IN SEARCH OF HARRY POTTER: MAGIC
AND MYTHS!
9 days inc arrival/departure
What a fantastic opportunity to visit England with the 'kids' or
'grandkids', introduce them to British culture, history and literature,
while at the same time discovering the world of J K Rowling and Harry Potter
through visits to film locations and sites and attractions associated with
the boy-wizard and friends.
Our memorable, fun-filled and magical tour has it all! Yes, there's
Hogwarts School and a taste of riding a 'Hogwarts Express'. There are
Harry's feathered friends, witches and fairies. There are giants (you!),
ghosts, and a flight across London's rooftops...All this and visits to the
historic cities of Gloucester and Oxford. You'll see fabulous castles,
timeless villages and prehistoric temples. You'll explore beneath the depths
of the earth in deep caves and caverns and discover, too, the works of other
marvellous, magical writers and their creations from Lewis Carroll's Alice
in Wonderland to the Hobbits of J R R Tolkien.
This tour can also be taken by family groups from 3 to 12 in size wishing to
have their own private tour. With your own tour, you can choose your own
travel dates, start on any day of the week, and either extend the tour or
contract it according to your own time and budget constraints. We can also
offer a one-day Harry Potter tour, departing central London, that features
film locations in Oxford, a steam train ride, and a visit to the miniature
village. Contact us for futher details and to discuss your family's 2003
vacation.
DEPARTURE DATES & PRICES FOR YEAR 2003
|
Tour Code |
Arrive London |
Depart London |
|
HPOT |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
HPOT1 |
19-Jul |
26-Jul |
|
HPOT2 |
26-Jul |
3-Aug |
|
HPOT3 |
02-Aug |
10-Aug |
Prices: Adult US$1845/Child US$1299 / Single
Supplement: Adult US$225/Child
Day One - Saturday
The wizardry begins on arrival as you're met upon arrival. After taking
you first to your hotel, we'll then whisk you away into the world's most
exciting city and the first of many adventures. We've no magic-carpet but a
ride on the famed Millennium Wheel is a good substitute as the fantastic
Ferris wheel that takes you, like Mary Poppins, above London's rooftops.
We'll complete our magical first day with some traditional fish 'n' chips.
Day Two - Sunday
This is Harry's city and we'll take today to explore it. Our day will
begin with an introductory tour, seeing all of the city's icons: Trafalgar
Square, Piccadilly, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Tower, St Paul's and
Westminster Cathedral. Then to London Zoo, home of more than 600 species of
rare animals. We'll concentrate on the reptile house where young Harry first
learns of his ability to speak to snakes. Imagine the surprise if one of
your family suddenly finds they have this skill! Our final visit of the day
is to King's Cross Station where we'll discover Platform 9 3/4. You can have
your photo taken where, in the film, Harry and other first year wizards
boarded the Hogwarts Express for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
There'll be some jealous looks back at your own school when they see the
photos.
Day Three - Monday
ALL ABOARD! The Hogwarts Express leaves town! Will you be on it? We leave
London and drive towards Salisbury. You'll see one of England's most
mysterious sites, the prehistoric Stonehenge, before we arrive at the
medieval village of Lacock. It's going to be fun exploring the 13th century
Abbey and spotting which bits were used for various interior scenes at
Hogwarts School. The kids can get themselves 'in the picture'! We're staying
tonight near the mystic heart of ancient Britain, Glastonbury, where the
leylines meet and there's always magic in the air and the promise of the
unexpected!
Day Four - Tuesday
Today is a day of Celtic myths and magic. Glastonbury is, according to
legend, the burial place of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. But there's
more legend here than simply the 'Knights of the Round Table'. This is a
city associated with fairies and where Gwyn ap Nudd, King of the Fairies,
set up court in the magical hollow of Glastonbury Tor. And yes, you'll visit
the Tor itself. This is also the day we board the 'Hogwarts Express' for a
ride on the steam train that featured in the film.
