Pilgrimage overview
October 6-17, 2024
Led by the Rev. David Hodges
I am excited to have this opportunity to invite you and others and who may want to participate on a pilgrimage to England. This pilgrimage is designed to explore and worship in sacred sites and to learn more about our Anglican/Episcopal heritage. In addition to visiting cathedrals in places like Canterbury, Coventry, Durham and York, there will be opportunities to visit and tour a variety of historic and cultural places.
I hope you will take some time to look through the itinerary, which has been thoughtfully put together by The Very Dominic Barrington, who is the Dean of York Minster in Great Britain. Dean Barrington is a friend who, in addition to his work as dean of one of the world’s magnificent cathedrals, has extensive experience in organizing pilgrimages. His knowledge of and connections in the Church of England will help to make this a special trip.
I hope you will join me on this pilgrimage that will provide an opportunity to learn, to have fellowship and fun, and that will help to deepen our relationship with God. Please look at the itinerary and feel free to contact me should you have any questions. All the information is included about how you can reserve your spot on the trip.
Many blessings,
David+
Included
- Airfare
- Hotel Accommodations
- Breakfast throughout, lunch on day 9, and dinner on days 2, 5 and 11
Not Included
- Single Room Supplement
- Travel Insurance
- Any item of a personal nature
FLIGHT INFORMATION & INTINERARY
+ Scheduled flights from St. Louis to London on Delta and Virgin Airlines:
DEPARTURE: October 6
DL1485-St. Louis / Atlanta - 5.05 pm/7.41 pm
DL32-Atlanta / London - 9.55 pm/11.10 am
RETURN: October 17
VS109-Manchester / Atlanta - 11.40 am/4.00 pm
DL2833-Atlanta / St Louis - 7.59 pm/8.39 pm
We can arrange flights from other US airports for pilgrims not based near St Louis. We can also arrange both upgrades to premium cabins, and/or extensions for those who wish to spend longer in Britain or other European countries. Please email info@lightlinena.com with your requests as soon as possible.
INCLUDED IN TOUR COST:
+ All airport departure & passenger taxes.
+ Accommodations are:
-Canterbury Cathedral Lodge - A pilgrim lodge located within the cathedral precincts
-Hotel Indigo, Stratford - A centrally located historic property.
-Malmaison York - A luxury hotel close to York Minster.
+ Meals - Meals and breakfast throughout, lunch on day 9, and dinner on days 2, 5 and 11
+ All entrance fees and local government taxes.
NOT INCLUDED IN TOUR COST:
+ Single Room supplement
+ Travel Insurance (we suggest Allianz Global Assistance)
+ Any items of a personal nature.
Day 1: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6
We meet in the afternoon at St Louis Lambert Airport for a flight to Atlanta, where we connect onwards to an overnight flight to London. Dinner will be served on board, and we hope to manage a few hours sleep before landing in London the next morning.
Day 2: Monday, October 7
We land in the early morning at London’s Heathrow Airport. After clearing immigration and customs formalities, we will drive to Canterbury aiming to arrive in time for those who wish to attend Evensong. After the service we will have an opening dinner to mark the start of our pilgrimage.
Day 3: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8
Today will be devoted to exploring both the city of Canterbury and its cathedral. In the morning we will have a guided tour of the cathedral, and after breaking for lunch, there will be a walking tour of the city.
Day 4: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9
In the morning we will visit England’s second cathedral city in Rochester. As well as exploring the beautiful cathedral, we will have a chance to explore the charming, small downtown, once home to the famous novelist Charles Dickens. After lunch we will drive to Tudeley, a tiny village in Kent, where every window in the church has been created by the famous artist Marc Chagall. We will say a simple Evening Prayer here, and learn the story of these unique windows before returning to Canterbury.
Day 5: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10
Leaving Canterbury after breakfast, we drive north, to the oldest place of continuous worship in Britain, the cathedral of St Alban’s, containing the shrine of the country’s first saint and martyr. We will worship at the cathedral and have the opportunity for lunch in its refectory, and have some free time to explore the city before continuing on to the birthplace of William Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, which will be our home for the next three nights. Dinner at our hotel is included this evening.
Day 6: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11
Today will be spent on a full-day visit to Oxford, one of the oldest university cities in Europe. We will have a guided walking tour and free time to explore the colleges, sites and shops of this historic place, before returning to Stratford.
Day 7: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12
Today we will explore Stratford, including its historic parish church, and we will have a special guided tour of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, home of the world famous Company with which it shares its name. There will also be an opportunity for those who wish to attend a performance that evening.
Day 8: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13
After breakfast, we drive the short distance to Coventry, to join the local community at worship in the cathedral, built after the Second World War, immediately adjacent to the ruins of the medieval church that was bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1940. After the service we will have free time in which to find some lunch, before driving north to York, which will be our home for the final four nights of our pilgrimage.
Day 9: MONDAY, OCTOBER 14
Today we will explore two of Yorkshire’s notable ruined abbeys. In the morning we will visit Whitby, where St Hilda once presided over a ‘double monastery’ (of women and men) at which the Synod of Whitby took place in 664. We will visit the abbey ruins and parish church, dramatically set on cliffs overlooking today’s fishing town, and we will also enjoy a traditional ‘fish and chip’ lunch by the harbour. In the afternoon, we come to Rievaulx, once a major Cistercian Abbey until the monasteries were dissolved by Henry VIII. This evening we will explore the ‘bloody’ history of York on a ‘ghost tour’ led by the renowned local guide ‘Mad Alice’.
Day 10: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15
Our explorations of England’s northern region will see us visit Durham today, where a vast Norman cathedral, built as the shrine of St Cuthbert, dominates this university city. We will visit the cathedral, and have free time to enjoy its beautiful location on a remarkable peninsula. On our way back to York, we will visit one of the oldest churches in the country - a small Saxon church in the village of Escomb.
Day 11: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16
Our final day of pilgrimage will be spent exploring York. We will have a guided tour of the Minster and a walking tour of the city, and then have free time until Choral Evensong in the late afternoon. After the service we gather for a final group meal in a historic restaurant that forms part of the York Minster precinct, where we can celebrate all we have experienced of our journey together.
Day 12: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17
After an early breakfast our bus will take us to Manchester Airport for a flight to Atlanta, where we connect onwards to St Louis, landing at 8.39 pm.
