The Brownes of Townend in the Troutbeck Valley were just an ordinary farming family: but their home and belongings bring to life more than 400 years of extraordinary stories. As you approach Townend - a traditional Lake District stone and slate farmhouse, you'll understand why Beatrix Potter described Troutbeck Valley as her favourite.
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!
Venues with this Activity
Delightful formal garden
The garden, complete with working kitchen garden and orchard, lies in the charming village of Tintinhull, Somerset. Glittering pools, secluded lawns, colourful borders and clipped hedges provide the perfect spot to relax and unwind away from the hustle and bustle.
One of the Trust's most delightful medieval buildings, enhanced by a cottage garden
Acquired in 1903, this unusual and atmospheric 14th-century yeoman's farmhouse is the Trust's first built property in Cornwall. With a famously wavy slate roof and over 600 years of history it beckons the curious to explore.
The name dates from the Victorian period when it briefly held a licence to be the letter receiving station for the district.
Rambling Suffolk farmhouse built around 1600
Thorington Hall is one of the best timber-framed houses in Suffolk. Building phases determine its unusual shape and it may also be because adjoining buildings have since been demolished. The staggered roofline, for example, shows the difference between the 1630 house and 1700 extension.
The only surviving Regency playhouse in Britain
Theatre Royal is one of Britain's most significant theatre buildings and the only surviving Regency playhouse in the country.
The recently restored Grade I listed theatre offers you an authentic 19th century theatre-going experience, combined with contemporary bar and restaurant for the 21st century theatre-goer.
Atmospheric Victorian workhouse
Walking up the paupers' path towards The Workhouse it is easy to imagine how the Victorian poor might have felt as they sought refuge here. This austere building, the most complete workhouse in existence, was built in 1824 as a place of last resort for the destitute.
Surrounded by beauty... steeped in history
An intimate family home, the history of The Vyne spans the centuries. From its royal beginnings in Tudor times to its place today as a intriguing retreat for you to explore, you can lose yourself in the surroundings that inspired great authors such as Jane Austen.
The Studio aims to provide a complete conservation service for historic textiles
Our only in-house conservation treatment facility, the Textile Conservation Studio was founded in 1976 at Blickling Hall in Norfolk. Since 2002, the Textile Conservation Studio has been based in a specially converted, award-winning building on the Blickling estate.
The Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum is located in Market Square at the heart of Lisburn's old town centre. The Museum has a permanent exhibition 'Flax to Fabric, the story of linen' in the Irish Linen Centre and mounts a programme of temporary exhibitions relating to its textile, social history and art collections.
A Low, stone-built medieval hall, set in the picturesque countryside of Derbyshire.
Norbury Manor, former seat of the Fitzherbert family, is just a short drive from Sudbury Hall and Kedleston Hall near Derby. The hall is a very rare example of a medieval hall built on the first floor, once forming part of the private apartments of the Fitzherbert family.
A little-known gem, Gainsborough Old Hall is among the biggest and best-preserved medieval manor houses in England. It is part timber-framed but mostly brick-built. It was built in the latter part of the 15th century with Elizabethan additions, and has an impressive kitchen with an enormous fireplace, a noble great hall, and an imposing lodgings tower.
Step back in time to the 1950s in this fascinating home and photographic studio
Explore the contrasting sides of this house: the neat, professional, spacious business rooms and the cluttered, cramped living quarters of the renowned portrait photographer Edward Chambré Hardman and his wife Margaret. They lived and worked here for 40 years, keeping everything and changing nothing.
A traditional English pub
The Fleece Inn is the perfect rural retreat just a stone's throw from the beautiful Cotswold's boasting roaring open fires for the winter months, open garden and apple orchard for the summer sun and a friendly welcome all year round.
Fine two-storey granite building dating from c.1537
Dartmoor offers something for everyone; walking, rambling, riding, cycling, running or just plain, good old-fashioned sight-seeing.
Welcome to the award-winning Beatles Story, the world's largest permanent exhibition purely devoted to the lives and times of The Beatles. Located in the Fab Four’s hometown of Liverpool on the stunning UNESCO World heritage site at the Albert Dock, the Beatles Story takes visitors on an atmospheric journey through the lives, times, culture and music of The Beatles.
A combined tour of 'Mendips' and 20 Forthlin Road, Liverpool
Book your tour online now and enjoy the unique experience of a visit to the childhood homes of John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney.
Atmospheric Irish gentry house and wooded riverside estate
Built in the 1820s, this handsome Irish gentry house is surrounded by its 320-acre wooded riverside estate. The former home of the MacGeough Bond family, a tour of this Neo-classical masterpiece reveals it is unchanged since 1900. The eclectic interior still evoking the family's tastes and interests.
Handsome town house, with architectural features from various eras and riverside walled garden
Handsome town house, with architectural features from various eras and a riverside walled garden.
An historical estate with a neo-classical mansion, 50 acres of landscaped gardens, 1000 acres of deer park, a rare breed farm and medieval Old Hall
For nearly 400 years the estate was the property of the Egerton family until it was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1958. It is now financed and maintained by Cheshire East Council. This is one of the most complete historic estates open to visitors.
Awe-inspiring Anglo-Saxon royal burial site
This hauntingly beautiful 255 acre estate, with far-reaching views over the river Deben, is home to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time.
Walk around the ancient burial mounds and discover the incredible story of the ship burial of an Anglo-Saxon king and his treasured possessions.
Tudor house surviving in the heart of a thriving East London community
Built in 1535 by prominent courtier of Henry VIII, Sir Ralph Sadleir, Sutton House retains much of the atmosphere of a Tudor home despite some alterations by later occupants, including a succession of merchants, Huguenot silkweavers, and squatters. Discover oak-panelled rooms, original carved fireplaces and a charming courtyard.
A comfortable home telling the story of a brewer, a widow and three generations of the Lander family
Tucked away on the edge of Wellington is this rare suburban villa and mini-estate. As you walk up the large avenue of Wellingtonia trees the red-brick villa is unexpectedly revealed offering a chance to immerse yourself in a past era.
Come and discover two contrasting experiences sitting side by side
Late 17th-century house with lavish interiors and the Museum of Childhood
Vast area of sandy beaches and heathland
A glorious slice of natural coastline in Purbeck featuring a four-mile stretch of golden, sandy beach, with gently shelving bathing waters and views of Old Harry Rocks and the Isle of Wight.
Ideal for water sports and includes the most popular naturist beach in Britain. The heathland behind the beach is a haven for native wildlife and features all six British reptiles.
Pages
Featured Provider
The Bushcraft Company offer residential school trips with a difference, taking students into the wild and giving them real back-to-nature experiences they will never forget.
Login/Sign Up
Latest News
Schoolboy Falls From 60ft Cliff on School Trip
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.