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!

 

See the list below for venues and providers who deliver this activity:

Iona Abbey

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

Iona is a tiny island off the southwest coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. It is only 1.5 miles wide by 3 miles long, with a population of around 120 permanent residents. Despite this, Iona has a special place in the heart of many people the world over. It is the burial place of many of the ancient kings of Scotland including both Duncan and Macbeth on the 'Street of the Dead'. Former Labour Party leader John Smith was also buried here in 1994.

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Keats House

Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
0

The Romantic poet John Keats lived in this house and was inspired to write his most memorable poetry here. 

The grade 1 listed building is open to the public as a museum and literary centre, where Keats's memory lives on through events, creative activities and special displays.

Visitors can explore Keats's study, the bedroom where his consumption was first diagnosed, and the garden which he shared with the love of his life, Fanny Brawne, and in which he composed his famous 'Ode to a Nightingale'.

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Leiston Abbey

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

The mainly 14th century remains of an abbey of Premonstratensian canons. Among Suffolk’s most impressive monastic ruins, with some spectacular architectural features.

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Leighton House

Venue Type: 
Art Gallery
Overall Rating: 
0

Leighton House Museum is the former home of the Victorian artist Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896). The only purpose-built studio-house open to the public in the United Kingdom, it is one of the most remarkable buildings of the nineteenth century, containing a fascinatingcollection of paintings and sculpture by Leighton and his contemporaries.

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Glastonbury Tribunal

Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
0

A fine, late 15th-century stone town house, with an early Tudor façade and panelled interiors.

This fine late 15th century town house, once thought to have been the courtroom of Glastonbury Abbey, now houses both the Tourist Information Centre and the Glastonbury Lake Village Museum, which contains dramatic finds from one of Europe’s most famous archaeological sites.

Now contains a Tourist Information Centre and the Glastonbury Lake Village Museum.

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Burton Agnes Manor House

Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
0

A medieval manor house interior, with a rare and well preserved Norman undercroft and a 15th century roof, all encased in brick during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The manor house, or Old Hall, at Burton Agnes was built by Roger de Stuteville between 1170 and 1180. The hall, like the village, was named after one of his daughters.

The Ghost

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Wenlock Priory

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

The tranquil ruins of Wenlock Priory stand in a picturesque setting on the fringe of beautiful Much Wenlock. An Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded here in about 680 by King Merewalh of Mercia, whose abbess daughter Milburge was hailed as a saint. Her relics were miraculously re-discovered here in 1101, attracting both pilgrims and prosperity to the priory.

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Mattersey Priory

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

The priory of St Helen stands on a gravel island on the west side of the River Idle, in what was marshland in the Middle Ages.

It was established in 1185 by Roger fitzRalph of nearby Mattersey for the Gilbertine Order, the only monastic order to have originated in England.

On view today are the remains - mainly the 13th century refectory and kitchen - of the small monastery for just six Gilbertine canons.

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West Norwood Cemetery

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and ecological interest.

Its grounds are a mixture of historic monumental cemetery and modern lawn cemetery, but it also boasts catacombs, a crematorium and a columbarium for cinery ashes. 

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Monk Bretton Priory

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

The substantial ruins of a Cluniac monastery, with an unusually well-marked ground plan, an almost complete west range and a 15th century gatehouse.

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