STEM Trip to Britain – Sherlock Holmes & Forensics in London & Edinburgh

Our private coach will be waiting to take us to our hotel in London. Take Sightseeing Tour of London on our coach, which will introduce us to many of the great landmarks of this cosmopolitan city upon the Thames. We will make several stops along our route. Arrival day sightseeing subject to final air confirmation.

For the next three evenings we will enjoy the convenience of our centrally-located London hotel, where daily breakfast will be included. In London, the cost of public transport is included for all group sightseeing. Escorted by our Tour Director, we will be able to experience the city in the same manner as the local people. During our time in London we will explore the areas of Westminster and Whitehall, including Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade, Parliament Square, Downing Street, St. James's Park and Buckingham Palace.

Enjoy dinner this evening in Covent Garden, home to some of the city’s liveliest restaurants, pubs and cafés.

Visit the London Dungeon, a ghoulish place designed to chill the blood while it reproduces the conditions of the Middle Ages. Displays include someone being burnt at the stake; a torture chamber with a rack, branding irons and instruments for extracting fingernails and a spine-chilling “Jack the Ripper Experience.”

Visit the Tower of London, one of Britain’s most fascinating and important historical structures. Begun as a fortress by William the Conqueror, the Tower is now primarily associated with the legendary figures imprisoned and executed here over the centuries. Our visit includes the armories, a display of instruments of torture and execution and the breathtaking Crown Jewels Exhibit.

We will enjoy our evening meal together in a local restaurant in the Tower Hill area.

Experience a chilling Jack the Ripper Walk. Our tour takes us back to a time when the entire city of London was living in fear and paints a vivid picture of just how terrifying the crimes of this infamous criminal really were.

This morning, participate in a workshop with Forensic Outreach. Choose an easily digestible 1.5 hour forensic, crime, or security workshop, focusing on a specific subject area within these disciplines.

Explore the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Located at 221b Baker Street, this was the home of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson from 1881 - 1904. The house is arranged as described in the novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

We will have some free time for shopping this afternoon at Harrod's Luxury Department Store in Knightsbridge.

Enjoy a ride on the London Eye, which opened in March 2001 to celebrate the new millennium with fantastic views of the city.

We will enjoy our evening meal together in a local restaurant.

This morning we will begin our touring a bit earlier. We will board a private coach for our transfer to train station. We will travel by train from London to Edinburgh.

We will board a private coach for our transfer to hotel. For the next two evenings we will enjoy the convenience of our centrally-located Edinburgh hotel, where daily breakfast will be included. Edinburgh is widely regarded as one of Europe’s most attractive cities, due primarily to its impressive medieval and Georgian districts and surrounding Lothian Hills. It is as famous for the arts as it is for its long and turbulent history. Both the Old and New towns are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In Edinburgh, the cost of public transport is included for all group sightseeing. Escorted by our Tour Director, we will be able to experience the city in the same manner as the local people.

We will explore Edinburgh’s New Town, around Princes Street. This modern thoroughfare runs along Princes Street Gardens, believed by many to be the most breathtaking park in Europe with an iconic view of Edinburgh Castle. See the Sherlock Holmes statue opposite the Arthur Conan Doyle Pub.

A guided walking tour visiting the sites and haunts of Edinburgh's literary legends: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, J.M. Barrie, J.K. Rowling and others. Our tour will include a stop at the Elephant House Cafe where the first two Harry Potter books were written. Just behind the cafe lies Greyfriars cemetery, where you might find the headstones of some familiar sounding names; 'Moodie', 'McGonagall', and a certain 'Thomas Riddell Esq'.

Tonight we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Visit Edinburgh Castle, a place filled with history, legend and lore. Our visit will include St. Margaret's Chapel, the State Apartments, the Great Hall and the Crown Chamber, which houses the Honours of Scotland (Scottish Crown Jewels).

Visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse, built by James IV, adjacent to the Augustinian abbey David I established in the 12th century. Our tour of the palace will include: King James Tower, the Throne Room, the King's Bedchamber and the Picture Gallery, with portraits of Scottish monarchs.

Free time to spend at your leisure shopping or exploring the city.

Enjoy a tour of Mary King's Close; a warren of underground medieval streets and spaces. In the 1600's, Closes were at the heart of Edinburgh's busiest and most vibrant streets running down the hill from the Royal Mile. When more modern buildings were constructed above, level with the hill, the closes found themselves underground and forgotten. For years since, the hidden Closes of Old Town Edinburgh have been shrouded in myths and mysteries, with blood curdling tales of ghosts and murders. Tonight we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.