Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom.

Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Parliament. The city was one of the major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, earning it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city.

The city is well known for the annual Edinburgh Festival, a collection of official and independent festivals held annually over about four weeks from early August. The number of visitors attracted to Edinburgh for the Festival is roughly equal to the settled population of the city. The most famous of these events are the Edinburgh Fringe (the largest performing arts festival in the world), the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Other events include the Hogmanay street party, Burns Night and the Beltane Fire Festival. Edinburgh attracts 1 million overseas visitors a year, making it the most visited tourist destination in the United Kingdom, after London.

Oxford: Friday 13th April (with Carole Machin)

Oxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just fewer than 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. For a distance of some 10 miles along the river, in the vicinity of Oxford, the Thames is known as the Isis.

Buildings in Oxford demonstrate an example of every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons, including the iconic, mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera. Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings. The University of Oxford is arguably the oldest university in the English-speaking world.

This trip will (probably) include the following:

• Travel to and from Oxford (using 'Oxford Tube' bus company from Hillingdon) - students must buy the tickets themselves on the day, retain the ticket/receipt, and hand-in to the office to receive reimbursement
• Christ Church College dining hall and cathedral
• Bodleian Library tour
• Various museums
• Sheldonian Theatre visit
• Plenty of free time to explore

Students will need to provide their own food, be it paid for on the day, or brought as a pre-arranged packed lunch from homestays.

Stratford-upon-Avon is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of the playwright and poet William Shakespeare, receiving about three million visitors a year from all over the world. The Royal Shakespeare Company resides in Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre, one of Britain's most important cultural venues.

Stratford has Anglo-Saxon origins, and grew up as a market town in medieval times. The original charters of the town were granted in 1196, making Stratford officially over 800 years old. The name is a fusion of the Old English straet , meaning "street", and ford, meaning that a Roman road forded the River Avon at the site of the town.

During this trip, students will attend a performance of Twelfth Night at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.