Depart on your international overnight flight.

Arrive in London and begin your journey north to Oxford.  On the way, stop at the site of Wynyard School. Here, Jack (C.S. Lewis) and his brother, Warren, attended a miserable boarding school.  Check into your hotel for your overnight stay, and journey out for dinner at the Trout Inn.   (B)

This morning, you will enjoy a walking tour of Oxford. Stop at University College, the oldest college in Oxford (1249). Jack received a scholarship to attend here in 1916 and, after entering the Officers Training Corps, was later sent to France in World War I. Walk through the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. Here, the Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy, and John Wesley preached until his views were rejected. Continue to Christ Church College and visit the dining hall where John Wesley and other alums are honored on the walls. Walk through the Sheldonian Theater, where scholars have graduated or been granted honorary degrees since 1669. John and Charles Wesley, and C. S. Lewis were among the many famous people who celebrated their degrees here. The tour includes visiting the Bodleian Library, the primary research library for Oxford with 12 million items. Stop at the Eagle and Child Pub, where C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and other writers occasionally met as part of the “Inklings” club. Spend the afternoon in the Ashmolean Museum, the world’s first university museum. The museum contains a vast and unique collection, ranging from Da Vinci and Picasso pieces to a Stradivarius violin and Cromwell’s death mask. Return to your hotel for your overnight stay.   (B)

You will visit Magdalen (pronounced “Maudlin”) College this morning, where C. S. Lewis was a fellow for most of his academic career. Here, Jack worked through his beliefs from Atheism to Theism to Christianity, and became the prolific writer and apologist known today. From here, travel to The Kilns, Lewis’s home. Built-in 1922, the Lewis brothers moved into the home in 1930. This would remain Jack’s home until he died in 1963. Stop at Churchill Hospital, built in 1940 to treat air raid victims. The hospital was the site of the Christian marriage between Lewis and Joy Davidson Gresham in 1957. You’ll visit Holy Trinity Church, the church Jack and Warren attended in life and are buried in the graveyard here. The Narnia window in the church is of particular interest. This afternoon depart Oxford in time for afternoon tea in a village in the Cotswolds, home to thatched roofed cottages and shops. Finish your day in Bristol with dinner and your overnight stay. (B, D)

This morning, you will visit one of Wesley’s early centers of ministry, the “New Room.” This oldest Methodist building in the world is beautiful in its basic simplicity. Then, visit the home of Charles Wesley, the famous hymn writer. After lunch on your own, continue to London for a driving tour. See Trafalgar Square, Parliament and Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, and other historic sights. Time permitting, attend evensong at St. Paul’s Cathedral, the masterpiece of architect Christopher Wren, built after the Great Fire of 1666. John Wesley often worshiped here. On the day of his conversion, Wesley came here for an afternoon service and was deeply moved by the choir’s anthem, “Out of the Deep Have I Called Unto Thee, O Lord.”(B)

This morning, walk through the Churchill War Rooms, learning about how this nerve center led British efforts in World War II. From here, you will stop at the BBC Studios. C. S. Lewis was asked to broadcast during the war, and his series of talks were later edited to become the book Mere Christianity. This afternoon, you will explore the Tower of London. Learn about its many prisoners who suffered for their beliefs amidst its 900+ year history. (B)

John and Charles Wesley left their marks on the town of London. You’ll have a lecture at City Road Chapel, site of Wesley’s home and grave. Across the street in Bunhill Fields Cemetery, Susanna Wesley is buried along with other famous personages such as John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe. Walk on to Aldersgate Street, where on May 24, 1738, John Wesley had his “Warming of the Heart” experience. You will walk past the entrance of “Little Britain,” where Charles Wesley had his conversion experience just three days earlier. This afternoon, tour Westminster Abbey, begun by King Edward the Confessor in the 11th century. It is the traditional coronation place for British monarchs, and the royalty and famous of England are buried or memorialized here. Across the street from the cathedral is the Methodist Central Hall. Still a church, it was an early site of the initial meetings of the United Nations. (B)

Return home with memories of the Legacies of John Wesley and C. S. Lewis, or stay on for a London On Your Own or Wales Extension.