Itinerary For The Methodist Tour To England
Day 1 Departure from USA
Day 2 Arrival London
- Meet our coach at London Airport and transfer to hotel. Check in and relax for the remainder of the day after our flight. Welcome dinner at the hotel.
Day 3 London Sightseeing - Wesley's Chapel
- Our City guide takes us us on a tour of London highlighting the West End with its parks and gardens, (visit) the Housees of Parliament, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, a visit to Westminster Abbey, and finishing with the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace (if held).
In the hear of the city of London we visit Wesley's Chapel and Museum. This was the home of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and we can also see his grave. See the plaque nearby entitleed 'Aldersgate' marking the site of the conversion of John and Charles Wesley, situated betweeen St. Paul's and the British Museum.
Day 4 London - Cambridge - Lincoln - Doncaster
- Depart after breakfast via Epping Forest to the University city of Cambridge where we stop for a stroll in the town, see the River Cam and enjoy the university life which permiates the town.
Continuing via Stamford and Grantham to Lincoln. Lincoln is dominted by its Cathedaral, dating from the 11 th centuray which stands out from the flat Lincolnshire countryside. After a short stop here we reach Epworth, birthplace of John Wesley, and check in to our hotel in the Doncaster area for dinner and overnight.
Day 5
- This morning we shall visit the Wesley Chapel Museum, and the home and birthplace of John Wesley at Epworth. John Wesley's great work in the 18 th Century laid the foundations for the Methodist Church as it stands today. We shall try to arrange lunch in the rectory.
This afternoon we shall drive to York to visit this old Roman city, enjoying a look inside the magnificent Minster, and strolling in the Shambles unique shopping lanes. Return to Doncaster for dinner and overnight.
Day 6 Doncaster - Sheffield - Great Barr - Coventry
- First to Sheffield, largest city in Yorkshire, where we visit the town centre, Castle Square with its underground shopping complex and Castle market, the old town. The remnans of theGeorgian quarter north of the anglican Cathedral, include the quiet oasis of Paradise Square. John Wesley preached to his largest weekday congregation here in July 1779.
To the Birmingham area, to the small suburb known as Great Barr. We shall visit the cottage at Great Barr of the Methodist Bishop, Frances Asbury. Asbury was sent to the New World by John Wesley in 1770, and travelled a quarter of a million miles on horseback in his efforts to win converts for the Methodist faith. 1995 is the 250 th anniversary of his birth.
This afternoon we drive into Coventry to see the new Cathedral built next to the ruins of the old which was destroyed in World War II. Overnight in Coventry area.
Day 7 Coventry - Stratford Upon Avon/Witney/Oxford/Bristol
- Via Warwick to Stratford Upon Avon, stopping to sightsee in this Elizabethan town, visiting the birthplace of William Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway's cottage, and seeing the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.
Drive through the pretty Cotswold countryside, to the small hamlet of South Leigh, near Witney. Stop here to see the church notable for its 14-15C wall paintings. John Wesley preached his first sermon here in 1725. Next into Oxford, where we shall visit Lincoln College, one of the best preserved of the last medieval colleges. We shall see the rooms in which John Wesley, a fellow of the college, is said to have lived and members of the Holy Club or Methodists first met. We also see the church of St. Mary the Virgin where John Wesley worshipped and preached.
Later this afternon we reach Bristol and check into hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 8 Bristol - Bath - Bristol
- We enjoy a drive through the thriving city of Bristol, a seaport and manufacturing centre. We shall see the OLDEST METHODIST CHAPEL in England, and 'New Room,' built by by John Wesley in 1739 and restored in 1930. Wesley himself used the living quarters upstairs. His statue stands in the courtyard.
Drive to the fine Georgian city of Bath, where we stop to see the famous Pulteney Bridge and the Roman Baths. Time for shopping on our own before returning to Brisol overnight.
Day 9 Bristol - Glastonbury - Plymouth
- Our morning ride takes us through the apple growing countryside of Somerset where we can stop to see a farm where they make the local cider. During the morning we stop at the town of Glastonbury, seeing the remains of the Abbey, where history and legend combine to make this an important pilgrim shrine. According to romantic legent, St. Joseph of Arimathea brought the chalice of the Last Supper to Glastonbury in about AD 60.
We continue on to Devon, via Exeter to Plymouth, our stop for three nights.
Day 10 Plymouth - Cornwall - Plymouth
- A full day in Cornwall in the country where Wesley used to preach searching for converts to Methodism from the tin mining community. We shall go to Redruth, seeing nearby Gwennapp Pit, were Wesley preached to a large congregation of miners. We shall also visit a tin mine, restored and in working condition.
Via Bodmin Moor to Okehampton on the edge of Dartmoor to South Zeal, a former copper mining village, and to South Tawton, one of Wesley's regular preaching stations, which has a 15 th century granite church.
Return to Plymouth via Tavistock, to our hotel in the famous Hoe from where the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to America.
Day 11 Plymouth Free Day
- A full free day for shopping, strolling the Hoe, perhaps a boat cruise around the famous harbour, and time to relax. Other tours into the countryside or to coastal resorts of Devon are available. Overnight in Plymouth.
Day 12 Plymouth - London
- After breakfast we shall journey to central London via motorway with stops en route. Check into hotel later afternoon with a free evening ahead.
Day 13 London Free Day
- Last day of our tour free for our own sightseeing and shopping. Overnight London.
Day 14 Departure
- Transfer to London Gatwick for return flight to US and the end of our tour.
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