Interactive and stimulating tours of the historic university where much of Harry Potter was filmed! Like stepping into their favourite films. Most tours are for 10+ but Family Tours in holidays welcome 5+.
Guided Tour
Guided Tour
What is it?
A guided tour is the practice of an individual leading a group of people around a point of interest and giving them information about it, which can cover topics such as religious significance, cultural history and how it relates to other locations and events in history.
What does it involve?
Attending a guided tour basically just involves paying attention! All the work is done for you in finding out the facts and presenting them in an interesting manner; the role of the participant just calls for a level of interest in your surroundings and an eagerness to learn!
Why do it and what are the benefits?
Tour guides can be extremely educational - physically interacting with the place while learning about its history will provide a different kind of academic experience to the classroom by giving the students something more tangible to focus on.
What equipment do we need?
You shouldn't need any equipment for a guided tour, but check beforehand to make sure; some tours involve their participants even further by getting them to write down their own thoughts, or make drawings - so you may need to ensure students have something to write on!
Who is it suitable for?
Guided Tours are suitable for pretty much anybody if you pick the right one - smaller children will find it harder to focus on more complex subjects and will need more visual aids, but if they are engaged correctly they will have a great time! Likewise, teenage students will get bored if the subject isn't engaging enough, so make sure to choose the tour appropriate for the age and interests of the group.
Costs?
Around £20 or less per person, but it can vary greatly depending on the location of the tour - for example, a minibus tour around a park will cost more than a short walk around a country manor! Make sure to shop around to get an idea of the prices in your area.
Issues/Things to think about? (unsuitable for age groups, medical conditions etc)
A guided tour should be suitable for all ages, but students with condtions such has ADHD may have trouble focusing for an extended period of time - make sure to be aware of the specific needs of your group.
How do we include?
Many guided tours have disabled access for those with limited physical movement, but it would be wise to doublecheck beforehand. Those who are deaf and blind can also be included in guided tours but may need more specialist staff - again, you will need to check with the specific establishments.
Doing it abroad?
There are points of public interest all around the world, so wherever you can find something well known chances are there will be a guided tour available! Foreign tours may be conducted in another language though, so make sure to confirm the specifications of the tour before booking it.
Main website:
This website gives a good overview of places where you can go for a tour guide, but you're best looking at the specific areas around you to find out details!
Venues with this Activity
The best-preserved remains of a Cistercian abbey west cloister range in England, dating mainly from around 1170. Incorporated into part of a 17th century and later mansion, set in Rufford Country Park.
Although a charter was granted to the town in 1705, following a petition citing the lack of local justice which stated "whereof the morall of the inhabitants are corrupt, and cavill and breach of the peace are frequent", it was not until 1813 when an order was placed with a Mr.Beard of Somerton to draw up plans for a Town Hall.
Remains of a late 13th-century knight's dwelling
Old Soar Manor is a small but nevertheless complete portion of stone manor house built c. 1290. Nestled in a remote position within the Kent countryside, on the edge of the picturesque North Downs, this rare survival of 13th century domestic architecture gives an illuminating impression of the life of a rich medieval family.
Cromer’s past in an enchanting nutshell
Step inside a tiny fisherman's cottage and imagine life in Cromer at the end of the 19th century. Colourful displays chart the town’s history as an early Victorian seaside resort, resplendent with fine hotels and scandalous mixed bathing.
18th-century printing press
Take a step back in time and discover a treasure trove of ink, galleys and presses hidden behind an 18th-century shop front in the heart of Strabane, once the famous printing town of Ulster.
Gray’s Printing Press is now being staffed with local volunteers who have gained expert knowledge about the Press.
Visit the extensive ruins of Baconsthorpe Castle, a moated and fortified 15th century manor house, that are a testament to the rise and fall of a prominent Norfolk family, the Heydons.
Over 200 years, successive generations of this ambitious family built, then enlarged, and finally abandoned this castle.
