In 2005 both the winner and runner-up in the 24 Hour Museum/ Museums & Galleries Month Arts Writing Prize will be on the receiving end of a fabulous prize courtesy of English Heritage.

Tours Through Time – the English Heritage tour programme

Tours Through Time provides a window to the past and enables you to explore some of the most fascinating and beautiful historic sites in England. This is a unique programme that provides you with exclusive access to history where it happened.

Each tour includes:

First Prize

Trip for two with Tours Through Time: Wonders of Wessex – 2 day overnight tour 18 – 19 September 2005 (valued at £392)

Explore the ancient Kingdom of Wessex and discover some of its finest historic sites. Highlights include visits to Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge, where you’ll have the unique opportunity to enter the inner stone circle at sunset.

Immerse yourself in history and explore some of the most intriguing and beautiful sites in England. Overnight tours include dinner, bed and breakfast. The hotels on our overnight tours have been individually selected for your comfort. Many are beautiful historic buildings in their own right.

Write a fantastic story and get a fantastic view... Stonehenge at sunset. © English Heritage.

Second Prize

Tours Through Time – 1 day tour

Trip for two with Tours Through Time: Osborne House & Gardens – 1 day tour 30 August or 14 September 2005 (valued at £130)

Explore the splendour and magnificence of the Isle of Wight home that Queen Victoria called ‘a place of one’s own quiet and retired’. The tour will include a ferry crossing of the Solent with excellent views of Portsmouth Dockyard and the Isle of Wight.

The visit to Osborne will include the royal apartments, the Durbar Wing with its treasures from India, a tour of the Victorian Walled Garden plus the chance to take a carriage ride in the gardens or visit Swiss Cottage and Museum, built in the grounds for the royal children.

A home fit for a Queen - Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. © English Heritage.

For more information on all English Heritage Tours Through Time go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/toursthroughtime or call 0845 121 2863.