England
Independent London: Story of a City
Program No. 25325RJ
Discover how an obscure trading post on the edge of the Roman Empire became a world capital as you experience London like a local, with plenty of time for independent exploration.
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
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While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
9 days
8 nights
What's Included
14 meals (
7B, 4L, 3D
)
2 expert-led lectures
7 expert-led field trips
An experienced Group Leader
7 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
In Transit to Program
Location:
In Flight
Day
2
Arrive London, Check-In, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Location:
London, England
Meals:
D
Stay:
The Tower Hotel
Activity Note
Hotel check-in available from 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon:
Orientation, 5:00 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. This program is staffed with a Group Leader who will accompany us throughout the program and deal primarily with logistics. There is also an Instructor who will conduct lectures and field trips and serve as an information resource on program-related topics. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
At the Hotel.
Evening:
At leisure to unpack, relax, and prepare for the program ahead.
Day
3
Temple of Mithras, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall
Location:
London, England
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
The Tower Hotel
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 8 miles, approximately 1 hour. Walking about 2 miles, periods of standing; paved streets, some cobbled areas. Extent of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
In the hotel dining room.
Morning:
We will gather at the hotel with our course instructor for an Introductory Lecture setting out the story we will be exploring over the next six days. Explaining the geography of the city as it grew from just one square mile to over 600 square miles the lecture will explore how London developed from an obscure trading post on the edge of the Roman Empire to a world capital. We will then travel by motorcoach to the Temple of Mithras to explore the city’s Roman origins. Built for the rituals of this Roman mystery cult around 240AD the temple was hidden as London grew above it. Stunningly re-discovered in 1954 on a World War Two bomb site the reconstructed remains of the Temple have been open to the public since 2017 providing an immersive experience and an amazing insight into Roman London.
Lunch:
At a local pub.
Afternoon:
We will travel by motorcoach to Westminster, the center of British political power. Here we will see the exterior of the Palace of Westminster, Britain’s Parliament building. We’ll then continue on to an expert-led field trip inside Westminster Abbey, London’s Royal church. Founded before 960 AD it has been the scene of coronation ceremonies for nearly a thousand years and the current building with its spectacular gothic architecture was begun in 1245. We’ll return to the hotel by motorcoach taking in the impressive buildings of Whitehall - Britain’s government district.
Dinner:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening:
At leisure to relax or further explore London.
Day
4
Tower of London, All Hallows by the Tower, Smithfield.
Location:
London, England
Meals:
B,D
Stay:
The Tower Hotel
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 3 miles, under 1 hour. Walking about 2 miles, periods of standing; paved streets, some cobbled areas, tarmac and gravel paths. Extent of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
At the Hotel.
Morning:
We'll walk to the Tower of London, the city’s historic defensive center. Built at the behest of William the Conqueror in 1078, the White Tower still stands guard over the Thames. Our expert-led field trip will explore the castle’s construction, the imprisonment of monarchs, bishops and lesser mortals and the execution of three English Queens. You will have time to see the world famous Crown Jewels, including the Koh-I-Noor and Cullinan Diamonds. The Crown Jewels were remade for Charles II after the originals were melted down in the Civil War. The Jewels and the Tower itself provide a spectacular insight into the power of monarchy. We will then walk to the church of All Hallows by the Tower, the oldest church in the City of London founded in 675 AD. Our brief visit will allow us to see a fragment of the early Saxon architecture and discover how the church has evolved over nearly 1400 years
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Afternoon:
For those who wish to join us, we will travel by motorcoach to Smithfield for a walking tour exploring the dramatic impact of the Reformation in London. Often seen as just the result of King Henry VIII’s desire to divorce, the Reformation transformed London religiously, socially, economically, political and psychologically. On the route we will see the 14th Century monastery of the Charterhouse and the 12th Century church of St Bartholomew the Great and visit places of martyrdom for both Roman Catholics and Protestants during this turbulent time in London’s history.
Dinner:
At the Hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
5
St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Location:
London, England
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
The Tower Hotel
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 1.5 miles, under 30 minutes. Walking about 2 miles, periods of standing; paved streets, some cobbled areas. Extent of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
At the Hotel.
