London, the Countryside & Edinburgh

Step outside your hotel, for a stroll through the streets of the heart of the English-speaking world. In this city of nearly seven million, you'll see everything from 12th-century fortifications to modern skyscrapers, formal parks to punk rockers. Your Tour Director will lead you to some of the most famous sites. Walk along the Thames River. Cross Trafalgar Square. See bustling Piccadilly Circus. Pass trendy shops and cafés in Bohemian Soho on your way to Covent Garden, a 13th-century fruit and vegetable garden transformed into a maze of narrow streets and pedestrian walkways burgeoning with street performers, open-air markets and boutiques.

Located in an impressive domed building right in Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery houses a rich collection of over 2,000 works of art dating from the mid 13th century to 1900. Explore the beautiful marble hallways to see famous paintings and learn about the work it takes to preserve and care for these masterpieces.

Nothing’s more British than fish and chips—there are eight fish and chip shops (“chippies”) for every McDonald’s in the country. Head to an authentic pub with your Tour Director for a taste of this national food, generally served with malt vinegar.

Join a licensed local guide for an in-depth look at London, from the royal haunt of Buckingham Palace (the official London residence of Queen Elizabeth II) to the slightly more democratic Speakers’ Corner of Hyde Park, where anyone can pull up a soapbox and orate to his heart’s content. You’ll see the changing of the guard (season permitting), the clock tower of Big Ben with its 14-ton bell, and Westminster Abbey, where almost every English king and queen since William the Conqueror has been crowned. After a stop at the Houses of Parliament, continue on to the magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral, the masterpiece of London architect Christopher Wren.

Visit prehistoric Stonehenge, built in 3,000 BC, a mysterious monument of four concentric rings of hefty stones, believed to be a sacred place of worship or some type of calendar.

Evocative Lacock Abbey, rebuilt in the 18th century, was used as the setting for many of the classroom scenes in the Harry Potter films.

England's most fashionable spa town in the 18th century, beautiful, Georgian-style Bath was where the society set headed to "take the waters" and attend the theaters. But the spa scene began bubbling long before then. The Romans built baths here between the 1st and 5th centuries to capitalize on the area's natural hot springs. A professional, local tour guide will lead you to the Roman ruins, some of the best in Europe. But keep your clothes on! Your tour continues to the remains of the Medieval abbey church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (built on the site of a nunnery from the 670s). Look up at the fan-vaulted ceiling. Step back outside to see the ornate west front featuring relief sculptures of Jacob's ladder. Continue to Pulteney Bridge, built in the 18th century after the style of Florence's Ponte Vecchio. As in Florence, shops line the span.

Explore the oldest English-speaking university in the world. Founded in 1096, Oxford got a big attendance boost in 1167, when a tiff between the English and French kings caused all English students to be expelled from the University of Paris. Many came back to Oxford, and since then the university has been home to many of England's most illustrious thinkers and writers, including Sir Walter Raleigh, Roger Bacon -- and Dr. Seuss.

Envision flying candelabra, floating school crests, and swooping owls all hovering over the deafening din of a typical school cafeteria. Now step into Christ Church College, and see the location for Hogwart's dining hall. Don't forget to check out Bodleian Library, which was used as Hogwarts library, and the Divinity School, which was transformed into the hospital wing!

See William Shakespeare's childhood home, furnished in a style typical to the Elizabethan period. Then tour the thatched cottage where his wife, Anne Hathaway, lived before her marriage. The adjoining Shakespeare Tree Garden is planted with trees and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare's plays.

Take a trip to the banks of the River Avon and explore the rich history of this 1,100 year old castle. Wander through its grand interior, meet Henry VII and his wives, and experience the re-creation of the dark and grisly past of the castle’s dungeons.

Charming York combines medieval mysteries with modern flair. Gothic buildings and cobblestone streets lead to bustling shopping districts; ancient stones make up the now-picturesque city walls. Explore the birthplace of Guy Fawkes with your Tour Director.

Spectacular York Minster has the largest medieval stained-glass window in the world, and holds half of all of England's medieval stained glass. The largest Gothic building in the country dazzles visitors with these intricate works, from the silvery Five Sisters Window to the apocalyptic East Window, which depicts both the beginning and the end of the world.

Travel through the heather-covered hills of Yorkshire, a wild, rugged landscape that looks like the setting for Wuthering Heights. Stop at York Minster, the largest Gothic church in England. "Large" is not a big enough word to describe this 534-foot-long cathedral. Step inside and gaze up at the 90-foot soaring ceilings, gargantuan pillars, and stained-glass windows so intensely coloured, they look like jewels. Bring binoculars to get a good look at the cobalt and garnet glass in the church's 128 stained-glass windows.

Magnificent Alnwick Castle, the second largest in the country, has been a favorite setting for movies, with several Harry Potter and Robin Hood films to its credit. The Hogwarts crew used Alnwick when they learned to fly their brooms, and for several of the Quidditch game sequences.

Edinburgh Castle, the historical and emotional heart of the city, is just one of the many sights you will see on this tour, led by a licensed professional guide. Make your way along the Royal Mile, the main thoroughfare of the 16th and 17th centuries. (It's actually one mile and 107 yards long--from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyrood House). As you make your way along cobbled streets, you'll see a handful of the several thousand buildings officially protected in Edinburgh because of their architectural or historic importance. The 200-foot spire of the Sir Walter Scott monument soars above the East Princes Street Gardens. Grand figures from Scottish history adorn its heights, make sure you also look down -- the figure below the marble statue is Scott's favorite dog, Maida.