Pictures from England

Exploring Our Anglican Heritage

A Pilgrimage to England

Led by:

The Rev. Hazel Glover
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church
Carrollton, GA

May 27 - June 4, 2008

Trip map

DAY 1, Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - Depart the United States on a wide-body jet for a trans-Atlantic flight to London.  Dinner on board the aircraft.. D

DAY 2: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - Arrive London’s Gatwick Airport and meet our driver and guide.  We will travel into the city with our first stop at King’s Cross Station.  We continue to Buckingham Palace, home of the Queen, for the 11 AM Changing of the Guard.  After lunch we will visit St. Paul’s Cathedral, rebuilt by Christopher Wren after the great fire in 1666.  Be sure to see the American Chapel, the Whispering Gallery, and the tombs of Nelson and Wellington.  We will top the afternoon off with a ride on the London Eye, the largest Ferris wheel in the world.  The view from the wheel is magnificent and you will see for miles in each direction.  We continue on to the Globe Theatre, a reconstruction of the theatre where Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed 400 years ago.  This evening we will enjoy our “welcome to England” dinner at an authentic English Pub in the West End of London.  Overnight London. D

DAY 3: Thursday, May 29, 2008 - After breakfast we will tour Westminster Abbey, the burial place of many of Britain’s famous personalities, as well as the coronation location of most of the monarchs.  We will see "Poet's Corner", the magnificent choir loft, and the tomb of Britain’s Unknown Soldier.  Pending confirmation, we visit Lambeth Palace, the residence and working office of the Archbishop.  We will enjoy some prayer time in the Archbishop’s chapel where kings and queens have prayed for centuries.  We continue on to visit the National Gallery, which houses one of the greatest collections of Western European painting in the world.  These pictures belong to the public and entrance to see them is free.  Dinner and overnight London. BD

DAY 4: Friday, May 30, 2008 - Morning visit to Churchill’s Museum and War Rooms, the world’s first major museum dedicated to life of Winston Churchill.  It was here, in the underground Cabinet Room, that he announced 'This is the room from which I will direct the war'.  We continue on to Uffington where we will enjoy a 1/3 mile hike to Uffington White Horse, a mysterious White Horse carved into the chalk hillside above the village of Uffington.  We continue to Oxford with its combination of academia and the bustle of modern life.  All together there are 40 different colleges where undergraduates live and study.  We will enjoy lunch at the Eagle and Child Pub, once the haunt of J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis and other Anglican literary types.  We enjoy a walking tour of the colleges and visit Christ Church College within whose walls you will find the tiny Cathedral of Oxford.  We visit St. Mary’s Church, where Thomas Cramner was dragged from the pulpit and burned in the street.  We will enjoy Evensong at Oxford Cathedral at 6 PM prior to continuing on to Bracknell to meet our host families (arrangement’s made by St. Margaret’s), our home for the evening – a time to see and experience how English families live.  We will enjoy dinner with our host families. BD

DAY 5: Saturday, May 31, 2008 - Today travel to Douai Abbey, a community of monks of the English Benedictine Congregation situated between Reading and Newbury, in the Royal County of Berkshire.  We will spend the day at the Abbey where we will spend time with the monks learning about Benedictine Spirituality.  We will enjoy a walk at Greyfield Wood, an area of 38 acres of mixed woodland, containing a pine plantation as well as areas of old, well established, English trees, oak, birch, beech, sycamore and the like.  We will have time to journal, relax, pray, or explore the Abbey Grounds prior to attending the 6 PM Sung Evensong.  Dinner and overnight Douai Abbey. BD

DAY 6: Sunday, June 1, 2008 - This morning we depart for Stonehenge, the puzzling circle of stones which was begun around 2800 BC.  No definitive explanation has ever been given for this monument, but it is widely believed to have been a religious site and may have had some astronomical purpose.  We now depart for Salisbury which only became an important city when the diocese of Old Sarum was moved to Salisbury in the 13th century.  In the same area as Stonehenge, we will explore Avebury Stone Circles, a monument erected around 2450 to 2200 BC.  Many scholars say Avebury surpasses Stonehenge.  This afternoon we enjoy an afternoon walking tour of Salisbury visiting the CathedralSalisbury Cathedral is famous for its Close, the largest in England, and its spire the tallest in England.  We visit the medieval layout of squares around the cathedral, enjoying the spacious lawns, trees and old houses.  The Cathedral was consecrated in 1258 and was begun by Bishop Poore in 1220.  We return to Douai Abbey for dinner and overnight. BD

DAY 7: Monday, June 2, 2008 - We travel to the small village of Charing, where we will walk the traditional path of the Old Pilgrim’s WayCharing is a small historic village with a pretty parish church and a former Archbishop’s Palace where Henry VII stayed en route to Dover.  The Pilgrim’s Way runs adjacent to the village, partly over the Kent Downs, some gentle hills and pretty tree lined paths.  We will walk part of the way and then drive to Chilham, a small hilltop village where we can enjoy a pub lunch and then drive another short way toward Canterbury to Thannington where we will begin our final walk into Canterbury.  Our coach will travel with us so anyone needing to board may do so.  This evening we will enjoy dinner with our host families in Herne Bay. BD

DAY 8: Tuesday, June 3, 2008 - Today we will visit Canterbury Cathedral where we will learn about the history and spirituality of the Cathedral and the concept and practice of pilgrimage.  We will also tour the Cathedral focusing on pilgrimage, including a short meditation on the theme "Journey Inward, Journey Outward".  We will then attend a candlelit short Taize style service at the nearby ancient parish church of St. Martins.  In the evening we will attend Evensong at the Cathedral before returning to our Families dinner and overnight. BD

DAY 9: Wednesday, June 4, 2008 - Depart for London Gatwick Airport and board our flight back to the United States. BL

Price: $3,149.00  Price is based on double occupancy without airline taxes and fuel surcharges.  Roundtrip air from Atlanta, GA.  Air transportation available from other cities.  Single supplement is $269.00.

Final Payment due by February 28, 2008.

Cancellation Penalties
◊ January 20, 2008 – February 27, 2008 - $200.00 plus any unrecoverable fees.
◊ February 28, 2008 – April 25, 2008 - $300.00 plus any unrecoverable fees.
◊ After April 26, 2008: NO REFUND

An application for travel insurance will be included with the receipt for your deposit.  We strongly recommend that you seriously consider this coverage.

Meals: B Breakfast, L Lunch, D Dinner, S Snack

The itinerary is subject to change due to local conditions or at the discretion and direction of the leader or guide.

Host Family accommodations and meal’s in Bracknell are not included in the price. Arrangements were made by St. Margaret’s Church.