We'll start with a four night stay in Oxford, where Tolkien served as a Professor of Anglo-Saxon from 1925-1945 (during which time he wrote The Hobbit and LOTR). We’ll visit the Bodleian Library (where many of Tolkien's manuscripts/original drawings are kept; also a prominent shooting location for Harry Potter), Faringdon Folly (which inspired Orthanc, Saruman's dark tower), Wayland Smithy's (an ancient chamber of the dead said to be the basis for the Barrow Downs), The Bell Inn (the real-world Prancing Pony), Stow-on-Wold (the Doors of Durin), Dragon Hill (Weathertop), and Wolvercote Cemetery (where Tolkien is buried). And more!

Then it's over to Bath for ten days, where we'll write and workshop and wander the honey-stone streets, as Mary Shelley did while composing “the first true science fiction story.” We’ll also take day trips to Glastonbury Tor (said to be where King Arthur freed Queen Guinevere; home to the sacred Chalice Well, which runs red, and is said to be the resting place of the Holy Grail); Cheddar Gorge (and the jeweled caves of Algernon, which Gimli called one of the marvels of the Northern World and which left Legolas speechless); the small ceremonial county of Devonshire, where we'll tour the moors with fable guide, have lunch with World Fantasy Award Winner Terri Windling, artist/fabricator/puppeteer Brian & Wendy Froud (The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and Yoda in ESB), acclaimed British horror novelist Catriona Ward (Last House on Needless Street), and artist Alan Lee, the lead concept designer for the Peter Jackson films; Tintagel Castle, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur, Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean, whose ancient trees, moss-covered rocks, and tangled undergrowth inspired Mirkwood and Fangorn, the charming Cotswold village of Lacock (which features numerous shooting locations from Harry Potter: The Babberton Arms, Lily & James Potter’s House, Snape’s Classroom, Quirrel’s classroom, Hogwart’s hallways, Horace Slughorn’s Hideaway); and, of course, sunrise at Stonehenge ('nuff said).