A magical tour of Stonehenge and Merlin’s Britain
Next tour May 28th – June 6th 2025
An odyssey is an intellectual or spiritual quest, a journey that brings insights. Our spiritual odyssey takes you to ancient sacred sites and landscapes. As you tune into the energy of stone circles and monuments built thousands of years ago, you connect with the spirit of the land and the ancestors of old. You return home refreshed and renewed. You have new insights and fond memories of the conversations and fun you had with fellow pilgrims and the guests you met along the way.
According to folklore, Stonehenge was created by Merlin, the wizard of Arthurian legend, who magically transported the massive stones from Ireland, where giants had assembled them. As you stand in the centre of the circle, closing your eyes and letting your mind wander, you find yourself believing this legend. You know this is a magical place, built by giants more than 2,000 years BCE.
On our tours we visit early Celtic Christian and pagan sites. Stonehenge and Avebury are highlights of our England tour, with Avebury being the first and Stonehenge the last. On that day, we rise before dawn for our pilgrimage to this great megalithic temple.
Inside the circle, we hold a Druid ceremony to honour the land and the ancestors, and to celebrate the soul journey we have shared together.
Here’s how one of our spiritual pilgrims described the experience.
To be inside the circle at Stonehenge and experience the energy of that place was wonderful. Each one of us brought our own spiritual energy into the circle and left, inspired and grateful to have been together in that sacred space.
In this video people from our 2017 odyssey reflect on their experience. May their reflections inspire you to join us!
Our tour of sacred sites in England includes
- Avebury and West Kennet long barrow
- Glastonbury – Chalice Well, the Tor, Glastonbury Abbey
- The giant hill fort of Cadbury/Camelot, believed to be the location of King Arthur’s Camelot Castle
- Tintagel and surrounding area – Tintagel Castle, Merlin’s Cave, St Nectan’s Glen
- South Cornwall – Boscowen-un stone circle, Merry Maidens stone circle, holy wells of Madron and Sancreed
- Stonehenge
- Tarot readings in sacred sites, which reveal insights into your own spiritual journey.
Tour registration
Registration for the 2025 tour will open in August 2024.
Your tour hosts
Jamie George, Director of Gothic Image Tours, has been taking spiritual pilgrims on tours for over 30 years. “It’s been an honour to journey with so many interesting and inspiring people, helping them tune in to the history, mystery and magic of ancient sacred places, where every site has a story to tell. So I imagine myself coming there for the first time, and as soon as you put yourself in that position, all kinds of things can open up. For me, it’s a dance between memory and revelation. Some of the most memorable times are those when we’re just having fun. You find yourself laughing because you’re opening up, you’re becoming much more at one with yourself and the land. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of organising this spiritual odyssey many times and look forward to warmly welcoming you to this magical land.”
Linda Marson, professional Tarot reader, teacher, video producer and founder of Global Spiritual Studies, has been in a working partnership with Gothic Image Tours since 2013. “The Tarot cards tell a story about the universal human journey…from the big challenges in life to the mundane,” she says. “Travel is a way of life for me and those 78 cards are my favourite travel companions. Consulting the Tarot as you travel can yield amazing insights into stuff that’s going on in your life. Think of those cards as a GPS, one that puts you in the driver’s seat. So they alert you to road blocks and shortcuts to where you want to be in your life.” During tours, Linda facilitates a process for using Tarot to explore the messages sacred sites and landscapes have for each person. She also provides a layout for you to explore the link between your inner journey and the outer journey you’re taking. The Magician video below from TarotNav, Linda’s unique guide to reading Tarot for yourself, shows how to interpret this layout.
Before the tour, each person did a Tarot reading to explore the link between their inner journey and the outer journey they were about to make. Here, Linda demonstrates the layout.
Your tour guests
Penny Billington is the editor of the magazine for the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD). She describes herself as a Druid explorer, author, speaker and workshop leader. She speaks regularly on all aspects of Druidry, and leads ceremonies and workshops in England and Europe. Her books include Nine Ways to Charm a Dryad, The Path of Druidry; walking The Ancient Green Way, a best-selling practical Druid study course and guide. She also wrote a series of Druid detective novels and contributes to books on Druidry, ancestral connections and meditative practice. For more information visit Penny’s website.
Arthur Billington is an honorary Chief Bard of OBOD, leading music workshops and playing at major events. As bluesman, ZZBIRMINGHAM, he plays clubs and festivals nationwide and presents the weekly Blues Cruise for Glastonbury FM radio. His CD, Kozmick, is a magical blues/Druid fusion.
Steve Marshall was a professional musician and sound engineer for 30 years. But now, he is an independent researcher in the field of archaeology. Ten years of researching and photographing the Avebury landscape and monuments led to the publication in 2016 of his ground-breaking book, Exploring Avebury, the Essential Guide. New areas that Steve explored in depth, are sound and acoustics and the connection between the siting of prehistoric monuments and moving water. “I visited and recorded over fifty springs within a five mile radius of the Avebury Henge,” he says. “During the winter of 2012-13 when water levels were unusually high, I made significant discoveries around Avebury – notably that the great ditch surrounding Silbury Hill is lined with springs that supply most of its water. The springs had never been seen before.”
Cost
Registration and prices available in August 2024.
Payment options
Payment is in UK pounds sterling only. This can be done online through PayPal using a debit or credit card (with OR without a PayPal account). After you register you will receive an invoice for payment with a direct link to PayPal.
Currency converter at http://www.xe.com/.
Price includes:
- quality, comfortable accommodation.
- coach travel
- full English breakfasts and three course dinners each day
- entrance fees
- guide fees, taxes and gratuities (excl. driver) .
Not included:
- international airfares and travel insurance
- gratuities for the coach driver
- lunch
- services not specified.