UK Tours Collection | ACE Cultural Tours | 2019

UK TOURS COLLECTION AND FURTHER 2019 DEPARTURES

ACE CULTURAL TOURS Cambridge, England

INTRODUCTION CONTENTS Contents and Welcome

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Cambridge Churches, College Chapels & Organs 3 Liverpool: Private Wealth, Public Riches

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Glasgow: Patrons, Art & Innovation

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Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels

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Country Houses of South Shropshire

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Islay, Jura & Colonsay

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Lincolnshire Halls & Houses

10–11

Artists of the North

12–13

Roman Kent: Towns, Forts & Frescoes

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Shakespeare at Stratford

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Hadrian’s Wall

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Dorset Country Houses

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Norfolk in Summer

18–19

Northumbria in the First Millennium

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Gloucester Three Choirs Festival

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International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival

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The Industrial Revolution in Middle England

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Chichester & the South Downs

24–25

Great Bardfield & Beyond:

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Welcome to ACE’s new publication focusing on our collection of UK tours taking place throughout the coming year. We are delighted to showcase selected tours exploring the history, music, art and wildlife of the British Isles.

We look forward to a brand new tour exploring Norfolk’s natural history in

Mid-Century Art & Design in East Anglia

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summertime, led by Tour Director Mark Welch, a research scientist at the Natural

Derbyshire Halls & Houses

28–29

History Museum. For art enthusiasts, 2019 highlights will include discoveries of

Isle of Wight

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the Artists of the North, the halls and houses of Lincolnshire and Derbyshire, and

Oxford College Chapels & Organs

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a new tour exploring the Great Bardfield artists and mid-century art and design in

ACE Tours in the Wider World

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Rhône River Cruise

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Gloucester Three Choirs Festival and history tours exploring subjects ranging from

ACE Tours: Germany

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Hadrian’s Wall to the heritage of Chichester and the South Downs.

ACE Tours: Italy and France

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Spring 2019

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Summer 2019

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Full Schedule 2019

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East Anglia.

Meanwhile, we also look forward to an array of music tours, including to the

Read on to discover these and other UK tours, as well as additional 2019 tours further afield.

Cover Image: Marsh Landscape by Harold Harvey

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For full tour details go online at aceculturaltours.co.uk 01223 841055 ace@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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UNITED KINGDOM

C A M B RIDGE CHURCHES, CO LLEG E CH A PE L S & ORG ANS MARCH 1–3, 2019

• Experience our Tour Director John Bryden’s expert organ playing in the stunning surroundings of Cambridge’s famous chapels Enjoy an exquisite performance of piano works at Stapleford Granary, the home of ACE Cultural Tours Sample the university’s superlative choral tradition during Evensong

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This tour will be led by international concert pianist and organist John Bryden, MA. John studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and is an experienced classical music lecturer.

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© David Iliff

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ambridge, along with Oxford and Edinburgh, boasts more fine organs than any other city in the UK. On this musical exploration we will enjoy several recitals given by our Tour Director, John Bryden, at many of the university’s historical colleges.

Our tour will take in the spectacular Frobenius organ at Robinson, installed in 1980 and one of the most notable instruments in the city. Sidney Sussex, with its fine new Flentrop organ, welcomes us for an afternoon visit, preceded by the beautiful courts and chapel of Jesus College.

A church to both the parish and the University of Cambridge, Great St Mary’s contains two impressive pipe organs, one belonging to the church itself and one to the university.

Further highlights of our itinerary will include visits to Downing and Emmanuel Colleges, and a guided tour of the musical collections of the Fitzwilliam Museum.

No visit to Cambridge would be complete without a chance to sample its world celebrated choral tradition: our tour includes a St John’s College Evensong and Sunday morning Matins at Kings College.

Meanwhile, Stapleford Granary, home to the ACE Foundation and ACE Cultural Tours, will be our venue for a beautiful series of piano works where Reiko Fujisawa will enchant us with pieces by Clara Schumann.

Chapel Interior, St John’s College We will stay throughout at Cambridge’s DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, which enjoys a riverside city centre location. As access

to the colleges is subject to availability, we cannot confirm some visits until nearer the time.

ITINERARY Day 1 Assemble 1000 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Cambridge, for two nights. Morning college visits: organ recitals at Robinson (Frobenius organ) and St John’s. Afternoon college visits: organ recitals at Jesus and Sidney Sussex. Choral Evensong at St John’s College Chapel.

Day 2 Morning college visits: organ recitals at Downing (Tickell organ; visit subject to confirmation) and Emmanuel. Afternoon: organ recital at Great St Mary’s Church followed by free time.

Evening concert at Stapleford Granary with Reiko Fujisawa (piano): ‘Clara Schumann – An Inspirational Life in Words and Music’.

Day 3 Morning: Matins at King’s College Chapel. Afternoon: guided tour of the Fitzwilliam Museum (musical collections) with ACE Tour Director Sarah Burles. Tour disperses 1600 at hotel.

Cost of £745 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, performances as described, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £170.

TOUR CODE: CCC219

BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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UNITED KINGDOM

LIVERPOOL: PRIVATE WEALTH, PUBLIC RICHES MARCH 18–21, 2019

• Unravel the rich history of a city

with UNESCO World Heritage status, discovering sites such as Knowsley Hall, historic seat of the Earls of Derby Explore the Walker Art Gallery and the Lady Lever Art Gallery, with their outstanding collections of fine and decorative arts Take a Mersey ferry cruise to admire Liverpool’s celebrated waterfront architecture

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This tour will be led by Liverpool-born Elizabeth Newell. A registered guide for Merseyside and the North West, Elizabeth is an experienced Arts Society lecturer and author of Albert Dock Liverpool.

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Liverpool Waterfront

seat of the Earls of Derby, the Hall is not frequently open to the public, and boasts some extremely fine Jacobean, Baroque and Victorian interiors.

We will stay throughout at the fourstar Crowne Plaza Liverpool City Centre, located on the city’s waterfront.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1345 at Crowne Plaza Liverpool City Centre for three nights. Afternoon: Metropolitan Cathedral (Lutyens crypt), Liverpool Cathedral (Sir Giles Gilbert Scott). Evening talk by guest lecturer: Poetry, Passion and the Pre-Raphaelites.

Day 2 Morning: Knowsley Hall, Ullet Road Unitarian Church (William Morris stained glass). Afternoon: free time at Albert Dock (independent visits to Tate Liverpool, Merseyside Maritime Museum, International Slavery Museum and Museum of Liverpool).

Evening talk by guest lecturer: Speke Hall.

Day 3 Morning: Liverpool Town Hall, Port Sunlight Village (garden village founded in 1888 to house soap factory workers), Lady Lever Art Gallery (outstanding collections of Wedgwood and Chinese porcelain). Afternoon: Speke Hall (Tudor manor house). Evening lecture: Liverpool, City of Delight.

Day 4 Morning: Mersey ferry cruise, Princes Road Synagogue (Moorish revival style architecture). Afternoon: Walker Art Gallery (superb collection of fine and decorative arts). Tour disperses 1530 at hotel.

Cost of £895 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £165.

TOUR CODE: LVPL19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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© Chris Hepburn

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ver recent years, Liverpool has undergone a cultural renaissance: its majestic waterfront architecture has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, and the city is still basking in its success as European Capital of Culture.

Slaves, tobacco, sugar and cotton all helped to make the city on the Mersey one of the world’s most important trading centres in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Albert Dock, opened in 1846, was once a treasure house of precious cargoes from all over the world; today it is home to a range of museums. The imposing exteriors of the Edwardian Royal Liver and Cunard buildings further reflect Liverpool’s historical grandeur.

Throughout the centuries Liverpool has benefited from a range of artistic patronage.

The Walker Art Gallery, opened in 1877, was a gift from Sir Andrew Barclay Walker to commemorate his mayoralty. Known as the National Gallery of the North, it contains a magnificent collection of Old Master and Pre-Raphaelite works. The Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight was a gift from the first Viscount Leverhulme in 1922 to his soap factory employees and contains an exquisite collection of 18th century English furniture, decorative Wedgwood and the country’s largest collection of PreRaphaelite paintings.

We will also make a special visit to one of Merseyside’s hidden treasures: the stately home of Knowsley Hall. Historic

UNITED KINGDOM

GLASGOW: PATRONS, ART & INNOVATION MAY 7–13, 2019

• Follow the work of key figures

including Robert Adam, Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the pioneer obstetrician and collector, William Hunter, founder of the Hunterian Museum Take a trip to the Isle of Bute for Mount Stuart, one of the most lavish and individual late Victorian houses in Scotland Visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

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n recent years, Glasgow has re-emerged as a vibrant cultural city with year-round activity in every area of the arts, while several of the region’s museums and great country houses have benefitted from major conservation programmes.

Our focus on this tour will be the 18th to 20th centuries, as we consider the art, architecture, crafts, collectors and increasingly affluent consumers of this great industrial city. We will also take in the beautiful landscape settings of the grand houses of the Scottish aristocracy, some of whom also owed their wealth to industry.

Highlights within Glasgow range from the modern Riverside Museum, designed

by Zaha Hadid, to the splendid and littleknown neoclassical interiors of Holmwood House. Outside the city, Dumfries House, rescued from sale and the dispersal of its contents through the intervention of HRH The Prince of Wales, is a little-altered 18th century gem designed by Robert Adam and home to Chippendale furniture designed and made specifically for this house.

Mount Stuart, which we will visit on an excursion to the Isle of Bute, was built for the vastly wealthy 3rd Marquess of Bute, This tour will be led by art historian Evelyn Silber, MA, PhD, FMA, FSA, formerly Director of the Hunterian Museum and Chair of the Mackintosh Society. Evelyn has been based in Scotland for some years, and currently works on the conservation, presentation and marketing of Scottish heritage. Prior to that, she studied at Cambridge before becoming curator at Birmingham Museums and Art Galleries, and Director of Leeds Museums and Galleries.

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Culzean Castle

who also counted Dumfries House amongst his numerous properties. The interiors at Mount Stuart reflect the Marquess’s own distinctive taste and the influence of his friend, the architect William Burges, and embody the wonderful craftsmanship of Welsh workshops.

