Paris to StonehengeMay 22 - June 2, 2012(12 days / 11 nights)ItineraryDay 1 - Tuesday, May 22ndCollection from Charles de Gaulle Airport (Roissy), Paris, and transfer to our Paris hotel. You’ll have time to rest up before introductions, followed by a welcome dinner at a French cuisine restaurant close to our hotel. Days 2 & 3 - Wednesday & Thursday, May 23rd & 24thOrientation meeting followed by a guided tour of Paris.
Day 4 - Friday, May 25thToday we travel west to Brittany. En-route we will visit the Gothic Chartres Cathedral, where we will have the pleasure of walking the beautiful and famous labyrinth, inlaid in the floor of the nave around 1200. After lunch in Chartres we’ll head west to our hotel in Rennes for three nights.
Day 5 - Saturday, May 26thOur first port of call is the World Heritage listed island of Mont Saint Michel, off the coast of Normandy. We’ll visit the exquisite Benedictine Abbey on its summit and have time to walk around the island, which becomes separated from the mainland at high tide when the causeway is flooded by the sea. The Apollo & Athena energy lines (like Michael & Mary lines of England) go through the island and connect to St. Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, which is very similar in many aspects. Free Evening Day 6 - Sunday, May 27th The Neolithic sites of Carnac & Kermario lie close to the southern coast of Brittany. Together they comprise eleven parallel rows of standing stones stretching across the countryside for several miles. The original purpose, as with so many ancient sacred sites, is unknown but astronomical alignments have been discovered with some of the stones. This site was built around the same time as Stonehenge; maybe the best thing is for us to go and explore these magnificent alignments for ourselves! Dinner at the hotel
Day 7 - Monday, May 28thWe’ll have a leisurely start to our day catching the midday ferry to Guernsey in the Channel Islands from St. Malo. Upon arrival we will check into our hotel, in the parish of St. Martin, for two nights.
Free evening |
Day 8 - Tuesday, May 29th
Today we will explore the Guernsey folklore beginning in St. Martin by visiting the La Grand'mère du Chimquière, a Pagan 'Earth Mother' statue of a woman who stands at the entrance to St. Martin’s Parish Church. The history of inhabited Guernsey stretches back at least 6500 years, from megalithic dolmens and menhirs dotted across the island to tales of little people, witches and the evil eye. One of the sites we’ll see is Le Déhus, one of the most impressive passage graves on the island, as it features the world famous ‘Le Gardien du Tombeau’ carving on the underside of one of the capstones. Later in history it’s suggested that Guernsey may have been a 'holy island' or an island of rest for ancient French kings, beyond their setting sun. Our day of visits will also allow us to see much of the island’s breathtaking scenery.
Dinner at the hotel
Day 9 - Wednesday, May 30th
Enjoy some shopping and exploring St. Peter Port, the principal town on the island, before catching the mid-afternoon ferry to Weymouth in England. Transfer to our hotel in Winchester for three nights.
Dinner on the ferry not included
Day 10 - Thursday, May 31th
We will spend this day in the ancient city of Winchester. This city, dating back to Roman times, is built around its 11th century cathedral, which will be our first visit of the day. As our group is escorted around the underground crypts we are actually walking in the flow of powerful earth energy currents. From the neighbouring Bishops Palace we walk by the side of the river Itchen with its multitude of wild fowl and flanked by beautiful flowering gardens. The ancient streets, with their rich variety of architecture from many periods of history, will lead us to some surprising sacred sites, as we follow the past into the present.
After lunch we see the oldest copy of King Arthur’s Round Table housed inside Winchester Castle. On the way we pass the medieval Buttercross, where markets were traditionally held, and the Roman Northgate into the city. We will conclude our day with a climb up St. Catherine’s Hill, to walk the labyrinth on its summit and view the city spread out in the water meadows below.
Free evening
Day 11 - Friday, June 1st
We start the day with an early morning visit to Stonehenge. We have arranged for the group to have private special access into the stones of the world's most famous sacred site. Touch the huge megaliths which have stood in magnificent isolation on the windswept Salisbury Plain for thousands of years, feel the pulse of powerful earth energy currents coursing beneath your feet, imagine the ceremonies which have been performed by robed priests over aeons of time or just sit in quiet meditation. This is a rare opportunity to truly experience a site revered by countless generations.
Following our visit we will have breakfast at the George Hotel in Amesbury and then visit the historic site of Old Sarum. Sarum is the old name for Salisbury and Old Sarum is where the city of Salisbury used to be before 1220AD. We find the remains of a Neolithic settlement, an iron age hillfort, a castle and the original cathedral all still evident at this intriguing site.
Then we head to the beautiful city of Salisbury, a medieval city with a magnificent world-famous cathedral at its heart. Learn of its long history from the cathedral guides, view the Magna Carta and lunch in the atmospheric cloisters.
Stonehenge, Old Sarum and Salisbury Cathedral are all connected by a leyline.
After lunch we return to Winchester for a free afternoon, for last minute shopping and packing.
Farewell dinner at the hotel
Day 12 - Saturday, June 2nd
Drive to London Heathrow airport for return flight home or the next leg of your journey. Bon voyage!
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Background: The Hurlers stone circle, Cornwall