London

Platform 9 3/4

Old Harry Rocks

Hotel Miramar

On this tour, you will not only explore iconic sites relating to J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and J.K. Rowling, but you will also see world-famous sites and experience the most breathtaking scenery that England and Scotland have to offer. In each city, you will stay at high-quality establishments, including the beautiful Hotel Miramar overlooking the sea in Bournemouth and the grand Old Parsonage Hotel in the center of Oxford. A comfortable luxury coach will transport you from place to place. In addition, all breakfasts, three lunches, and a celebratory dinner are covered in your ticket cost.

During this tour, you will receive guiding from author, historian, and avid fantasy fan Solomon Schmidt, who will present a wealth of information and fascinating stories relating to these authors’ lives and works. You will be provided with wireless headsets that make for easy listening no matter the location – whether you’re standing atop the majestic cliffs of Old Harry Rocks or walking through the enchanting streets of Oxford! Please be advised that although we will be transported around the country in a luxury coach, some days will include several miles of easy walking.

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Throughout this tour, you will have personal freedom to break away from the group and explore on your own if you wish. For six of the eight nights, you will also be able to make your own dinner plans and spend time strolling through incredible cities like Oxford and Edinburgh. This tour will be exhilarating, informative, but also relaxing.

On Saturday morning, you will begin your experience of London at Parliament Square, where you will have some time to explore the area around Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. You will also have the option of being taken to King’s Cross Station for a visit to Platform 9 ¾ and the Harry Potter Gift Shop.

From Parliament Square, we will make our way to the magnificent Tower Bridge over the mighty River Thames and on to lunch at the Ivy Tower Bridge, where you can look across the water and see the Tower of London on the other side!

After a relaxing lunch, we will head to the Hotel Miramar in Bournemouth, where J.R.R. Tolkien himself was a frequent guest!

Platform 9 3/4

Harry Potter Gift Shop

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

Get ready for a relaxing morning by the sea on the beautiful Bournemouth coast! Our tour starts in the morning with a drive and a walk to Old Harry Rocks, an incredible vista of enormous chalk cliffs and spectacular ocean views. While there, we will talk about how the sea inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination in his creation of Middle-earth and the incredible mythological tales behind it. You will have time to explore the majestic scenery around you or simply relax and soak in the surroundings.

Once our visit to Old Harry Rocks is complete, it’s back to the Hotel Miramar for a fine Sunday Lunch at the hotel, and afterwards, we will drive to the world-famous site Stonehenge. After we arrive, you will have time to visit the ancient monument and take in the beautiful countryside surrounding it.

From Stonehenge, we will continue on to the Old Parsonage Hotel in Oxford! Feel free to stroll through the enchanting streets of the city and have dinner wherever you wish.

Old Harry Rocks

Hotel Miramar

Front Lawn of the Hotel Miramar

Bournemouth Beach and Pier

Stonehenge

Oxford. It’s been called the City of Dreaming Spires and is home to the thousand-year-old Oxford University. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis lived here for most of their lives. Professor Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings while living at 20 Northmoor Rd, and just a short drive away is The Kilns, home of C.S. Lewis and his brother Warren for over thirty years. It was here that Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia and housed refugee schoolchildren during World War II…sound familiar?

Tolkien and Lewis both taught at Oxford University and spent countless hours walking through the beautiful countryside surrounding the city. They were also members of an informal writer’s group called the Inklings, who met often at The Eagle & Child pub in Central Oxford.

Harry Potter filming locations are sprinkled throughout the city, including Duke Humfrey’s Library, which became Hogwarts Library, and the magnificent Christ Church College. Christ Church houses the Bodley Tower Staircase, which was the location for Professor McGonagall’s introduction to the new students in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. In addition, the dining hall of the college served as the inspiration for the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

You will visit all of these sites and more during our two-and-a-half days in Oxford. The Old Parsonage Hotel, where you will stay for all three nights in Oxford, is a five-star establishment with a fine restaurant, and it is conveniently located near the city center, just a short walk from many restaurants, shops, and iconic sites, including Tolkien’s church.

After lunch on Wednesday, July 10, we will make our way to the Residence Inn in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland and home of J.K. Rowling!

20 Northmoor Road

Tolkien’s grave

The Kilns

C.S. Lewis’s grave

The Eagle and Child

Duke Humfrey’s Library

Christ Church College

Bodley Tower Staircase

Christ Church Dining Hall

Magdalen College, where C.S. Lewis taught

Merton College, where Tolkien taught

Radcliffe Camera, famous landmark and library of Oxford University

Old Parsonage Hotel

Inside the Old Parsonage

After breakfast at the hotel, we will begin our whirlwind tour through Edinburgh, the home city of J.K. Rowling and capital of Scotland. Just a short walk away is Greyfriars Kirkyard, which contains a number of mysterious tombstone names: McGonagall, Sirius Black, Tom Riddle. From the Kirkyard, you can see George Heriot’s School, which was founded almost 400 years ago and shares remarkable similarities with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

From there, it’s on to the enchanting Victoria Street in the city center, which houses the Museum Context Harry Potter store. Nearby is The Elephant House, where Rowling spent hours tirelessly putting pen to paper to complete what eventually became Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Following these sites, we will take a scenic walk through the city to the Balmoral Hotel, where Rowling checked in to finish the final Harry Potter book.

In the afternoon, we’ll head to the mighty Edinburgh Castle, which looms over the city and is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest castles in the world. You will be able to roam this amazing historic site using handy self-guided touring devices.

Once our time in Edinburgh is complete, we will drive through Scotland to our hotel in Fort William in preparation for our incredible ride on the Jacobite Steam Train next day.

Greyfriars Kirkyard

George Heriot’s School

Victoria Street

Elephant House

Balmoral Hotel

View from Edinburgh Castle

Fort William is a beautiful town located in the magnificent Scottish Highlands and situated close to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. On Friday morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we will head to the Fort William Railway Station for the start of our amazing ride on The Jacobite Steam Train.

This spectacular journey will take us 84 miles through the heart of the Scottish Highlands, past inspiring vistas of lush meadows, thick forests, crystal lakes, and rolling hills. Around lunchtime, the train will stop in the lovely town of Mallaig, where you will be free to have lunch at any place of your choice and spend time exploring the town. From there, we’ll return to the train station for the last leg of our trip back to Fort William.

To Potter fans, The Jacobite is also known as Hogwarts Express, and during your ride, you will pass by remarkable Potter filming locations and be able to immerse yourself in the real-life places that inspired J.K. Rowling while she was writing the world of Harry Potter into existence!”

Whether you are a Harry Potter fan or not, though, riding on The Jacobite is a once-a-lifetime experience that you will never forget.

After arriving back in Fort William and before heading to our hotel in Edinburgh, we will drive to Pitlochry, Scotland, to celebrate the tour with a memorable last dinner at the Atholl Palace, a luxurious establishment nestled in lush, green forests and hills. The perfect end to an incredible week!

Fort William

The Jacobite Steam Train

Mallaig

Atholl Palace

Scenery around the Atholl Palace

Dining at the Atholl Palace