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Summer 2008 Holiday Ideas At UK Heritage Sites And Museums
By Marian Cleary
04/08/2008
Image: Photograph of an actor and a child dressed as Roman soldiers
Will you meet your match during a summer event at one of Britain's museums and heritage sites this summer? Courtesy Segedunum Roman Fort
It’s summer so that means the Romans are coming. And the Victorians. Plus some Egyptians.
That’s because Britain’s museums and heritage sites have put together some amazing activities and events to keep everyone busy during the holidays.
Whether you fancy watching a Roman battle, finding out what life was like in a Victorian workhouse or being a farmer for a day, then it is all on offer.
But what’s that coming over the hill – is it a steam engine? A pit pony? A posse of civil war soldiers? I can’t tell from here but if you check out some of our ideas below, you might just see and find what you would love to visit and do this summer.
Explore The Past With A Re-enactment
Image: a photograph of three people reaching into a trench with trowels
Time Team certainly turned a lot of people on to archaeology, but you don’t have to wait for Tony Robinson and the crew to turn up in your neighbourhood to get a piece of unearthing action. Digs are always going on all over the country, and there are often days when the public can come and have a go too.
To find out what is on, trying digging around on the Council for British Archaeology’s (CBA) website. The CBA site has a full listing of archaeological societies around the country - lots of these offer an variety of opportunities to take part in fieldwork.
Another good place to find out how to start discovering what is under your feet is on the website www.ilovethepast.com. This features details of dig opportuniites ranging from megalithic tombs to maritime archaeological sites throughout the UK.
The Young Archaeologists' Club (YAC) is also a goldmine for excavating activities. You can download a booklet crammed full of holiday activities for budding young archaeologists.
Maybe you’ve found an old piece of pottery or an ancient coin by yourself – how do you find out whether it really is from the Iron Age or if it’s a rare Tudor artefact? Museums often have ‘finds days’ when you can turn up with your object and have it examined by an expert, who will also record it on a national database.
To see the database of finds that ordinary people have uncovered, get on to Past Explorers or the Portable Antiquities Scheme website.
Finally, why not take part in an archaeological walk? Many of the societies and organisations listed here will have field walking activities (where you scan the ground (with your eyes rather than Time Team's gizmos) in a methodical way). Alternatively, there will be tours of local interesting archaeological sites.
Image: an aerial photograph of a large castle
Some are but ruins, others are so intact that people still live in them. Some have even been dismantled and the stones used to build new houses such as Scotney Castle, Kent!
The 24 Hour Museum castles trail has plenty of photos of and information about Britain's castles and forts, great and small.
Or you could follow the trail of King Arthur from Tintagel to Pendragon Castle, to explore all of our castles that have at some time been touched by the myth of Arthur.
Some of Britain’s most famous castles are explored in our Britain's Finest Castles Trail, which was developed for a History Channel prgramme and if you still don't find what your looking for, you can search the 24 Hour Museum database (input 'castle') to turn up your nearest castle, or events at castles.
Many castles in England are looked after by English Heritage, and the National Trust has quite a few, too. Both websites have excellent search facilities.
With all that history and atmosphere within and around those thick stone walls, it's no surprise that people love getting into the stories surrounding castles. Visit the websites of the castles you like the look of and you might find they are putting on some very special living history days or re-enactments during the summer.
Image: a photograph of a child painting
'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' perhaps but when it comes to science, technology and industry this summer, there are some very special events that combine both and are far from dull.
The Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham has a changing programme of activities throughout August and an exhibition all about colour. After exploring this, you can go to the fantastic play areas, water park and even try out their zip wire ride.
There are engines on show at the Steam Weekend at the museum of East Anglian Life. It is being held on August 9 and 10. As well as a chance to see huge and strangely alive steam engines, there will be a mix of crafts and traditional skills on display as well. These include spinning, weaving and printing. All essential industries of the past.
Perhaps you love animals more than vehicles? Well, The Museum of Kent Life at Cobtree near Maidstone in Kent is inviting you to Be a Farmer every Thursday during the summer holidays at 10am. Visitors who fancy the rural life can help look after the farmyard animals. You can also meet Bella their new giant shire horse.
Wimpole Farm near Cambridge will also be hosting family fun days on Mondays and Tuesdays througout August. Why not go along and make your own butter?
Ironbridge Gorge, near Telford in Shropshire is the birthplace of modern industry and home to loads of fascinating museums. There is so much going on in this historic Shropshire valley this summer. For instance, at Enginuity you can take part in their Downhill Skittle Blasters event where you get to make a free-wheeling buggy and push it down a big slope to see how many skittles you can knock over.
Ironbridge has no less than nine other museums. Visit www.ironbridge.org.uk for all the information you will need to get the most from this wonderful place.
You might need refueling after all of this so why not check out the fascinating National Coal Mining Museum for England at Overton near Wakefield in Yorkshire. If you are over five years old, you can go deep - that's 140 metres deep - underground where the temperature is always a chilly 12°C, whatever the weather up above.
