The day begins on a cool London pavement as a coach eases out of the city and the skyline slides into English countryside — hedgerows, rivers, and the occasional church spire keeping time. By mid-morning the coach pulls into Oxford, where a guide leads a brisk walking tour through college quads and narrow lanes; stone and leaded windows seem to hold centuries of argument and study. The tour then moves east to Cambridge, where the River Cam dares you to punt and St Mary’s Church Tower rewards the climb with a wide, geometric panorama.