Site Visits : Out of Town
Andrew is qualified Blue Badge Guide, he runs scheduled tours but can also run bespoke tours for your own group, dealing with the logistics of booking entrance tickets and creating an itinerary for your day to make it easier for you and your colleagues/employees. He can also tailor tour experiences to suit your needs, budget and time.
For more information about out of town site visits please contact Andrew
Mysteries of Stonehenge
Located in Wiltshire, South West England, Stone Henge forms part of a World Heritage landscape which is peppered with hundreds of Stone and Bronze age monuments, graves, circles and barrows. Stonehenge itself is over 5,000 years old and yet we are still learning about the purpose and people that formed this ancient site. We will learn how this ancient monument began around five thousand years ago with a simple ditch and bank and then subsequent generations of Neolithic people added stone monuments to this site to create a temple, the remnants of which we see today. This includes the large monolith Sarsen stones from the Marlborough Downs and the smaller Blue Stones that our ancient ancestors transported all the way from the Presily Hills in Wales. Our assumptions are that this was an ancient place of worship, with clever celestial alignment to honour the symbolism of the Winter and Summer Solstices.
Leeds Castle nr Maidstone Kent
Lord Conway described Leeds Castle near Maidstone in Kent as “the loveliest castle in the whole world” and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s also known as the “Queen’s Castle” as several medieval queens either owned or stayed at Leeds on a regular basis. This included Eleanor of Castile, (consort of Edward I), Margaret of France, Isabella of France, Joan of Navarre (consort of Henry IV), Anne of Bohemia (consort of Richard II) and Catherine de Valois (consort of Henry V). Later, it was owned by Henry VIII who stayed there with his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. It was later substantially restored in the 19th and 20th Centuries by private owners, notably Lady Baillie from 1926.
The castle is located on two islands, surrounded by a beautiful moat and very impressive gardens. In the castle grounds there is a bird of prey centre and also a maze/grotto so lots to entertain children as well as adults.
Windsor Castle
Built originally by King William the Conqueror in the 1070s, Windsor Castle is the weekend residence for King Charles III. It is still a functioning castle and it is here that he hosts state banquets and meetings with foreign dignitaries in the State Apartments. A substantial part of the castle was devastated by fire in 1993 and has been faithfully restored, the notable highlight being St George’s Hall.
St George’s Chapel at Windsor is the burial place of many later British monarchs from the Tudor period onwards including King Henry VIII and King Charles I who had been executed in 1649. It is also home to the ancient Order of Chivalry, the Noble Order of the Garter. More recently our late Queen Elizabeth II and her consort Prince Philip were laid to rest there. It is also where Prince Harry and Megan Markle married in 2018.
At Windsor Castle you can Queen Mary’s Dolls House, view the famous private school attended by Princes William and Harry, Eton College, from the north wall and witness the Changing of the Kin’s Guard.
Canterbury and Dover (All Day)
Canterbury is where the story of English Christianity began in 596 when St Augustine came over with monks from Italy and founded an abbey near to the old Roman town of Durovernum Cantiacorum. It’s now the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury who is spiritual Head of the Church of England. The current Cathedral dates to the Norman period and was founded by archbishop Lanfranc in the 11th Century. The Cathedral is where Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in December 1170 at the behest of 4 knights acting on behalf of King Henry II. The original Norman Crypt is an architectural wonder containing Becket’s shrine and the tombs of Henry IV and the Black Prince.
On this all-day tour we will visit the medieval City of Canterbury, enter the Cathedral and see the Crypt, Becket’s shrine, the beautiful stained glass “Miracle” windows and marvel at the Norman and Gothic architecture, a testament to the skills of medieval stone masons and craftsmen. Depending on tour package, we will also visit St Augustine’s Abbey and/or St Martin’s Church where the story of English Christianity started. It is also possible to combine a trip to Canterbury with a trip to Dover, the historic port town of Kent and England’s gateway to France. On the trip, we visit Dover Castle. Rising above the famous White Cliffs high above the Channel, Dover Castle is an icon of England. Built soon after 1066, this mighty fortress has been the site of royal intrigue and epic sieges. It was at the centre of the crucial effort to evacuate hundreds of thousands of Allied troops from the beach of Dunkirk.