We will stay throughout at the four-star Radisson Blu Hotel, situated in the city centre.

Please note that while we will endeavour to deliver the below itinerary in full, some elements may be subject to confirmation.

ITINERARY Day 1 Assemble 1330 at Radisson Blu Hotel for six nights. Tea at Mackintosh at the Willow Tea Rooms and orientation walking tour.

Evening lecture: Glasgow’s History in Architecture.

Day 2 Morning: St Andrew’s in the Square (splendid restored plasterwork – visit subject to confirmation) and Riverside Museum (exhibits of late 19th and 20th century industrial and social history, in a striking building designed by Zaha Hadid). Afternoon: Mackintosh Queen’s Cross (Mackintosh’s only church), Tenement House. Evening lecture: Glasgow Artists – from Mackintosh and the Glasgow Boys to the Turner Prize.

Day 3 Morning: Culzean Castle (historical home of the Kennedy family with Adam and Adam Revival interiors, in a spectacular clifftop setting). Afternoon: Dumfries House (18th century house with unrivalled collection of Chippendale furniture). Free evening.

Day 4 Morning: Glasgow University Campus (short guided walk), Hunterian Art Gallery and Hunterian Museum. Afternoon: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (focus on the Glasgow Style).

Day 5 Whole day excursion by coach and ferry to the Isle of Bute for Mount Stuart.

Day 6 Some free time followed by visits to Scotland Street School Museum (building designed by Mackintosh), House for an Art Lover (designed by Mackintosh as an international competition entry for an imaginary patron – visit subject to confirmation) and Holmwood House.

Day 7 Morning: Hill House (Mackintosh’s finest domestic work).

Tour disperses c 1345 at hotel, via airport, Queen Street Station and Central Station.

Cost of £1535 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, two lunches, five dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £390.

TOUR CODE: GLBB19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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UNITED KINGDOM

CHURCHES OF NORFOLK: AN APPOINTMENT WITH ANGELS MAY 7–10, 2019 • JULY 2–5, 2019

• View the remarkable ‘Danse Macabre’ panels of a surviving medieval rood screen, at St Mary’s in Sparham St Botolph’s in Trunch offers a beautiful 15th century hammerbeam roof alongside fine medieval misericords and a stunning font canopy Appreciate the stained glass at North Tuddenham alongside fascinating murals at Wickhampton and Hemblington

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round one thousand medieval churches once stood in Norfolk, and over six hundred and fifty remain – the largest concentration anywhere in the world. Rising above the gently rolling landscape, they survive from the time when East Anglia was the economic heartland of late medieval England, prospering from the wool trade, the wealth of its great landed families, and its thriving coastal port.

John Betjeman famously mused that “lovers of Norfolk churches can never agree which is the best and I think one is either a Salle or a Cawston man”. These churches represent two of Norfolk’s most spectacularly vast church buildings, but our

All Saints’ Church, Weston Longville exploration of the religious architecture, art and iconography of the Middle Ages will also encompass some smaller and lesser-known examples, many housing unexpected treasures.

We shall delve into the various media

Western Longville Screen

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© IMOGEN CORRIGAN

Tour Director Imogen Corrigan, BA, is a medieval historian. Following almost 20 years in the army, from which she retired in the rank of Major, Imogen obtained a first-class degree in Anglo-Saxon and Medieval History from the University of Kent and has been studying and lecturing ever since. She is currently pursuing further research with the University of Birmingham.

Tour Director Imogen Corrigan writes: “Almost all of our villages have a parish church; some 10,000 of them dating from before the Reformation. The county of Norfolk is especially blessed, and for this tour, I have chosen the ones which I think offer the best examples of different types of church art: the best wall painting, seven sacrament font, stained glass, rood screen or hammerbeam roof so inhabited by angels that you can almost hear the beat of their wings.

This tour will be all about parish churches, the people who used them, and the men who made them. These

for church art, from misericords and woodcarving to wonderful stained glass at North Tuddenham, and fascinating murals at Wickhampton and Hemblington. St Botolph’s in Trunch presents a stunning collection of features from its beautiful

men should not be underestimated, but they were real people who got into trouble with the law, occasionally cheated on contracts, and liked to start a job but not to finish it! They achieved immortality through their exquisite buildings, but the reward they most craved was that of eternal life (and a good lifestyle on this earth, of course).

I hope that the tour works on two levels: to provide an exploration of the delightful and very different parish churches on one hand, and to search for our medieval ancestors on the other.”

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© Spencer Means

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South Transept, St Margaret’s, Cley 15th century hammerbeam roof to its superb oak font canopy, one of only four of its kind in England.

Also included will be the much-maligned doodling of the medieval graffiti artist, as seen at St Margaret’s in Cley, the grandest of the four churches which stood at the great harbour mouth of Blakeney Haven.

Particular highlights will be those treasures that elucidate the rich pre-Reformation

“A well-paced tour with constant delights in unlikely places” “Very enjoyable, well organised, excellent lectures and accommodation” “Imogen was excellent. Knowledgeable in depth and breadth” – ACE customers on previous Churches of Norfolk tours

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sacramental life of England’s parish churches, such as the splendid rood screens at Cawston and at Ranworth, where the 26 painted saints panels represent one of the

great survivals of English medieval art.

We stay throughout at the historical four-star Maids Head Hotel in the centre of Norwich.

ITINERARY Day 1 Assemble 1415 at the Maids Head Hotel, Norwich, for three nights. Welcome and afternoon lecture: The Signs of the Times followed by optional independent visit to Norwich Cathedral.

Day 2 St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Knapton (extraordinary double-hammerbeam roof, rafters filled with angels); St Botolph’s Church, Trunch (14th century chancel, fine medieval misericords and stunning oak font canopy); Holt; St Margaret’s Church, Cley (medieval ship graffiti); All Saints’ Church, Bale (superb stained glass).

Day 3 Morning lecture: The Dregs of the People Remain – Black Death and its Aftermath. All Saints’ Church, Weston Longville (mural and Apostles’ Creed screen); St Mary’s Church, North Tuddenham (medieval stained glass); St Mary’s Church, Sparham (remarkable surviving ‘Danse Macabre’ rood screen portion); St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Salle (magnificent wool church); St Agnes’s Church, Cawston (fine 15th century rood screen).

Day 4 All Saints’ Church, Hemblington (best surviving mural of St Christopher); St Helen’s Church, Ranworth (exquisite screen); St Edmund’s Church, Acle (plague inscription); St Andrew’s Church, Wickhampton (14th century murals). Tour disperses 1600 at Norwich Station followed by hotel.

Cost of £795 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £175.

TOUR CODE: CHN119/CHN219 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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UNITED KINGDOM

COUNTRY HOUSES OF SOUTH SHROPSHIRE JUNE 24–28, 2019

Ludlow Castle

• Enjoy privileged access to significant private houses Explore the delightful historic towns of Ludlow and Leominster Experience the unspoiled landscape for the Welsh Marches

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he beautiful scenery of south Shropshire and north Herefordshire flow seamlessly together to offer one of the most attractive landscapes in England. Dotted with historic towns, country houses and churches, it is a particularly rewarding area to visit, especially when access to private houses is included.

Ludlow is one of the most perfect small towns in England, growing up around the mighty Norman castle and dominated by the glorious church of St Lawrence, with its extensive medieval stained glass.

Picturesque half-timbered houses are augmented by handsome examples from the town’s social heyday in the 18th century.

Private country houses to be seen in Shropshire include Shipton Hall, This tour will be led by Roger White, MA, FSA. Roger is a former secretary of the Georgian Group and Garden History Society. As an architectural historian, Roger has written extensively on 17th and 18th century topics for a variety of journals and magazines, and is perhaps the country’s leading authority on Georgian landscape architecture.

an Elizabethan house charmingly Georgianised in the 1760s by the county’s leading architect of the period, Thomas Farnolls Pritchard; Bitterley Court, where a similar process can be observed; and Oakly Park, with important Greek Revival interiors and a fine art collection.

At Millichope Park we will admire the exterior of the Greek Revival mansion set in a lovely Arcadian landscape, and at Gibbridge we see a recent country house in classical style commanding fine views.

Stokesay Castle is one of the most perfectly preserved examples of a medieval fortified manor house, while its Victorian successor at Stokesay Court (where we have a private dinner) is an impressive essay in neo-Jacobean and the largest country house in the county. Over the border in Herefordshire we visit charming Court of

ITINERARY Day 1 Assemble 1330 at The Clive, Bromfield, for four nights.

Afternoon walking tour of Ludlow, including St Lawrence’s Church and the medieval Guildhall. Early evening visit to Oakly Park.

Day 2 Morning visit to the gardens of Millichope Park, followed by Shipton Hall. Afternoon visits to Stokesay Castle and Church, ending with medieval Bromfield Priory.

Day 3 Out-of-hours tour of Berrington Hall, Eardisley Church (magnificent Norman font), and lunch at Court of Noke. Afternoon visits to Shobdon Church and the gardens of Elton Hall.

Day 4 Bitterley Court and adjoining medieval church, followed by Gibbridge (a new country house on a commanding site). Afternoon: the 1720s mansion and medieval church at Kinlet. Evening tour, followed by private dinner, at Stokesay Court.

Day 5 Private visit to an important house near Ludlow, followed

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Noke, dating from about 1700, and enjoy an out-of-hours tour of magnificent late 18th century Berrington Hall, as well as seeing the delightful modern gardens of Elton Hall.

A feature of the tour will be visits to a number of fascinating churches, including opportunities to study examples of the remarkable ‘Herefordshire School’ of Romanesque sculpture. We also visit Shobdon Church, arguably the most delectable specimen of Georgian Gothic in England.

Our base is The Clive, a comfortable hotel just north of Ludlow on the estate of the Earl of Plymouth, from which we fan out around the points of the compass.

Please note that many of the visits on this tour are arranged privately, and some may be subject to confirmation nearer the time.

by walking tour of Leominster, with its Norman priory church, half-timbered town hall and late Georgian assembly rooms. Tour disperses 1415 at the hotel followed by 1430 at Ludlow Station.

