England/Wales - Tour Program - Commonwealth Club

Festival History

The Hay festival was started in 1988 by Peter Florence, then a young actor. His mother's family came from the Black Mountains in Wales, and Hay, with its antiquarian and second-hand bookshops, seemed the ideal place for an offbeat literary festival. He funded the first festival with the winnings of a poker game.

The next year he persuaded American playwright Arthur Miller to be the star guest (a bemused Miller reportedly asked if Hay-on-Wye was some kind of sandwich). Since then, the festival has grown on its own unique lines - high-minded and casual, ambitious and intimate. Don DeLillo, Norman Mailer, Toni Morrison, John Updike, and Bill Clinton have crossed the Atlantic for it. Ian McEwan appears most years, reading his work in progress and asking what the audience thinks. Bands and comics perform alongside the writers.

In its 18-year history, Hay has acquired its share of legends. There was the all-night poker session Bill Clinton led in 2001. And the time Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Golding went sleepwalking in a nightgown and cap. And the very public proposition Harold Pinter received from a woman in his audience.

There are traditions about the weather too. For years, huge rainstorms greeted the opening of the festival, giving people a good excuse to pile straight out of the events and into the pubs. The last few years have been treacherously sunny but, undaunted, punters open bot-tles of wine in the fields or retire to pub gardens.

The festival's range has grown steadily. Of course, there are the writers. There are art exhibitions, a circus, writing master classes, debates. Children's events (author talks, dog handling, hip hop and more) run for the entire 10 days.

Cost Includes

Round trip airfare to London from San Francisco
9 nights first-class hotel accommodations
Services of tour host, Barbara Lane
Professionally-guided sightseeing tours in London, Oxford, Stratford, and Windsor
Attendance at Hay Festival events
Performance at Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Welcome reception
Nine breakfasts, one lunch, two dinners
Complete documentation packet prior to departure

INDEPENDENT TRAVELER EXPEDITIONS
ENGLAND/WALES LITERARY TRIP INCLUDING HAY FESTIVAL
May 23 - June 2, 2005

Hosted by Barbara Lane, Good Lit Series Director

Tour Cost

$3297, Including air round trip San Francisco [double occupancy]
$484, Single supplement

Join booklovers from all over the UK, Europe and America at a spectacular festival of literature and the arts in the English-Welsh border town of Hay-on-Wye. Known as the "used book capital of the world", this small town celebrates its literary heritage for ten days each spring. Indulge your taste for the finest books, comedy, music, conversation, art argument and literature during your three day stay in Hay-on-Wye. During two days in London explore its literary associations on specialized sightseeing tours. In Oxford, "the city of dreaming spires", stroll around the university, visit the famed Bodleian Library, and travel to nearby Stratford for a performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Itinerary

Monday, May 23 - To London
Depart San Francisco this evening with United Airlines nonstop service to London.

Tuesday, May 24 - London
Arrive this afternoon in London where you are met at the airport and transferred to your first class hotel, the well-located Rubens at the Palace. You'll have some free time, perhaps for a stroll through Green Park or St. James Park, both just steps from the hotel. Get acquainted with your traveling companions at this evening's welcome reception at the hotel.

Wednesday, May 25 - London
Morning and afternoon sightseeing of London, with a focus on the city's literary associations - from Shakespeare to the Bloomsbury Circle - including a guided tour of the new Old Globe Theatre and entrances to Carlyle's House and the Charles Dickens Museum. Optional: attend evening theatre performance.

Thursday, May 26 - Oxford
Drive north to the university town of Oxford - home to some of the greatest English writers including C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Auden, Keats and many others. Stay two nights at the Spires Four Pillars Hotel. The afternoon sightseeing will include the university with a lecture/program by a librarian at the renowned Bodleian Library.

Friday, May 27 - Oxford
The morning is at leisure in Oxford. Take an afternoon / evening excursion to nearby Stratford-upon-Avon where you will enjoy a city tour with visits to Shakespeare's birthplace, Mary Arden's house, and Holy Trinity Church. Enjoy pre-theater dinner at a local restaurant before attending this evening's performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Saturday, May 28 - Hereford
Drive north, bypassing Birmingham, to the charming city of Lichfield, birthplace of Dr. Samuel Johnson whose home is now a museum to his life and work. After lunch and a visit to the museum, continue into the Wye Valley on the English-Welsh border. Your home for the next four nights is the Green Dragon Hotel in Hereford, not far from the festival town of Hay-on-Wye.

Sunday, May 29 - Tuesday, May 31 - Hay-on-Wye
Three days to participate in the events of the Hay Festival (www.hayfestival.co.uk), and to browse through the bookstores of this "used book capital of the world".

Wednesday, June 1 - London
Drive through the picturesque Cotswolds to Windsor where you will enjoy a tour of Windsor Castle including the State Apartments, Doll's House and St. George's Chapel. Relive the highlights of your week's immersion in "Literary Britain" at this evening's farewell dinner. Stay overnight at the Oakley Court, a typical English country hotel.

Thursday, June 2 - Home
You will be transferred to Heathrow Airport for this afternoon's nonstop flight home from London to San Francisco with United Airlines.

IMPORTANT

This is merely an announcement of the tour program of the Commonwealth Club of California. Please refer to individual tour folders/agencies for specific itineraries, tour inclusions, exclusions and responsibilities. It shall be the responsibility of the tour participant to ascertain directly with the vendor agency of each program what the exact requirements, payment due dates and fees pertaining to each program are. A Commonwealth Club representative accompanies each tour to enhance the study tour aspects and to represent the Club on the tour. The Club reserves the right to cancel the tour and/or not provide a Club representative if the number of participants falls below the number sufficient for a Club-sponsored tour.

All tour prices are per person, double occupancy and airfare, when included, is from San Francisco unless otherwise noted; all travel dates and tour costs are subjected to change. Included in all tour prices is a modest charge to cover the Commonwealth Club's costs of administering a membership tour program. All dates and tour costs are subject to changes at any time. Tour participants must be members of the Commonwealth Club of California or belong to their immediate family.

If you wish to receive more information on our
2005 Tour Program, please contact The Club's travel desk at (415) 597-6720 or email the Club Tour Desk
with the following information:

-Your Name
-Address
-Home Phone
-Tour Name/s