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:

Wetheral Priory Gatehouse

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

Well-preserved 15th-century gatehouse, the sole survivor of a small Benedictine priory. A miniature 'pele-tower' containing two storeys of comfortable rooms, it later became a fortified vicarage, a defence against border raiders.

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Christ Church Cathedral

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
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The Cathedral is the College Chapel for the College as well as the cathedral church for the Diocese of Oxford.

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St Augustine's Abbey

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
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This great abbey, marking the rebirth of Christianity in southern England, was founded shortly after AD 597 by St Augustine.

Originally created as a burial place for the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent, it is part of the Canterbury World Heritage Site, along with the cathedral and St Martin's Church. The impressive abbey is situated outside the city walls and is sometimes missed by visitors.

At the abbey, you can also enjoy the museum and free audio tour.

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Wolvesey Castle (Old Bishop's Palace)

Venue Type: 
Castles
Overall Rating: 
0

Wolvesey has been an important residence of the wealthy and powerful Bishops of Winchester since Anglo-Saxon times. Standing next to Winchester Cathedral, the extensive surviving ruins of the palace date largely from the 12th-century work of Bishop Henry of Blois. The last great occasion here was on 25 July 1554, when Queen Mary and Philip of Spain held their wedding breakfast in the East Hall.

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Woodhenge

Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
Overall Rating: 
0

Woodhenge is well worth a visit, especially if you are also heading to the nearby World Heritage Site of Stonehenge (located approximately 2 miles away).  

Dating from 2300 BC, Woodhenge is thought to have marked a particular stage in the evolution of human religious belief and community organisation. This found a more permanent form in nearby Stonehenge.

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Duxford Chapel

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

A modest but complete and attractive 14th century chantry chapel, perhaps originally a hospital.

The modest flint and cobble chapel retains some attractive medieval features and, despite uncertainties over its origin, the rarity of medieval hospitals lends added interest.

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Easby Abbey

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

Easby Abbey is one of the most picturesque monastic sites in Yorkshire. It is also one of the best-preserved examples in the British Isles of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order, founded in France by St Norbert in 1120.

Superficially, Easby abbey's architecture resembles Cistercian models, as was often the case with Premonstratensian monasteries. On closer examination, though, Easby departs from monastic norms of planning in several ways, and presents interesting problems of interpretation.

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Thornton Abbey

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

Thornton Abbey's enormous and ornate fortified gatehouse is the largest and amongst the finest in England. This North Lincolnshire tourist attraction is the ideal way to spend a day.

Discover the turbulent lives of its former residents and try to spot the local wildlife, the more modern inhabitants of the abbey ruins. Why not visit nearby St Peter’s church and unlock the Buried Lives exhibit.

Livestock likely to be present on site and access path.

Don't Miss

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Mount St Bernard Abbey

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

Mount Saint Bernard Abbey is situated in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire. An area of particular natural beauty in the very heart of England. It is home to an order of Cistercian Monks of the Strict Observance (Trappists).

At Mount Saint Bernard Abbey today, the monks are involved in the running of:
- a 200 acre beef farm
- the production of pottery
- bookbinding
- building and maintenance
- upkeep of a vegetable garden and orchard
- beekeeping
- running a shop and guesthouse

The abbey is open daily until 7.30pm.

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Furness Abbey

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
Overall Rating: 
0

The impressive remains of an abbey founded by Stephen, later King of England, including much of the east end and west tower of the church, the ornately decorated chapter house and the cloister buildings.

English Heritage is carrying out emergency conservation work to stop the ruined Abbey church sinking into the soft ground. This follows earlier routine inspections which revealed serious cracks in the walls. Medieval masons used large pieces of oak in the foundations and after 500 years, this timber is now gradually giving way.

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