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Detailed Itinerary

ENGLAND TOUR ITINERARY - July 12-20, 2005

Day 1 - Tue, Jul 11:  Depart your home city

Upon our morning arrival in London, we proceed through Immigration, Baggage Claim & Customs, and meet Mark and our local tour guide. We board our coach for a scenic drive through the English countryside to historic Salisbury, for a visit to beautiful 1000-year old Salisbury Cathedral, one of the finest medieval cathedrals in Britain, with the loftiest spire in all of England. Housed in the cathedral is the oldest working medieval clock in the world, made in 1386 and originally installed in the detached Bell Tower.

We continue to mystical, spiritual and historical Glastonbury, the region steeped in Arthurian legend - fabled Avalon, the heart of the Grail myths and the “Eden” of the Druids. For centuries it has been the gathering place for priests and priestesses of the ancient Druid and Celtic traditions, as well as one of the holiest places in Christendom. It has been a megalithic center, a place of the Goddess, and was the inspiration for The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, as well as the television movie of the same name. We may well experience that Avalon is still looked over by the ancient Priestesses!  The small town of Glastonbury still preserves its long history and rich traditions, along with a uniquely blended atmosphere of modern times. People are pulled here from all over the world by a special something...just like you have been. Upon our arrival we check into our local hotel in the heart of the small town, a former retreat for monks, nuns and pilgrims at The Abbey. Time for a short rest, then we meet for an Introductory Meeting, followed by our “Welcome to England” dinner at our hotel.

Overnight Glastonbury.

Have a leisurely breakfast before our later morning departure to the quintessential English city of Winchester, capital of England during Saxon times. Our explorations will take us to the Norman Winchester Cathedral, including the legendary Great Hall, the only visible remaining part of the castle established by William the Conqueror, and a beautiful replica of the legendary Round Table of King Arthur.

We enjoy lunch at a nearby restaurant and are then off to the fascinating site of Old Sarum, the site of the Norman Cathedral and castle, just outside Salisbury. Powerful impressions of the past still linger here and in a strange way seem to be amplified by the incredible beauty of the natural environment. In the late afternoon we head for the world-famous ancient stone circle of Stonehenge on the nearby Salisbury Plain, the world's best-known stone monument from the Megalithic Age, for our private sunset meditation and ceremony. Today it is cared for by the English Heritage, an independent body set up by Parliament in 1984 to protect England's archaeological and architectural heritage of more than 400 ancient and historic monuments.

Stonehenge is a major World Heritage Site, and one of the world's most visited sacred sites in the world. There is much debate as to the age of Stonehenge, as well as who built it. According to many archaeologists, the builders of this magnificent site were the Ancient Britons. History says that the site was begun in the agricultural Neolithic Age and was completed in the Early Bronze Age by Beaker Folk, so called because of beakers, drinking vessels, found in their grave goods. Around 1500 BCE some disaster or systems collapse progressively brought the impressive Megalithic Age to an end, not only here, but throughout the whole of Britain and Ireland.  Although we can never know exactly who the architects were who planned Stonehenge, the face sculptured into the side of trilithon stone 54 does give us cause to wonder if he or she was so influential that his/her facial features were placed here to be preserved forever as a representation of the Divine Marriage, the concept of Sacred Marriage between an Earth Mother and Sky Father, that was universal in early or primitive agricultural and Goddess-oriented societies. One of the great trilithon stones has numerous axes carved into it and another has a Mother-Goddess type of image carved in relief.

SACRED CEREMONY and MEDITATION: We enter the sacred and ancient circle for our private meditation time among the ancient and magical stones and their energies. Those who are sensitive to these massive temples claim that the megalithic blocks are constantly radiating tremendous amounts of energy. Some say it is because the ancient Druids turned themselves into the stones, while others assert that they hold the power of innumerable Druid ceremonies. One legend maintains that the massive blocks were brought from Ireland and set into place by the greatest Druid of them all - Merlin! Mark will lead the group in a special sacred ceremony and meditation. The remainder of our powerful sacred ceremony will assist you to connect with the ancient spirits of this magical place. Later return to our hotel. Free time to integrate the powerful energies you’ve taken in this day. Dinner on your own. Overnight Glastonbury.

After our fortifying English breakfast we journey through the picturesque countryside to explore the ancient stone circles and sites that were sacred to the Goddess and Her tradition in this part of ancient Britain. Her energies are still powerfully present at each of the sites, so as you focus inwardly and listen in silence, perhaps you will receive an intuitive message from Her. Our first stop is The Sanctuary, a remnant from a culture in the long past that worshipped the Goddess and her earth-based traditions. Once a delightful pair of concentric stone circles that were destroyed in the 17th century, the site of the stones are now marked by concrete pillars. Evidence from excavations suggests that the site was used for feasting and for some form of mortuary ritual. Dr. William Stuckeley, an antiquarian and a scholar of sacred history and cabalistic science, believed that the site represented the head of a great stone serpent, the body of which was formed by the West Kennet Avenue and the Beckhampton.

