Inklings Abroad 2023

Oxford, Cornwall, and Ireland

A literary adventure to the British Isles to study the lives and works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and more!

Inklings Abroad 2023

Here's the scoop on this year's trip:

Phase 1: Oxford and BathMay 27 - May 31

We’ll explore the city of the dreaming spires, visit C.S. Lewis’s home, raise a pint in the Bird and Baby, and discuss the lives of the Inklings in depth. There will also be several optional day-trips. such as to London, Stratford and the Cotswolds.

Phase 2: CornwallMay 31 - June 5

We’ll hike the breathtaking coasts of Cornwall, exploring locations that inspired Tolkien’s writings about the sea. Among them are the island fortress of St. Michael’s Mount, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur (Tintagel), and more. 

Phase 3: IrelandJune 5 - June 12

We’ll visit the towns of Cork and Galway, seeing sights such as the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran Isles, and immersing ourselves in Irish culture. C.S. Lewis spent much of his early life in Ireland, so this phase of the trip will be focused on his life, writings, and legacy. 

Our Mottos

what makes our trips different

Travelers, Not Tourists

Although we take photos and buy souvenirs, at our hearts we recognize that the friends we make and the adventures we have are more important than checking off locations on our bucket lists. We wander in remote parts of the British Isles and aren’t afraid to get a little lost.

Challenge by Choice

Whether you prefer climbing mountains or sipping tea by a cozy fire, our trips are customizable to your style of travel in both physical activity and cost. We offer options for custom daytrips and rest days in each location we visit.

Creativity in Community

Our trips include optional discussions of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the ideas about truth and beauty that informed their books. We encourage one another in all kinds of creative pursuits: from storytelling and music to athletics and engineering.

Traveler Reviews

Don't Just Take Our Word For It

``The Road Goes Ever On and On``

Footage of the 2016 Trip

Learn More

You've got questions? Here's the fine print.

We’ve all heard of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, whose works, The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, continue to capture the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world.  But few of us know the story of the Inklings, the literary group frequented by Lewis, Tolkien, and other great fantasy writers and apologists of the twentieth century. 

Inklings Abroad seeks to tell that story.

We’ll trek out to Cornwall on the southwestern tip of England, exploring the rugged and spectacular Cornish coast which inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythology. There we’ll see the breathtaking Tintagel, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur, as well as St. Michael’s Mount, a majestic castle in the midst of the sea.

We’ll take you to Oxford, England, the “city of dreaming spires” and the gateway to so many fantasy worlds. You’ll see the Kilns, home of C.S. Lewis, raise a glass at the Bird and Baby, where in their time the Inklings swapped their world-changing stories with each other before sharing them with the world. 

In 2023, travelers will also have the opportunity to visit the Republic of Ireland, where we’ll dig deeper into the biographical details of C.S. Lewis and the mix of Irish and English culture that shaped him. 

For lovers of fantasy and myth, this is the adventure of a lifetime. For more about our trip values and expectations, see this guide

Here is the current draft of the 2023 itinerary. At this point, it could still change, but this should give you an idea of the trip’s pace and timeline. 

Fly out on the evening of Friday May 26 (or earlier) and arrive in England on Saturday May 27.

Oxford: Saturday May 27 through Tuesday May 30:

May 27 – Arrival: Arrive in Oxford. Dinner at Trout.  

May 28 – Inklings Walk: We will go on a walking tour of Oxford to see many of the sites that were important to the Inklings, such as the Bird and the Baby pub and the colleges where they lived and worked. We’ll read Lewis’ famous sermon The Weight of Glory in the church where it was originally delivered. In the evening, we will walk the Thames and have dinner at the Trout, a favorite pub of the Inklings. 

May 29 – Day Trip Day: Options include Bath, the Cotswolds, London, and additional Tolkien locations in Oxford.  

May 30 – Lewis Day: We will head out to nearby Headington to tour the home, nature preserve, and church of C.S. Lewis, learning about his life and marriage to Joy from the scholars who preserve his house and memory. We will also visit his grave, where we will read from The Last Battle. 

Coverack: Wednesday May 31 through Sunday June 4. 

May 31 – Travel Day: This day will be spent primarily traveling by train out to Cornwall. Bus will pick us up in Redruth and take us to Coverack, our favorite place in the world. 

