We will be met at
the airport by our Tour Manager/Guide, and transfer to the Cliffs of Moher, a dramatic sheer rock face, rising 700 feet from
the Atlantic Ocean and stretching for five miles. During our visit,
we will have the opportunity to climb O’Brien’s
Tower, a viewing point built for the benefit of Victorian
tourists. We continue
to our hotel in the Killarney area.
DAY
3 THE
RING OF KERRY
Today we will enjoy a leisurely tour around
the famed Ring of Kerry, a beautiful drive around the Iveragh Peninsula. We
will enjoy a splendid variety of outstanding coastal panoramas
and magnificent mountain views.
During the course of our tour, we will have the opportunity to stop and
explore many small towns and villages on the peninsula, including
Killorglin, Glenbeigh and Caherciveen.
We continue to Valentia Island, then through the Coomaskista
Pass, before stopping to visit Staigue Fort, the best-preserved
Iron Age drystone fort in Ireland. Other
highlights will include: the Hog’s Head, Moll’s Gap, Ladies View,
Torc Waterfall and our visit to Sneem, a small village
with brightly painted cottages.
We return to Killarney for the evening.
DAY
4 THE GAP OF DUNLOE
Today we will take a tour through the Gap
of Dunloe and the Lakes of Killarney. We commence at Kate Kearney's Cottage, followed by a Pony Cart
Ride through the famous gap, a glaciated valley, to Lord Brandons
Cottage. After lunch, we will take the Traditional
Style Boat through the three Lakes of Killarney, to Ross Castle. There are few
castles anywhere in Ireland that can boast such a dream-like enchanted
setting as this ruined tower house on the shore of Killarney's
Lower Lake. Built in the late fifteenth century, it is
fairly typical of its type, with square bartizans on diagonally
opposite corners and a thick end wall containing a tier of chambers
and a winding mural stair. We
return to our hotel in Killarney.
DAY
5 KILLARNEY - BLARNEY - CASHEL - DUBLIN (2
NIGHTS)
We leave Killarney early this morning and travel to Blarney, where we
will visit Blarney Castle,
one of the most haunting and striking castles in Ireland. The remains of this impressive castle include
a massive square tower, with a parapet rising 83 feet, and the
infamous Blarney Stone,
wedged underneath the battlements; it is traditional to kiss the
stone to ensure the gift of eloquence.
We will also stroll through the gardens and a nearby dell
beside Blarney Lake, before having the opportunity to visit Badger
Cave and adjacent dungeons, penetrating the rock at the
base of the castle. We continue for a brief stop at the Blarney
Woolen Mills, featuring quality garments and souvenirs. This afternoon we visit the spectacular Rock of Cashel, a
monumental 12th century cathedral complex dominating the surrounding
landscape. The Rock was
the stronghold of the kings of Munster for seven centuries, and
it was here that St. Patrick converted them and made the shamrock
the emblem of Ireland. We will continue to our hotel in Dublin, Ireland’s magnificent capital city.
DAY
6 DUBLIN (SAINTS AND SCHOLARS)
Our morning
begins with a visit to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the national
cathedral of the Church of Ireland.
It is said that St. Patrick baptized converts on this site,
and consequently a church has stood here since A.D. 450, making
it the oldest Christian site in Dublin.
St. Patrick's is closely associated with Jonathan Swift,
who was dean from 1713 to 1745 and whose tomb lies in the south
aisle. Our day continues with a visit to Trinity
College, the oldest university in Ireland, with cobbled squares,
beautiful gardens, a picturesque quadrangle, and buildings dating
from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
The college is also home to the Book
of Kells, an 8th-century version of the four Gospels with
elaborate scripting and illumination. This
afternoon we visit the National Museum, established in
1890; the museum is a reflection of Ireland's heritage from 2000
B.C. to the present. The museum houses many of the country's greatest
historical finds, including the Treasury Exhibit,
with the Ardagh Chalice, Tara Brooch, Cross of Cong, and an extensive
exhibition of Irish Bronze Age gold ornaments. This evening
we will dine and wander through the lively Temple Bar area.
DAY
7 DUBLIN - FERRY TO HOLYHEAD - STRATFORD (1
NIGHT)
This morning we will
transfer to the Port at Dun Laoghaire, where we will board a ferry
and cross the Irish Sea to Holyhead in Northern Wales.
Upon our arrival, we will transfer to Stratford-upon-Avon, where we will visit Shakespeare’s Birthplace,
where the Bard was born on April 23, 1564, and died on the same
date 52 years later, as well as the modern Shakespeare Centre,
built next door to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Bard's
birth. We continue with a brief visit to Holy Trinity
Church, the parish church where Shakespeare is buried, located
in an attractive setting near the River Avon.