Cost of £1450 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, four lunches, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £205.

TOUR CODE: CHSS19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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UNITED KINGDOM

ISLAY, JURA & COLONSAY JUNE 18–25, 2019

Jura Island

• Islay, the ‘Queen of the Hebrides’, will

be our base for this rewarding study of the area’s flora and fauna Look out for an astonishing diversity of birdlife, from moorland birds of prey to rare waders and seabirds during our ferry crossings Absorb the islands’ Celtic past, evoked in ancient crosses, inscribed stones and medieval strongholds, and its more recent human history in the fascinating local museums

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slay is internationally famous for its birdlife, especially the rare chough, twite and corncrake. The moorlands hold birds of prey such as the golden eagle, hen harrier, merlin, peregrine and short-eared owl. Both freshwater and sea lochs are the haunts of rare waders, geese, gannet, eider ducks and shag, while the ferry crossings may provide sightings of puffins, guillemots, divers, shearwaters, petrels and This tour will be led by Kevin Hand, MSc, MCIEEM, a conservationist, ornithologist and environmental consultant. Kevin has carried out extensive fieldwork – including bird and animal surveys – in the UK and abroad, and has been leading wildlife tours for ACE since 1992. He is currently President of the Cambridge Natural History Society.

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a chance of seeing whales or dolphins.

Common and Atlantic grey seals can be seen along the coast and we may spot otters.

The vegetation is also varied, with coastal machir grasslands, woodland on the limestone, and peat bog – so important for malt whisky – on the poorer areas.

Jura, by contrast, is one of the wildest of the Hebridean islands, with its west coast in particular being trackless and unspoilt.

Abruptly changing and dramatic seascapes give way to a boggy interior inhabited by elusive red deer and soaring eagles.

We will stay at the attractive Port Askaig Hotel on the shores of the Sound of Islay, where the Port Bar dates from the 16th century and carries a wide selection of Islay Malts and beers. This family-run highland inn offers easy access to Jura, Colonsay and the mainland.

The group size will be restricted to 15.

Participants should be comfortable walking over sometimes rugged terrain, and a good level of fitness is required for this tour.

Please note that some visits may be subject to change or re-ordering, depending on weather conditions.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1100 at Glasgow Central Station (Glasgow airport 1130). Depart via Loch Lomond, Inveraray and Kennacraig to Port Askaig, Islay, for seven nights at Port Askaig Hotel.

Day 7 Islay Natural History Trust Centre, Bowmore (Round Church) and the Mull of Oa moorland and spectacular cliffs (rare chough breeds along the dramatic coastline).

Day 2 Whole day excursion to Colonsay: flowers, wildlife, Colonsay House Gardens, ‘Pigs’ Paradise’ (remote sheltered clifftop and sea bird colonies).

Day 8 Transfer to Glasgow. Tour disperses 1300 at Glasgow airport and 1330 at Glasgow Central Station.

Day 3 Morning: Port Charlotte (Museum of Islay Life), Nerabus (medieval carved grave slabs), Portnahaven (crofting fields), corncrakes and seals, Claddach for Wave Power site and exposed cliff vegetation, and Frenchman’s Rocks (sea watch). Afternoon: Machir Bay (dunes and grasslands), Kilchoman Church, Loch Gorm.

Cost of £1795 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, three packed lunches, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £145. Rooms with a sea view are available at a supplement.

TOUR CODE: ISLA19

Day 4 Duich Moss, Kildalton Cross and Chapel (finest surviving example of Celtic high cross), Islay whisky distillery.

Day 5 Whole day excursion to Jura: coach tour with stops for birdwatching, botanising and historical sites.

Day 6 Morning: Loch Gruinart RSPB Reserve and Ardnave Loch.

Afternoon walking tour towards Gortantaoid Point.

BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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UNITED KINGDOM

L I N C O LNS HIRE HALLS & HO USES JUNE 4–10, 2019

Burghley House

• Visit Burghley House in Stamford, a 16th century prodigy house with amazing

late 17th century interiors by Verrio and Laguerre Discover the National Trust’s beautiful 18th century Gunby Hall in the company of Tour Director Andrew Barber, previously a curator with the Trust and author of the guidebook to the Hall Enjoy visits to privately-owned houses including Doddington Hall and Fulbeck Hall

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Belton House

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incolnshire is often characterised as the ‘lost county’ of England. However, its history is rich, and its grand country houses are more than a match for any in the country. Although it is now one of England’s most sparsely populated areas, Lincolnshire was one of the most populous of the medieval counties of England, home to great monastic foundations and vast aristocratic castles.

The 16th and early 17th centuries are represented by the late Elizabethan Doddington Hall, in all probability designed by members of the Symthson family. Burghley House, ‘one of the largest and grandest houses of the first Elizabethan Age’, is also home to one of the largest privately owned collections of Italian Old Master paintings.

From the Restoration we have Belton House and Gunby Hall, both with fine furnishings and impressive formal gardens and parklands, including a 750 acre deer park at Belton. The 18th century is represented by Grimsthorpe Castle, where the north front was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and the great hall represents the summit of Vanbrugh’s achievements. The Regency style Normanby Hall, a former

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Thornton Abbey Gatehouse home of the Dukes of Buckingham, is surrounded by idyllic parklands and ornate formal gardens and ponds.

From the medieval foundations of Grimsthorpe to the Elizabethan splendour of Burghley’s extravagant skyline; from the charm of Doddington’s Jacobean cupolas to the domestic comfort that is Gunby; and from the architectural richness of Brocklesby’s neoclassical temple of a mausoleum to the serene synthesis of style and restrained grandeur of Belton, Lincolnshire has something for all tastes.

Baroque swagger, grand architectural conceit, Georgian solidity and Elizabethan complexity: all are waiting to be discovered in this ‘lost county’ of England.

We will stay at the three-star Lincoln This tour will be led by Andrew Barber, who recently retired after over 30 years working for the National Trust in the East Midlands and Yorkshire as a curator, advising on the care and presentation of a number of properties, including some featured in our tour. He is the author of guidebooks to several National Trust houses, including Gunby Hall, Calke Abbey and Canons Ashby.

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Hotel, set in the very heart of uphill Lincoln, with the best views of the cathedral to be found in the city.

Our tour will include some private visits, and we will be joined by guest lecturer David Bostwick, PhD, well known to ACE

travellers for leading many tours around England, for our visit to Lincoln Cathedral and for a lecture.

Please note that while we will endeavour to deliver the below itinerary in full, some elements may be subject to confirmation.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1400 at the Lincoln Hotel, Lincoln, for six nights. Afternoon: Lincoln Cathedral (with guest lecturer, Dr David Bostwick). Evening lecture.

Day 2 Morning: Gentlemen’s Society of Spalding (founded in 1710, library and museum with varied collections). Afternoon: Grimsthorpe Castle and gardens. Evening guest lecture with Dr David Bostwick: The Medieval Imagery of Lincoln Cathedral.

Day 3 Morning: Brocklesby Park (exterior with possibility of seeing the mausoleum designed by James Wyatt – subject to restoration works) and Thornton Abbey Gatehouse (spectacular monastic early 15th century gatehouse). Afternoon: Normanby Hall (early 19th century) and gardens. Free evening.

Day 4 Morning: Fulbeck Hall. Afternoon: Gainsborough Old Hall and Stow Church (ancient building and mother church of the diocese before the cathedral). Optional Evensong at Lincoln Cathedral followed by free evening.

Day 5 Morning: Gunby Hall (described by Tennyson as a ‘Haunt

of Ancient Peace’) and gardens. Afternoon: Belton House (fine collections) and gardens.

Day 6 Morning: walking tour of Stamford. Afternoon: Burghley House and gardens.

Day 7 Morning lecture followed by visit to Doddington Hall. Tour disperses 1430 at hotel.

Cost of £1345 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, five lunches, four dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £60.

TOUR CODE: LINC19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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© David Wright

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ART I S T S OF T HE NO RTH

© John Lord

JUNE 18–21, 2019

Reclining Woman by Henry Moore

• Learn about the artistic heritage of Yorkshire and Lancashire, home to four of

Britain’s most important 20th century artists: Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, David Hockney and L S Lowry See works by Henry Moore in the open air at Yorkshire Sculpture Park Explore the Hepworth Wakefield, the Lowry, and the art galleries of Leeds and Manchester

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he influence of the Yorkshire landscape on the work of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth is well known, and its geological forms have continued to inspire a contemporary generation of sculptors.

Our tour of the northern counties visits galleries that have been dedicated to four of the most important British 20th century artists. The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds and the Hepworth Wakefield form part of the ‘Yorkshire triangle’ alongside the

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Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Britain’s most celebrated collection of outdoor artworks.

The Hepworth Wakefield was the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year 2017, while the Yorkshire Sculpture Park achieved the accolade in 2014.

The spectacular 18th century park includes permanent pieces by both Moore and Hepworth, and others including David Nash, Anthony Gormley and Andy Goldsworthy. Further north, Jonathan Silver, a close friend of David Hockney,

amassed a collection of over 300 pieces by the artist, which now occupies a converted mill in Sir Titus Salt’s model village of Saltaire.

Manchester Art Gallery also contains important 20th century works from Augustus John to Lucian Freud. However, the strength of its collection lies in its late 18th and 19th century pieces, including Ford Madox Brown’s iconic painting “Suzanne is an excellent lecturer, personable and knowledgeable” “Outstanding leader, manner not overly formal, informative, thought provoking” – ACE customers on previous Artists of the North tour

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The Hepworth Wakefield Work (1865), which helped to inspire the commissioning of a series of paintings for Manchester Town Hall.

We will experience the largest public collection of works by the artist L S Lowry, including Coming from the Mill and Going to Work on our visit to the Lowry, a quayside arts centre in Salford. The artist spent much of his life in Salford and his works are closely linked to the city.

Our tour also includes a visit to the Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, which is part of the University of Leeds and since

This tour will be led by Suzanne Fagence Cooper, MA, PhD, a lecturer and historian who specialises in British art history. For 12 years she was a curator and Research Fellow at the V&A Museum. She writes on Victorian and 20th century painting, decorative arts and sculpture. During her time at the V&A, Suzanne collaborated with many of Britain’s regional museum collections. She now lives and works in Yorkshire, and has a particular interest in the rich artistic traditions of the north of England.

