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Sunday, 15 June - Walking Tour of the Inklings' Oxford
Sunday, 15 June - Walking Tour of the Inklings' Oxford
Mass Options: 9.30, 11.00 & 18.30* at the Oxford Oratory; 18.00* at Blackfriars Hall.
*Asterisks designate low Masses – no music.
Tip: If you arrive in Oxford prior to our first meeting, you’ll probably want to find some food. Some good (and easy to find!) breakfast options within a fifteen-minute walk of our hotel are Brown’s Cafe (and other locations inside the Covered Market), the Vault & Gardens Cafe, and the Queen’s Lane Coffee House. Most pubs and other restaurants will be open by noon.
Sainsbury’s in the Westgate Shopping Center is the closest grocer to our hotel. They’re open from 11.00–17.00 if you want to purchase any food to keep in your room.
Check-in is officially at 15.00, but even if you cannot access your room immediately upon arrival, you’ll be able to store your bags in a secure room near the front desk until that time.
14.00 Meet outside the front door of our hotel for a walking tour of Oxford
Dinner on your own
Tip: One of the most strongly recommended items on the scavenger hunt is to attend an Evensong service. Christ Church Cathedral is the recommended location; it takes place at 6 p.m. (18.00) on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. If you're feeling jetlagged, today is probably not the day to go, but have this on your radar!
20.00 Meet on the rooftop for discussion of “The Weight of Glory”
Monday, 16 June - Christ Church College, the Bodleian Library, and Punting
Monday, 16 June - Christ Church College, the Bodleian Library, and Punting
Daily Mass Options: 7.30, and 18.00* at the Oxford Oratory; 7.30 and 18.00* at Blackfriars Hall; 9.00 at Holy Rood
*Asterisks designate low Masses – no music.
10.00 Meet outside our hotel for a tour of Christ Church College, the heart of Oxford, and the Bodleian Library.
Follow these links for Lewis's own words about Duke Humphrey's library and the Divinity School (both of which we'll see at the Bodleian.)
After our tour concludes, there is free time for resting, drinking tea, finding a pub, exploring the city, or perusing the Covered Market for delicious things to eat while punting.
15.30 Meet at Magdalen Bridge Boathouse for punting excursion – snacks and beverages are welcome (nay, encouraged!)
Dinner on your own
20.00 Meet on the rooftop for discussion of Lewis’s conversion to Christianity and his essay “Myth Became Fact.”
Tuesday, 17 June - Shotover Hill, The Kilns, Cuckoo Lane, and Magdalen College
Tuesday, 17 June - Shotover Hill, The Kilns, Cuckoo Lane, and Magdalen College
Daily Mass Options: 7.30 and 18.00* at the Oxford Oratory; 7.30 and 18.00* at Blackfriars Hall
*Asterisks designate low Masses – no music.
8.30 Meet in the Marriott lobby to take the bus to Headington: we’ll visit the C. S. Lewis Nature Preserve and hike up Shotover Hill
11.00 tour of The Kilns (C. S. Lewis’s home)
12.30 visit Holy Trinity Church
15.00 Tour of Magdalen College
During his first term at Magdalen, Lewis sent letters describing his living situation to his father (21 October 1925) and a friend (4 November 1925).
The New Building: excerpt from Jack, Firor-of-the Hams passage from The Inklings (don't miss the handwritten note on p. 3), and “Unreal Estates” interview
Addison’s Walk: pp. 968-77 of The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis and “Mythopoeia”; note that “What the Bird Said Early in the Year” is on p. 110 of Poems
Dinner on your own
18.00 Consider attending Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral. Tonight, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday are your remaining options.
20.00 Meet on the rooftop for discussion of “Learning in War-Time.”
Wednesday, 18 June - Michael Ward Lecture, Merton College Tour, and Thames/Port Meadow Walk
Wednesday, 18 June - Michael Ward Lecture, Merton College Tour, and Thames/Port Meadow Walk
Daily Mass Options: 7.30 and 18.00* at the Oxford Oratory; 7.30 and 18.00* at Blackfriars Hall; 9.00 at Holy Rood
*Asterisks designate low Masses – no music.
Tip: Gloucester Green Outdoor Market is worth visiting for food and/or souvenirs – it’s open today from 9.00-16.00 and is a quick option for lunch in between our Merton College tour and our visit to the Trout Inn, especially if you're trying to keep your food expenses low! (Food is available at both the Trout and the Perch, neither of which is outrageously expensive, but they aren't the most budget-friendly options.)
