Itinerary
England and Wales: Highways and Byways
June 6–22, 2008
| Program description | Register |
Program Leaders: Jonathan Hill, professor of English, and Barbara Hill
We have designed this itinerary to offer a full range of the natural, cultural and historic sites so richly packed into these two countries. Throughout the program we shall talk on all aspects of our journey together — the places we visit, the countryside we pass through, the foods we eat, the accents we encounter, and give as much personal direction and attention as will make your visit a memorable one.
Seminars and discussions will be held at suitable venues and times.
Group meals included: B= Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner
Friday, June 6
Depart United States
Saturday, June 7
Arrive London — Salisbury ( L, D)
Following customs and immigration clearance, we leave Heathrow by private coach for Salisbury, driving west across southern England. After you have settled into your rooms at The Rose and Crown Hotel, we will have a light lunch at the hotel, followed by a guided tour of Salisbury Cathedral. Built mainly in the 13th century, this magnificent Gothic structure has the highest central spire in the kingdom, a masterpiece of architectural engineering. In the evening, we shall have a group dinner at the hotel.
Sunday June 8
Salisbury (B, L)
Today is designed to provide an extreme contrast of sites. In the morning we shall visit one of the most mysterious and celebrated pre-historic sites on the planet, a circular arrangement of colossal, brooding, silent monoliths set in a wide, deserted and windswept landscape — Stonehenge. Thereafter, we proceed to an exquisite example of 18th century refinement and taste, the landscaped gardens of Stourhead, set around a man-made lake and adorned with various temples and structures. We shall have lunch at Stourhead, walk around the gardens, and return in time to attend, for those who wish, a choral concert in Salisbury Cathedral. Dinner on your own.
Monday June 9
Salisbury — Ludlow (B, D)
Having checked out of the hotel, we start our drive to Ludlow, on the English-Welsh border. En route, our first stop will be in Bath. In origin pre-Roman, Bath was famously and beautifully expanded in the 18th century, when it became a fashionable spa resort for those who were, and those who pretended to be, rich and famous. They took the "waters" by day and partied by night. We shall have a guided tour, and there will be time for lunch. Thereafter, we drive across the River Severn estuary, up the steeply sided Wye Valley, and stop for a visit at Tintern Abbey, the inspiring ruins of a 13th century Cistercian monastery. We continue north to the ancient town of Ludlow and have dinner together at The Feathers Hotel.
Tuesday June 10
Ludlow (B)
Today starts with a visit to Stokesay Castle, a perfectly preserved 13th century fortified manor house set in tranquil Shropshire countryside. From there we drive north, passing along Wenlock Edge, a noted landmark, and arrive at Ironbridge. If there is a single sight that can claim to be the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, a movement that changed the world, this is it. It was named for the world’s first iron bridge — still standing — and was the center of the 18th century iron industry. Key points of interest and a series of fascinating museums are scattered throughout this World Heritage Site. And there are places for lunch on your own. We return through the Shropshire countryside to The Feathers. Dinner on your own.
Wednesday June 11
Ludlow – Y Felinheli, Wales (B, D)
After checking out of the hotel, we take a scenic route west, across the Cambrian Mountains of central Wales, to the seaside town of Aberdovey (i.e. the mouth of the River Dovey). There we shall stop for lunch, which you will be able to find in any of the cafes sprinkled in this small and picturesque resort. After lunch, we drive north up the Welsh coast to the Harlech Castle, the most dramatically situated of the many castles built in Wales by the English monarch Edward I at the end of the 13th century. Afterwards, we continue our drive into north Wales and on to our next hotel, the Plas Dinorwic in Y Felinheli, where we shall have dinner and where our landlord will tell us how to pronounce the name of the hotel and the village.
Thursday, June 12
Y Felinheli (B,L)
The morning will take us to nearby Caernarvon Castle, the most grandiose of Edward I’s imperial fortifications, and associated in the 20th century with the Princes of Wales, the male heirs to the British throne, including the present one. By way of contrast, we shall spend the afternoon at Bodnant Garden, one of the finest in the country, set above the River Conwy. You will be able to get lunch there, and, after we have driven back over the dramatic Snowdonia mountain range, you will have dinner on your own at the hotel.