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2008 has been home to its exceptional collection of art. We will enjoy lectures given by our Tour Director, exploring themes of national identity in 20th century British art, and the role of Manchester as a centre for art.

Our base will be the four-star Radisson Blu Hotel in the heart of Leeds, located

very close to the Leeds Art Gallery and town hall.

Please note that the below itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some visits may be subject to change.

We cannot guarantee the availability of all artworks listed.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1430 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Leeds, for three nights. Afternoon visit to Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery.

Evening introductory lecture.

Day 2 Morning: orientation walking tour of Leeds and visit to Leeds Art Gallery followed by optional visit to the Henry Moore Institute (world recognised centre for the study of sculpture, with contemporary exhibitions). Afternoon excursion to the Hepworth Wakefield. Evening lecture: Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth – National Identity in 20th Century British Art. Day 3 Morning excursion to Yorkshire Sculpture Park (landscaped park including work by Hepworth and Moore). Afternoon: Saltaire (World Heritage Site). Evening lecture: Manchester – A Centre for Art. Day 4 Whole day excursion to Manchester: Manchester Art Gallery (featuring work by Gainsborough, the Pre-Raphaelites and Ford

Madox Brown) followed by the Lowry (the largest public collection of the artist’s work in the world, including Coming from the Mill and Going to Work) and Salford Quays. Tour disperses 1730 at Leeds Station, followed by hotel.

Cost of £845 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £180.

TOUR CODE: ARNH19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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ROMAN KENT: TOWNS, FORTS & FRESCOES

© Casey Sonja

JULY 1–5, 2019

St Augustine’s Abbey

• Delve into Canterbury’s ancient past with visits to the Roman Museum, St Martin’s Church and St Augustine’s Abbey Explore the imprint of the Romans on the surrounding region including Lullingstone Roman Villa and Richborough Dover’s Painted House offers some of the finest wall-paintings in Britain

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rom the subterranean vestiges of Roman Canterbury to the singular Bacchic frescoes in Dover’s Painted House, Kent is steeped in Roman history.

Our tour begins with an exploration of ancient Canterbury – Durovernum Cantiacorum – first mentioned in the second century Antonine Itinerary. We trace the route of the Roman walls before visiting Canterbury’s Roman Museum, erected around the remains of a town house still adorned with in situ mosaics.

Nor will we neglect the rich early Christian history of Canterbury: parts of St Martin’s Church date back to the sixth century.

The following day takes us beyond Canterbury to Lullingstone Roman Villa, whose remnants suggest tantalizing glimpses of its wealthy inhabitants –

Tour Director Mark Corney, BA, FSA, is a specialist in Roman history and presenter on Channel 4’s Time Team. Mark is a former investigator with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.

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whether native Britons or occupying Romans, possibly enjoying a rural retreat.

Faversham Stone Chapel, meanwhile, exhibits the remains of a flint-built medieval church lying partially above Roman ruins: possibly a mausoleum, temple or shrine.

Other highlights include Dover’s second

century Painted House, which formed part of a large mansion or lodge for travellers about to cross the Channel. Whilst the tile and flint walls and elaborate hypocaust are worth a visit in themselves, it is the guesthouse’s colourful wall paintings – the most extensive in northern Europe – that steal the show. We will also devote time to the fort of Richborough, which defiantly retains the walls of a magnificent Roman fortress and the foundations of a monument built to commemorate the conquest of Britain.

We stay at the three-star Canterbury Cathedral Lodge situated in the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1800 at Canterbury Cathedral Lodge for four nights. Welcome and introduction.

Day 2 Morning: walk around walls (including Roman gateway) of Canterbury followed by Roman Museum (Roman town house with mosaics). Afternoon: 6th century St Martin’s Church and St Augustine’s Abbey.

Day 3 Excursion to Lullingstone Roman Villa followed by Faversham Stone Chapel (ruined medieval church incorporating Roman remains).

Day 4 Dover’s Roman Painted House (finest wall-paintings in Britain), Dover Museum (Bronze Age boat) and Richborough (occupied by Romans from the invasion to the late 5th century AD, site of a fort and ancient amphitheatre).

Day 5 Tour disperses after breakfast.

Cost of £945 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £220.

TOUR CODE: RTFF19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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SHAKESPEARE AT STRATFORD JULY 16–19, 2019

Royal Shakespeare Theatre, River Avon

• Enjoy a performance of Measure for Measure directed by Gregory Doran, Artistic

Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company In a very special opportunity, experience two less frequently performed Restoration plays: John Vanbrugh’s The Provoked Wife and Thomas Otway’s Venice Preserved Discover Broughton Castle, a beautiful manor house rebuilt in the sixteenth century

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ur summer tour to Stratford-uponAvon will take in three important plays in British theatrical history, two of which form part of the classical canon but which are not often performed.

We begin with a production of John Vanbrugh’s The Provoked Wife, a play that shocked 17th century society, before taking in Thomas Otway’s Venice Preserved. Actor and director Prasanna Puwanarajah directs a fast-paced version of this significant Restoration tragedy.

Our tour builds to a climax with a brand new production of one of Shakespeare’s

This tour will be led by Shakespearean actress Vivien Heilbron, an Emmy nominee and honorary Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon. Vivien has vast experience of acting in Shakespeare productions, including in the roles of Olivia in Twelfth Night and Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

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most extraordinary late plays, Measure for Measure. The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, directs this play, which “remains astonishingly resonant today”.

Talks and post-performance discussions with our Tour Director will complement

the performances throughout our tour. We will also undertake a backstage exploration of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and learn about Shakespeare’s Stratford on a walking tour with actor and writer Dr Jonathan Milton. A further highlight will be an excursion to Broughton Castle, a beautiful sixteenth-century moated manor house. The castle has been in the hands of the Fiennes family since 1447, and was reconstructed in the 1550s.

We will stay throughout at the three-star Best Western Grosvenor Hotel, situated a short walk from the Royal Shakespeare Company in the heart of Stratford-uponAvon. Dinners will be taken at the Rooftop Restaurant at the RSC.

ITINERARY Day 1 Assemble from 1400 at Best Western Grosvenor Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon, for three nights. 1500 welcome and introduction followed by discussion on The Provoked Wife. Evening performance at the Swan Theatre: The Provoked Wife.

Day 2 Morning: post-performance discussion on The Provoked Wife followed by excursion to Broughton Castle. Afternoon: introduction to Venice Preserved. Evening performance at the Swan Theatre: Venice Preserved.

Day 3 Morning: backstage tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company and post-performance discussion on Venice Preserved. Afternoon: guided walking tour of Stratford with Dr Jonathan Milton and introduction to Measure for Measure. Evening performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre: Measure for Measure.

Day 4 Post-performance discussion on Measure for Measure. Tour disperses 1100.

Cost of £875 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, performances as described, breakfast, one lunch, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £90.

TOUR CODE: SHS219 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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HADRIAN’S WALL JULY 29 – AUGUST 1, 2019

Hadrian’s Wall

• Enjoy a short UK archaeology tour

devoted to one of Britain’s most majestic Roman monuments: Hadrian’s Wall Explore the fascinating ancient forts, turrets and castles that line the wall and learn about its history and construction Enter the settlement of Vindolanda, where on-going excavations reveal new archaeological insights

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UNESCO World Heritage site, Hadrian’s Wall is a formidable engineering achievement and spans over 70 miles of beautiful, often rugged countryside. Join Time Team’s Mark Corney on this tour to explore the forts, turrets and castles dotted along the wall, and to consider how the Roman army and local tribes lived, worked and died on the Empire’s northernmost frontier.

Chesters, built to protect the passage of Hadrian’s Wall over the River Tyne, is Britain’s most imposing Roman cavalry fort, and is one of the most complete to survive today, with wellpreserved baths, as well as a museum of

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Mark Corney, BA, FSA is a specialist in Roman history and presenter on Channel 4’s Time Team. Mark is an honorary research fellow at Bristol University and is a former investigator with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. He has been leading ACE tours to Hadrian’s Wall for many years and is delighted to be returning in 2019.

Roman finds. Meanwhile, the ancient fort of Housesteads, perched high on a ridge overlooking wide expanses of Northumbrian moorland, is notable for its extensive barracks, granaries and hospital.

The garrison and civilian settlement at Vindolanda, where the eponymous wooden writing tablets were unearthed, is situated next to one of the best-preserved sections of the wall. Our tour concludes with a visit to the 7th century crypt at Hexham Abbey, constructed entirely out of Roman masonry. Participants should be comfortable walking over sometimes uneven terrain, and a good level of fitness is required for this tour, particularly during the visit to Housesteads.

We will stay in the market town of Hexham, at the three-star Best Western Beaumont Hotel.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1600 at Newcastle Station and 1700 at Best Western Beaumont Hotel, Hexham, for three nights. Introductory lecture.

Abbey (crypt). Tour disperses 1400 at hotel and 1500 at Newcastle Station.

Day 2 Arbeia (Roman fort), Chesters (fort, well-preserved bathhouse, sculptures, inscriptions and musuem), Brunton Turret (built by men of the 20th Legion), Carrawburgh (Roman fort and 3rd century Temple of Mithras).

Cost of £695 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £75.

TOUR CODE: HADW19

Day 3 Housesteads (fort with museum, commandant’s house, headquarters, well-preserved latrines), Vindolanda (on-going excavations, museum with writing tablets).

Day 4 Roman camp at Corbridge including military granaries, museum, Lion of Corbridge (visit subject to confirmation), Hexham

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DORSET COUNTRY HOUSES JULY 22–26, 2019

• Discover the county’s rich legacy of

country houses of many periods Visit notable gardens of the early 20th century Stay in the charming town of Sherborne and explore its magnificent abbey church

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This tour will be led by Roger White, MA, FSA. Roger is a former secretary of the Georgian Group and Garden History Society. As an architectural historian, Roger has written extensively on 17th and 18th century topics for a variety of journals and magazines, and is perhaps the country’s leading authority on Georgian landscape architecture.