9.55 Meet at the Merton College porter’s lodge for Michael Ward’s lecture titled “C. S. Lewis and Catholicism”
11.30 Tour of Merton College
13.15 Meet at Stop C3 on Magdalen Street. We’ll take the 13.25 6 City bus toward Lower Wolvercote to the Home Close stop. From there, we’ll walk to the Trout Inn and along the Thames back to Oxford, stopping at the Perch to discuss Lewis’s essay “Is Theology Poetry?”
18.00 Consider attending Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral. Tonight, Friday, and Saturday are your remaining options.
Dinner on your own
Tip: See Thursday's itinerary for information about food in London. Budget-conscious travelers may want to pick up something today to bring with them for lunch tomorrow.
Thursday, 19 June - London
Thursday, 19 June - London
Tip: For travelers on a tight budget, eating can be tricky today – plan carefully! Breakfast is served in our hotel beginning at 6.30. You may want to bring some kind of snack in your bag in order to avoid paying exorbitant prices at cafés located inside historic sites or restaurants and pubs in London. [I feel compelled to acknowledge my fear that snacks will be confiscated at security checkpoints. This has never happened to a group I’ve been with, but I worry about it nonetheless. If it happens to you: forgive me! –MCJ]
6.45 Meet in the lobby and walk to the Oxford Railway Station: we want to be on the 7.00 train to Paddington Station
9.00 Tower of London
9.55 Meet at the staircase leading to the Bloody Tower and King’s House (see map) for our visit to the crypt. Afterwards, there is time to explore the Tower. Your best lunch option today is one of the cafés inside the Tower or one of the vendors just outside the entrance.
12.15 Meet near Tower Stairs for the 12.35 City Cruises trip to Westminster Pier.
13.30 Meet outside the Westminster Abbey gift shop for a guided tour of the Abbey
15.30 Meet Joanna Bogle outside the Abbey gift shop for visit to the Houses of Parliament and a walk to Westminster Cathedral
17.30 Mass at Westminster Cathedral
If you want to head back to Oxford at this point, take the Underground from Victoria Station to Paddington and hop on the next train to Oxford. (Joanna suggests dinner at the Mad Bishop & Bear pub inside Paddington Station. There are also shops and fast food places at Paddington where you can get something to eat on the train – this is recommended if you’re in a hurry or on a tight budget.)
After Mass, Joanna will show us around Whitehall and point out a few sites of particular significance to Catholicism in England, and then we’ll discuss it all over dinner with her at The Albert, Victoria at 19.30.
After dinner, or if you decide not to come along to The Albert, London is yours to explore. Trains depart from Paddington for Oxford every 20-30 minutes, so get to the station by 23.00 and you should have no difficulty getting back to our hotel.
Friday, 20 June - Free Day in Oxford
Friday, 20 June - Free Day in Oxford
Daily Mass Options: 7.30, 10.00, and 18.00* at the Oxford Oratory; 7.30 and 18.00* at Blackfriars Hall; 9.00 at Holy Rood
*Asterisks designate low Masses – no music.
Tip: Gloucester Green Outdoor Market is worth visiting for food and/or souvenirs – it’s open today from 09.00-16.00.
Other than the evening discussion noted below, there are no scheduled activities today: this is a chance to finish your souvenir shopping, visit your favorite locations one more time, complete the scavenger hunt, and spend a little more time soaking in Oxford. Have you made it to Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral yet? It's at 18.00 tonight and tomorrow.
20.00 Meet on the rooftop for discussion of “The Inner Ring”
Saturday, 21 June - The Cotswolds
Saturday, 21 June - The Cotswolds
Tip: Be sure to bring water, and maybe some food – it’s a long walk today.
08.30 Meet in the hotel lobby and walk to Gloucester Green Bus Station; we'll take the 08.50 S2 bus for Burford, arriving at the Oxford Road Layby stop at 09.48. From there, we'll walk to the Burford AONB for a 6.5-mile hike through the Cotswolds.
We'll play our departure time by ear, depending upon how long the hike takes and how long people want to linger in Burford. The group may split up at this point, depending on individual preferences. Options for the return journey include:
Departing Burford at 14.08, arriving in Oxford by 15.30 (bus schedule here)
Departing Burford at 15.08, arriving in Oxford by 16.30 (bus schedule here)
Departing Burford at 16.08, arriving in Oxford by 17.30 (bus schedule here)
Departing Burford at 17.27, arriving in Oxford by 19.00 (bus schedule here)
Tip: If you get back from Burford in time, the Gloucester Green Outdoor Market is worth visiting for food and/or souvenirs – it’s open today from 9.00-17.00. And of course, this is your last chance to attend Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral (18.00).
Dinner on your own
Vigil Mass Options: 17.00 at Holy Rood, 18.30* at the Oxford Oratory; 18.00 at Blackfriars Hall
*Asterisk designates a low Mass – no music.
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