DETAILS
Day 1, Friday, September 12: Arrive in London and the Hotel RIU Plaza London Victoria. Group Dinner.
Tour members arrange their own transportation to the London Heathrow Airport and then on to the Hotel RIU Plaza London Victoria, where a reservation has been made for them.
We will gather for a welcome dinner this evening in the hotel restaurant (included in tour price).
Day 2, Saturday, September 13: British Library, Blue Circle walking tour in Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia. Group dinner.
Begin the first full day of our retreat with a complimentary breakfast at the hotel. Then we’ll head to our first literary stop: The British Library. You’ll be overwhelmed (in the best way!) by all of the literary treasures on display, including manuscripts of Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Jane Eyre, Mrs. Dalloway, and much more. Then, find a table and chair to spend time noting what you saw or what could inspire your own work.
Enjoy lunch on your own, then gather back as a group for a walking tour around Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia. Our professional tour guide will take us through the historic, literary neighborhoods stopping at multiple Blue Circle homes—homes that writers were known to live and work in. Not only will you see where these great authors wrote, you’ll be walking in their footsteps, through the streets and squares that inspired them.
After the guided tour, we’ll head back to the hotel for a group dinner (included in the tour price), followed by free time on your own to write or perhaps take a stroll down the street to see Buckingham Palace.
Day 3, Sunday, September 14: Sherlock Holmes Museum, tour of Regent’s Park plus writing time. Group dinner and evening performance at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
Today will be jam-packed with sights, so be sure to take full advantage of the complimentary breakfast before we set off on our first stop at The Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street. Here we’ll be immersed in the décor of the Victorian era and the clues that helped Holmes and Watson solve their mysteries. As you look around, you might get inspiration for your historical novel or figure out a critical clue to the mystery you’re writing.
After the museum tour, you’ll have lunch on your own, then we’ll meet nearby at Regent’s Park. Enjoy a guided tour of the immaculate gardens, then take some time to wander on your own, find a park bench, and work on your writing.
In the evening, we’ll enjoy a group dinner (included in tour price) followed by a performance of one of Shakespeare’s plays at the oak and thatch replica of the original Elizabethan open-air Globe Theatre (performances go on no matter the weather so be sure to dress appropriately).
Day 4, Monday, September 15: Westminster Abbey tour (including Poet’s Corner). Trafalgar Square with tour of the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery. Time to explore Cecil Court (aka Bookseller’s Lane). Group dinner.
After a complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we’ll travel a short distance to Westminster Abbey. We’ll enjoy a guided tour of the stunning cathedral, including the famed “Poet’s Corner” where many of England’s finest writers found their final resting place.
You’ll have lunch on your own, followed by a trip to Trafalgar Square with the Nelson Column and iconic lion statues. Do some fantastic people watching in the square then participate in a guided tour of the National Gallery, beginning with the tile mosaic on the floor of the main vestibule. It depicts famous British figures from the 1920s and ’30s as characters from mythology. The sheer volume of paintings in the National Gallery will provide ample writing/story inspiration for the days to come.
After the National Gallery, we’ll take a short walk through Leicester Square to Cecil Court, otherwise known as Bookseller’s Row. Here you’ll enjoy time on your own to stroll through the charming lane filled with bookshops of all types, along with map stores, stationery shops, and many other independently owned shops.
We’ll then head back to the hotel for a group dinner (included in the tour price) followed by time on your own to relax or do more exploring.
Day 5, Tuesday, September 16: Travel to Chawton for a tour of the Jane Austen House Museum and Chawton House Library. Picnic lunch in Chawton House Garden. Continue to town of Bath and Bailbrook House Hotel. Group dinner.
Begin the morning with a complimentary breakfast at the hotel, then grab your bags because we’ll be traveling to the English countryside. Our first stop will be in the town of Chawton where we’ll enjoy a tour of the Jane Austen House Museum. This is where she lived and wrote her six novels. We’ll see the letters she wrote, her writing desk, and other artifacts of her life.
Next, we’ll head to the Chawton House Library, a gorgeous country home (referred to by Jane Austen as the “Great House”) which now collects more than 4,500 rare manuscripts and early editions of works written by women from 1660–1860. Included in our visit is a tour of the library and a picnic lunch (included in tour price) in the impeccable English gardens.
After our tours and lunch, we’ll finish our journey to the countryside just outside of Bath, where we’ll stay at the Bailbrook House Hotel. After our group dinner (included in the tour price), enjoy time on your own exploring, writing, or relaxing.
Day 6, Wednesday, September 17: Tour of Jane Austen Centre. Dedicated writing time at Bailbrook House. Group dinner.
Start the day with a complimentary breakfast at the Bailbrook House, followed by a trip into the town of Bath where we’ll tour the Jane Austen Centre. Here, we’ll learn more about the role Bath played in literature, specifically in Austen’s works, during the Regency. From the social structures, clothing, and food to the architecture and proximity to the Roman baths, there is much to inspire your own writing.
Enjoy lunch on your own in town, then we’ll head back to the Bailbrook House to begin our dedicated writing time of the trip.
We’ll have our first group dinner at the hotel, followed by time to relax.
Day 7, Thursday, September 18: Dedicated writing time at Bailbrook House. Group dinner.
Enjoy a complimentary English breakfast at the Bailbrook House before a full day of writing. Explore the hotel grounds, look back at your notes from London, Chawton, and Bath, and spend time dedicated to using all that inspiration on whatever project you’re working on. While this is self-directed writing time, your WD hosts will be right there, writing with you and/or available for chats about your work.
Lunch will be on your own, but we’ll all gather in the hotel restaurant for a group dinner (included in tour price).
Day 8, Friday, September 19: Free time to explore and/or write in Bath. Travel to London and Hotel RIU Plaza London. Group dinner.
After a complimentary breakfast in the Bailbrook House, participants will have free time to explore more of the town of Bath or to find a place to settle in and do more writing before gathering on the private tour bus for the trip back to London.
We’ll be checking back in at the Hotel RIU Plaza London Victoria for the night and one more group dinner (included in the tour price).
Day 9, Saturday, September 20: Travel to airport on your own and departure, or continue your travels on your own.
As our retreat comes to a close, we hope you continue to find writing inspiration from our time together. Tour members can choose to return home or continue traveling on their own.