Themed tours based on full days out from superb Country House accommodation, with expert guides who will give you real insight into whatever you are into. Industrial Archaeology exploring the world of the Victorians or seeing Britain under Roman occupation all feature. If you'd rather seek out the peace and quiet of Britain's waterways, or to enjoy rides as well as the fascinating history of its railways, we can accommodate you. If art's your thing, browse on and look at our description of a holiday centred on the Tate St Ives, or the stunning collections of works by William Morris and Burne-Jones in the Midlands.

You will need to be fit enough to spend lots of time on your feet and to get around places of interest, but there's plenty of time to recover and socialise in the evenings sometimes enjoying optional specialist lectures.

Our prices hide nothing and represent remarkable value for money - you don't need to spend anything other than at the occasional tea shop when you are out and about, and all our tours include all transport and admission charges to places of interest.

Please select a holiday from the left hand menu.

Working Heritage

For the last two centuries industry has had a major influence on the society, environment and landscape in which we live. We explore these connections, inventions and innovations that have shaped our lives through visits to original sites and museums, and talks from experts.

Cornwall was at the very heart of the industrial revolution; in the 18th and 19th centuries tin, arsenic, copper and other industrial metals were mined, which led to innovations and inventions of machinery such as pumps and steam engines. In recognition of some superbly preserved heritage, the Cornwall and Devon Mining Landscape became a World Heritage Site in 2006. We’ll combine insight to this fascinating past, with visits including Geevor Tin Mine, the Cornish Mines and Engines at Pool, and the Levant Beam Engine, with outstanding scenic trips to other related sites; Pendeen Lighthouse, with the last air operated foghorn in the country, and Richard Trevithick’s residence in childhood, now owned by the National Trust.

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Bede's Northumbria

The Venerable Bede is best known as author of the Ecclesiastical History of the English People (AD 731), which explores the beginnings of the English society and Christianity. We also look closely at his celebrated biographical subject the hermit and miracle worker St Cuthbert whose first grave in Lindisfarne, and the places to which the coffin was subsequently moved, became a great focus of pilgrimage in early medieval England. We visit many associated places where in-depth talks explain their significance; highlights include Holy Island with its Priory, Durham Cathedral and Treasury, St Paul's Church, Jarrow and Bede's World, Bamburgh (for St Aidan's Church, the vision of whose soul inspired Cuthbert), and Coldingham Priory. A boat trip to the Farne Islands, where Cuthbert spent time as a Hermit and eventually died is also included. Combine this break with Hadrian's Wall for a longer Northumberland themed break.

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Hadrian's Wall

One of only 26 World Heritage Sites in Britain, forts, milecastles and visitor centres allow insights into life on the wall. We have selected the most interesting sections to look at in spectacular countryside, and fully illustrated talks will explain their significance. Highlights include the Forts at Corbridge, Birdoswald, Chesters with its bath house and museum and Carrawburgh Mithraeum (where we can picnic). We also offer an optional walk on an easy section from Gilsland to Birdoswald (a little over 1½ miles with some steep sections) and a visit to Vindolanda. Combine this break with Bede's Northumbria for a longer Northumberland themed break.

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Romans and Vikings in Cumbria

Explore the western regions of Hadrian’s Wall, the north-western coastal and Lake District forts and Viking crosses and hog-backed tombs at Gosforth. The Roman sites will include the recently re-excavated fort at Birdoswald, the spectacularly sited Hardknott fort, and the Museum on the site of Maryport fort together with a recently excavated milefortlet just up the coast. On-site and evening talks will add to your enjoyment.

Art in West Cornwall

This holiday provides you with the opportunity to see some of the work of the Newlyn School of Artists, the St Ives Modernists and of contemporary artists living and working in the area today. The Tate in St Ives, opened in 1993 and the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden form the focus of our visit to St Ives town, and further afield we visit the Penlee Gallery in Penzance and the Falmouth Art Gallery. We shall also be visiting a selection of smaller, private, galleries. With a variety of media - sculpture, paintings, ceramics - old and new and some wonderful scenery there is sure to be something for everyone on this holiday.

Victorian Wight

The Isle of Wight was a favourite holiday site for cultured Victorians and many chose to live there, including Victoria and Albert, Alfred Lord Tennyson, photographer Julia Margaret Cameron and the poet Swinburne. We'll visit Victoria and Albert's Osborne House and the nearby Victorian church at Whippingham, Julia Cameron's house Dimbola Lodge and have tea at Tennyson's house at Farringford (now a hotel) as well as exterior viewing of two houses connected with Swinburne. Other sites of Victorian interest to be visited will be Shanklin Chine, the Needles Old Battery, Cowes and a short and delightful boat trip to Hurst Castle. With evening talks and videos to provide information on Victorian Wight.

