DAY    1            DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight to London

DAY    2            ARRIVE LONDON - OXFORD - STRATFORD AREA (2 NIGHTS)
We will be met at the airport by our Tour manager/guide, where we will board our own private bus and transfer into the beautiful English countryside. We will stop to explore 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 the Stratford area.

DAY    3            STRATFORD-UPON-AVON & WARWICK
This morning we will visit Shakespeare's Birthplace, where the Bard was born on April 23, 1564, and died on the same date 52 years later. We will also visit 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. Our morning concludes 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. Our afternoon includes a visit to Warwick Castle, surrounded by gardens, lawns, and woodland, where peacocks roam freely. Our visit will include: the State Rooms, the Great Hall, the Armory, dungeons, a torture chamber, ramparts and a ghost tower. This evening we will enjoy a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company. (Subject to RSC schedule)

DAY    4            STRATFORD AREA - THE LAKE DISTRICT (1 NIGHT)
As we drive north through England we will take a tour through the Lake District. With 16 lakes and the highest peaks in England this is a region of uncompromising beauty. We will see Windermere, Thirlmere, Rydal Water, Derwent Water and Ullswater and visit Wordsworth's Cottage and the Churchyard where the poet is buried at Grasmere.

DAY    5            THE LAKE DISTRICT - HADRIAN'S WALL - EDINBURGH
                          (3 NIGHTS)
This morning we leave the Lake District and journey into Northern England. At the border, we will stop for a Walk Along Hadrians' Wall, built by the Romans across the north of England to mark the boundary of their empire. During our walk, we will also visit Housesteads Fort, the best-preserved site along the ancient Roman wall, before continuing to Edinburgh, Scotland's beautiful capital city, where our guide will lead us on an introductory walking tour.

DAY    6            EDINBURGH (THE KINGS & QUEENS OF SCOTLAND)
Our day begins with a visit to Edinburgh Castle, a place filled with history, legend, and lore. Our visit will include: St. Margaret's Chapel, the State Apartments, the Great Hall and the Crown Chamber, which houses the Honours of Scotland (Scottish Crown Jewels). We continue with a Walking Tour along the Royal Mile, where we will view many of the city's most interesting structures, with turrets, gables, and towering chimneys. During our walk, we will visit the High Kirk of St. Giles, one of the most important architectural landmarks along the Royal Mile. Our final stop will be the Palace of Holyroodhouse, built by James IV, adjacent to an Augustinian abbey David I established in the 12th century. Our tour of the palace will include: King James Tower, the Throne Room, the King's Bedchamber and the Picture Gallery, with portraits of Scottish monarchs.

DAY    7            DAY TRIP TO STIRLING & THE TROSSACHS
                          (HEROES OF THE HIGHLANDS)
This morning we journey into the beautiful Scottish countryside. We begin with a visit to Stirling Castle, which dates from the Middle Ages, and was an important seat of two kings, James IV and James V. Included in our tour of the castle is the Museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, presenting an excellent exhibit of colors, pipe banners, and regimental silver, along with medals won by Scottish soldiers for valor. From the castle, we will also get a wonderful view of the Wallace Monument, which commemorates the Scottish hero's victory over the English at Stirling Bridge in 1297. We continue with a scenic drive through the spectacular glens and lochs of the Trossachs, which was the home of the outlaw hero Rob Roy. We return to Edinburgh.

DAY    8            EDINBURUGH - DURHAM - YORKSHIRE (2 NIGHTS)
This morning we leave Scotland and journey into Northern England. Our sightseeing today day commences with a stop in historic Durham, a medieval treasure and one of the loveliest cities in England. The proximity of the castle, cathedral and university, surrounded by a loop of the River Wear, makes Durham a fascinating place to visit. We will visit Durham Cathedral, completed in 1133. The cathedral is one of Britain's most architecturally innovative buildings, as it is the first English building with ribbed vault construction, and the first stone-roofed cathedral in Europe. We continue to our hotel in Yorkshire.

DAY    9            YORK (A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME)
Our day begins in Exhibition Square, where we will take a guided Walking Tour of the city, a perfect way to learn about the history and lore of the city, through numerous intriguing stories. We continue with a visit to York Minster, which traces its origins from the early 7th century, and features stunning stained glass from the Middle Ages. Those who choose can ascend the Central Tower, for panoramic views of York. We continue to the Shambles, once the meat-butchering center of York, which remains a narrow ancient street filled with shops and cafes. Our afternoon concludes with a visit to the Jorvik Viking Centre. This Viking city, discovered many feet below present ground level, was reconstructed as it stood in 948, and a "time car" will take us back through the ages. After dinner, we will enjoy a Ghost Walk through the haunting streets of York

DAY    10            YORKSHIRE - LONDON (4 NIGHTS)
This morning we will visit the York Castle Museum. Located on the site of York's Castle, it is one of the finest folk museums in Britain. Its unique feature is a re-creation of a Victorian cobbled street, Kirkgate; however, the period rooms, the Debtors' Prison, the superb collection of arms and armor, the Costume Gallery and Half Moon Court, an Edwardian street, are equally fascinating. Our day continues with a drive south to London, Britain's historic capital city. Upon our arrival, we can 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    11            LONDON (LONDON'S FAVORITE "HAUNTS")
Today we take a City Tour, which will reveal many of London's most famous landmarks. Late this morning, we will stop at Buckingham Palace to view the fascinating Changing of the Guard ceremony. This afternoon, we will cross Tower Bridge to the city's Southwark area, where we will "hop off" to visit the London Dungeon, a ghoulish place designed to chill the blood, while reproducing the conditions of the Middle Ages. Exhibits include: a burning at the stake; a torture chamber with racking, branding, and fingernail extraction; a spine-chilling "Jack the Ripper Experience," and a show called "Judgment Day," where you are sentenced to death (by actors) and taken on a boat ride to meet your fate. After dinner, we will continue our journey into London's netherworld, with either a ghoulish Ghost Walk, or a chilling Jack the Ripper Walk.

DAY    12            LONDON (THE KINGS & 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.