STUDENT & YOUTH TRAVEL IN ENGLAND
By Glynn Burrows, Norfolk Tours UK
ON BIG BLEND RADIO: Glynn Burrows, owner of Norfolk Tours, gives an overview of what students can experience on a visit to England. Watch here in the YouTube player or download the podcast on Podbean.
When we think of young people traveling, we probably imagine back-packing, beach parties, hitch-hiking, and the general carefree life that is so often seen on film and TV, but, although it could be like that if you like, it needn’t be. There is no reason why young people shouldn’t have a great experience traveling around the country, staying in good accommodations, and seeing the sights with a local guide.
A few years ago, I was contacted by a parent of a student who was coming over to study for a few months at the local University and she wanted me to show her, her daughter, and a few friends, what there was in the area. We had a great day, driving around the county, looking at various places of interest, eating local food in a lovely country pub, and having great conversations about what it is like to live in the UK.
I have also arranged tours for groups who were studying specific subjects and one group who were thinking about studying in the UK.
England is a great place to study, as we have some amazing museums, collections, libraries, and study facilities. We also have many examples of a wide range of natural wildlife habitats, thousands of historical sites, and some of the most spectacular Medieval buildings in the world.
England also has the oldest Universities and, due to their early foundations and the importance of their alumni, their collections hold some of the most important documents, objects, and other materials for research.
One of the best things about studying in the UK is the proximity of everything. If you are in London, Cambridge and Oxford are an easy car or train journey away. If you are visiting Edinburgh, you can be in London in five and a half hours on the train or take a bus for around nine hours.
Let’s take an example of a study trip for students studying English Literature.
You arrive at Heathrow Airport, and I meet you all on a bus, taking you across to Oxford. This area is well known by such writers as J R R Tolkien, C S Lewis, P B Shelly, and W S Churchill, and where you will find the amazing Bodleian Library. We will spend two full days here, to allow you time to explore.
We then make our way toward Stratford Upon Avon. Somewhere I need not talk much about, but one place which has to be on the list for all people interested in English writers.
We take two days in Stratford too, with the possibility of taking in a performance before the journey to Cambridge, one of my own favourite places in the country.
Cambridge has the Pepys Library, which holds the original diaries, and there are world-class museums and collections available for students, as well as the Cambridge University Library, which holds over nine million items. It is one of the six legal deposit libraries in the UK.
After two full days in Cambridge, we go down to London, where we spend another three days, visiting the usual tourist attractions and also such places as Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, Charles Dickens’ Museum and, if you are a fan of the Harry Potter, we can visit the studios.
After such a full itinerary, a short trip to the airport and off back over the Atlantic.
Another example of a tour for students studying geography could start in Cambridge, where we will visit the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences & Geology, with its collections of minerals and paleontology. The botanical gardens, where we will see examples of plants from all over the world, is an amazing place for study, as well as relaxation. The Polar Museum holds collections relating to the Arctic and Antarctic, with photographic and documentary resources for study and research and there are other colleges, together with the Cambridge University Library, if students want to carry out any research in any of the nine million items in the archives.
We take a day trip across to The Isle of Ely, to see the area known as The Fens and we learn how the fens were drained to bring this large area of wetland into use as agricultural land.
After three full days in Cambridge, we travel up to The Peak District, visiting a very important archaeological site, showing how people lived in the fens in the past.
The peak district is an area of amazing scenery and a chance here for students to carry out their own field study project, as we will take four days here. We will have a day visiting caves and mines, including the only place in the world where the amazing Blue John is found and then there will be three days for field study trips.
Suggested subjects could be the impact of tourism, mountain environments, rocks and soils, rivers, renewable energy, etc., etc.
After getting to know the area, we will travel back down to London, where we will have two days visiting the sights, before the flight back across the Atlantic.
These two examples are just an idea about what we can do for groups of students. We can actually arrange tours covering any subject, from Archaeology to Zoology, and for any length of stay. We can adapt to any requests.
Please do feel free to contact me with your requirements.
Glynn provides customized, private tours and also helps his clients trace their English family history. Past guests have visited and experienced stately houses and gardens, castles and churches, ruins and villages, birding and wildlife, World War II airfields, and general area taster tours too. Accommodations can be in all types of establishment, from character buildings such as windmills, thatched cottages and castles, self-catering or five star luxury – just say what you want and it can be arranged. Nothing is too much trouble for Glynn! Visit www.Norfolk-Tours.co.uk.