Spiritual Odyssey to England's Sacred Southwest

Day 1: September 19 - Depart London for the Cotswolds & Bath

Depart London Heathrow Airport (with earlier pick-up from central London for those who have already begun their journey) for the immaculately preserved Cotswold villages of Lacock and Castle Combe, favorites of film and TV producers and settings of Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Cranford and War Horse. Explore the picturesque streets, historic cottages untouched by modern times, including the fine Romanesque Cloisters and Chapter House of Lacock Abbey. Continue to Bath for a three-night stay at the 4-star Francis Hotel. Dinner at the hotel included.

 

Day 2: September 20 - Bath

After breakfast, an introduction to the tour by Kim Vincent and Rev. Karen Wylie followed by visit to the incredibly preserved Roman Baths including refreshments in the elegant interiors of the Pump Room, the source of Bath’s famous mineral water. Private guided walking tour through Bath’s exquisite Palladian architecture, inspired by its Roman heritage, for visits to the Holburne Museum (Victorian collection of ornate silver and Old Masters), No.1 Royal Crescent (featuring historic furniture, pictures and objects that reveal what life was like for Bath’s fashionable residents), and the Assembly Rooms, built for the evening assemblies of high society: "By nine o’clock my Uncle, Aunt and I entered the rooms," wrote Jane Austen to her sister in 1801, recording one of many balls she attended at the Bath Assembly Rooms. For Jane and her heroines, it was the hub of polite society and where she set some of her sharpest satire in Northanger Abbey and affectionate love scenes in Persuasion. 

 

Day 3: September 21 - Glastonbury

Whole-day excursion to Glastonbury, rich in myth and folklore, for a tour with a local guide. Visit Chalice Well, a place of healing linked to the Holy Grail, the cup used at the last supper, said to have been buried with the body of Christ’s uncle, Joseph of Arimathea on Chalice Hill; Glastonbury Tor, place of the Welsh mythological figure Gwyn ap Nudd; Gog and Magog, the ancient Oaks thought to be part of an ancient processional route to Glastonbury Tor; and Glastonbury Abbey, an early Christian place of worship, with probable Pagan antecedents.

 

Day 4: September 22 -Dartmoor

Depart Bath for Devon to explore the wilds and raw beauty of Dartmoor National Park, home to Bronze Age burial grounds, wooded forests, wild ponies, desolate moors, and stone bridges – including a stop for supper at the renowned Warren Inn, England’s most remote and highest altitude pub. Arrive in the idyllic small town of Chagford, on the edge of Dartmoor, for an overnight stay at the Globe Inn. Dinner included at the Globe Inn.

 

Day 5: September 23 - intangel & Bedruthan Steps

This morning leave for the dramatic, wave-swept coast and charming fishing villages of Cornwall. Visit the ruins of Tintagel Castle, set high on Cornwall's rugged north coast between Padstow and Bude.  Inextricably linked with the legend of King Arthur, for centuries this dramatic castle and coastline has fired the imaginations of writers, artists and even the brother of a king. Visit Merlin’s Caves (made famous by Tennyson’s Idylls of the King) and continue to the pirate coves of Bedruthan Steps. Arrive Truro for a two-night stay at the 4-star Alverton Hotel, a historic country home in private grounds walking distance to the town.

 

Day 6: September 24 - Cornwall

This morning we’ll explore the harbor town of St. Ives with rows of vividly painted shop fronts, narrow cobbled lanes, and a go-for-a-stroll atmosphere. Then on to Marazion for a visit to St. Michael's Mount, a dramatic rock island first inhabited by monks more than 1,500 years ago. We’ll then tour around the very south west corner of Cornwall, also the most westerly point of England, for visits to the Merry Maidens, a unique Neolithic Stone Circle of thousands of years ago, and the Penwith Peninsula, from St. Just to Zennor, with magnificent sweeping views across the North Cornish coast. View the Levant Mines, high-up on the exposed cliffs of the “Tin Coast”, and Botallack, filming location of Poldark. Dinner tonight will be at the Tinner’s Arms. Built in 1271, The Tinners Arms has been at the heart of village life in Zennor for over 700 years. Originally built to accommodate the masons who constructed St Senara’s Church, famous for its mermaid, you’ll find little has changed over the years. Dinner at the Tinner’s Arms is included.

 

Day 7: September 25 - Trelissick Gardens & St. Mawes Castle

Depart Truro for a visit to the magnificent Trelissick House & Garden. Cross the nearby estuary by ferry, and visit St. Mawes Castle, among the best-preserved of Henry VIII's coastal artillery fortresses. Stop for lunch in the pretty harbor town of St. Mawes. In the afternoon, leave for either Rollestone Manor, a beautiful historic house near Stonehenge, or the White Hart Hotel in Salisbury, for a two-night stay. Dinner tonight is included.

 

Day 8: September 26 - Stonehenge & Salisbury

Leave for an early-morning visit and meditation at Stonehenge, perhaps the world’s most famous pre-historic monument. Continue to the mighty ramparts of Old Sarum, and then to the Cathedral City of Salisbury for lunch, and where in the afternoon we’ll enjoy a private-guided tour, including the mediaeval quarter, Cathedral Close and the Cathedral itself. The Cathedral is famous for its rich lore and towering Gothic spire, and includes one of four original copies of the Magna Carta, the 1215 document that first established that everyone was subject to the law. Dinner tonight is included.

 

Day 9: September 27 - Tour ends in London

Today, depart over Salisbury Plains for visits to the large megalithic stone circle at Avebury; the unique man-made Silbury Hill, and West Kennet Longbarrow, a place of burial and ritual during early Neolithic times, and continue to London where the tour ends by 6 pm.