Will Vaus

The final two days of our C. S. Lewis Tour of Ireland & England were spent in London. Upon our arrival we enjoyed a panoramic tour of the city that included Westminster Abbey. A number of our tour participants chose to tour the inside of the Abbey where they were able to view the new C. S. Lewis plaque in Poets' Corner. Though London was not one of Lewis' favorite places to visit, there are a number of locations associated with him. One which I have noted in my new book,  In the Footsteps of C. S. Lewis , is Endsleigh Palace Hospital (25 Gordon Street, London) where Lewis recovered from his wounds received during the First World War.... Not too far away from this location is King's College, part of the University of London, located on the Strand, just off the River Thames. This is the location where Lewis gave the annual commemoration oration entitled The Inner Ring  on 14 December 1944.... C. S. Lewis occasionally attended theatrical events in London.

We began our visit to Cambridge with a lecture from the Rev. Dr. Malcolm Guite, Chaplain of Girton College. Malcolm is also a poet, published author, and Anglican priest. You can access his web site here:  Malcolm Guite . Malcolm spoke to us about C. S. Lewis' inaugural lecture at Cambridge on November 29, 1954. Malcolm's talk was delivered in the very room where Lewis gave his first lecture as Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature. After Malcolm's lecture, we walked to the other end of the Cambridge city centre to view Lewis' college, Magdalene.  As Lewis did at Oxford, so at Cambridge, he attended chapel services regularly in term time.... On our second day in Cambridge we took a morning walk along the River Cam, led by Malcolm Guite, to the village of Grantchester. Upon arriving in Grantchester we made our way to The Orchard where we had tea and scones while listening to Malcolm read various bits of poetry, including his own. A

Our first stop in Oxford was for lunch at the Eagle & Child pub where the Inklings met on Tuesday mornings for many years. From there we made our way to Magdalen College where we stood outside Lewis' rooms and read about his conversion to theism from Surprised by Joy . We also went for a stroll around Addison's Walk and read Lewis' letter to Arthur Greeves where he described his return to Christian faith under the influence of his friends, Tolkien and Dyson. After our time at Magdalen, we checked into the Eastgate Hotel (pictured below). Our home away from home for our two days in Oxford.  The Eastgate often served as a meeting location for C. S. Lewis with various friends, including Joy Davidman. The reason for this is because the Eastgate is conveniently located across the street from Magdalen whose 500 year old tower is pictured below. On Sunday morning we went to worship at Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry, where C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis first came to Great Malvern, England in 1911. He describes it this way in Surprised by Joy , using the fictitious name "Wyvern" to disguise the identity of his school.... In January, 1911, just turned thirteen, I set out with my brother to Wyvern, he for the College and I for a preparatory school which we will call Chartres. Thus began what may be called the classic period of our schooldays, the thing we both think of first when boyhood is mentioned. The joint journeys back to school with a reluctant parting at Wyvern station, the hilarious reunion at the same station for the joint journey home, were now the great structural pillars of each year. It was at this preparatory school, pictured above and actually called "Cherbourg", that C. S. Lewis lost his faith. This was the result of several factors: a matron at school who introduced Lewis to occultism, his own struggles with prayer, and his reading in the classics. It was also at Cherbourg that

We began our visit to Great Malvern, England, with a tour of the Morgan car factory. Now, as you might imagine, this site has no direct link to C. S. Lewis. However, another person whom I have written about, namely  Sheldon Vanauken , who came to faith through C. S. Lewis, bought a car here back in 1967.  Great Malvern is dominated by the tower of Malvern Priory. Parts of the church building date to 1085. We stayed right next to the Priory in the beautiful Abbey Hotel. At breakfast we had this lovely view of the Priory out of the window by our table.... Malvern Priory has a larger display of 15th century stained glass than any church in England. The Priory is also known for its misericords. These are the seats of the Monk's stalls. Each seat is hinged with a ledge underneath on which the Monks could rest, taking the weight off their legs during the numerous long daily services. In this photo a kneeling cushion is resting on the ledge of the mi