Our pilgrimage begins as we depart on our overnight flight to London. Meals and refreshments will be served aloft.

Upon arrival in London, we are met by our local tour manager, who will be with us for the duration of our pilgrimage. Depending upon our arrival time, we enjoy an overview tour of London, including St. Etheldreda’s church, one of the oldest Catholic Churches in England, featuring beautiful stained-glass depictions of biblical and historical events, including ones honoring the English martyrs. Continue to St. Paul’s Cathedral, the masterpiece designed by Sir Christopher Wren, once a Catholic church, but now an Anglican Cathedral. Time permitting, see other famed sites from our coach as we proceed to our hotel to check in for dinner and overnight. (D – Overnight London)

This morning, we will enjoy a full day tour of London including the Marble Arch, Hyde Park, and Trafalgar Square. We view Buckingham Palace (including the Changing of the Guard ceremony if held), the Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben. This afternoon, we marvel at Westminster Abbey on a guided tour followed by some free time for personal exploration and reflection. (B, D – Overnight London)

We begin this morning with a visit to the infamous Tower of London. The Tower has been – amongst other things – a prison and a palace, and Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, along with Anne Boleyn and Sir Walter Raleigh all spent their last days here before execution on Tower Green. We will spend time in prayer in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula and venerate the burial place of Sts. More and Fisher, followed by a visit to Tower Hill, where a plaque and small garden commemorate the famed execution site, as well as all those executed here. (B, D – Overnight London)

Today we enjoy a full-day excursion to Rochester and Canterbury. In Rochester, home of St. John Fisher, we will have an outside view of Rochester Cathedral, former seat of the Catholic diocese of Rochester, and visit the chapel built in honor and memory of this courageous bishop – the only Bishop of England to vocally oppose King Henry VIII. We continue to Canterbury, the most important ancient city in England. In 597 Augustine arrived, sent by Pope Gregory the Great from Rome. In 598, Augustine established a Benedictine monastery which became the burial place of the Kings and Archbishops. St. Dunstan’s Church (now belonging to the Church of England) houses the burial crypt of the Roper family (St. Thomas More’s daughter and family), which also contains the head of St. Thomas More. In Canterbury Cathedral, St. Thomas Becket was martyred by the Knights of Henry II in 1170 while praying vespers and three years later was canonized. It was to his tomb where Chaucer’s pilgrims were traveling in The Canterbury Tales. We will have a guided tour of this marvelous cathedral with some time at leisure before returning to London. (B, D – Overnight London)

Leaving London this morning we drive northwards to the famous university city of Cambridge, delightfully situated on the River Cam. We will visit Kings College (if open to the public) with its wonderful chapel, see something of student life and watch lazy punts gliding down the river in a tranquil area called “the Backs.” We continue to Bury St. Edmunds, where King Edmund (later St. Edmund) was martyred by the Danes in 869 and whose bones are buried in the Abbey. Then it is on to Norwich to visit the Cathedral and its cloisters, and the cell of Dame Julian, the great 14th century mystic. We also see some of the wonderful, old and interesting buildings, and picturesque gabled houses with crooked timbers and color‐washed plaster work before checking into our hotel for dinner and overnight. (B, D – Overnight Norwich)

This morning, we will depart Norwich and drive to Little Walsingham which holds a unique place in history as the premier place for pilgrimage in England for nearly 1000 years. In 1061 the lady of the manor, Richeldis de Faverches, had a series of visions of the Virgin Mary, who showed her the house in Nazareth where the angel Gabriel made his revelation of the forthcoming birth of Jesus. Our Lady asked Richeldis to build a replica of the holy house here in Walsingham. Founded at the time of the Crusades when it was impossible to visit the Holy Land, English Christians were able to visit ‘Nazareth’ in their own country and Walsingham became the premier shrine to Our Lady. Around it grew a large monastery. At its height in medieval times, Walsingham rivalled Canterbury and the great shrines of Europe. We begin our visit with a stop at the Slipper Chapel, built in 1325 as the last and most important of the wayside chapels that pilgrims would stop at on their journey. Then visit the ruins of the Augustinian Priory of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was one of the premier shrines to Our Lady in England, up until its dissolution in 1538. It has recently been reestablished and welcomed Catholic friars for the first time in centuries. After Mass we will continue to Lincoln for overnight. (B, D – Overnight Lincoln)

This morning, we will visit we will visit Lincoln Cathedral, one of England’s most magnificent cathedrals, standing on the crest of a ridge rising high above the lower town and the River Witham. We will see some of the fine examples of the rich merchant’s black and white timbered houses and other ancient buildings. We then continue northwards to the medieval walled city of York, to visit the massive Minster with its majestic towers and priceless stained-glass windows. We will enjoy a walking tour along the winding maze of narrow streets of York where the upper stories of the houses lean precariously towards each other across the roadways, before our dinner and overnight at our hotel. (B, D – Overnight York)

After breakfast, we depart York and drive to Fountains Abbey – one of the largest and best-preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. After visiting the Abbey ruins and the gardens we continue north to Durham to visit Durham Cathedral, burial site of St. Cuthbert and Venerable Bede. We can also visit the Cathedral Museum, which will have a special exhibit of the Magna Carta, including original documents on display for its 800th anniversary. Later, after crossing the Scottish border, at Jedburgh we will take a moment to capture pictures of the house of Mary, Queen of Scots, and view the abbey ruins from the outside. Continue to Edinburgh and check‐in at our hotel. (B, D – Overnight Edinburgh)

Today we will enjoy a full day tour of Edinburgh – the capital and largest city of Scotland – including visits to the New Town, the Scott’s Monument, the Grassmarket, and St. Giles Cathedral with its famous Thistle Chapel. Afterwards, tour Edinburgh Castle, where we will see the Scottish Crown Jewels and Holyrood house, the Queen’s official residence in Scotland. These sites are connected to each other by what is known as the Royal Mile, a unique place to visit in and of itself. We return this evening to our hotel for dinner and overnight. (B, D – Overnight Edinburgh)

After breakfast, we journey outside of Edinburgh on an excursion to the Scottish Highlands. Drive to the city of Stirling to see the historic Wallace Monument along with Stirling Castle, one of the largest castles in Scotland. Then proceed through the scenic Trossachs National Park and enjoy impressive views of the untouched nature of the Scottish Highlands. Travel along the banks of Loch Lomond, where you can marvel at Britain’s largest expanse of fresh water. Upon our return to Edinburgh this evening, we enjoy a traditional Scottish dinner where we will sample Scottish Whisky and watch Highland Dancers, Bagpipers, and the Ceremony of the Haggis. (B, D – Overnight Edinburgh)

This morning, we transfer to the airport to catch our return flight home, taking with us all the graces and blessings of this pilgrimage. (B)