Friday, June 13
Y Felinheli – Grasmere (B,D)
We check out of Plas Dinorwic, and the rest of the day takes us from North Wales up into the English Lake District, with two stops on the way. The first will be at Little Moreton Hall, built during the 15th and 16th centuries, and comprising the finest timber-framed moated manor house in the country, with the signature black-and-white patterned appearance of Tudor architecture. You may choose to have lunch there or at our second stop, Heaton Hall, a fine late 18th century building set in its own park in the greater Manchester area. From there we head north to Grasmere, in the heart of the Lake District, where we shall be staying, and having dinner together, at The Red Lion hotel.
Saturday, June 14
Grasmere (B)
Our first visit during our day in the Lake District will be only a short distance from the hotel. It is perhaps the area’s most famous literary site, Dove Cottage, the home of the English Romantic poet, William Wordsworth. We shall then drive the few miles to Ambleside, a center for recreational mountaineering and hiking, where you will be able get some lunch. The remainder of the afternoon we shall spend driving around and enjoying some of England’s most inspiring scenery. Dinner on your own that evening.
Sunday, June 15
Grasmere – York (B,D)
We check out of the Red Lion and leave the Lake District to travel southeast across the spine of England to York. We shall stop at the Parsonage in Haworth, a grimy, dark, bleak town in West Yorkshire, but known all over the world for who once lived in its grim and stony parsonage — the Bronte sisters. We then cross the ominous Yorkshire moors and stop at Newby Hall, a splendid 17th century mansion, filled with fine furniture, sculpture and tapestries, surrounded by glorious gardens, and offering, for those who would like it, lunch. We continue to the Hilton Hotel in York, where we shall have dinner together.
Monday, June 16
York (B)
In the morning we shall have a full guided tour of York Minster, the largest cathedral, with the largest collection of medieval stained glass, in England. The remainder of the day is free for individual site-seeing, museums, shopping, whatever. Lunch and dinner on your own.
Tuesday, June 17
York — Stratford-upon-Avon (B,D)
Once we have checked out of the hotel, our day takes us from the north of England to the rural Midlands, from York to Stratford-upon-Avon. We shall break our drive first at Newstead Abbey, the ancestral home of the 19th century’s most charismatic and notorious poet, bad boy Lord Byron, and where you can have lunch on your own. Then on to Hidcote Manor, one of England's greatest gardens, an Arts & Crafts masterpiece.
We shall continue on to The Falcon Hotel in Stratford, where we shall have dinner together.
Wednesday, June 18
Stratford-upon-Avon (B)
Stratford is William Shakespeare. In the morning we shall visit two famous sites associated with him, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage (the childhood home of his wife), just outside Stratford, and, back in the town, the house in which he was born in 1564. Lunch will be on your own in Stratford. In the afternoon, for those who would like it, we shall offer a visit to the Cotswold Falconry Centre, which puts on a sensational display of birds of prey in flight (falconry was a favorite sport in Shakespeare’s day). Alternatively, you may choose to stay in Stratford for the afternoon. Dinner is on your own, but in the evening we shall see a performance of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice at the Courtyard Theatre: curtain up at 7:15 p.m.
Thursday, June 19
Stratford-upon-Avon — London (B,D)
Leaving the Falcon and Stratford, we journey to London. We shall drive through the Cotswolds, an area of honey-stoned villages wrapped in green fields and valleys, for many the quintessence of English pastoral beauty. We shall stop in Oxford, Jonathan’s alma mater, and walk around some of the colleges and part of the city, where you will be able to find lunch on your own. We shall then get to London in time for dinner together at the Thistle Bloomsbury Hotel, and theater afterwards for those of you who have booked tickets, or who wish to wander in the bright lights of the West End.
Friday, June 20
London (B)
In the morning we shall offer a guided coach tour of central London. The remainder of the day is free, with lunch and dinner on your own.
Saturday, June 21
London (B, D)
Free day. Closing discussion and farewell dinner at the Hotel.
Sunday, June 22
Depart the United Kingdom
Transfer to our private coach to Heathrow Airport.
NB: Itinerary might be subject to minor changes, due to unforeseen circumstances.
