Your holiday summary
| Holiday type |
Special interest holidays |
|---|---|
| Country |
United Kingdom |
| Travel type |
Make your own way |
| Price range | From £329 |
| Travel partner | Travel Editions |
| Duration | 2 nights |
|
Need help with your booking? 0330 333 6761 |
Charles Dickens: 19th Century's Greatest Novelist
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This weekend tour will focus on the two major areas of inspiration for the nineteenth century's greatest novelist Charles Dickens - London where he spent much of his childhood and based many of his stories, and Kent where he lived as both a boy and his final home at Gads Hill Place. The tour will include a chance to visit the Foundling Museum and the newly refurbished Charles Dickens Museum at 48 Doughty Street, Bloomsbury, where Charles and Catherine Dickens with their young children lived from 1837 to 1839. Another area of London with important connections to Dickens is Borough, south of the Thames, where a 12 year old Charles Dickens visited his father in 1824 at the the Marshalsea Prison, as well as the nearby Church of St George the Martyr. Both of these locations appear in his novel Little Dorrit (1855-7).
Born in Portsmouth in February 1812, Charles Dickens and his family moved to Chatham in Kent early in his life, and it is here that he spent most of his childhood. The Medway Towns became a rich source of inspiration, particularly the city of Rochester which was described by Dickens' friend John Forster as 'the birthplace of his fancy', and figure significantly in his works, including The Pickwick Papers and Great Expectations. After spending many years in London, Dickens returned to Kent in 1856 when he bought Gads Hill Place, his 'little Kentish freehold'. It was here that he died in 1870. Your host will be Dr. Tony Williams who was Joint General Secretary of the International Dickens Fellowship and a Trustee of the Charles Dickens Museum in London. He is Associate Editor of magazine The Dickensian and organises the London programme of events for the Dickens Fellowships, as well as being a frequent speaker on Dickensian topics both in the UK and overseas.
Special Event Highlights: Talks by expert Dr Tony Williams, Associate Editor of The Dickensian and trustee of the Charles Dickens Museum Newly re-opened Dickens House on Doughty Street Foundling Museum which tells the story of London's orphans Private visit to Gads Hill Place, his final home Rochester and other sites featured in his novels
Born in Portsmouth in February 1812, Charles Dickens and his family moved to Chatham in Kent early in his life, and it is here that he spent most of his childhood. The Medway Towns became a rich source of inspiration, particularly the city of Rochester which was described by Dickens' friend John Forster as 'the birthplace of his fancy', and figure significantly in his works, including The Pickwick Papers and Great Expectations. After spending many years in London, Dickens returned to Kent in 1856 when he bought Gads Hill Place, his 'little Kentish freehold'. It was here that he died in 1870. Your host will be Dr. Tony Williams who was Joint General Secretary of the International Dickens Fellowship and a Trustee of the Charles Dickens Museum in London. He is Associate Editor of magazine The Dickensian and organises the London programme of events for the Dickens Fellowships, as well as being a frequent speaker on Dickensian topics both in the UK and overseas.
Special Event Highlights: Talks by expert Dr Tony Williams, Associate Editor of The Dickensian and trustee of the Charles Dickens Museum Newly re-opened Dickens House on Doughty Street Foundling Museum which tells the story of London's orphans Private visit to Gads Hill Place, his final home Rochester and other sites featured in his novels
Included
- Two nights' accomodation with full breakfast at the 4-star Hilton Dartford Bridge
- Welcome reception
- Thursday night private dinner with wine at the hotel
- Friday night dinner in the hotel restaurant
- All talks, admissions, guided tours
- One light lunch
- Coach transfers and tour manager throughout
Not included
- Single room supplement
- Extra nights on bed & breakfast basis
- Holiday insurance
- Meals other than those stated
- Items of a personal nature such as drinks, laundry, telephone calls etc
- Porterage and gratuities
Thursday
Welcome reception and private dinner with wine followed by an illustrated introductory talk by Dr Tony Williams "That magic Lantern" and "The birthplace of his fancy: Dickens in London and Kent".
Friday
The first visit of the day is to the London Dickens Museum, Dickens' home from 1837-9, which was rescued from demolition in 1925 by the Dickens Fellowship and reopening in December 2012 after a major refurbishment. This house played an important part in Dickens' life, two of his daughters were born here, his sister-in-law Mary died aged just 17 and some of his best-loved novels were written here including Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. Next you will visit the nearby Foundling Museum and see the hospital collection, which tells the story of the Foundling Hospital founded by Sir Thomas Coram and supported by Dickens, which poignantly tells the story of London's abandoned children. A snack lunch (included) will be provided here. After lunch we visit the site of the Marshalsea Debtors' Prison, (where his father was imprisoned in 1824) near Borough High Street and visit the Church of St George the Martyr close by.
Saturday
A guided tour of Gads Hill Place, Dickens' much loved home in Higham, (that he coveted as a boy), where he wrote A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend and the unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Then onto the Hoo Peninsular and a visit to St James' Church at Cooling, the 'marsh country' of Great Expectations. After lunch (not included) you will visit Rochester and see Dickens-related sights such as the Guildhall Museum, which appears as the town hall in Great Expectations. In July (only) you will also have a visit to Restoration House. Return to the hotel for approximately 17.00pm.
NB: Exact order of excursions may vary according to local conditions and tour manager's discretion.
Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 40 passengers.
Welcome reception and private dinner with wine followed by an illustrated introductory talk by Dr Tony Williams "That magic Lantern" and "The birthplace of his fancy: Dickens in London and Kent".
Friday
The first visit of the day is to the London Dickens Museum, Dickens' home from 1837-9, which was rescued from demolition in 1925 by the Dickens Fellowship and reopening in December 2012 after a major refurbishment. This house played an important part in Dickens' life, two of his daughters were born here, his sister-in-law Mary died aged just 17 and some of his best-loved novels were written here including Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. Next you will visit the nearby Foundling Museum and see the hospital collection, which tells the story of the Foundling Hospital founded by Sir Thomas Coram and supported by Dickens, which poignantly tells the story of London's abandoned children. A snack lunch (included) will be provided here. After lunch we visit the site of the Marshalsea Debtors' Prison, (where his father was imprisoned in 1824) near Borough High Street and visit the Church of St George the Martyr close by.
Saturday
A guided tour of Gads Hill Place, Dickens' much loved home in Higham, (that he coveted as a boy), where he wrote A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend and the unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Then onto the Hoo Peninsular and a visit to St James' Church at Cooling, the 'marsh country' of Great Expectations. After lunch (not included) you will visit Rochester and see Dickens-related sights such as the Guildhall Museum, which appears as the town hall in Great Expectations. In July (only) you will also have a visit to Restoration House. Return to the hotel for approximately 17.00pm.
NB: Exact order of excursions may vary according to local conditions and tour manager's discretion.
Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 40 passengers.
Hilton Dartford Bridge
The 4-star Hilton Dartford Bridge Hotel is ideally located for the visits on this tour and offers a restaurant, bar and lounge, fitness centre, indoor pool and comfortable bedrooms with private bath/shower, TV, telephone, air-conditioning and hairdryer.
The 4-star Hilton Dartford Bridge Hotel is ideally located for the visits on this tour and offers a restaurant, bar and lounge, fitness centre, indoor pool and comfortable bedrooms with private bath/shower, TV, telephone, air-conditioning and hairdryer.
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