This evening we will enjoy a performance by the Royal
Shakespeare Company. (Subject to RSC schedule)
DAY
8 STRATFORD
AREA - OXFORD - WESSEX (3 NIGHTS)
Our morning commences with a visit to Anne
Hathaway’s Cottage, located just outside the city center. The cottage provides a rare insight into the
life of a family in Shakespearean times, and many of the original
furnishings are preserved inside the house.
We continue Oxford, England’s oldest university city, which
is associated with many notable literary alumni including such
diverse characters as Geoffrey Chaucer, Lewis Carroll, Oscar Wilde,
C.S. Lewis and Evelyn Waugh. We will take a Walking Tour to view
many of the colleges that make up Oxford, as well as the Sheldonian
Theater and the Bodleian Library.
We will also visit Christ Church College, Oxford’s
biggest and grandest Renaissance College, which was founded in
1525 by Cardinal Wolsey. The college’s Christ Church Cathedral
is the smallest in England. We
continue to our hotel in Wessex.
DAY
9 DAY
TRIP TO BATH
Today we explore the ancient Roman city
of Bath. One of Europe’s
most beloved cities, Bath is set among the rolling green hills
of the Avon valley, and is a compact, traffic free city offering
an abundance of history and charm. We begin with a visit to the Roman Baths,
first associated with the Celtic King Bladud, and later established
by the Romans in the 1st century.
We continue with a Walking Tour through historic
Bath, where we will see: Bath Abbey’s spectacular façade, Pulteney
Bridge, featuring quaint shops and wonderful views of the
city, the Circus and the Royal Crescent, one of
Britain’s finest streets. Our
day concludes with visits to the Assembly Rooms and the Museum
of Costume, which features a collection of costumes in authentic
period settings, displaying the changing fashions from the 16th
century to present day.
DAY
10 DAY TRIP TO STONEHENGE, OLD SARUM &
SALISBURY
This morning we visit mysterious Stonehenge,
a huge circle
of lintels and megalithic pillars, and one of the most impressive
prehistoric monuments in Britain.
We continue to nearby Old Sarum, where
a Celtic hill fort, as well as Roman, Saxon and Norman strongholds
once stood. We will spend
the afternoon in Salisbury, where we will visit Salisbury Cathedral. Our visit will include the cathedral's 13th-century
octagonal chapter house, which displays one of the four surviving
original texts of the Magna Carta.
DAY
11 WESSEX
- WINDSOR - LONDON (3 NIGHTS)
This morning we begin our journey to London,
stopping en route in Windsor, where we will visit Windsor Castle,
the world's largest inhabited castle, with 1,000 rooms. Our visit will include the richly decorated
State Apartments and St. George’s Chapel,
a pantheon of English monarchs.
Our day continues to London, Britain’s historic capital
city. Upon our arrival,
we will take a leisurely Walking Tour of Westminster
and Whitehall, including: Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Horseguards
Parade, Parliament Square, Downing Street, St. James’s Park and
Buckingham Palace.
DAY
12 LONDON (KINGS
AND QUEENS OF ENGLAND)
We begin with a
visit to Westminster Abbey, where English kings and queens
have been crowned since 1066.
We will take a Blue-Badge guided tour, which will include
the Royal Chapels, holding the tombs of the monarchs,
as well as Poets' Corner, featuring memorials to
famous British literary figures. Our morning continues as we walk past the Houses
of Parliament and Big Ben, before taking a Thames River Cruise,
a relaxing way to view many of London’s most magnificent sights. This afternoon we will visit the Tower of
London, one of Britain’s most fascinating and important historical
structures, with macabre associations with the legendary figures
imprisoned and/or executed here.
Our visit will include the armories, a display of instruments
of torture and execution and the Crown Jewels Exhibit.
This evening we will spend time around Piccadilly Circus
and Leicester Square, two of London’s most vibrant and
lively areas.
DAY
13 LONDON (ARTIFACTS &
ARCHITECTURE IN LONDON)
Our morning begins with a visit to the British
Museum, one of the most comprehensive collections of art and
artifacts in the world. Highlights
of our visit will include: the Rosetta Stone, whose discovery
led to the deciphering of hieroglyphs, the Elgin Marbles, from
the Parthenon in Athens, and the Sutton Hoo Treasure.
After a bit of free time to shop and explore Carnaby
and Regent Streets, we continue with a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren’s Renaissance-style
masterpiece. Our visit
will include an ascent to the Whispering Gallery,
an acoustic marvel in which the faintest whisper can be heard
clearly on the opposite side, as well as the American Memorial
Chapel, honoring the 28,000 U.S. service personnel who lost their
lives while stationed in Britain during World War II.
This evening, we will dine and explore the area around
Covent Garden, before attending a West
End Theater Performance.
DAY
14 DEPARTURE FROM LONDON
Your enjoyable and rewarding tour will come
to an end as your guide accompanies you to the airport for the
return flight home.
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