Then we continue to Avebury, part of the world's biggest and most complex monument of the Megalithic Age. The National Trust administers this World Heritage site on behalf of the British nation. It is an enormous circular earthwork, with a deep external ditch. Inside the ditch is a circle of immense standing stones, and inside that there are two more stone circles. Two stone avenues of about 100 megaliths run out from Avebury. Altogether there were some 600 megaliths, including those of the Sanctuary (which we will see later). Today its mysteries are still being explored and solved by multi-disciplinary scholars in archaeology, science and ancient religion. Mark will lead the group in a ceremonial walk, down through The Avenue to the main stone circle, for a special ceremony to connect with the powerful ancient energies here.

We then continue to Silbury Hill, a grass-covered chalk mound in the shape of a flat-topped cone, believed by those in the Goddess Tradition to be the Goddess' form on the earth rising forth to bring the energies of Love and nurturance to her children. At 130 feet in height, a base circumference of 1640 feet, and covering 5.5 acres, it is certainly the biggest prehistoric artificial mound in Europe. Evidence from radio-carbon dating indicates that Silbury was built about 4300 years ago, at the end of Avebury's lengthy stone-building period. Further evidence from the remains of plants and insects found at at the time of the Celtic festival of Lammas, the start of the harvest season.

Some astronomers believe that Silbury Hill could have been used as an accurate solar observatory by means of the shadows cast by the mound on the carefully leveled plain to the north, towards Avebury. The meridian line from Silbury runs through Avebury church, which stands on a ley line (earth energy line) running between Stonehenge and the stone circle at Winterbourne Abbas. The same ley line also passes through two churches and the eastern slope of Silbury. Silbury is a center for alignments of straight prehistoric tracks, resurfaced by the Romans, and of standing stones. The Roman road between Marlborough and Bath runs directly towards Silbury Hill before swerving to avoid it, indicating that it followed a pre-existing track or ley line.

Our last stop for the day is West Kennet Longbarrow, a passage grave where the age-old secrets of those who were buried there are locked in time in this ancient finely restored Early Neolithic chambered megalithic monument. The property is cared for by the National Trust. Inside, 5 chambers lead off from a central gallery. All chambers and roof are built from huge sarsen stones. Carbon-dating estimates indicate that it was begun between 3700-3600 BCE and a used for about 1200 years. When the barrow was sealed, a facade of huge sarsens was placed immediately in front of the entrance in the manner of blocking stones. The remains of skeletons and simple grave goods have been found there, including the small skull of an infant that was positioned on the floor in such a way that it would have been lit by the light of the rising sun at the equinoxes. Because of the barrow's alignment with the rising sun at the March equinox, the arrangement has been interpreted as indicating an annual ritual involving a mid-spring lambing festival, when the sun illuminates the sheep-stone, within a rebirth tomb of the dead.

Lunch on your own at a local restaurant. Afterwards we drive through the countryside where we may see crop circle formations, geometric symbols of unknown origin formed in fields of grain, that have appeared in this area over the past 20 years. AND, if we are fortunate we MAY be able to enter one of the formations and have private meditation time to try to connect with and experience the other-dimensional energies that many researchers believe form them. What is the general communication that is being given to us by these circles? What is the particular communication from each circle? Where do they come from? Who/what forms them? Why here? Why now? AND, why have we been lead here to experience them? What does all this mean for our personal and planetary transformation? Late afternoon return to our hotel for our group dinner.
Overnight Glastonbury.

After breakfast we walk to the footpath that will take us up the hill to mystical Glastonbury Tor, once thought to be a portal to the fairy underworld and to the famed land of The Mists of Avalon's priestesses. Glastonbury is overlooked by the Tor, a majestic hill rising enigmatically above the flat surrounding meadows. However, it's no ordinary hill! It's home to the King of the Fairies, Gwyn ap Nudd (and he likes visitors!), and is one of the world's prominent sacred sites. Centuries of legends and folklore have centered around the Tor, the heart of Glastonbury. They all arrive at the same conclusion - that the Tor is a place where the veil between the worlds is thin. Strange experiences and "meetings" here could be interpreted as a fairy, a nature spirit, or a manifestation of a "spirit" from the other realms. Not everyone has these experiences, but they have been regularly reported by many visitors, as well as the locals. Today it’s believed to be one of the main power spots in England, having been built on a mystical leyline, or earth energy line. At the top of The Tor we will gaze in awe at the breath-taking panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. On the top stands a tower, the remains of St. Michel’s Church, built in the Middle Ages and dedicated to Archangel Michael. Here, on hallowed ground, we experience a meditation and ceremony to connect to the Holy Grail, which some legends maintain is buried under or in the vicinity of the Tor.

