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!
This hidden treasure is a walled garden surrounded by woodland, found just outside Balerno, a suburb of Edinburgh.
The garden is a haven for plant lovers thanks to its large variety of colourful and fragrant flowers, plants and trees.
For school visits please phone or email in advance to arrange.
Set in the heart of an historic landscape, with spiral staircases, battlements and a portcullis, 14th century Bodiam Castle is one of Britain's most picturesque and romantic ancient monuments.
This striking 13th-century castle is perched overlooking the spectacular Teifi Gorge and has inspired many artists, including Turner.
The Royal Burgh of Culross is a unique survival, a town that time has passed by. It is the most complete example in Scotland today of a Burgh of the 17th and 18th centuries. The Town House was built in 1626 and was the administrative centre of Culross with a tollbooth and witches' prison. The old buildings and cobbled streets create a fascinating time warp for visitors.
Take in an enormous sweep of Scottish history as experienced by the Irvine family who lived in Drum Castle for over 650 years, from the 14th century onwards.
Guided tours are available for school groups in the Castle and gardens. The ranger service also provides a service for the Old Wood of Drum.
Notre-Dame de Paris, also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a historic Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France.
Standing on a rocky promontory guarding the lovely anchorage between Bryher and Tresco, this round tower is one of the few surviving Cromwellian fortifications in Britain, built after the conquest of the Royalist Scillies in 1651.
The Victorian sewers beneath Brighton comprise an extensive network of brick-lined tunnels. They are open to the public on pre-booked guided tours and have become a popular tourist attraction.
Enter the world of Lord Armstrong - Victorian inventor, innovator and landscape genius. Cragside house was truly a wonder of its age.
The Museum comprises four large halls. Each hall has ground floor and upper levels telling the stories of naval aviation from the first manned kites towed behind naval vessels, to helium filled airships, seaplanes, bi-planes and the carrier borne aircraft of WW2 and modern Sea Harriers and helicopters. We also have an original Concorde 002.
Tavistock Museum is a town museum which has permanent exhibitions relating to its monastic, market, and mining past. It is also a community museum and each year has new exhibitions relating to different community interests and organisations.
Discover over 750 years of history, including Britain's tallest spire, the world's best preserved original Magna Carta (1215) and Europe's oldest working clock, on a tour with one of our volunteer guides. Built between 1220 and 1258, in one architectural style, Salisbury is Britain's finest 13th century Gothic Cathedral.
Visit this impressive restored 18th-century watermill built on the site of a mill mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086. The mill currently produces stoneground wholemeal flour from organic wheat. The team also pack porridge oats and jumbo oats, and mix and pack their own museli. All are available to buy onsite.
The earthwork remains of one of the largest Roman amphitheatres in Britain, built in the early 2nd century.
It served the Roman city of Corinium (now Cirencester), then second only in size and importance to London, and had a capacity of around 8,000 spectators. Later fortified against Saxon invaders.
The Whereat Trail
Set in rural Wiltshire, Lacock village is famous for its picturesque streets, historic buildings and more recently as a TV and film location.
Discover the humble birthplace of great railway pioneer, George Stephenson, whose entire family lived in just one room. Our costumed guide tells the story of how challenging life was for mining families, like George’s, that once crammed into this now charming little stone cottage, nestled in a pretty garden near the river Tyne.
Titanic Belfast is a visitor attraction and a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard. It tells the stories of the ill-fated RMS Titanic, which sank on her maiden voyage in 1912, and her sister ships RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic.
The Locksmith's House is located in a Victorian lockmaker’s house and workshops, that are a typical example of many of the small business premises that occupied a great deal of Willenhall and the surrounding area.
Come and explore how the curious cogs and machinery of a fully operational watermill work in the grounds of Hardwick Hall.
For centuries, the water wheel at Stainsby Mill has ground flour for the Hall and the estate. The wheel is still turning today, fed by the adjoining Miller's pond. Find out more about this fascinating process at Stainsby Mill.
This experience follows the lives of children in East Anglia in World War II. How children lived and to hear about the lives of children then.
Four Study Areas
Home Front / Sea Prince
A visit to this massively atmospheric museum includes a compelling and informative guided tour. You’ll be walked through a history of Radar and Air Defence from 1935 to the present day Space Defence Systems.
Recalling scenes from the best WWII and Bond movies, two of the museum highlights are the original 1942 Battle of Britain and Cold War operations rooms.
What is the universe made of? How did it start? What is a Higgs boson particle?
Physicists at CERN are seeking answers, using some of the world's most powerful particle accelerators
Norfolk Tank Museum offers visitors an excitingly, hands-on experience of tanks, military vehicles and equipment. Visitors can climb aboard and even experience the confined inner workings of a tank operating some of the controls. And on the museum’s off-road track, there’s the opportunity of going for a ride in a tracked or wheeled military vehicle.
A delightful piece of late Elizabethan playfulness. Built for banquets and converted into a mill in the 19th century.
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.
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.