Heritage tours
Rhiannon Batten discovers 10 ways to soak up some history around the UK and Ireland, whether you’re an outdoor adventurer, a crafts whizz or a culture vulture
LEGENDARY WELSH SCENERY
History buffs are well catered for by specialist tour operator Andante Travels, whose expertled UK trips range from one-day study tours of Northumbrian rock art, to three-day breaks investigating the wartime codebreakers of Bletchley Park. New for 2022 is Mabinogion: Magic Medieval Welsh Myths –a fiveday journey around north Wales this June, exploring the region’s archaeological and medieval sites through the lens of the Welsh legends. From crag-top castles and Roman fortresses, to rugged standing stones and windswept beaches, all will be viewed anew in relation to the Mabinogion. From £1,980 per person including full-board accommodation, transport, guiding and entrance fees andantetravels.co.uk
VICTORIAN BAKING
Nottinghamshire’s School of Artisan Food has made a name for itself with a roster of practical, modern skills courses which range from cooking over fire to setting up successful microbakeries. The cookery school isn’t averse to seeking inspiration from the past as well as the future, however. While courses for the end of the year aren’t confirmed yet, it’s expected that culinary historian Ivan Day will be returning in December to run one-day workshops on historic ices and historic pies, some of them made with the help of Day’s treasured collection of antique moulds and utensils. If you’ve ever dreamt of making an elaborately ornamented raised pie in the Victorian style, now’s your chance. From £185 per person, per day schoolofartisanfood.org
SAILING INTO THE PAST
The Norfolk Broads may be one of England’s most popular outdoor recreation areas today but, in Edwardian times, these bustling inland waterways were used by specialist cargo boats known as wherries. As tourism developed, and shipping by road superseded that of rivers and canals, some of these sail-powered barges were brought into service as pleasure craft. Few survive but, happily, five are cared for by the charity Wherry Yacht Charter in Wroxham; these include Hathor, originally owned by the family behind Colman’s mustard, and decorated with Egyptian-themed marquetry. The fleet is used for scheduled day trips and private charters in the summer months. From £50 per person for a scheduled sailing trip, or from £995 for up to 10 people for a self-catered, two-night private weekend charter wherryyachtcharter.org
BALLROOM BLITZ
Set between 1781 and 1801, Poldark – the BBC’s blockbuster drama based on Winston Graham’s novels – gave us many things. Not least a wistful appreciation of elegant Regency dancing. If you’ve been yearning to give historic dancing a go, Halsway Manor in west Somerset is a great place to start. The national centre for folk arts, this stately manor house on the edge of the Quantock Hills hosts a wide range of music and folk dance courses, including regular holidays led by Stuart Marsden, the choreographer behind Poldark’s dance scenes. This September sees the return of his Dances of Poldark weekend –a two-day break exploring the dances and music from the time, with the help of the Warleggan Village Band. Ballgowns and breeches are optional. From £185 per person including tuition, activities, accommodation and all meals halswaymanor.org.uk
HOLY SITES OF SOUTH IRELAND
Capitalising on the reopening of the legendary Cashel Palace Hotel in County Tipperary (which beady-eyed readers may have spotted in the April issue), luxury tour operator Black Tomato is launching bespoke heritage tours to the south of Ireland from this spring. The new tours will include private after-hours visits to the Rock of Cashel heritage site, led by a historian. Other highlights include trips to local artisans, woollen mills, bee farms and distilleries, and a cruise to the monastic ruins of Holy Island, in neighbouring County Clare. Seven-night trips, including two nights at Cashel Palace, car hire, accommodation, breakfast and activities start at £4,975 per person blacktomato.com
ENGLISH GARDENS
England’s garden heritage is the focus of holidays organised by specialist operator Violets & Tea. Several more niche tours are available each year but, for allround interest, the company’s A Touch of Magnificence tour lives neatly up to its name, taking in some of the finest gardens across the south east and south west of the country (and some of the stateliest hotels) over six nights in July. The tour takes in the immaculate botanical landscapes of Highclere Castle, Iford Manor, Stourhead, Bowood House, the Highgrove Estate, as well as private gardens such as Dan Pearson-designed Folly Farm in Berkshire. From £4,250 per person including guiding, transport, luxury accommodation and most meals violetsandtea.com
Bridge over the river Frome beside Iford Manor in Freshford 
Wisteria growing outside the Casita at The Peto Garden at Iford Manor 
The ceiling of Cormac’s Chapel at the Rock of Cashel 
Music and dancing at Halsway Manor. 