Returning to the foot of the Tor, we visit the famous Chalice Well, a pilgrimage site for many thousands of years for those seeking physical and emotional healing from its iron-red waters, thought to be the blood of Christ emerging from the hidden Grail Chalice. During the Middle Ages Glastonbury gained a great reputation as a place of healing, and the well was one of the centers where pilgrims came to take advantage of its curative powers. Even today the waters of both the Red Spring or Blood Spring at Chalice Well and the adjoining White Spring still have a reputation for their cleansing, healing and transformative qualities. Like pilgrims who have come here since ancient times seeking physical and emotional healing from its iron-red waters blessed by the Goddess, we too may receive our healings! From the wellhead at the top of the garden, the first spot we reach when we enter at the bottom of the garden, we see the vesica pisces-shaped pool that has Chalice Well water flowing into it through a series of flowing steps from the body of the Goddess Herself. The vesica pisces is one of the most fundamental symbols of sacred geometry, symbolizing the Sacred Marriage, the divine union of the male and female energies. While here at this sacred space, we will have time to meditate and reflect on our own divine union of the male and female energies within. Later return walking to our hotel. The afternoon if free for lunch on your own and individual exploration in Glastonbury. Dinner on your own this evening. Overnight Glastonbury.

After breakfast we walk to The Abbey, a church built in the Middle Ages that is described by some historians as “the holiest place in all of England” and an early hiding place of the Holy Grail. Graves thought to be those of Arthur and Guinevere have been unearthed here. St Mary's Chapel marks the site where Joseph of Arimathea established the first above-ground church in all of Christendom. The Celts had a deity named Easus who died and was supposed to come back to life. When the Druids heard about Jesus from Joseph of Arimathea, they saw the return of Easus in the story, and they gave Ynys Witrin, or Glastonbury, to him as a site for a church. This was the birthplace of Celtic Christianity, and grew to be a powerful pilgrimage site for Christians. On this hallowed ground we will take time for individual reflection and meditation to connect with these ancient energies. Later morning return to the hotel. Lunch on your own. Free time to explore more of Glastonbury on your own, shop, rest, integrate and reflect. Dinner on your own. Overnight Glastonbury.

Morning sightseeing tour of London’s West End, including Westminster Abbey, an architectural masterpiece of the 13th to 16th centuries, presenting a unique pageant of British history – the shrine of St Edward the Confessor, the tombs of kings and queens, and countless memorials to the famous and the great. It has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066 and for numerous other royal occasions. Today it is still a church dedicated to regular worship and to the celebration of great events in the life of the nation. Neither a cathedral nor a parish church, Westminster Abbey is a “Royal Peculiar” under the jurisdiction of a Dean and Chapter, subject only to the Sovereign.  Return to the hotel; lunch on your own. The afternoon is free. Maybe visit the British Museum if you like, or shop, etc.

In the evening we conclude our journey with an exceptional Farewell to England Dinner Cruise on the Thames River, combining luxury dining, world-class live entertainment, 5-star customer care and undeniably the most breathtaking views of London. We join the vessel at Butler’s Wharf Pier, by Tower Bridge, and sail down river passing a variety of different landscapes; the modern façade of Canary Wharf, the beauty of Greenwich, the architecture of The Millennium Dome and technology of the Thames Flood Barrier. The finale of the cruise is the opening of Tower Bridge, bathed in white light! The trip ends at London Bridge City Pier, where we disembark and return to the hotel. Overnight London.

Transfer to the airport for your return international flight to your home city.

OR, Depart for Scotland Tour

Note: This itinerary is subject to change due to conditions beyond our control.

(B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)

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Note: Pre-paid gratuities to cover guides, drivers, waiters, baggage handling, etc. Your Tour Escort will carry and disburse these funds so that you can relax and enjoy your trip, knowing that everyone assisting you is being taken care of properly.

Note: The single supplement is ONLY for those who would like to secure a private room throughout the tour, at the indicated additional price. If you are not traveling with anyone you know and would like to share a room, we will be happy to work to find you a suitable roommate. Per our Terms and Conditions, registration for the tour will be held open until two weeks before the departure date in order to try to match everyone with a roommate. If by that date we have not been able to match you with a suitable roommate, you will be responsible to pay for the single supplement. An early registration will facilitate this process.