June 1 – Rest in Coverack: This is a day just to sit back and enjoy the beauty of Coverack and prepare for the next stage of the journey. Walking along the coastal paths to find Shetland ponies, hanging out at the local pub, and even watersports in the bay are all great ways to spend your day. 

June 2 – Kynance Cove: Bus will take us to Lizard, where we’ll have local pasties, explore the village, and then walk to Kynance Cove, one of the most beautiful places in the world.

June 3 – St. Michael’s Mount: We’ll travel to Marazion to explore the island fortress and gardens, which can only be reached by boat at high tide. This is a great place to discuss Tolkien’s captivation with the sea. 

June 4 – Tintagel: We’ll learn about the Arthurian mythos and its connection to the works of Tolkien, Lewis, and Williams at Tintagel, a Roman and Celtic ruin where a young Arthur was supposedly kept hidden by Merlin in the hidden caves. 

Ireland: Wednesday June 5 through Monday June 12. 

June 5 – Travel Day: We’ll take a combination of busses, trains, and planes up to Ireland. 

June 6 – Galway Day 1: TBD

June 7 – Galway Day 2: TBD

June 8 – Cork Day 1: TBD

June 9 – Cork Day 2: TBD

June 10 – Cork Day 3: TBD

June 11 – Dublin: TBD

Fly home on Monday June 12 (or stay longer).

Our trip are open for anyone to participate. We have had youth, college students, young adults, married couples, parents with children, senior adults, and every other age join us for Inklings Abroad. Our most common demographic is young adults (usually about 40% of the trip). 

We do not allow children younger than 13 to come on our trips without a parent or guardian except under special circumstances. Students 13-17 are welcome to travel with us even without a guardian, but will be more closely chaperoned by our leaders. 

Estimated Trip Costs (plus spending money)

Base: Inklings Abroad (lodging, in country transport, most activities, most breakfasts) 2975 US $
Estimated Cost of Airline Tickets 1000 US $

As far as international trips go, Inklings Abroad is one of the most cost-efficient options available. 

The base cost for the trip is $2975. This includes your lodging, in-country transportation, breakfast (but not “second breakfast”), the majority of your admissions, and the guidance and assistance of our experienced team of leaders.

We offer an “Early Bird” discount of $200 through the end of 2022.

Travelers are responsible for purchasing their own international airline tickets, although we are happy to help you find a good flight. These usually run between $800 and $1100.

How much you spend on meals, souvenirs, and extra activities is up to you. Travelers usually spend between $400 and $600. 

A $500 deposit is required to claim your spot on this year’s trip. We establish an informal payment plan and require the full balance by the first day of the trip.

See this guide for the complete run-down on finances and currency.  

We will have at least one “choose-your-own” day-trip. 

On these days the leaders will be splitting up to take smaller groups to London, Stratford, and the Cotswolds. Since the costs of these day-trips always vary (for instance, travelers may want to pay to ride the London Eye or see a play), they are not included in your base trip costs. There will also be free options for day trips. 

We keep trip costs down dramatically by staying in hostels, rather than hotels. There are certainly unsafe, seedy hostels out there, but these are not the ones we stay at. 

Most of the hostels we frequent are old favorites, ones that we’ve enjoyed our stay at over and over again. We’ve never had any problems with cleanliness, crime, or safety at any of the hostels hosting us this year. All of them will have a full English breakfast included. 

Check out this stunning view from Coverack YHA. Some of the best hostels are in places where you can’t even find a hotel. 

Good question. On one hand, there will be a lot of walking. Some of the coolest things you’ll see on this trip are things that only your legs can carry you to. This is how we steer clear of the crowds and stay off the beaten path. There are also long periods of remaining on one’s feet, such as waiting in airports or in customs, navigating through various train stations, and exploring vast locations like St. Michael’s Mount and Tintagel. 

On the other hand, most running and serious hiking is, as we like to call it, “challenge by choice.” Expect once or twice to have to sprint with your luggage to catch up with whatever train is trying to leave our group behind, but other than that, you should be fine. In 2014, a woman completed the entire trip on her cane and walker. Granted, she was probably the most epic traveler we have ever had, but still, she gives the rest of us hope.  

For those who savor the physical exercise, you won’t be disappointed. Every day, there will be opportunities to challenge yourself, such as hiking the Cornish coast, climbing a Scottish mountain, diving into the frigid waters of the channel, or playing some intense English football during the evenings. 