Halsway Manor in Somerset, now used as England’s National Centre for Traditional Music, Dance and Song 
Step into nature at Stourhead 
Stourhead, one of England’s finest landscape gardens
ARTS AND CRAFTS IN CUMBRIA
Walking and activity holidays are what HF Holidays is best known for, but the company also has a range of cultural breaks, from trips along heritage railways to Shakespeare-centred gatherings. One of the most compelling for design lovers is a four-night guided trip in May focusing on the Arts and Crafts movement in south Cumbria (a shorter trip exploring the north of the county is also possible). The region was a favourite haunt of William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, and key sites connected with their vision are included. Also on the itinerary are John Ruskin’s home, Brantwood, and Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts house designed by MH Baillie Scott. From £695 per person including guiding, transport, entrance fees and full-board accommodation hfholidays.co.uk
LONDON’S TEXTILE HERITAGE
The capital’s reputation as a swinging fashion spot is well deserved, but The Textile Retreat Company’s eight-night September tour goes beyond the contemporary, delving into London’s centuries-long heritage as a centre for fashion and textiles. Based in Richmond, the trip includes visits to working fashion studios, costume departments and museums, as well as a guided tour of Spitalfields focusing on its silk-making history, a visit to Hampton Court, and an appointment with the Queen’s milliner, plus exclusive shopping at several specialist fabric shops. A two-night extension to Bath is also possible. From around £4,550 per person including accommodation, some meals, activities and transport textileretreats.com
NEOLITHIC ORKNEY
Last autumn saw the launch of UNESCO’s first National Trail –a collection of 13 different UNESCO sites across Scotland. So far there is no single tour taking in all 13 sites, but if you’re keen to start exploring them yourself, we recommend starting at one of those sites: the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. Here, the chambered cairn of Maeshowe, the Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae prehistoric village and the standing stones of Stenness atmospherically illustrate the dawn of human culture in Europe. Along with many other ancient attractions, the sites are included on Brightwater Holidays’ fivenight trip – An Archaeologist’s View of Orkney and Shetland – running in April, July and August with various departure points. From £1,375 per person including accommodation, most meals, guided activities and local transport brightwaterholidays.com
Orkney’s Standing Stones of Stenness date from at least 3100BC 
A Christian Dior exhibit at London’s V&A 
Explore London’s textile history at Liberty department store. 
Boats for hire at Hampton Court 
An Arts and Crafts stained glass window at Blackwell in Windermere 
Stop off at Hampton Court Palace as part of the Oxford and Thames Royal Palaces trip
ROYAL PALACES BY BIKE
From Enid Blyton-themed adventures around Dorset (cream tea and lashings of ginger beer, anyone?) to two-wheeled tours of Kent’s castles, The Carter Company does a popular line in history-fringed walking and cycling holidays. If you haven’t tried a cycling holiday before, then its self-guided Oxford and Thames Royal Palaces trip is worth considering this summer. A gentle, six-night, self-guided tour, it takes in the picturesque Chiltern Hills and historic towns such as Oxford and Henley, as well as water meadows, ancient inns, museums, boat rides and, of course, palaces and castles (Hampton Court and Windsor Castle among them). Much of the route is along flat, traffic-free river paths, making for a relaxed journey, and electric bikes can be arranged if you want to make the ride even smoother. From £1,535 per person including accommodation, some meals, luggage transfers, bike hire, route maps and directions, and the services of local hosts the-carter-company.com