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Forde Abbey, Dorset houses, combines Tudor and Stuart phases of great charm, while Warmwell House is an idiosyncratic Jacobean building, and Jacobean work of equal individuality is found at Waterston Manor. More recent, and of great interest, are Richard Norman Shaw’s massive late-Victorian mansion of Bryanston; the slightly later Minterne, a remarkable Edwardian house with Arts & Crafts touches; and Leweston, where rare Art Deco interiors are discovered within the Georgian carapace.

Dorset may lack the spectacular late medieval towers of nearby south Somerset, but its churches offer plenty of interest. At the top of the scale come the superb abbey churches of Milton and Sherborne, the latter boasting the earliest major fan vault

in existence. Folke Church and Leweston Chapel are rare and complete ensembles of the early 17th century, Puddletown is a glorious mixture beloved of Hardy, and Moreton is famous for its set of etched glass windows by Laurence Whistler. Bookending our time frame are the mysterious and unexplained Cerne Giant, and the still-evolving township at Poundbury on the outskirts of Dorchester.

Our base is the very comfortable Eastbury Hotel in Sherborne, which is Dorset’s most attractive town, with direct rail links to London Waterloo.

Please note that many of the visits on this tour are arranged privately, and some may be subject to confirmation nearer the time.

ITINERARY Day 1 Assemble 1145 at Sherborne Station for lunch followed afternoon tour of Minterne House and visits to Folke Church, Leweston House and chapel. Continue to Eastbury Hotel, Sherborne for four nights.

Day 2 Morning: Waterston Manor (Jacobean façades and attractive Arts & Crafts gardens) followed by the monastic church and mansion at Milton Abbey. Afternoon: Georgian Blandford Forum (handsome parish church) then Bryanston and Sturminster Newton Church (rare English stained glass window by Harry Clarke).

Day 3 Morning visits to Sherborne Abbey and remarkable Georgian shell house in a garden of Sherborne School. Lunch and tour at Forde Abbey, followed by the charming little town of Beaminster (impressive monuments in the parish church).

Day 4 Walk around the Duchy of Cornwall town of Poundbury (wide range of buildings in traditional styles), followed by unusual Jacobean manor house at Warmwell. Afternoon: Moreton Church (Laurence Whistler windows), Puddletown Church (delightfully

miscellaneous interior), and the early 20th century gardens along the River Frome at Kingston Maurward.

Day 5 Mapperton (home of the Earl and Countess of Sandwich, with outstanding early 20th century gardens), and private lunch with tour at Wolfeton House. Afternoon: Cerne Giant viewpoint before tour disperses 1530 at Sherborne Station.

Cost of £1375 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, five lunches, three dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, small double room for single use supplement £295.

TOUR CODE: DOCH19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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© ROGER WHITE

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appily lacking motorways or large urban centres, Dorset has remained an overwhelmingly rural county, still dominated in many ways by the traditional estates of private country houses. The landscape is exceptionally varied, and almost always of great beauty, whether the rolling chalk downs that occupy the centre of the county, the austere limestone hills of the Isle of Purbeck, the dramatic ‘Jurassic Coast’ that forms the southern edge, or the lush pastures of Blackmore Vale in the north. Throughout, one senses the impact that these different landscapes made on Dorset’s most celebrated literary son, Thomas Hardy.

From an architectural point of view, the county’s particular forte is its country houses, which range in date from the medieval period to the present day, and in size from the charmingly modest to the frankly grandiose. In this five-day tour we visit a selection from across the spectrum, starting chronologically with two great houses that evolved from monastic beginnings: Milton Abbey, a handsome late 18th century mansion that incorporates the splendid hall of late medieval abbots, and Forde Abbey, where in the mid 17th century reception rooms of considerable splendour were threaded through the early medieval and Tudor remains of a Cistercian monastery.

From the Tudor period comes romantic Wolfeton House, with its rather Frenchlooking gatehouse, and nationally important interiors of the later 16th century. Mapperton, without doubt one of the most endearing of English manor

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NO R F O L K IN SU MMER JULY 1–4, 2019

Eurasian Bittern

• Explore Norfolk’s important and increasingly rare heathland at Kelling and

Salthouse, alongside its distinctive wildlife Enjoy a boat trip from Morston Quay to Blakeney Point before investigating the impact of the last Ice Age on the landscape around Blakeney Take a guided walk through Dersingham Bog National Nature Reserve, a part of the Sandringham Estate, and learn about the practicalities and challenges of front-line conservation in the UK

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n a landscape where vast flawless beaches stretch for miles, where wind-tousled reeds bob their heads beneath huge summer sunsets, and picturesque flintwalled churches cleave to the coastline, we will step out to experience some of the UK’s most captivating wildlife. July is a particularly dynamic time to enjoy Norfolk, which comes alive in early summer with diverse bird, insect and plant life. We expect

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to see woodlark, waders and warblers, and will enter the mysterious twilight world of the nightjar. Tour Director Mark Welch will explain the environment in a holistic way, illuminating its many dimensions and interactions, from the distinctive formation of the landscape itself to the insects that call it home.

Kelling Heath, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and Salthouse Heath are both

important glacial outwash plains formed by retreating glaciers of the last Ice Age. They provide habitats for a variety of heathland birds among the heather, gorse and bracken, as well as other inhabitants including adder, roe deer and brown hare.

An evening visit to Salthouse Heath will provide an opportunity to see nightjar, woodlark and, possibly, tree pipit.

Blakeney will welcome us for a day both on land and sea, taking in the colonies of common seal and their pups that loaf in the summer sunshine, as well as terns and early returning migrants. At St Margaret’s Church in Cley we will view the village’s lasting impression of a rare North American visitor, a white-crowned sparrow, that was immortalised in a stained-glass window after this tiny bird was discovered in the vicar’s garden in 2008 and stayed for several weeks. To finish the day, we shall

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Blakeney, Norfolk

visit the Blakeney esker, a remnant of the last Ice Age, which offers a fascinating insight into the area’s geological history.

A special highlight will be a morning visit to Dersingham Bog National Nature Reserve, part of the Sandringham Estate.

Incorporating rare lowland ‘acid’ mire habitat, heath and mixed woodland, the reserve is the perfect place to discover unusual species of plants and insects, including the black darter dragonfly. We will enjoy a privileged walk with a Natural Tour Director Mark Welch, BSc, PhD, has had an active interest in natural history since he was a boy in Dorset, where he roamed the heaths, woods, beaches and cliff-tops in search for birds and insects. A former Regional Representative for Cambridgeshire for the British Trust for Ornithology, Mark has for the past 26 years been a research scientist in the Department of Earth Sciences at London’s Natural History Museum. He has led many field trips in the UK as a geologist and naturalist, including Cornwall, East Anglia and northern Scotland, and is delighted to be directing this brand new ACE tour to Norfolk.

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England Reserves Manager, who will explain more about the challenges and joys of taking care of this beautiful environment for conservation. Indeed, conservation is an important theme throughout our tour, which will both celebrate Norfolk’s distinctive coastal landscapes and wildlife, and appreciate the importance of conserving its natural habitats.

Our tour finishes with a delicious lunch

at the award-winning Rose & Crown Pub in Snettisham.

We stay throughout at the four-star Pheasant Hotel, a relaxing country house hotel close to Blakeney village.

Please note that while we will endeavour to deliver the below itinerary in full, some details are dependent on local conditions and may be subject to change closer to the time.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1345 at King’s Lynn Station for transfer to The Pheasant Hotel for three nights, with en route stop at Titchwell RSPB Reserve. Welcome and introduction to the tour.

award-winning Rose & Crown pub, Snettisham. Tour disperses 1500 at King’s Lynn Station.

Day 2 Morning visit to Kelling Heath followed by afternoon visit to Cley Marshes reserve. Optional evening visit to Salthouse Heath (nightjars, woodlark).

Cost of £965 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, three lunches (two packed), dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £130.

TOUR CODE: NORF19

Day 3 Whole day visit to Blakeney for boat trip from Morston Quay (terns, other migrants and breeding colony of common seal) followed by Church of St Margaret, Cley (window featuring whitecrowned sparrow) and the Blakeney esker (a glacial feature from the last Ice Age).

Day 4 Morning visit to Sandringham Estate for Dersingham Bog National Nature Reserve (guided conservation walk). Lunch at the

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UNITED KINGDOM

NORTHUMBRIA IN THE FIRST MILLENNIUM SEPTEMBER 2–6, 2019

Lindisfarne Priory, Northumberland

• Uncover the world of St Cuthbert and St Bede as we investigate the history of

Northumbria after the Romans left and before the Normans arrived Highlights include Escomb Saxon church, the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and the twin monastery of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow, home to Bede and itself a UNESCO World Heritage site Spend an afternoon at Durham Cathedral and enjoy its major exhibition, Open Treasure

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ar from being the Dark Ages, AngloSaxon England glitters, not just with artefacts and manuscripts, but with characters. This tour will set out to find some of them, whether it’s the arrogant St Wilfred in Hexham (where we explore the crypt that is all that remains of his 7th century church), Benedict Biscop, founder of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory, or St Cuthbert, who would become the most powerful saint in the north. Of course, our investigations would hardly be possible without the guiding light of the Venerable Bede, one of our greatest scholars.

Our itinerary will unearth clues about our Anglo-Saxon past in a range of This tour will be led by medieval historian Imogen Corrigan, BA. Following almost 20 years in the army, Imogen obtained a first-class degree in Anglo-Saxon and Medieval History from the University of Kent and has been studying and lecturing ever since.

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contexts, including at parish churches, such as Escomb – one of northern Europe’s finest examples of early Christian architecture. We will follow in the footsteps of pilgrims on our journey to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, and will spend time

at the glorious cathedral in Durham, examining the building’s interior and exterior, and enjoying the cathedral’s collections in the recently developed Open Treasure exhibition in its Claustral buildings.

From June 793, the Vikings inflicted terror and misery for some 22 decades on the northern kingdom, but they also brought with them their own culture. It influenced church art until roughly 1200, and some of the results can still be seen today.