Optional group discussions are held each evening. They are usually facilitated by Dr. David Conley, who wrote his dissertation on Tolkien’s theology of creativity.

The first 10-15 minutes of each meeting involve a short lecture from David regarding one aspect of Tolkien myth-making approach. The titles of these talks are Fantasy, Recovery, Escape, and Consolation and can be researched ahead of time by reading Tolkien’s essay On Fairy Stories.

After the talks, there is a time for open discussion. The topics of these discussions tend to vary based on the interest of the group. We can go into greater depth regarding the night’s lecture, discuss the places we’ve seen, learn more about the lives of the Inklings, and of course occasionally nerd out over our favorite parts of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. This time is also used to finalize the agenda for the next day.

During the day, shorter talks are sometimes held at the sites we visit in order to more fully appreciate their historical or mythical significance. Occasionally we’ll read from the works of Inklings in important places, such as our readings from The Last Battle at Lewis’ grave or Mythopoeia at Addison’s Walk. 

Inklings Abroad is not a project of any specific church or denomination, nor are our trips designed to explicitly promote the doctrines of any church or denomination. 

It is true that most of the original Inklings identified with one or more branches of Christianity. C.S. Lewis was a devout Anglican, and has since become a household name in American evangelical circles due to his skill as an apologist. J.R.R. Tolkien described his Lord of the Rings as “a fundamentally Catholic work”, and the books and life of Charles Williams are awash in Christian mysticism. 

Certainly then, Christianity will be a common theme of our group discussions. Tolkien’s theology of creativity, as outlined in his essay On Fairy Storieswill be discussed in detail, as will the Christian meanings and symbolism behind The Chronicles of Narnia and Leaf by Niggle.

However, engagement in these discussions is always optional. We want all travelers to feel like they can enjoy the journey without the need to conform to religion in general or to Christianity in particular. This was, in fact, one of the traits that made the original Inklings so successful as writers: their ability to infuse their works with beauty and truth while remaining far from what we would call “preachy”.

Our organization is called Inklings Abroad, formerly Inklings of Clemson. The vision of our trips is Chasing Creativity in Community. We want to equip travelers with the tools to pursue beauty and truth through beautiful places, friendships, and works of creativity.

We have been conducting these trips for almost 20 years, mostly to the same set of favorite places in the U.K, so you can trust that we’ll get you “there and back again” in one piece. Our leadership team is composed of a small group of friends who enjoy traveling together. You can learn more about each of us by clicking on our portraits below or more about our philosophy of travel here. You can find contact information for our leaders here.

We will accept travelers until the trip fills up. We usually limit the trip to 20-25 travelers. You can guarantee yourself a spot by sending your $500 deposit before the trip is full. Checks should be written to:

The Inklings of Clemson

106 Chandler Court

Liberty, SC

29657

We also accept Venmo. Please send Venmo funds to @David-Conley-21

By traveling with us, you agree to abide by the following code of conduct

Meet our Team

All of our leaders have a passion for travel, but we also consider ourselves to be Inklings: lovers of creativity, myth, and beauty.

Previous Trips

All of our trips include Oxford and Cornwall, but we also try to make each trip unique by visiting special locations. We have taken over 15 trips to the U.K.

  • Inklings Abroad 2022: We had some of our best weather ever on this trip. Featured an adventure to Scotland to explore J.K. Rowling connections.

  • Inklings Abroad 2021: Postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19.

  • Inklings Abroad 2020: Postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19.

  • Inklings Abroad 2019: Oxford and Cornwall, plus over a week in Northern and Southern Ireland.

  • Inklings Abroad 2018: Featured our usual trip, plus 2 additional weeks exploring WW1 Inklings locations in France and Switzerland.

  • Inklings Abroad 2017: Featured a half week in the Scottish Highlands and Edinburgh, with a focus on George MacDonald and J.K. Rowling.

  • Inklings Abroad 2016: Featured a half week in Northern Ireland exploring the childhood roots of C.S. Lewis.

  • Inklings Abroad 2014: We spent additional time in England, including in Cornwall.

  • Inklings Abroad 2011: Featured added time in Somerset, where we stayed at a historic monastery.

  • Inklings Abroad 2009: Featured a half week in Northern Ireland, including in Belfast.

  • And many more!

Contact Us

Fill out the below form or email one of our leaders if you are interested in the trip. You can reach David Conley at (davidaconley1@gmail.com).










    Website Design by Matthew Hall