BRITISH WINTER SAMPLER - 2009

7 days incl. travel, or 6 days from London to London (XA)

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Vacation Overview

This 7-day tour is a perfect introduction to the English countryside, Scotland’s Lowlands, and Edinburgh. Depart London and take a break in Cambridge, one of the country’s oldest seats of learning. In York your Tour Director will take you on a walking tour through the narrow Shambles and to the impressive Minster. Then, inspect a section of Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman coast-to-coast defense against marauding northern tribes; see ruins of Jedburgh Abbey; and visit Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford House before an overnight stay in Edinburgh, the “Prince of Cities.” Here your city sightseeing includes a visit to Edinburgh Castle to admire the Scottish Crown Jewels. Southbound again through the Lowland Hills to Gretna Green and Grasmere before an overnight stay in the historic town of Chester. Another walking tour introduces you to the 2-tiered arcades called the “Rows” and the Roman remains. Last highlight of your vacation is a visit to Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon and a photo stop at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage.

Things to see on your vacation: View Vacation Photo Slideshow

A Vacation Story Gretna Green

"There are many legends of love that surround Gretna Green – the first town encountered across the Scottish border. For centuries, Gretna Green has been synonymous with elopement and blacksmith marriages, although marriage by a blacksmith is more legend than fact. Until the 18th century, church marriages among the lower classes in Europe were almost unheard of. Instead, lower class weddings were usually looked at as “marriage by declaration.” When England passed the Marriage Act of 1754, establishing church weddings as the only legal form of marriage, a sudden industry began over the border in Scotland, where couples could still wed by declaration. Scottish “blacksmith priests” began working in pubs and inns and the eloping couples came in droves."