Day Five - Wednesday
We'll seek out the world of witches and descend deep into a world
reminiscent of Tolkien's 'Middle Earth', the caves and caverns of Wookey
Hole, home of the Wookey Witch. But we're on a particular wizard's trail
today. It's Merlin the Magician we seek (and yes, he really did exist) as we
cross the Severn River to Wales, land of the Red Dragon! This was an area
well-known to J K Rowling, creator of our boy-wizard, and places like the
12th century Chepstow castle and the Forest of Dean must have been a source
of great inspiration when she attended school in this area. We'll explore
the battlements of this fairytale fortress (where you can imagine defending
the castle against the forces of darkness alongside Merlin). Later, we'll
look for forest spirits and have some fun in the maze of 'puzzle wood'. Our
final highlight of the day is to visit some of Harry's favourite friends -
the owls and birds of prey at the National Bird of Prey Centre in
Gloucester. The question is, will they tell us what they see...
Day Six - Thursday
Stand by Potter fans! It's another opportunity to place yourself in
Hogwarts! This lovely, historic city of Gloucester has many wonderful
literary connections, in addition to visiting Gloucester Cathedral and the
King's School, both of which were used as locations for Hogwarts in Harry
Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. We'll introduce you to another Potter -
Beatrix Potter - and her creation Peter Rabbit. And you'll learn why Humpty
Dumpty can claim his origins here. We'll tour through the magnificent
Cotswolds, hearing exciting and mysterious tales of the area and stopping
off to find fairy rings and villages where you'd not be surprised to find
Hobbits. We'll be checking the locals to see if they've hairy feet
Day Seven - Friday
Are you ready to practise a bit of magic of your own? Today you will be
taking part in some authentic divining in the centre of a prehistoric stone
circle! When the divining rods twitch what will lie beneath our feet...?
Then to the majestic Oxford, 'city of the dreaming spires'. Many of the
scenes in the film were shot in various locations around Christchurch
College. You'll be able to have your own picture taken in Hogwarts Hall, or
on the great staircase where Professor McGonnigal greeted the new students.
Or perhaps the child in all if us will prefer to be pictured in the
cloisters of Christchurch, the setting for Hogwarts Trophy Room and where
Harry is shown the trophy his father won as a seeker in Quidditch. Oxford
was also the setting for a magical book of another age but still managing to
thrill today's generations. You'll see where Alice wondered through the
small door into Wonderland, find a dodo, and discover where Lewis Carroll
took his inspiration for the white rabbit, elongated necks and Mad Hatter
tea parties on our 'Alice in Wonderland' walk. You'll also see where J R R
Tolkien (Lord of the Rings), C S Lewis (The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe) and T S Elliot (The Wasteland) all met to discuss their fabulous
tales. What a super opportunity of introducing new generations to a wider
but always magical world of English literature.
Day Eight - Saturday
We've more great highlights than you can shake a broomstick at for our
final day. First, to a miniature village where instead of seeing giants
we'll all be one as we stride over houses and tiny people!
Our second event of the day will be to visit the caves where the
Hell-Fire Club met. Why that shiver? Surely you're not scared of the spooks!
On to the quaint Thames riverside town of Marlow (where Mary Shelly's
ghastly 'Frankenstein' was partially written) and perhaps a boat ride on the
river, if we haven't managed one already. Finally, our climax, tonight we'll
enjoy a ghost tour of London, descending into haunted prison cells below the
city's streets, graveyards where owls hoot, and to where the pirates met
their 'orrible deaths! What a finish to our Harry Potter tour and what a day
to remember!
Day Nine - Sunday
Alas, it's time to return home and you're transferred to your airport of
departure. It has been a truly special journey through some of the most
beautiful countryside of England and Wales. Everyone in the family, young
and old, will have photographs and memories to remind them of their time
together in the magical world of Harry Potter. |
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