The Best of the Isle of Wight

We've put together an itinerary to show you the very best of this fascinating island in a series of themed days which introduces you to some of the most attractive sites to leave you with an understanding of what makes the place tick and why the islanders have such a strong sense of identity and pride. A Gardens day includes Mottistone Manor, a day on the Victorians centred on Osborne House will explain their huge importance, Castles and Defences shows you another side of history, while Seaside Wight and Natural Wight will paint a full and colourful picture.

Discover the Victorians

Visit the extraordinary Gothic extravaganza of Tyntesfield which has survived with much of its Victorian interior and decorative arts unchanged - saved by the National Trust in 2002 at a cost of £25 million. It gives us an unrivalled insight into Victorian life, which we explore further with visits to the Victorian Grand Pier at Weston-Super-Mare, Isambard Kingdom Brunel's SS Great Britain, launched in 1843, and Brunel's masterpiece of engineering the Clifton Suspension Bridge over the Avon Gorge. On the longer break we will also experience the atmosphere of a Victorian Woollen Mill at Uffculme and visit Knightshayes Court to see the work of the Victorian Artist William Burges.

William Morris and Burne-Jones

Their art has experienced a huge wave of renewed popularity in recent years, but the story of these two amazing mens partnership in art and design will take you beyond the purely visual to a new appreciation of their works. Within easy reach of our Cotswolds base lies a major part of their achievements. Birmingham Art Gallery houses important Pre-Raphaelite works, Burne-Jones galleries and De Moyan lustre-ware. The city’s Cathedral has Burne-Jones stained glass windows, too. The undoubted highlight is Kelmscott Manor; other features may be the Combe Gallery at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (Pre-Raphaelite collection), and Wightwick Manor, one of only a few surviving examples of homes built and furnished under the influence of the Arts & Crafts movement. Illustrated talks will complement your visits.

Stained Glass Tour

Within easy reach of our Cotswolds base lies an unrivalled collection of glass from all ages. From the original purpose of an expression of faith, to more recent times where they were often made to commemorate a notable person or group from the community, they all share a remarkable beauty and are linked both to their architectural setting and to the light of the sky beyond. We will learn about how it was and is produced through talks and visits to places as varied as Fairford Church (an important and complete medieval scheme); Oxford (some of the country's oldest glass is in the 12C panels of St Michael's church, and the colleges too have much to see); Gloucester Cathedral with its amazing 14C Crecy window; and Highnam for its impressive Victorian work.

English Medieval Architecture

Discover the amazing works of medieval craftsmen as we explore England's rich heritage of buildings and the relationship between homes, churches, cathedrals and castles. Our quest will take us to humble dwellings and grand places of worship, as we are transported towards an understanding of the medieval way of life and what made the craftsmen tick. There will be illustrated talks each evening to discuss the day's research.

Stone Circles of Cumbria

What stories of Druids, ghosts and ancient life are told by these silent sentinels of history? Through ages of stone, bronze and iron, we journey on full day tours from Castlerigg to the Celts. We show you where to go and how to look and peer through the eerie mists of time. We include all the famous and unusual stone circles, including Castlerigg, ‘Cumbria’s Stonehenge’ and also the remains of a well-preserved Bronze Age village high on the fells. You will need to be fit enough to walk over sometimes rough ground for short distances.

Monasteries and Abbeys

From Whitby, we visit the World Heritage Site at Fountains Abbeys which needs little introduction, but there is a huge number of Monastery sites in Yorkshire. Sometimes as impressive as their setting, but at all times fascinating in the company of our guides, who will tell us about the architecture and monastic life. The wealthiest monasteries were economic powerhouses, which set up major business interests, and pioneered new industrial processes. Through talks and visits to Fountains, Rievaulx, York, and Mount Grace Priory (not forgetting our very own Whitby Abbey), we learn about medieval lfe in general, too.

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Discover the Elizabethans

Elizabeth’s Court with its Cult of Gloriana was the focus of the flowering of the English Renaissance. The search for national identity went hand in hand with cultural developments in drama and poetry, in the quest for knowledge, the zest for exploration and the defeat of the Armada. Our two days of visits will feature Drake’s Buckland Abbey, the Plymouth Dome exhibition and a boat trip in Plymouth Harbour, Berry Pomeroy Castle, a ruined Elizabethan house, Totnes Guildhall and Compton Castle, home to the Gilbert family of Elizabethan adventurers.