Technology and science is not just about industry though. Nearby at Harrogate's Royal Pump Room Museum, there is a special exhibition this summer looking at how modern scientific techniques are helping us to understand more about the ancient Egyptians and their wonderful treasures.
The British Library in London shows how technological ideas get protected with their Weird and Wonderful Inventions display at their Business and IP centre on the first floor. There you can see a mechanical page turner from 1890, an 1852 clockwork burglar alarm, and the even more alarming 1920s automatic nose hair cutter!
Image: a photograph of a steam railway
There are miles and miles of railway in this country which no modern electric or diesel express ever shoots along. Instead, these old lines are kept alive with trains from the early days of rail travel - the ones that run on coal and steam and still have slam doors.
You can travel back to this golden age at Porthmadog’s Ffestiniog Railway in Wales, where trains run daily through the gorgeous scenery of Snowdonia National Park.
The preserved North Yorkshire Moors Railway also passes through some stunning landscapes, while Leighton Buzzard Railway was built in 1919 for industrial use, and now carries passengers.
Although these railways celebrate an old technology, use a new one to find where all these historic lines and trains are chuffing along around the country.
The UK Heritage Railways Association website, has a detailed map listing of the many heritage railways open to the public in the UK.
Image: a photograph of a garden with red flowers in the foreground
There’s nothing like an English country garden – the scent of roses, tall hollyhocks before a thatched cottage, a soft, lush lawn and a pond full of tadpoles... Fortunately, you can find these idylls in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, too.
For example, Powis Castle’s garden in Wales features in the 24 Hour Museum trail Britain’s Finest Gardens. Disclaimer: this was tied into a television series which picked the ‘finest’ – there are lots of other very fine gardens! The breathtaking grounds of Powis Castle are probably the closest you’ll get to an Italian Renaissance terraced garden in the UK.
The tranquil sound of a waterfall features in Geilston Garden, Dumbarton, Scotland, which has packed herbaceous borders in a walled garden as well as woodland paths. The National Trust for Scotland looks after Geilston – search its website for some more excellent places to visit in the country.
The National Trust maintains myriad gardens where you can retreat from the hustle and bustle. At Rowallane Garden, Saintfield, County Down, visitors can unwind in the informal planting from around the world, or wander through a wildflower meadow.
The grounds of Bleinham Palace are a wonderful place to relax - beside the lake, strolling in the rose garden or enjoying the butterfly house. There's a play area and miniature train too!
At the other end of the scale, you can explore the town garden in the middle of Shoreditch, London belonging to the Geffrye Museum. Find out how their award-winning herb garden would have been used by the inhabitants of a town between 1600 to the present.
If you want to find out about plants and gardening as well as gaze and admire gardens, combine both activities with a visit to Kew near Richmond, the Botanic Garden of Wales or Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden.
Image: a photograph of a bus and a tram on a cobbled street
Going to a museum doesn’t have to mean leaving the sunshine at the gate – there’s a wealth of open air museums in the UK where you can enjoy heritage with the breeze in your hair.
At Blists Hill Victorian Town near Telford, Shropshire, you can promenade through streets recreated as they would have been 150 years ago, chat to the costumed locals and buy some sweets from an old-fashioned sweetshop. Don’t forget to get hold of some Victorian money in the bank first. In summer, visitors can ride on a horse-drawn cart through the fairground and see the iron foundry in action.
During the Bank Holiday weekend of August 23 - 25, they will be bringing St Bartholomew's day back into the calendar with three day so of music, singing and fun. Originally celebrated from 1133 up to the 1880s in some parts of the country, it's not something we do now. It became associated with a day when young apprentice printers would be treated to enterntainment called Wayzgoose. This marked the end of summer and the start of having to work by candlelight.
Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum (between Newcastle and Durham), takes visitors back to the 1800s and early 20th century. Explore the 1825 manor or go to the dentist in the 1913 town! For a vintage experience, take a restored tram ride between the different parts of the site.
Both the Chiltern Open Air Museum and the Sussex Weald and Downland Open Air Museum have lots of rescued historical buildings – houses from centuries gone by that have been brought to the museums and preserved. Here, you can learn about building techniques of the past, enjoy their beautiful country settings.
Image: a photograph of men dressed in medieval period clothes with shields and helmets
EXPLORE THE PAST WITH A RE-ENACTMENT
Men in tights, women in wimples, soldiers with muskets and knights in armour - summer sees historical locations really liven up with these sorts of characters let loose.
The weekend of August 9 - 10 you can go back to WWII at Crich Tramway Village near Matlock in Derbyshire. They will be preparing for war and you can help. As well as people preparing themeselves, the trams will get the wartime treatment too with anti-blast netting, blanked out destination boards (so as not to help enemy spies) and blackout masks on the lights.
The same weekend, Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, best known for its Anglo Saxon burials, is also bringing its history up to the 20th century with a focus on how the area was affected in WWII. During the war, anti-Nazi glider trenches were dug near the burial mounds. At that time, national security took precedent over archaeology. There will be plenty on offer for those looking for the ghosts of the Anglo-Saxons too.
Ours isn't the only era that has enjoyed re-enactments. Blenheim Palace near Woodstock, Oxfordshire has a recreation of a Victorian jousting re-enactment! So that's a re-enactment of a re-enactment! The exciting event takes place during August 8, 9 and 10. To the sound of brass bands, knights will challenge the mighty 9th Duke of Marlborough in feats of combat using medieval codes of chivalry.
Blenheim also has costumed entertainment based on Victorian Servants and Domestic Service all summer until August 31.
Image: a photograph of men dressed as Roman soldiers
After arriving in AD43, the Romans changed the face of Britain with their straight roads and sophisticated sanitation. When trouble brewed back in mainland Europe, the Roman army cleared out. You can still see a lot of things they left behind however such as grand mosaics and temples.
For a Roman holiday, visit our new Roman country-wide trail. This fits in with the amazing Hadrian exhibition currently at the British Museum. Well worth a visit.
Despite the Romans' smart technology, some Brits (then divided into tribes) weren’t keen on them. Boudicca was one such Britain that did not like the Roman 'visitors' – read our Battlefield Britain trail to discover the sites of clashes between her army and that of the Romans almost 2,000 years ago.
Being from the mediterranean, the Romans found it a bit chilly in Britain so their central heating technology came in handy. The cold didn’t stop them settling in the north however – find out where in the Northernmost Frontier of the Roman Empire trail.
The most complete amphitheatre in Britain is to be found at Caerleon in Wales, where the National Roman Legion Museum is located within the walls of a Roman fortress.
The remains of numerous Roman villas are dotted around, mainly in the South, as well as some reconstructed ones.
The Antonine wall runs between Edinburgh and Glasgow and may be less well known than Hadrian's but has recently also been given World Heritage Site status. There is a map produced by the Royal Commission on The Ancient Monuments of Scotland which you can take with you to explore the sites and lots of museums on the way to discover the many Roman finds they have uncovered in excavating the route of this lesser known but just as important Roman defence structure.
The Roman Baths at Bath offer a stunning dip into Roman culture. Discovered in the late 19th century, they were lovingly transformed into a grand visitor experience by the Victorians, who added neo-classical statuary and an ornate entrance hall.
Image: a photograph of a hill fort
Time Team archaeologist Dr Francis Pryor reckons that interesting things were happening in Britain a long time before the Romans set foot on our island – read his views on ancient Britain and find out where you can see the legacy of Bronze Age people in Britain in the Britain BC Trail.
Pick a dry day and get healthy while you take in some history by taking a walk out to ancient sites like chalk hill figures. The Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire is reputed to be one of the oldest, and lies near an Iron Age camp on the prehistoric Ridgeway route.
Find details of Stonehenge’s sister site, Avebury Stone Circle, as well as many other ancient sites such as Maeshowe Chambered Cairn, Orkney, and the impressive hillfort Maiden Castle, Dorset, in Britain’s Finest Ancient Monuments.
Image: photo of a surfing museum t-shirt
A lot of museums and events don’t fall into conventional categories and you can find some events at museums, heritage sites and stately homes that are on the unusual side…
Summer wouldn't be summer without ice cream. The history of the Ancoats area of Manchester which is explored at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) is partly about celebrating ice cream. But what's the connection between Manchester and ice cream? Ancoats was an area with a high level of Italian people living there and it became the birthplace of the north west's ice cream industry.
Surf's up in Grimsby until September 7 at the Fishing Heritage Centre with the exhibition, An Art History Of British Surfing. Go along and take a look and don't forget to have a go on the original 1976 Surf Champ pinball machine.
Chester are asking for volunteers to Freeze on August 9 and 10 in Chester's Rows. Part of the Roam the Rows festival, this performance piece will involve everyone standing very still - to just show how busy we are usually. www.chesterperforms.com has more information.
At Arborfield, Berkshire, REME - the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Museum - is putting on some very special activities for visitors over the summer including making tanks out of household rubbish!
While the National Trust is well known for its stately homes, this summer it is asking if you want a tour of the Workhouse at Southwell, Nottinghamshire from Wednesday to Sunday each week until August 31.
York's National Railway Museum will be hosting an exhibition this summer based around album covers from 1985 to 2007 from Yorkshire band, New Model Army. Many of their songs are inspired by trains and travel.
If you fancy fishing, the National Maritime Museum, Cornwall has crab fishing everyday until September 7 between 10.45 - 12 and 2 - 3.30. And they've lots more nautically-themed things going on every day as well.
Puppets will be popping up in and around the Brontë Parsonage at Haworth to bring the Brontë story to life on Wednesday and Thursday August 27 and 28. Loads of other events, such as being photographed as your favourite Brontë on August 12, will be laid on to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Brontë Society owning the parsonage.
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