We stay throughout at Durham Marriott Hotel Royal County, with splendid views of Durham’s cathedral and historical quarter.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1700 at the Durham Marriott Hotel Royal County for four nights. Evening lecture: The Age of Bede.

Day 2 Morning lecture: Viking Art & Myth, followed by St Paul’s Church, Jarrow; St Peter’s Church, Monkwearmouth; and St Mary Magdalene, Hart. Evening lecture: The Lindisfarne Gospels.

Day 3 Via All Saints’, Rothbury (font stands on part of a 9th century Market Cross) to Lindisfarne: St Mary’s Church (reputed site of original monastery), Priory (home of St Cuthbert), Lindisfarne Heritage Centre (facsimile of Lindisfarne Gospels).

Day 4 Morning visit to Escomb church (dating from c 675). Return to Durham for afternoon at the cathedral (including Open Treasure galleries).

Day 5 Chester-le-Street (St Cuthbert and Anker’s House Museum) followed by Hexham Abbey (7th century crypt). Tour disperses 1600 at Durham Station, followed by the hotel.

Cost of £945 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £110.

TOUR CODE: NFM119 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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GLOUCESTER THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL JULY 27–31, 2019 WITH RICHARD WIGMORE • JULY 31 – AUGUST 4, 2019 WITH NICHOLAS WEARNE

• Enjoy a terrific blend of festival

concerts from intimate song recitals to thrilling orchestral works Dame Sarah Connolly, Roderick Williams and James Gilchrist bring their technical skills and musical artistry to a series of captivating vocal performances Soak up the evocative atmosphere of Gloucester Cathedral

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or nearly 300 years the cathedral cities of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester have taken turns to host a renowned annual music celebration. In 2019 the Three Choirs Festival will take place in Gloucester, where we will experience a programme of concerts performed both among the pillars of its mighty cathedral – a place of prayer and pilgrimage for over 900 years – and in locations in the surrounding area.

Musical delights abound on our first tour with Richard Wigmore, from Verdi’s immortal Requiem to Rachmaninoff’s Vespers, the latter featuring leading English choir Ex Cathedra. On our first evening, Dame Sarah Connolly will perform alongside other soloists in Berlioz’s dramatic Le Damnation de Faust.

More intimate concerts include a song recital with acclaimed English tenor Joshua Ellicott; while another familiar British tenor – James Gilchrist – partners with accompanist Anna Tilbrook and the Carducci Quartet to bring us works by Vaughan Williams, Debussy and Ravel.

Our second tour is led by Nicholas Wearne and includes two performances with celebrated baritone Roderick Williams. At the heart of the tour lies the second suite from Stravinsky’s balletic masterpiece, The Firebird, brought to us by the Philharmonia Orchestra and conducted

by Martyn Brabbins, performed alongside Berlioz’s beautiful song cycle Les Nuits d’été

Our first tour will be led by Richard Wigmore, MA, AGSM, a lecturer, broadcaster and former professional singer who frequently appears on Radio 3’s Record Review. Our second tour will be led by Nicholas Wearne, BA, MPhil, a Junior Fellow at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire whose career as an international organist has taken him all over the world.

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Gloucester Cathedral and Walton’s first symphony. We begin with the UK premiere of Handel’s Israel in Egypt, and finish with the festival’s grand finale: Holst’s The Mystic Trumpeter coupled with Beethoven’s ninth symphony.

We will stay at the four-star Hatherley Manor Hotel, set in nearly 40 acres of

mature gardens and grounds on the edge of the Cotswolds.

Please note that details of the festival performances may be subject to change, and while we will endeavour to deliver the below itineraries in full, some elements may be adjusted nearer the time.

ITINERARY July 27– 31, 2019, with Richard Wigmore Day 1 Tour assembles 1415 at Gloucester Station or 1445 at Hatherley Manor Hotel for four nights. Welcome and introduction.

Evening festival performance at Gloucester Cathedral: Berlioz Le Damnation de Faust.

Day 2 Morning lecture and some free time. Afternoon: short walking tour of Gloucester followed by afternoon festival recital in St Catharine’s Church, Gloucester: songs by Finzi and Gurney. Evening festival performance at Gloucester Cathedral: Verdi Requiem.

Day 3 Morning lecture followed by festival performance at Gloucester Cathedral: works by Elgar, Mahler, Debussy and Tavener.

Free afternoon. Evening festival performance at Gloucester Cathedral: Rachmaninoff Vespers.

Day 4 Morning lecture followed by visit to Sudeley Castle and Gardens. Evening performance at Gloucester Cathedral: Joubert An English Requiem; Elgar Cello Concerto; Berlioz Le Carnaval Romain.

Day 5 Morning festival performance (venue TBC): ‘On Wenlock Edge’ – works by Vaughan Williams, Ian Venables, Debussy and Ravel. Tour disperses early afternoon, including drop-off at Gloucester Station.

July 31 – August 4, 2019, with Nicholas Wearne Day 1 Tour assembles 1415 at Gloucester Station or 1445 at Hatherley Manor Hotel. Welcome and introduction. Evening festival performance at Gloucester Cathedral: Handel (arr. Mendelssohn) Israel in Egypt (UK premiere).

Day 2 Morning lecture followed by festival performance at St Catharine’s Church, Gloucester: English songs centered on

Somervell’s Maud. Afternoon: short walking tour of Gloucester.

Evening performance at Gloucester Cathedral: Stravinsky Second Suite from The Firebird; Berlioz Les Nuits d’été; Walton Symphony No 1.

Day 3 Morning lecture followed by performance at Gloucester Cathedral: works by Mendelssohn including Octet in E flat major.

Free afternoon. Evening festival performance at Gloucester Cathedral: Vaughan Williams Symphony No 1 ‘A Sea Symphony’; Stanford Songs of the Fleet.

Day 4 Morning festival performance in Painswick Church: works

by Gloucestershire composers including Thomas Hewitt Jones My County and Howells The Summer is Coming. Afternoon visit to Sudeley Castle and Gardens. Evening festival closing performance at Gloucester Cathedral: Holst The Mystic Trumpeter; Beethoven Symphony No 9.

Day 5 Tour disperses after breakfast, including drop-off at Gloucester Station.

Cost of £1265 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, performances as described, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £120.

TOUR CODE: GTH119/GTH219 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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© ED GARDNER

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INTERNATIONAL GILBERT & SULLIVAN FESTIVAL AUGUST 8–12, 2019

• In the words of Tour Director Donald

Maxwell, experience the “essential guide to all things Gilbert & Sullivan” Take in three professional performances: The Mikado, The Yeoman of the Guard and The Pirates of Penzance Enjoy a variety of fascinating talks and fringe events, all set in the picturesque spa town of Harrogate

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ilbert and Sullivan represent quintessential Victorian England.

The brilliant, witty lyrics of W S Gilbert dazzle alongside the attractive melodies of Arthur Sullivan. In 2019, the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival will present an exciting and memorable programme of operas and fringe events, performed by amateur companies alongside its own professional opera company in Harrogate’s beautiful Royal Hall.

Our 2019 tour will take in three professional performances from the Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company – The Mikado, The Yeoman of the Guard and The Pirates of Penzance – together with a lively array of fringe events, from a university production of Ruddigore to the New London Opera

Tour Director Donald Maxwell is an operatic baritone, director and lecturer. Donald has been involved with the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival for many years, and also performs with opera companies worldwide. He returned in 2018 to the Metropolitan Opera in New York for performances in La Bohème.

Tour Director Donald Maxwell writes: “This festival is your essential guide to all things connected to Gilbert & Sullivan. For 26 years this uniquely British celebration has produced a variety of programmes, which appeal to both the enthusiast and the novice.

To quote The Gondoliers, you will undoubtedly ‘leave with feelings of pleasure’!”

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The Pirates of Penzance

Company’s Iolanthe. We look forward to a guest lecture from a Trustee of the Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, Bernard Lockett, as well as a fringe event featuring the festival’s founder, Ian Smith, who will also take us on a backstage tour of the Royal Hall.

We will stay throughout at the White Hart Hotel, centrally located in Harrogate, a short walk from the Royal Hall.

“Wonderfully entertaining and informative lectures” “The talks were very good, as were the accommodation and the leaders” – ACE customers on previous International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival tours

ITINERARY Day 1 Check in 1400 to the White Hart Hotel, Harrogate, for four nights. Orientation walking tour of Harrogate followed by welcome and introduction to the tour.

festival: The Heritage of Gilbert & Sullivan. Evening performance featuring the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company: The Yeomen of the Guard.

Day 2 Morning lecture: Introduction to Ruddigore and Iolanthe.

Private recital and interview with G&S cast members. Afternoon fringe performance featuring University of Birmingham: Ruddigore.

Evening festival performance featuring the New London Opera Company: Iolanthe.

Day 5 Closing lecture. Tour disperses 1100 at the hotel.

Day 3 Morning lecture: Introduction to The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance. Morning fringe event featuring Ian Smith, founder and Director of the festival, including backstage tour of the Royal Hall. Afternoon matinee performance featuring the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company: The Mikado. Evening performance featuring the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company: The Pirates of Penzance.

Day 4 Morning lecture: Introduction to Yeomen of the Guard. Some free time, followed by a talk by Bernard Lockett, Trustee of the

Cost of £1255 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, three professional performances plus three fringe events, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £220.

TOUR CODE: IGSH19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN MIDDLE ENGLAND AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

• Discover the unique assembly

of architecture, museums and galleries that bears testament to the entrepreneurship of the Industrial Revolution Visit two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the world’s oldest iron bridge and the mills and workers’ housing of the Derwent Valley, which were to become the model for factories throughout the world Study the rich history of the ceramics industry in the area, with visits to the Gladstone Pottery Museum and Emma Bridgewater Factory

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ritain’s Industrial Revolution saw extraordinary cultural and social change as well as technical innovation and entrepreneurship, and this is nowhere more evident than in the rich heritage of industrial architecture, decorative arts and ceramics visible in the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire and Derbyshire.

Exploring areas which inspired and provided contexts for the entrepreneurship of iconic figures such as Abraham Darby, Sir Richard Arkwright and Josiah Wedgwood, we will visit several industrial icons, as relevant today as they were in the 19th century, which illustrate Britain’s heritage and showcase its pioneering technology.

