Smaller than Vermont, New Jersey can easily be crisscrossed in a matter of days, geography that made it the center of military action in the American Revolution. Decisive victories at Trenton and Princeton proved to be turning points in the war. We’ll stand on the riverbank from which Washington launched his Christmas night crossing of the Delaware. A brutal winter encampment at Morristown, though less well known than Valley Forge, provided an even greater test of morale for Washington and his army. It’s on our itinerary – as is the dueling field, high above the Hudson River, where Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton in July 1804.

From our base in the beautiful college town of Princeton we’ll tour the home and laboratory of another revolutionary, Thomas Edison; the birthplace and gravesite of President Grover Cleveland; the Victorian-era Summer White House of Cape May; and Ellis Island, the legendary gateway to America for millions of immigrants inspired by the nearby Statue of Liberty – the focus of a stunning new museum. Odds are you’ll be as surprised as we were by the historical and scenic riches to be found in America’s most surprising state.

Join us this September for a memorable trip to some of the most beautiful – and historic – country this side of Brigadoon. Starting with two nights in the majestic English Lake District, with its brooding landscapes and literary shrines to poet William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter, best known for The Tales of Peter Rabbit. En route to Edinburgh, our home for six nights, we’ll pause in the village of Lockerbie to pay our respects to the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, lost to a terrorist bomb in December 1988.

Our Edinburgh home is the Kimpton Charlotte Square, taking its name from the adjacent World Heritage Site and ideally located next to picturesque Old Town. Our itinerary includes a day in the Scottish Highlands, a walking tour of the Old Course at St. Andrews, birthplace of golf, and Glamis Castle, girlhood home of the late Queen Mother. Edinburgh Castle beckons, along with Holyrood House, St. Giles Cathedral and the multi-media extravaganza called Dynamic Earth. We’ve set aside half a day to explore the Royal Yacht Britannia. And another half to tour Scotland’s capital on your own. Visit an art museum or shop the Royal Mile. If you have been to Scotland before, we’ll take you places you haven’t been. And introduce you to a history you cannot beat.