England Tour: Archaeological Pub Crawl

Tour Leader

James Bruhn received his BA in anthropology and history from the University of Colorado (Magna Cum Laude), and his MA and PhD in British Roman Archaeology from the University of Durham. Originally from the Northeast of Scotland, he is a specialist on Roman Frontiers in Northern Britain and a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and Newcastle upon Tyne. Dr. Bruhn has spoken at numerous academic conferences in North America and Europe, has authored a scholarly book on Roman Archaeology and has written book chapters in several scholarly publications including the Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World by Brian Fagan. He has excavated along the Antonine Wall and has tutored small groups on his specialty. Additionally, Dr. Bruhn has organized and been the speaker in several conferences about Roman Britain. His knowledge, enthusiasm and passion about the history and archaeology of Great Britain is contagious.

Tour Itinerary

(B) breakfast, (L) lunch, (D) dinner

Day 1: Depart the USA. Day 2: Arrive Newcastle-on-Tyne, and visit the castle, constructed in 1080 using earth and timber by the eldest son of William the Conqueror, Robert Curthose, and rebuilt of stone between 1168 and 1178. The Castle Keep was the principal strongpoint of the Castle and the living space for the commander of the garrison. It displays many important features, including the late Norman chapel and the well, which is nearly 100 feet deep, allowing fresh water to be provided to the castle during a siege and in times of peace. Built between 1247 and 1250 during the reign of King Henry III, The Black Gate was the last addition to the medieval Castle defenses. Consisting of an arched passage, with what are thought to be guard chambers on either side it was the gatehouse of the barbican, a walled, defensive entrance passage for the Castle’s North Gate. Continue to the village of Blanchland, first mentioned in 1165, the date of the founding of the abbey. Overnight in The Lord Crewe Arms for the next two nights. Built in the mid-13th century, this atmospheric inn was formed from the abbot’s lodgings, guest-house and kitchens. It once was the home of General Tom Forster, who led the doomed Jacobite rebellion in 1715. He was reputed to have hidden in a priest’s hole near one of the huge, walk-in fireplaces before fleeing to France, and the ghost of his sister Dorothy still asks guests to take a message to him in exile. (D) Day 3: Today we will walk Hadrian’s Wall, the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire. At Housesteads Fort, a Roman garrison, the foundations of most of the buildings and defenses are well preserved. We will see the small heated rooms of the commandant’s house and the latrines (with running water) used by the soldiers. Vindolanda has reconstructions of turrets from the Wall and a museum that contains unique organic remains such as leather shoes and wooden writing tablets that have been excavated on the site. Stop by the Milecastle Inn, a traditional pub serving home cooked food and fine ‘real ales’ for lunch on our own. (B/D) Day 4: This morning’s drive takes us first to Durham Cathedral, one of the finest examples of Norman architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Continue on to Binchester Roman Fort, built in the second half of the first century AD, where we will have a private tour with the archaeologists on site, if available. Then it’s on to Barnard Castle, a ruined Norman castle built in the 12th century. Our lunch break will be in The Crown at Mickleton. Time permitting in the afternoon, we will visit Black Sheep Brewery to taste their hardy ales.  Overnight in York for two nights. (B/D) Day 5: Fountains Abbey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was founded in 1132 on the banks of the River Skell at a site that was later described as “fit more for the dens of wild animals than for the uses of man.” At first the monks suffered considerable privations and hardship, but the abbey ultimately became the richest Cistercian house in England. The entire ground plan has survived, and the positions of the various elements of the monastery can be clearly seen. Our lunch stop will be at The Water Rat, a quirky public house in Ripon serving a selection of ‘real ale’. In the afternoon, move on to Ripley Castle. Owned by the Ingilby family, one of the ten oldest families in the country still living in the same residence, the castle has 700 years of history. While here, we will take a walk through the Ripley Castle walled garden. It contains an 18^th century orangery, a 19^th century serpentine lake, along with collections of hyacinths and tropical plants. (B/D) Day 6: York is a city that first gained prominence under the Romans. Known as the city of Eboracuem, York was the second city of Roman Britain beyond London. After the fall of Roman Britain, York became the capital of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. This came to an end when the Vikings attacked and settled in York, renaming the city Jorvik. We will be visiting the beautiful York Minster Cathedral, a Norman building sitting on the ruins of Roman York, and Barley Hall, a reconstructed medieval townhouse. We will examine the still standing Roman walls, and journey through the 15^th century streets of the town. Lunch will be found in one of York’s many medieval pubs. Sites dating from the end of the ice age are quite rare in Britain, and this afternoon, we will visit the caves of Creswell Crags, occupied by hunters over ten thousand years ago. Continue to Stamford and the William Cecil Hotel, our home for the next two nights. (B/D) Day 7: The announcement in 2012 of the discovery of King Richard III’s burial under a parking lot stirred history enthusiasts. Archaeological excavation uncovered not only the friary of Grey Friars but also a battle-scarred skeleton with spinal curvature. The so-called “hunchback king” had idiopathic scoliosis, a curvature of the spine developed in his teenage years. Richard