September 10 - 22, 2021
An educational tour designed and organized by Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI)
Led by "Standing With Stones" Filmmakers Michael Bott and Rupert Soskin
This 13-day tour traverses Britain, all the way from the Orkney Islands to the Salisbury Plain, to visit megalithic sites of the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The journey begins in Kirkwall, in the Orkneys, where we spend three nights and visit a surprising group of sites comprising the World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney. The Ring of Brodgar is the third-largest circle henge in Britain, while Skara Brae is Europe's most complete Neolithic village and Maes Howe is one of Britain's most majestic passage graves.
After a ferry ride to the Scottish mainland on Day 4, our bus wends down the west side of Scotland to Kilmartin, along the way visiting chambered cairns that are among Scotland's oldest structures and stopping beside the famous Loch Ness. After visiting the Crannog Centre to learn about the ancient and mysterious lake dwellings, we head south on Day 6 to Keswick in the Lake District of Cumbria, northwest England. This is our launch point to see the stone circles of Long Meg and Her Daughters, the sixth-largest in Britain, and Castlerigg, whose majestic beauty inspired Romantic poets.
We hit the road again on Day 8, driving south to Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare's home, along the way stopping at Arbor Low, one of the best preserved henge circle monuments in Britain. We take a morning off to enjoy Shakespeare's town, then visit Belas Knap, a hilltop long barrow chambered tomb with stunning views to the sunset. Day 10 is quite busy as we drive to Salisbury, seeing along the way the Rollright Stones, one of Britains best loved circles, as well as another circle henge and long barrow and the Uffington White Horse, strikingly inscribed into a hillside.
We save the best for last, as Day 11 brings us to the capital of prehistoric Britain: West Kennet, the second largest barrow in Britain; Silbury Hill, the largest man-made mound in Europe; and Avebury, Britain's largest stone circle. We enjoy a day in historic Salisbury and then visit the Wiltshire Museum to see some of the artifacts excavated from the nearby Stonehenge area.
On Day 12 we start with a private sunrise visit to Stonehenge "within the stones," something not permitted to regular public visitors. We’ll also take a moment to admire the Stonehenge Cursus before heading out to visit the barrow cemetery where we get a better sense of the scale of these enormous burials and a view of the surrounding landscape. From there, we’ll visit Woodhenge, where the original concentric rings of timber posts are marked by concrete cylinders, and catch a glimpse of Durrington Walls, the largest henge site in Britain. Finally, we'll wind down the day with a visit to the Wiltshire Museum to see some of the artifacts excavated from the Stonehenge area.
On our last day of adventure, we'll explore the capital of prehistoric Britain: West Kennet, the second largest barrow in Britain; Silbury Hill, the largest man-made mound in Europe; and Avebury, Britain's largest stone circle.
Total Price (double occupancy): $4600 to $5500* Princing subject to change (assuming double occupancy; single lodging fee of $650 will be added).
Registration fee: $1000 to ALI. This amount is included in the total price above. Spots are limited, so register today!
Costs not included: personal travel insurance, airfare to & from the UK.
Dates: September 10 - 22, 2021
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