Striking Elizabethan merchant's house and gardens
Important brick-built Tudor gentry house, completed about 1573, little altered since. Early 17th-century wall-paintings showing fishing scenes and a cityscape grace the former Great Chamber.
Evocative exposed timbers in attic, fine original spiral oak staircase in turret, soaring chimneys, cobbled courtyard, peaceful walled garden with bee boles.
Although once surrounded by farmland, this ancient manor house now stands amidst an industrial estate. Nevertheless, a leafy garden provides a fitting setting for the property, and visitors willing to brave the built-up surroundings are more than rewarded with a fine medieval building - which also includes fascinating traces of wall paintings in the first floor hall.
Miles of mystery and history beneath your feet
Extending some 35km (22 miles), the man-made caves were constructed as an ancient lime and flint mine.
"It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot" - such were the words of Queen Victoria after her first visit to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.
No trip to the island would be complete without a visit to this royal seaside palace where Queen Victoria lived with her beloved Prince Albert and their nine children.
Also known as Number One London, Apsley House is one of the most interesting visitor attractions in London. Home to the Duke of Wellington after his victory over Napoleon at Waterloo, the interior of the house has changed very little since the days of the Iron Duke.
The ruins of a 13th century Premonstratensian abbey, later converted into a Tudor mansion. The church was rebuilt as a grand turreted gatehouse. Information panels tell the story of the monastery and its conversion into a mansion.
Jane Austen is one of the most popular and important novelists that England has ever produced. The house at Chawton is where she spent the last eight years of her life. It is of international importance as the place where she did the majority of her mature writing, but at the same time retains the charm of a village home.
Our exhibition of works from the collection of Doncaster Museum Service brings together a wide range of images of Doncaster and its surrounding area.
A unique 17th-century treasure trove
This rare and atmospheric 17th-century house sits on the banks of the River Thames in Richmond. It is the creation of the tenacious Duchess of Lauderdale and her husband, the Duke, who together transformed Ham into one of the grandest Stuart houses in England.
The charming ruins of a small monastery of Premonstratensian 'white canons', picturesquely set above a bend in the River Tees near Barnard Castle.
Remains include much of the 13th century church and a range of living quarters, with traces of their ingenious toilet drainage system.
Tucked away in a deep wooded valley, Berry Pomeroy Castle is the perfect romantic ruin with a colourful history of intrigue.
Intriguing stories
Set in the lovely village of Lavenham, the Guildhall of Corpus Christi tells the story of one of the best-preserved and wealthiest towns in Tudor England.
Medieval hospital, Tudor ammunition store and church for the forces since the 1580s, the Royal Garrison Church has stood in Portsmouth for nearly 800 years.
Royal Garrison Church was constructed about 1212 as part of a hospital complex. Although the nave was badly damaged in a 1941 fire-bomb raid on Portsmouth, the chancel remains roofed and furnished.
Visit us for Free to immerse yourself and your family in arts, history and culture. With a selection of permanent galleries and temporary exhibition spaces, along with a whole host of ongoing workshops and events, the Herbert offers a great day out. Our fantastic family offer was recognised when we won the Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award in 2010.
Elegant Georgian town house with wonderful walled garden
Peckover House is a secret gem, an oasis hidden away in an urban environment. A classic Georgian merchant's town house, it was lived in by the Peckover family for 150 years.
The Laing Art Gallery is home to an important collection of fine and decorative art. Our permanent collection and temporary exhibitions feature historic and contemporary art from internationally renowned artists.
Clarence House is the official London residence of The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry. Here Their Royal Highnesses receive official guests from this country and overseas on behalf of the nation, and bring together people from all walks of life through official seminars, lunches, receptions and dinners.
Spectacular 18th-century mansion with Adam interiors and parkland
Take a trip back in time to the 1760s at this spectacular Neo-classical mansion framed by historic parkland.
Designed for lavish entertaining and displaying an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture and original furnishings, Kedleston is a stunning example of the work of architect Robert Adam.
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