The development of steam power Ceramics industry During the 18th century, ceramic makers in places such as Stoke-onTrent helped to define the taste of Georgian England and its new commercial empire. Innovators such as Josiah Wedgwood supplied dinner services to country houses and to the court of Catherine the Great. The Gladstone Pottery, Emma Bridgewater Factory, Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and Jackfield Tile Museum all shed light on this fascinating industry.

We will have the opportunity to see superb displays of ceramics, and to explore some of the processes involved in the development of the area as the world’s leading producer of ceramics in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Ironbridge over the River Severn

This tour will be led by Ian Cox, MA, a specialist in art history and decorative arts who has held posts as Director of Studies at Christie’s Education and Course Director at Glasgow University. revolutionised the mining, iron and textile industries. We will visit the flint mill at Cheddleton, a pre-industrial water mill that was converted to flint grinding for the ceramics industry in the 1780s. At the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron, we will see the work of entrepreneur Abraham Darby, while at Cromford we will examine the

industrial prowess and philanthropy of Arkwright.

Further highlights of the tour will include visits to the reconstructed Victorian town of Blists Hill, and to potteries including the Emma Bridgewater Factory in Stoke-on-Trent.

Please note that while we will endeavour to deliver the below itinerary in full, some elements may be subject to confirmation.

Our hotel in Stoke sits in the grounds of Josiah Wedgwood’s mansion, and one evening we will dine in the house built by Arkwright, Willersley Castle, which still has its original Adam archway and fireplaces.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1745 at Best Western Stoke-on-Trent Moat House Hotel, Stoke for four nights. Introductory lecture (held in Josiah Wedgwood’s house).

and Chinese pottery; important 18th and 19th century collections relating to illustrious Staffordshire firms including Wedgwood, Spode, Minton and Doulton).

Day 2 Morning: excursion to Ironbridge (toll booth and bridge) and Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron. Afternoon: Jackfield Tile Museum, Blists Hill (reconstructed Victorian town) and Etruria Industrial Museum.

Day 5 Morning: tour of Gladstone Pottery (last complete Victorian pottery factory in Britain, with displays of ceramic techniques). Tour disperses 1230 at hotel.

Day 3 Morning: excursion to Cheddleton Flint Mill, National Stone Centre (four limestone kilns, six disused quarries and 120 lead mine shafts). Afternoon: Cromford model village (world’s first workers’ housing) and Arkwright’s first textile mill (built after his invention of the water-powered spinning frame). Evening lecture: Victorian Ceramics – Innovation & Style at Willersley Castle.

Day 4 Morning: tour of Emma Bridgewater Factory (working pottery showcasing traditional skills and craftsmanship).

Afternoon: Potteries Museum and Art Gallery (early Greek, Roman

Cost of £895 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, two lunches, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £80.

TOUR CODE: INRV19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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UNITED KINGDOM

CHICHESTER & THE SOUTH DOWNS AUGUST 12–17, 2019

Weald and Downland Living Museum

• Enjoy a sojourn in the charming

cathedral city of Chichester, the base from which we will explore the wonderful heritage of the surrounding South Downs Take in architecture covering over 2000 years of history, from Roman floor mosaics to medieval splendour and 18th century opulence Make a special visit to the Weald and Downland Living Museum in the company of its former Director

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This tour will be led by Richard Pailthorpe, former Director of the Weald and Downland Living Museum. Richard has previously worked for the Goodwood Estate and Parham Park, and was the South East Regional Treasurer of the Historic Houses Association. He was Sussex Heritage Trust’s Personality of the Year in 2015, and his publications include Goodwood Country (with Ian Serraillier) and Chichester: A Contemporary View (with Ian McGowan).

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hichester, one of the country’s smallest cathedral cities, is still surrounded by walls built on a Roman layout, which help to create a charming and compact historical environment. This fascinating tour will explore the city and the beautiful surrounding landscape of the South Downs, our newest National Park, with its spectacular sweeping views of the south coast.

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Our itinerary will take in the area’s heritage from Roman times through to the 19th century. Its ancient origins are revealed at the Bignor Roman Villa and the magnificent Roman Palace at Fishbourne, which boasts spectacular floor mosaics.

The Normans established Chichester Cathedral during the 11th century, and the city’s four main streets, built on a cruciform pattern, meet at the Tudor market cross in the centre. We will visit Pallant House Gallery with its outstanding collection of 20th century British art, housed in a beautiful Queen Anne townhouse adjoined by a contemporary wing.

Further afield, we will enjoy a special visit to the collection of historical vernacular buildings at the Weald and Downland Living Museum, where we will be introduced to a selection of the fascinating rescued structures, which cover a period of over 900 years.

We will also visit an array of stately homes and country houses. The Goodwood Estate is well known as the site of the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, and the Grade I-listed house features grand Regency state apartments. As well as the house, we will explore the stables, developed during the eighteenth century.

Petworth House is home to what the National Trust describe as the “finest art collection” in their care, including paintings by Anthony Van Dyck, Joshua

Tour Director Richard Pailthorpe notes: “What one has tried to do with this tour is bring in a whole range of very diverse periods of history … we’ve got a wonderful eclectic mix just within a few miles, based around the cathedral city of Chichester.”

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Chichester Cathedral

Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and J M W Turner. The house dates from the seventeenth century, whilst the naturalistic design of the surrounding landscape was the work of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown in the mid eighteenth century.

We will also explore the house and gardens at Parham. This remarkable Elizabethan house is notable for its famous Long Gallery and important collection of seventeenth century embroidery, and was featured in the Top 20 of Simon Jenkins’ list of England’s Thousand Best Houses.

Further highlights of our tour will include visits to Uppark, a beautifully restored eighteenth century house

“A very enjoyable and well organised tour” “I was very pleased to have Richard Pailthorpe leading us. Given his career experiences and his local knowledge, he was a mine of information” – ACE customers on previous Chichester & the South Downs tours

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commanding wonderful views of the South Downs, and Stansted Park, an Edwardian country house.

At West Dean – home to a lively conservation and creative arts centre, and previously home to the collector of Surrealist art, Edward James – we will enjoy a tour of the house and gardens.

We will stay throughout at the comfortable Millstream Hotel in the picturesque Chichester Harbour village of Bosham, excellently located for the visits on our itinerary.

Please note that while we will endeavour to deliver the below itinerary in full, some elements may be subject to confirmation.

ITINERARY Day 1 Assemble 1330 at the Millstream Hotel, Bosham, for five nights. Afternoon excursion to Goodwood (house and stables) followed by walking tour of Bosham including quay and church.

Evening introductory lecture.

Day2 Morning: Cowdray Castle ruins (subject to confirmation) followed by Weald and Downland Living Museum. Afternoon: West Dean College and gardens.

Day 3 Morning: excursion to Chichester including cathedral and private visit to St Mary’s Hospital. Afternoon: Pallant House Gallery (20th century art collection) and Fishbourne Roman Palace (floor mosaics and Roman-style gardens).

Day 4 Morning: Petworth House and Gardens (17th century mansion with masterpieces by Turner, Van Dyck, Reynolds and Blake). Afternoon: Parham House and Gardens (Elizabethan house with stunning Long Gallery) and Bignor Roman Villa (floor mosaics).

Day 5 Morning: Stansted Park (house and gardens). Afternoon: Uppark (house and gardens).

Day 6 Morning excursion to Arundel Castle (gardens, keep and Fitzalan Chapel). Tour disperses Arundel Station c 1245 followed by 1300 at hotel.

Cost of £1395 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, three lunches, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £225.

TOUR CODE: CSDW19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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UNITED KINGDOM

GREAT BARDFIELD & BEYOND: MID-CENTURY ART & DESIGN IN EAST ANGLIA SEPTEMBER 3–7, 2019

The Lifeboat by Eric Ravilious

• Discover the Great Bardfield artists, and the environments within which they lived and worked Enjoy a special visit to the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden, home of the North West Essex Collection of Great Bardfield works Gain an in-depth understanding of mid-century art and design across visits in Cambridge, Braintree and Bedford

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F

rom 1930 to the early 1970s, the Essex village of Great Bardfield was home to a number of artists whose output has received growing recognition in recent years – most notably Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden. Their work spanned painting, illustration and design, and they used traditional imagery and techniques with a modern inflexion.

The artists’ homes and gardens and the nearby scenery often provided their subject matter, and the details of their lives and connections have come close to displacing the Bloomsbury Group as a subject of curiosity.

This tour adopts Cambridge as a base for exploring the sites, collections and private houses associated with the Great Bardfield artists, their contacts, and the parallel movements of their time. Starting at the Fitzwilliam Museum, we will make a special study of watercolours and drawings by members of the group, and view items that show some of their influences.

Our tour continues with a visit to the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden, which has done more than any other institution to showcase this network of artists, and we will also enjoy a walking tour of Great Bardfield itself.

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© Fry ARt Gallery /Bridgeman Images

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Cross and Brick House at Bardfield by Edward Bawden A further highlight will be a visit to the Warner Textile Archive, an important resource for textiles of the 1930s, and home to work by Marianne Straub, who lived at Great Bardfield. We will continue with a visit to Silver End, the garden village built between the wars, partly in a Modern style, by the Crittal family who were supporters of the Great Bardfield movement.

We also look forward to taking in the principal collection of Bawden’s graphic work at The Higgins Bedford, followed by a study session in the Cambridge University

This tour will be led by Alan Powers, PhD, who studied at the University of Cambridge and is one of the UK’s leading architectural historians. A former Chairman of the 20th Century Society, Alan has published widely on all aspects of 20th century architecture and design. He was Professor at the University of Greenwich School, and has lectured at New York University in London. His publications include Modern: The Modern Movement in Britain, and his new book Bauhaus Goes West is due for publication in spring 2019.

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Library. Here, we will discover the archive of the Curwen Press, which commissioned some of the earliest design work by Bawden and Ravilious, and acted as a major patron for other artists.

Our tour concludes with a special visit to Jim Ede’s Kettle’s Yard, where paintings and sculptures in a domestic setting tell a

parallel story of interwar art and taste.

