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:

Chapter House and Pryx Chamber

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
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Built by the royal masons in 1250, the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey was originally used in the 13th century by Benedictine monks for their daily meetings. It later became a meeting place of the King’s Great Council and the Commons, predecessors of today’s Parliament.

A beautiful octagonal building with a vaulted ceiling and delicate central column, it offers rarely seen examples of medieval sculpture, an original floor of glazed tiles and spectacular wall paintings.

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Holdenby Falconry Centre

Venue Type: 
Wildlife and Nature
Overall Rating: 
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The Falconry Centre contains many species of birds of prey, flown by the resident Falconer. You are able to fly some of the beautiful birds yourself.

Our Education Department is amongst the most prestigious in the country. We celebrated our 33rd year last year and are one of only three centres to have been awarded six consecutive Sandford Awards by the Heritage Education Trust for excellence in education, as well as a Reed Award for work with special needs children.

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Croxden Abbey

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
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The impressive remains of an abbey of Cistercian 'white monks', including towering fragments of its 13th century church, infirmary and 14th century abbot's lodging.

Bertram de Verdun, Lord of Alton, an important local nobleman at the time, founded a Cistercian monastery in 1176 for the salvation of the souls of his family.

The church was built first, followed by the buildings around the cloister. Completion and further enlargement followed under the prosperous leadership of Walter London, abbot in 1242–68.

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Hailes Abbey

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

The Cistercian abbey of Hailes was founded in 1246 in Gloucestershire by the Earl of Cornwall in thanks for surviving a shipwreck. 

Though never housing large numbers of monks, it held a renowned relic, ‘the Holy Blood of Hailes’ – allegedly a phial of Christ’s own blood. After the dissolution in 1539 just a few of the cloister arches remained, together with the foundations of the church. 

Today it is a beautiful and serene spot for a picnic in the Cotswold countryside and everyone in the family can be guaranteed an interesting, relaxed day out at Hailes Abbey.

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Clink

Venue Type: 
Museums
Overall Rating: 
0

The Clink Prison Museum is built upon the original site ofThe Clink Prison, which dating back to 1144 was one of England’s oldest and most notorious prisons.

Spanning for over 600 years, it witnessed a remarkable amount of social and political change in England, and thus housed a multitude of sinners throughout its existence, including debtors, heretics, drunkards, harlots, and later religious adversaries.

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Binham Priory

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

Among the most complete and impressive monastic ruins in Norfolk of a Benedictine priory with a well-documented history. The nave, with its splendid 13th century west front and great bricked-up window, is now the parish church, displaying a screen with medieval saints over painted with Protestant texts. 

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St Kilda World Heritage Site

Venue Type: 
Wildlife and Nature
Overall Rating: 
0

Sometimes described as ‘the islands at the edge of the world’, the archipelago of St Kilda is located 41 miles west of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides. Formed from the rim of an ancient volcano, it is the remotest part of the British Isles.

Comprising four islands – Hirta, Soay, Boreray and Dun – as well as several sea stacks, St Kilda is truly spectacular. It is one of only 29 global locations to be awarded ‘mixed’ World Heritage Status in recognition of both its natural and cultural significance.

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Blackburn Cathedral

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

Blackburn Cathedral is one of England's newest Cathedrals, yet it is one of the country's oldest places of Christian worship.

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Tattershall College

Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
0

Remains of a grammar school for church choristers, founded in the mid-15th century by Ralph, Lord Cromwell, the builder of nearby Tattershall Castle (National Trust).

Tattershall College was built in 1460, four years after the death of its patron, Lord Cromwell, and was completed by William of Wainfleet, Bishop of Winchester.

This building formed part of the complex of college buildings in Tattershall village and is thought to have been the grammar school.

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Boxgrove Priory

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

The guest house and other remains of a Benedictine priory: much of the fine 12th to 14th century monastic church survives as the parish church.

The Benedictine priory of St Mary the Virgin and St Blaise was founded in about 1117 by Robert de la Haye, Lord of Halnaker. It was a cell of the abbey at Lessay in Normandy in France and, when founded, had a community of only three monks.

In 1149 Roger St John increased the number of monks but the priory remained a cell of the French abbey.

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