Day 1

Arrive London Heathrow Airport. After clearing customs and immigration meet your tour director.

Orientation tour of London en route to hotel.

Welcome dinner & overnight: London

Day 2

Depart hotel with London Blue Badge guide for a sightseeing tour of the city, including Westminster Abbey & Poet's Corner, St Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.

Your guide will set the literary scene, explaining how the city has inspired many famous writers over the centuries, from Chaucer to Virginia Woolf.

The rest of the afternoon and evening is at leisure.

Overnight: London

Day 3

Depart the hotel for a full day tour of Literary London including a morning visit to the Globe Theatre and Exhibition, the Sherlock Holmes Museum and the Charles Dickens Museum.

This evening enjoy a 1-hour walking tour of Bloomsbury / Fitzrovia featuring some famous literary landmarks such as the Fitzroy Tavern (with its Dylan Thomas and George Orwell connections)

Overnight: London

Day 4

Depart this morning for a full day excursion of literary sites in southern England, including Jane Austen's House in Chawton, Winchester Cathedral and city, and the Arthurian Great Hall and Round Table.

Overnight : Salisbury

Day 5

Depart this morning for a full day excursion including the 'Roman' city of Bath and mysterious Stonehenge. Visit the Roman Baths Museum and explore some of the city's literary connections (Mary Shelley, Coleridge, Jane Austen.)

Free time for lunch and shopping in Bath.

Overnight: Bath

Day 6

Depart this morning for the city of Oxford, stopping for a short tour of one of the sites linked with the Harry Potter movies, eg Bodleian Library or one of the Oxford Colleges - according to availability

Continue to Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of England's greatest writer, William Shakespeare. There will be free time and the opportunity to have lunch, followed by a visit to the Shakespeare Birthplace Museum.

Later this afternoon continue to the journey north into the region of Cumbria, arriving in the early evening.

Overnight: Cumbria

Day 7

Depart for the Lake District for a tour of the main scenic points of interest such as Lake Windermere and some of the places associated with the Romantic poets. Visit Dove Cottage, the home of the poet William Wordsworth.

Time for lunch independently before continuing your journey into Scotland via the famous village of Gretna Green, where in former times young eloping couples would go to be married.

Continue to Edinburgh, Scotland's majestic capital city.

Dinner and overnight: Edinburgh

Day 8

Depart this morning with your city guide for a half-day sightseeing tour of Edinburgh including the main sights such as the Royal Mile and Princes Street, and points of literary interest such as the Sir Walter Scott Monument. Also see places linked with other famous writers (eg Robert Louis Stevenson). A visit to Edinburgh Castle will be included.

The afternoon will be free to explore Edinburgh on your own.

This evening enjoy a special Scottish farewell dinner.

Overnight: Edinburgh

Day 9

Free time until transfer to airport