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Historic Houses of Sussex NEW

A numberv of noble families have made their homes in Sussex and many famous figures in history have lived in the county. Through the magnificent and interesting buildings that remain we bring the past to life; highlights include the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, the exotic Regency Palace of King George IV, Uppark, a fine late 17th century house high up on the South Downs, Petworth House with its famous art collection and Arundel Castle, home to the Duke of Norfolk.

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Scenic Railways of the Lakes & Beyond NEW

On this Historic Railways short break, we will enjoy some famous train journeys through spectacular South Lake district countryside. Highlights include the Settle and Carlisle Railway, probably the most scenic railway journey in England. The line is engineered to follow the natural pathways through the hills of the Pennines and was the last main line railway in England constructed almost entirely by hand. Many died through outbreaks of smallpox, as well as those injured or killed during construction. By contrast we will travel the amazing Ravenglass and Eskdale railway which runs for seven miles from the National Park’s only coastal village of Ravenglass in the Western Lake District, through hidden Miterdale, to the grandeur of the Eskdale valley. The terminus at Dalegarth for Boot nestles at the foot of England’s highest mountains.

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Cotswold Steam NEW

Enjoy trips on the Gloucester & Warwickshire Railway, the Severn Valley Railway and the Dean Forest Railway amongst others, superb examples of the restoration work of volunteer enthusiasts which can be enjoyed on many levels. The journeys themselves are full of interest, with routes closely following meandering rivers crossing impressive bridges (one features in the film ‘The Thirty-nine Steps’) and passing through glorious countryside. Learn about the work of the preservationists and gain insight into Britain’s rural past.

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Great Little Trains of Wales NEW

Experience the nostalgic pleasures and romance of steam travel whilst exploring the Welsh countryside on this historic railways holiday. Highlights will include the famous narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway, a ride to the summit of Britain’s Highest Railway station on Snowdon, with unsurpassed views, and the LLanberis Lake Railway with its unrivalled views of the mountains of Snowdonia from viewpoints inaccessible by road.

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Discover Britain's Waterways

Travelling to places and sites connected with the heritage of canals in this area, and walk around five miles each day - we stay flexible to make the best of the weather. Each evening enjoy briefings on related topics such as how horses were used to pull the boats, how the boat people lived on board, and a look at their clothes. We tour and walk daily but here are some highlights:

Dovedale, Derbyshire Dales; see how James Brindley, the engineer, and his patrons, the Duke of Bridgewater, and Josiah Wedgwood, helped to change the lives of us all. Walking their waterways now, we can enjoy their quiet beauty, but also discover the purpose and fascination of the many artefacts that remain, in the form of reservoirs, water management, boats, wharves, warehouses, and the enterprises they served. Visit Brindley’s beginnings at Leek, Rudyard Lake (feeder reservoir), Harecastle Tunnel, where his great canal linking the Trent to the Mersey was started, and a busy historic junction and pottery mill in Stoke on Trent. One day we visit the Duke of Bridgewater’s canal and terminus, in and around Manchester, and the Ship Canal.

Bourton-on-the-Water, Cotswolds; canals in this part of England developed partly to serve local agriculture, but then to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding Industrial Revolution, with the need for bulk movement of raw materials and finished goods. We will visit the sites of canals restored to use, and seek signs of others long gone. A visit will be made to canals of the Avon Valley, Cotswolds and the Marlborough Downs.

Brecon, Wales; we visit the northern part of the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal and see the aqueduct over the Usk at Brynich, the village of Tal-y-Bont with its elaborate lift bridge, the nearby tunnel at Ashford and the lovely flight of locks at Llangynidr. Cardiff Bay Tidal Barrage provides a modern day contrast, from there we go by boat to the Cardiff Bay front. We look at the Montgomeryshire Canal which terminated at Newtown and between there and Welshpool there is much of it to see from the coach.

Glen Coe, Western Scottish Highlands; these arteries of transport are experiencing a gradual revival. We travel to Banavie at the foot of the Caledonian Canal and see the eight locks which make up Neptune’s Staircase, enjoy an optional 6 mile walk from Gairlochy to Banavie and make for Fort Augustus at the southern end of Loch Ness. Here we enjoy a 3 hour cruise on Loch Ness.

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