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:

Dorneywood Gardens

1930s-style garden, with herbaceous borders, cottage garden and lily pond
Venue Type: 
Parks and Gardens
Overall Rating: 
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Did you know?

Dorneywood is traditionally the country residence of a senior member of the Government, usually a Secretary of State or Minister of the Crown. It was given to us by Lord Courtauld-Thomson and it is administered by the Dorneywood Trust.

Useful information

Dorneywood is open on selected summer dates.

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Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker

The Deepest Nuclear Bunker in the South of England
Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
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Come and witness the three lives of the bunker starting with its role as an RAF ROTOR Station, then a brief period as a civil defence centre through to its most recent life as a Regional Government HQ. Designed for up to 600 military and civilian personnel, possibly even the Prime Minister, their collective task being to organise the survival of the population in the awful aftermath of a nuclear war.

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Kimbolton Castle

Venue Type: 
Castles
Overall Rating: 
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Originally a medieval castle but converted into a stately palace, Kimbolton Castle was the family seat of the Dukes of Manchester. It now houses Kimbolton School.

Best known as the final home of Henry VIII's first wife - Catherine of Aragon - the original Medieaval wooden Motte and Bailey Castlle was rebuilt in the Tudor period. Catherine was sent here in April 1534 for refusing to give up her status as a catholic or deny the validity of her marriage to the king. She died here in January 1536 and her ghost reportedly haunts the corridors still today.

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Pram Museum

A collection of perambulators; strollers; and sundry curious conveyances
Venue Type: 
Museums
Overall Rating: 
0

What should you look for at the Pram Museum?

In a word, it's wheels! wheels! and wheels! Well . . . it's actually wheels and axles and the frame. It doesn't matter how cute the bears-and-bunnies print is if a wheel falls off in the middle of the street, or the frame collapses without warning with your 23-month-old in the stroller.

Check out the wheels on strollers you see everywhere you go. Compare wheels, and you'll learn something surprising--some of the jazziest, most common strollers have the wobbliest wheels around.

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Wordsworth's House

Step back to the 1770s at poet William Wordsworth’s childhood home
Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
0

Wordsworth House and Garden, in the Cumbrian town of Cockermouth, is the birthplace and childhood home of romantic poet William and his sister Dorothy.

It is presented as it would have been when they lived here with their parents, three brothers and servants in the 1770s.

Today, this homely Georgian townhouse is peopled by our knowledgeable 21st-century guides and, on selected dates, the maid or manservant is hard at work – and keen to chat.

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East Riddlesden Hall

17th-century manor house with romantic, intimate gardens
Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
0

Come and explore East Riddlesden Hall, home of 17th century cloth merchant James Murgatroyd.  See the changes he made and discover why his work was never completed.

For generations, this estate was a hive of farming activity; producing enough milk, cheese and bread to adequately supply the household and its workers.

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Eton College Natural History Museum

Venue Type: 
Science & Technology
Overall Rating: 
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The museum was opened in 1875 to house the Thackeray Collection of British Birds and other collections and has been located in its present site since 1895. It now houses over 15,000 specimens, donated from the nineteenth century onwards. Initially, the museum belonged to Eton College Natural History Society and was actively curated by boys.

From 1994 to 2000 the displays were extensively refurbished and reorganised and are now used extensively for teaching biology and geology as well as being open to the public and visited by numerous outside groups. 

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Malone House

Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
0

Located on the site of a 17th century fort, Malone House was built in the 1820s for William Wallace Legge, a rich Belfast merchant who had inherited the surrounding land. A keen landscaper, he designed and planted most of the estate's grounds, which remain relatively unchanged today. 

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Farnborough Hall

Honey-coloured stone house with exquisite plasterwork and fine landscaped garden
Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
0

Nestled in the heart of rural Warwickshire, surrounded by elegant lakes and fine landscape gardens sits Farnborough Hall. Made from the locally quarryed Horton honey-coloured stone, this country house shimmers in the sunlight.

Inside, the finest 18th-century plasterwork, depicting natural beauty and wildlife, adorns the interiors. On your way around you'll spot many treasures that were collected during the Grand Tour, as well as sentimental family items and photographs.

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George Marshall Medical Museum

Venue Type: 
Museums
Overall Rating: 
0

Explore the history of medicine. Be terrified by our death masks and find out what an amputation looked like in the 19th century! Stop at the apothecary for a cholera remedy and have a go at our mystery object game.

We have two interactive PCs where you can test your knowledge with our Mystery Object Game and listen to past medical staff speaking about their jobs in medicine and healthcare.

And don’t forget our fantastic line-up of masks of the heads of hanged criminals from Worcester gaol in the very early 19th century.

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