| 16 - 19 May 2008 | ||
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Sometime after the departure of the Romans from Britain at the end of the 5th Century, the upper Thames Valley became the heartland of the kingdom of the West Saxons, populated by immigrants from what is now Northern Germany and Denmark. Wessex, as it was eventually called, spread to include all of South West England, with its capital at Winchester. It was Wessex that resisted the spread of the Vikings, and Wessex that was the catalyst and crucible of an eventual united England. It was Wessex that was the cradle of the country in which we now live, and it was events that took place there that were instrumental in forming our national character.
This tour visits the battles, graves, churches and monuments of Wessex, and discusses people and events from Alfred the Great to the Duke of Wellington, from William Rufus to Prince Rupert of the Rhine, from the Saxon Shore forts to the Norman Cathedral and palaces, and examines how they have been central to the development of Britain as a nation. |
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| You will be accompanied on this tour by our team of historians, Gordon and Imogen Corrigan. | ||
| Day 1 | (Friday): Assemble at our hotel in Winchester by 1400 hrs. In the afternoon we will travel to the Rufus Stone, which marks the spot where William Rufus, the second Norman king of England, was killed. Whether this was by accident or design is still the subject of debate. After that we will visit the Roman Saxon Shore castle of Portchester, which is considered to have the best preserved Roman walls in northern Europe. Important long after the Romans left, the Norman keep is impressive and it was from here that Henry V left for his Agincourt campaign. We then return to our hotel for an evening lecture followed by dinner. | |
| Day 2 | After breakfast we embark on an all day walking tour of Winchester, looking mainly at the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval origins of this great city, but also examining its connections with the Duke of Wellington during his tenure as Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. Lunch break will be in Winchester. | |
| Day 3 | This is a day of battles, ranging from the Battle of Ashdown in 871, when the young Alfred, later Alfred the Great, won his spurs, to the Civil War Battles of First Newbury in 1643 and Cheriton in 1644. Lunch break in Newbury. After an evening lecture we will have a farewell dinner at our hotel. | |
| Day 4 | In the morning we will visit the two thousand five hundred years old Celtic hill fort of Danebury, before returning to Winchester for a lunch break. An afternoon at the superb Museum complex in Peninsular Barracks, where we can visit any or all of the museums of the Brigade of Gurkhas, the Rifles, the King’s Royal Hussars and the Adjutant General’s Corps. We will return to our hotel for dispersal by 1600 hrs. |
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