III was the last English king to die in battle, during the Battle of Bosworth, and the wounds found on his head show that he was stabbed repeatedly. These injuries are consistent with some near-contemporary accounts of the battle. Our morning drive takes us to Leicester to the Richard III Visitor Centre. We continue to King’s Lynn and Castle Rising Castle, one of the largest, best preserved and most lavishly decorated keeps in England, surrounded by 20 acres of mighty earthworks. Our final stop will be at Flag Fen, where residents in 1350 BC fortified their meadows from neighboring communities by constructing a long defensive wall using hundreds of thousands of timbers. (B/D) Day 8: Founded in 1209, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world’s fourth-oldest surviving university. Our exploration of Cambridge will include the King’s College Chapel, containing the largest fan vault in the world and some of the finest medieval stained glass. Our lunch spot is The Eagle, Originally opened in 1667 and Cambridge’s main student and faculty hangout. Then it’s on to St. Albans, named for the first Christian martyr in England and the successor of the Roman city of Verulamium. Here, explore a Roman theater that is unique to Great Britain, part of the 3^rd century city walls, and, time permitting, the museum with its splendid collection of mosaics, wall paintings and recreated Roman rooms. Overnight at The White Hart in Dorchester-in-Thames. (B/D) Day 9: Begin our day by viewing the Uffington White Horse, cut into the white chalk that lies under the grassy slopes. Frozen in mid-stride, the famed image was carved into the chalky hillside at least 2,000 years ago and even today dominates the surrounding countryside. Then it’s on to the stone circle and henge at Avebury, so large that a medieval village was built inside it using broken standing stones, and West Kennett Long Barrow, a shared tomb where we can enter the chambers and examine the prehistoric architecture. Nearby Silbury Hill is the largest man-made earthwork in Europe. Overnight for the next three nights in Salisbury at The Red Lion, originally built around 1220 in order to house the draughtsmen working on the new cathedral of the town. (B/D) Day 10: Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, developed around natural hot springs and has been an important town since before the Romans. A legend tells of Prince Bladud, father of King Lear, who caught leprosy and, when banished from court, lived as a swineherd in the marshlands. One of the pigs also contracted leprosy but was cured after wallowing in the mud near the springs. Prince Bladud did the same and he, too, was cured, and when he became king, founded the city. Romans built a temple here around 50 AD, and dedicated it to Sul, a Celtic god, and Minerva, the Roman goddess of healing. They also built a public bath which was supplied by the hot springs. After viewing the Roman Baths, drive through the Royal Crescent, one of Bath’s most iconic landmarks. It was designed by John Wood the Younger and built between 1767 and 1775. This impressive landmark forms a sweeping crescent of 30 Grade I Listed terrace houses, and is without doubt one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture anywhere in the UK. After lunch in a local pub, drive to Stonehenge, the most popular archaeological attraction in Britain. The huge sandstone monoliths that make up this Neolithic monument formed a ceremonial center oriented towards the summer solstice and other astronomical points. Most theories suggest that it was used as an agricultural calendar, though recent work shows that it was connected to a wider spiritual landscape including the stone circle at Avebury. (B/D) Day 11: Maiden Castle is 4,000 years old and one of the largest and most complex prehistoric hill-forts in Britain. After viewing this huge fortress, see Cerne Abbas Giant, a 150-foot-tall image of a man carved into a chalk hillside, and traditionally seen as the Iron Age representation of a Celtic god. But more recent research suggests it is an act of 17^th century graffiti portraying an indecent Oliver Cromwell. After lunch in The Giant, a former coaching house in the heart of Cerne Abbas, we move on to Old Sarum. It was successively an Iron Age British hill-fort known to the Romans as Sorviodunum, a Roman and Saxon town, and a Norman fortress and cathedral. As a key town in the ancient Saxon kingdom of Wessex, it was important for the Normans to control this site. Because of this, Henry I of England, son of William the Conqueror, used the site as a royal residence for much of his reign. The site was abandoned in 1219 when the bishops moved to New Sarum, now Salisbury. (B/D) Day 12: Drive to the historic city of Winchester where we will see its awe-inspiring Cathedral, one of the largest in Europe, with the longest nave and greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. And then walk to Winchester Castle where the only building still standing is the Great Hall—where King Arthur’s Round Table supposedly hangs and the first parliament was held. Lunch will be in the King Charles, a beautiful country pub nestled amid Hampshire countryside in the picturesque village of Kings Worthy. Our last stop on this archaeological journey is a visit to Fishbourne Roman Palace. The remains were discovered by accident in 1960 and date back to the 1^st century. Originally a military base during the time of the Roman Invasion, the complex grew into a magnificent palace. Excavations uncovered the largest collection of in-situ mosaic floors in Britain. The palace, designed to demonstrate the power and grandeur of the Romans, is built on a massive scale and the lovely mosaics demonstrate the luxury of the Roman lifestyle. On display is the largest collection of Roman mosaics in Britain, including the famous Cupid on a Dolphin with cupid sitting astride a dolphin with a trident in his hand. Dinner and overnight at the Radisson Blu Hotel, located near London Heathrow. (B/D) Day 13: Morning flight to USA.  (B)

“Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.” – Dave Barry

“When you have lost your inns drown your empty selves, for you will have lost the last of England” – Hilaire Belloc

REAL ALE is the champagne of the beer world. Also known as traditional draught beer or cask-conditioned beer, it is a top-fermented beer that undergoes a natural secondary fermentation in the cask and is served without applied gas pressure.  Most “Real Ale” pubs serve by a simple suction pump (a beer engine) that draws beer from the cask in the cellar when the hand-pump on the bar is pulled. The methods of brewing “real ale” produce beers of great complexity with rich fruity and hoppy aromas and flavors.

Tour Cost

August 6-18, 2017

CALL (per person, double occupancy) all hotels, meals as noted, entry fees, and all ground transportation. Price is based upon the exchange rate for the British pound not going over 1.40. If a fluctuation raises the pound, the final price may go up.

Single Supplement: CALL.  Should a roommate be requested and one not be available, the single supplement will be charged.

Cost Does Not Include: Roundtrip international airfare from the USA, a separate donation as outlined below; all lunches; meals as noted; all beverages, food not on regular menus; passport fees; airport departure taxes; tips and gratuities; laundry; excess baggage charges and other items of a personal nature.

Fuel Surcharges: Far Horizons must pass on price increases when additional fuel charges are levied.

Donation Checks: As a tour company that benefits from the cultural and natural riches of our destinations, we have a policy of donating to the scientific and cultural projects and museums we visit.  This has created a bond between Far Horizons and the academic and local communities that has helped us establish an extensive list of lecturers and contacts in each of our destinations.  For this tour, we have designated the Binchester Roman Fort as the donation project. We kindly ask that you mail Far Horizons your $150 per person donation check, made out to “Stanford University” with a reference on the check to “Binchester Gift Fund – GFNKB.” Stanford University, and in particular Professor Michael Shanks, has been conducting research at the Binchester Roman Fort. To learn more about the project, please visit the following website:http://www.mshanks.com/2013/07/11/the-face-of-the-roman-past/. Note that the donation is required as part of your registration for the trip and that it is non-refundable.

Registration

A deposit of $500.00 and the separate donation check for $150.00 (made out to ‘Stanford University’) are required along with your registration form. Final payment is due 90 days before departure. Upon receipt of your deposit and completed registration form, you will be sent a reading list and a tour bulletin containing travel information. Prior to the trip, we will send links to various websites of pertinent interest to the trip.
Click here to download our Registration Form.

Cancellations and Refunds

Cancellations received in writing at least 90 days before departure will result in an administrative fee of $300.00 per person. Cancellations received less than 90 days before departure will not receive a refund. If for any reason you are unable to complete the tour, we will not reimburse any fees. Registrants are strongly advised to buy travel insurance that includes trip cancellation protection.

Hotels and Meals

All meals and overnights will be in carefully chosen traditional and unspoiled pubs and inns, where we will be able to touch pint mugs with the local people while you savor delicious regional delicacies, washed down with the region’s best representatives of the British brewer’s art.  The hotels and pubs listed in the brochure might change; the ambiance will not.

Note About Itinerary Changes

Changes in our itinerary, accommodations, and transportation schedules may occur. A good book to read as well as a flexible attitude and a sense of humor are essential.

Private Tours of Archaeological Sites

The private tours of archaeological sites and talks by specialists are scheduled in advance and include a donation to each. Specialists working at these sites are excited about showing their work to interested enthusiasts. However, please be aware that there may be times when the director or a member of the staff may not be onsite when our groups arrive due to other commitments.

THIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR TO ENGLAND IS LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS