After our morning arrival in Edinburgh, we’ll drop our bags at the hotel and set out to explore the city and its connections to the Scottish Reformation. We’ll start with a walk along the Royal Mile to St. Giles Cathedral. We’ll visit Grassmarket Cafe for lunch; the Cafe is one of the social enterprises founded by the Greyfriars Presbyterian Church. If time allows based on the flight arrival time, we’ll have a visit to Edinburgh Castle. While portions of this visit will include a guide, you will have some free time to explore the castle at your leisure. Dinner (included) and overnight at Apex City Hotel, Edinburgh.

Today we’ll visit St. Andrews, the city that raised many Protestant reformers. We’ll start at St. Andrews Cathedral, the headquarters of the Scottish Catholic Church before the reformation. The cathedral fell into disuse after the Reformers banned the Catholic Mass. From the cathedral, we’ll visit Holy Trinity Church, a congregation of the Church of Scotland with a rich history. In the afternoon we’ll have lunch and a distillery tour at Kingsbarns Distillery. After the tasting, return to Edinburgh for dinner (on your own) and overnight at Apex City Hotel, Edinburgh. 

Today is a full travel day. We depart early for Oban, the gateway to the Hebrides. We arrive in Oban in time for you to enjoy lunch at any of the cafes or restaurants in town. In smaller groups, we’ll also tour the Oban distillery and enjoy a whisky tasting. We’ll depart Oban by ferry for the Isle of Mull, travel across Mull, and arrive in Fionnphort for our final ferry of the day. We arrive on Iona in time to unpack and stretch our legs before our dinner (included). Overnight at St. Columba Hotel, Iona.

We start our day with worship at the Iona Abbey. Following worship, we’ll enjoy a guided tour of the Abbey, Nunnery, and village. After lunch (included), our guide will lead a nature walk towards the south end of the island, discussing the natural history, geography, and geology of the island and the region. Dinner (included) and overnight at St. Columba Hotel, Iona.

We’ll close our time on Iona with morning worship at Iona Abbey. Then, we repeat our arrival travels in reverse, leaving Iona on a small ferry, traveling across the Isle of Mull, crossing from Craignure to Oban, and boarding our private coach for Glasgow. We’ll pass through the Trossachs National Park and drive along Loch Lomond before arriving in Glasgow in time for dinner (on your own). Overnight at Clayton Hotel,  Glasgow.

Today’s exact itinerary depends on the flight schedule, but we hope to visit St. Mungo’s Cathedral in Glasgow in the morning, followed by the Govan Church, home of the Govan Stones – carved stones, crosses, and sarcophagi dating to the Viking period in Scotland. We’ll have an afternoon departure to Belfast, arriving at Corrymeela in time for dinner and overnight accommodations. 

Our time in Northern Ireland is spent on more modern themes, including conflict and reconciliation during The Troubles. We begin our day along the Falls and Shankill Roads with a dual narratives tour of the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods and the Peace Walls that still separate these neighborhoods. After lunch (included), we travel to the Crumlin Road Gaol, which held numerous political prisoners during The Troubles. We’ll depart in the late afternoon for Corrymeela. Dinner (included) and overnight at Corrymeela.

Starting early, we travel from Ballycastle to Derry for further exploration of The Troubles. We start our day with a walking tour around Derry City Walls, learning the rich history of the city and digging deeper into the roots of The Troubles. Lunch is on your own before continuing down into the Bogside, a traditionally Catholic neighborhood filled with striking murals on many buildings. The Bogside was the site of the Bloody Sunday Massacre and here we’ll learn about the escalation of The Troubles. We return to Ballycastle late in the evening (dinner included). Overnight in Corrymeela. 

After the full and heavy days exploring The Troubles, we spend the day with the Corrymeela Community, an intentional community committed to peace and reconciliation. Part of our day is spent unpacking our previous day’s experience, leaving the balance of the day for personal reflection and exploration around the community.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner (included) and overnight at Corrymeela. 

Today, we will enjoy the natural beauty of the Antrim Coast. Intrepid travelers depart in the morning for a 3 hour hike from Dunseverick Castle to the Giant’s Causeway. The remaining group leaves Corrymeela later by bus and meets the group at the Giant’s Causeway. Following lunch (included) we explore the Giant’s Causeway on your own. Leaving the Causeway, we travel to Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. In the late afternoon, we head to Dublin for dinner (included) and overnight accommodations at Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin Airport. 

We depart Dublin at 12:00pm on Delta 155 to Boston, arriving at 2:15pm. From there, Delta 5837 departs for Charlotte at 3:59pm, arriving at 6:36pm.