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CHRISTIAN ENGLAND & THE WORLD OF C.S. LEWIS - 2008 Tours

Itinerary:
• Day 1 (Sat.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.
• Day 2 Arrival in London, England. (Sun.) Transfer to your hotel. Balance of the day is at leisure. Enjoy this evening’s welcome dinner with your traveling companions. (D)
• Day 3 London. (Mon.) A full day of sightseeing with a Local Guide includes WESTMINSTER ABBEY with its memorial to John and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodist faith, WESLEY'S HOUSE AND CHAPEL, BUNHILL FIELDS CEMETERY (home to many well-known Christians including The Pilgrim,s Progress author John Bunyan) , and ST. PAUL'S CATHERDAL in the City of London. (FB)
• Day 4 London. Excursion to Canterbury. (Tue.) Depart this morning for a drive southeast into Kent, the "Garden of England", for a visit to CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL, England.s mother church, where you hear about Thomas Becket and the Black Prince. On your return to London, visit SPURGEON'S METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE. (FB)
• Day 5 London-Oxford. (Wed.) Travel to Oxford this morning. At The Kilns, former home of C.S. Lewis, pause for photographs before visiting HOLY TRINITY CHURCH in Headington Quarry where Lewis is buried. Then drive by the former home of J.R.R. Tolkien, writer of The Lord of the Rings and friend of Lewis. Join your Local Guide as you visit magnificent CHRIST CHURCH COLLEGE and CATHEDRAL. Some free time to explore the city or perhaps visit The Eagle and Child pub that was used by Lewis and his literary friends, including J.R.R. Tolkien, known as "The Inklings." After lunch continue your walking tour of Oxford visiting MAGDALEN COLLEGE, where Lewis was elected a Fellow in 1925, and seeing Lincoln College where John Wesley founded the Holy Club, nicknamed the society of “Methodists.” (FB,D)
• Day 6 Oxford. Excursion to Bristol via the Cotswolds. (Thu.) Journey through the Cotswolds to Bristol. Visit ST. MARY REDCLIFFE CHURCH, 800-year-old masterpiece of Gothic architecture and one of the biggest parish churches in England. Also explore the JOHN WESLEY CHAPEL and THE NEW ROOM, the oldest Methodist building in the world, before returning to Oxford. (FB,D)
• Day 7 Oxford-Epworth-York. (Fri.) Head north to Epworth, birthplace of both John and Charles Wesley. At the OLD RECTORY visit their childhood home, which was built in 1709 by Samuel Wesley and is now a museum. Also visit the WESLEY MEMORIAL CHURCH, completed in 1889 as a memorial to the contribution made by John and Charles Wesley to world religion. Finally, in York a guided walking tour ends with a visit to the Cathedral of St. Peter, better known as YORK MINISTER. (FB,D)
• Day 8 York-Lincoln-Cambridge-Milton Keynes. (Sat.) Visit LINCOLN CASTLE where Samuel Wesley was imprisoned. Continue to Cambridge and visit the 500-year old KING’S COLLEGE and MAGDALENE COLLEGE where C.S. Lewis became a professor of medieval and renaissance literature in 1955. (FB,D)
• Day 9 Milton Keynes-Olney-Bedford-London. (Sun.) This morning travel to Olney to visit OLNEY BAPTIST CHURCH where the renowned English missionary William Carey served as pastor. Then to THE COWPER AND NEWTON MUSEUM, which contains an extensive collection of possessions and manuscripts of William Cowper and Rev. John Newton, who wrote numerous hymns including "Amazing Grace". On to the JOHN BUNYAN MUSEUM in Bedford, which features the life and work of John Bunyan. Back in London, enjoy this evening’s farewell dinner. (FB,D)
• Day 10 (Mon.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (FB)

Vacation Highlights
• LONDON Welcome dinner; guided sightseeing; visit Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, City of London, Wesley’s House and Chapel, Bunhill Fields Cemetery, Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle, farewell dinner
• CANTERBURY Visit Canterbury Cathedral
• OXFORD Visit Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry; guided walking tour; visit Magdalen College, Christ Church College and Cathedral
• BRISTOL Visit St. Mary Redcliffe Church, the John Wesley Chapel and The New Room
• EPWORTH Visit the Old Rectory and the Wesley Memorial Church
• YORK Guided walking tour; visit York Minster
• LINCOLN Visit Lincoln Castle
• CAMBRIDGE Visit King’s College and Magdalene College
• OLNEY Visit The Cowper and Newton Museum and the Baptist Church
• BEDFORD
• Visit the John Bunyan Museum
• MEALS - 8 full English breakfasts (FB); 6 three-course dinners (D), including welcome and farewell dinners
• Accommodations - QUALITY HOTELS
• LONDON Hilton London Metropole (SF), OXFORD Paramount Oxford Hotel (F), YORK Ramada (F), MILTON KEYNES Novotel (F)