Morning:
We’ll board a motorcoach for a field trip to St. Paul’s Cathedral, an unmissable silhouette on the London skyline and often considered to be Christopher Wren’s architectural masterpiece. Founded in 604 AD, we will hear St Paul’s long history as London’s place of worship and of the old cathedral’s destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The re-built Cathedral was completed in 1711 and its tranquil interior is majestic in its Baroque splendor topped by its magnificent three-domed structure.
Lunch:
At a local café or restaurant.
Afternoon:
Free time.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
6
Thames River Trip, London Museum Docklands, Greenwich Walk
Location:
London, England
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
The Tower Hotel
Activity Note
Traveling by motorcoach, boat and train approximately 13 miles, about 2 hours. Walking about 2 miles, periods of standing; paved streets, some cobbled areas. Extent of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will travel by motorcoach to Westminster Pier and board a river cruiser to London’s Docklands. As we travel along the river our course instructor will outline the history of London’s port and importance of the river to the city’s life. Alighting, we will walk to London Museum Docklands, housed in one of the few surviving early 19th Century warehouses of the port and explore how London became the center of world trade. We will then travel together on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to historic Greenwich where our walking tour will explore the area’s Royal and maritime links. We will admire the magnificent architecture of the Old Royal Naval College designed by Christopher Wren on the site of the old royal palace, see the Cutty Sark, the celebrated tea clipper built in 1869 and discover how Greenwich became the center of world time.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
You have the rest of the day free to enjoy London at your leisure. You may want to stay in Greenwich which has much to offer including the Royal Observatory, the Painted Hall of the Old Royal Naval College, the Cutty Sark and the National Maritime Museum. Your Group Leader and Course Instructor will be happy to provide advice and suggestions.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
7
Lecture, Victoria and Albert Museum, Imperial War Museum
Location:
London, England
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
The Tower Hotel
Activity Note
etting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 7 miles, under 2 hours. Walking about 2 miles, periods of standing in the museums. Extent of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will gather at the hotel with our course instructor for a lecture on poverty in 19th Century London. With workhouses and slums long gone we will discover the story of poverty and social change through contemporary images and writings to understand the lives of many of the poorest in the Victorian city. We’ll then set out by motorcoach for an expert-led field trip of the grand 19th Century district of Kensington, passing Hyde Park, the Albert Memorial, Imperial College, the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum. Our course instructor will take us inside the extraordinary Victoria and Albert Museum, founded as a Museum of Manufactures in 1852, today it is regarded as the world’s leading museum of art and design. The Museum holds more than 2.3 million objects, library items and archives spanning millennia of human creativity in architecture, art and design, ceramics, fashion, furniture, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, sculpture, textiles, theatre and performance. We will view the building itself as a work of art and discover the Victorian values behind the Museum’s foundation as a "schoolroom for everyone".
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
For those who wish to join us, we will travel by motorcoach to the Imperial War Museum. The museum chronicles Britain’s involvement in wars from 1914 to the present day, focusing not on military hardware or strategy but on the very human stories of those whose lives have been impacted by conflict. Founded in 1917 the Museum had a major re-development in 2014. New Second World War and Holocaust Galleries were opened in 2021 and a new art, film and photography gallery in 2023. Our expert-led field trip will focus on the impact on Londoners of the First and Second World Wars and you will have time to explore independently.
Dinner:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
8
Palace of Westminster, Free afternoon, Farewell Dinner
Location:
London, England
Meals:
B,D
Stay:
The Tower Hotel
Activity Note
Walking about 3 miles, periods of standing; paved streets, some uneven surfaces. Extent of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will travel by motorcoach to the Palace of Westminster better known as the Houses of Parliament, the site where the English Parliament has met for over 750 years. Our course instructor will introduce the building and its history before we enter. Once inside the multimedia tour will take you through the magnificent neo-gothic building designed by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin after the previous Palace was destroyed by fire in 1834. Admire the art and architecture all around you as you enter the House of Commons and House of Lords debating chambers and learn how the building is still the center of political power in the UK today.
Lunch:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like.
Afternoon:
You have the rest of the day free to enjoy London at your leisure. Your Group Leader and Course Instructor will be happy to provide advice and suggestions of sites and districts you might want to explore.
Dinner:
At the hotel. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Day
9
Program Concludes
Location:
In Flight
Meals:
B
Activity Note
Hotel check out by 11:00 a.m. See your program’s travel details regarding transfers. If you are an independent traveler (POP status), see “Ground Transportation from Last Location.”
Breakfast:
In the hotel depending on departure times. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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