BRITAIN SAMPLER - 2010

10 days incl. travel, or 9 days from London to London (GE)

Return to Scotland Vacations

Vacation Overview

Our most popular Britain vacation offers you the best of this great land. Guided sightseeing shows you all the famous landmarks in London: Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and visits to St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Changing of the Guard, if held. Head southwest to admire the breathtaking gardens at Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace, then venture on to prehistoric Stonehenge, the Roman excavations of Bath, the Cotswolds village of Stow, Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, and picturesque Llangollen in North Wales. Travel north through the Lake District, pausing in Wordsworth’s Grasmere and Gretna Green before arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital. Admire the Crown Jewels at Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, and Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford House. In medieval York, enjoy a walking tour that features York Minster and the narrow Shambles. Return to London by way of the market town of Stamford and the university city of Cambridge.

Special Departure:
Tickets for the world-famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo are included for tours departing Aug 6th through Aug 22nd.

Things to see on your vacation: View Vacation Photo Slideshow

A Vacation Story "Story of Mary, Queen of Scots"

"Crowned Queen of Scotland at less than a year of age in 1543 and heralded as the true Queen of England by many Catholics at age 15, as well as the Queen Consort of France at 16, Mary, Queen of Scots was charismatic, shrewd, courageous and beautiful. She loved archery, riding horses, hunting and hawking and played golf, billiards, cards and chess. Despite her passion for fun, she entered the world’s stage at a time of especially heated conflict between Catholics and Protestants. It was this conflict that drove the intrigue, plotting and backstabbing that dominated much of her life. In 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots, was unjustly accused of complicity in the murder of one husband and later imprisoned in England for 19 years, not because she was guilty of a crime but because her freedom would have been a threat to the English throne. At age 44, she was executed for treason in a plot to kill Elizabeth I, a conviction that was purely political. Despite the fact that Mary and Elizabeth I were blood cousins, queens of contiguous countries reigning at the same time and inextricably bound by political rivalry, Mary and Elizabeth never met. Only in death did they become close: Both are buried in Westminster Abbey."