We will stay throughout at the four-star Hilton Cambridge City Centre Hotel.

Please note that while we will endeavour to deliver the below itinerary in full, due to the special nature of the visits, some elements may be subject to confirmation.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1400 at the Hilton Cambridge City Centre Hotel for four nights. Afternoon visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum to view items from the Prints and Drawings Archive (sources of inspiration for the Great Bardfield artists, and works by Bawden, Ravilious and others). Introductory lecture.

Day 5 Morning lecture followed by private visit to the house at Kettle’s Yard. Tour disperses c 1230.

Day 2 Morning excursion to Saffron Walden for visit to Fry Art Gallery (talk and tour). Afternoon walking tour of Great Bardfield (visiting Cottage Museum and viewing sites related to the artists).

Cost of £1295 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, one lunch, three dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £350.

TOUR CODE: GRBB19

Day 3 Morning excursion to Braintree for visit to Warner Textile Archive. Afternoon: Silver End Village (nationally important village of 1920s ‘Modern Movement’ architecture) for walking tour and visits to Heritage Centre and a private house. Free evening.

Day 4 Morning: The Higgins Bedford (talk on Bawden and opportunity to view objects not usually on display). Afternoon: Cambridge University Library (viewing archival items from the Curwen Collection).

BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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UNITED KINGDOM

DERBYSHIRE HALLS & HOUSES SEPTEMBER 9–13, 2019

Sudbury Hall

• Uncover Derbyshire’s historical country houses, from Haddon Hall, the

quintessential medieval manor, to Kedleston Hall, Robert Adam’s beautifully restored neoclassical masterpiece Enjoy visits to private houses including Tissington Hall and Renishaw Hall Examine world-famous collections of furniture, paintings and decorative arts

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he county of Derbyshire boasts several of the finest country houses in England, and this tour provides an introduction to their rich heritage. Great architecture, fabulous art collections and extraordinary families build a picture of the social life of the county from the early modern period to the present day. Visits to the splendid gardens associated with the houses, and to the occasional church, will provide further context.

Renishaw Hall has been the home of the Sitwell family for over 350 years, and is a treasure trove of furniture. Built in 1625, the building underwent some alterations in the eighteenth century, and later in 1908 by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Meanwhile, Haddon Hall is a romantic medieval manor

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This tour will be led by Andrew Barber, who recently retired after over 30 years working for the National Trust in the East Midlands and Yorkshire as a curator, where he advised on the care and presentation of many of the properties this tour will visit. He is the author of guidebooks to several National Trust houses, including Packwood House, Calke Abbey, and Canons Ashby.

house with additions from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries, surrounded by terraced gardens. Simon Jenkins described Haddon Hall in his list of England’s Thousand Best Houses as “the most perfect house to survive from the middle ages”.

Seventeenth century Bolsover Castle dominates the surrounding countryside from its hilltop perch, commanding wonderful views over Derbyshire. It was originally created by poet and courtier Sir William Cavendish as a luxurious retreat, and was once the most fashionable of society venues, even hosting a Ben Jonson masque in 1634 in honour of a visit by King Charles I and his Queen, Henrietta Maria.

Hardwick Hall, famously ‘more glass than wall’, is an outstanding Elizabethan prodigy house, built for the notable and

“Andrew was a fascinating lecturer who not only knew his subject but through his previous role opened doors in a very impressive manner” “Outstandingly knowledgeable guide and guest guide” – ACE customers on previous Derbyshire Halls & Houses tour

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Hardwick Hall formidable patron Bess of Hardwick.

Encircled by extensive parkland, it is home to beautiful Elizabethan embroideries and tapestries – some of the finest in the country – and rare sixteenth century French walnut furniture.

Kedleston Hall, meanwhile, is a magnificent eighteenth century neoclassical mansion designed by the famous architect Robert Adam as a ‘temple of the arts’. It contains an array of paintings, sculpture and spectacular original furnishings, and 2017 saw the completion of a 30 year restoration of the Hall’s State Floor.

Further highlights of our tour will include visits to Sudbury Hall, a Restoration house containing beautiful plasterwork and carvings as well as a magnificent Long Gallery; Tissington Hall, a Jacobean mansion house in the ownership of the FitzHerbert family; and the atmospheric Calke Abbey, which tells the fascinating story of the decline of a country house estate.

Our tour will include some private visits,

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and our excursions to properties owned by the National Trust will be augmented by the insights given by our Tour Director, Andrew Barber, previously a curator with the Trust. Andrew will be joined at Bolsover Castle by guest lecturer David Bostwick, PhD, well known to ACE travellers for

leading many tours around England.

We will stay throughout at the threestar Rutland Arms Hotel in the delightful Derbyshire market town of Bakewell.

Please note that while we will endeavour to deliver the below itinerary in full, some elements may be subject to confirmation.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1300 at Rutland Arms Hotel, Bakewell (1230 at Chesterfield Station) for four nights. Afternoon: Haddon Hall. Evening lecture: An Introduction to the Country House in Derbyshire.

Day 2 Morning: Kedleston Hall (house, gardens and Fishing Pavilion). Afternoon: Sudbury Hall and Tissington Hall.

Day 3 Morning: Staunton Harold Church. Afternoon: Melbourne Hall Gardens and Calke Abbey (house, gardens and carriage collection). Evening lecture: Caring for Bess – Hardwick Hall in the 21st Century.

Day 4 Morning: Bolsover Castle (with guest lecturer, Dr David Bostwick). Afternoon: Hardwick Hall.

Day 5 Morning: Renishaw Hall (house and gardens). Tour disperses 1300 at Chesterfield Station and 1345 at hotel.

Cost of £1095 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, one lunch, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £80, single room supplement £40.

TOUR CODE: DERB19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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UNITED KINGDOM

ISLE OF WIGHT SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 4, 2019

• Explore the special Victorian heritage

of the Isle of Wight in the bicentenary year of the birth of Queen Victoria Visit Osborne House, the lavish holiday home of Queen Victoria and her family Discover the broader history of the Isle of Wight, from Roman times to the 20th century

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xplore the unique historical delights of the Isle of Wight on this five-day tour.

This relatively unspoilt island features picturesque scenery once favoured by royalty, from charming thatched cottages to medieval churches that stand alongside Regency and Victorian towns.

The Isle of Wight will forever be associated with Queen Victoria, whose reign came to an end on the island at the beginning of the last century. 2019 is the perfect time to explore Queen Victoria’s enduring legacy on the island, as it commemorates 200 years since the birth of both her and her husband and consort, Prince Albert.

We will pay a visit to the former royal residence of Osborne House and the seaside resorts of Ventnor and Cowes, which still bear substantial traces of Victorian England. Queen Victoria frequented St Mildred’s Church in Wippingham, whilst pioneering 19th century photographer Julia Margaret Cameron made her home on the other side of the island at Dimbola Lodge, overlooking the stunning Freshwater Bay. We will also visit the recently restored Farringford House, former home of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria’s reign.

Our itinerary includes a further array of stunning houses that stand on land layered with history. Northcourt is the largest of the island’s Jacobean manor houses, built in 1615 on the site of a medieval monastic

This tour will be led by Christopher Catling, MA, FSA, MCIFA, Secretary of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and co-editor of the Antiquaries Journal. He has been travelling to the Isle of Wight for a number of years, and in his work for English Heritage, has researched and written about Osborne House and Brading Roman Villa.

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Christchurch Harbour, Isle of Wight building, while the privately owned Nunwell House, a Tudor and Jacobean building which has been a family home since 1522, boasts a past dating back to the Norman conquest.

The spectacular 18th century Appuldurcombe, a Baroque masterpiece, survives as a shell of the former mansion and enjoys 11 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped parkland, while the aweinspiring Benedictine Quarr Abbey is one of

the most important religious constructions of the 20th century in the UK. We will stay throughout at the threestar Best Western New Holmwood Hotel, situated on the water’s edge in Cowes, with a stunning sea-facing lounge and restaurant.

Please note that the itinerary below represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to confirmation.

ITINERARY Day 1 Assemble 1500 at Portsmouth ferry terminal for 1530 departure via Wightlink Ferry as foot passenger, arriving Fishbourne 1615. Transfer by coach to New Holmwood Hotel, Cowes for four nights. Evening introductory lecture.

Day 2 Morning excursion to Shorwell: St Peter’s Church and Northcourt House. Continue to Carisbrooke Castle (Norman castle including Princess Beatrice Garden, designed by Chris Beardshaw and based on the original garden retreat of Queen Victoria’s daughter). Afternoon: Quarr Abbey (impressive 20th century buildings).

Day 3 Morning excursion to Brading: Nunwell House, St Mary’s Church and Brading Roman Villa. Afternoon: Old St Boniface Church, Ventnor Botanic Garden. Evening lecture.

Day 4 Morning: Appuldurcombe House (ruins of an 18th century Baroque mansion) followed by Farringford House (former home of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, extensively restored between 2012 and 2017). Afternoon: Dimbola Lodge (home of celebrated Victorian photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron).

Day 5 Morning: St Mildred’s Church, Whippingham (frequented by Queen Victoria) and Osborne House (state and private apartments, followed by free time to visit the garden, Swiss Cottage and Queen Victoria’s bathing machine). Continue to Fishbourne for 1600 ferry departure, arriving Portsmouth 1645, where tour disperses.

Cost of £1045 includes: return ferry travel as foot passenger, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £120.

TOUR CODE: IWIT19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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OXFORD COLLEGE CHAPELS & ORGANS NOVEMBER 6–8, 2019

Oxford at dusk

• Join two accomplished organists

as they investigate a selection of Oxford’s beautiful colleges, with an emphasis on their distinguished and varied organs Explore important contrasts between greater and lesser known instruments, including the famous Frobenius Organ at The Queen’s College Attend choral services at Magdalen College and New College

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he city of dreaming spires is home to a remarkable number of organs, each defined by the personality that made them, the aesthetics of the time in which they were built, and practical considerations: the space within which they sing, and the uses to which they are put.

Many of these instruments have become part of the very subtle alchemy that makes each college special.

Our 2019 tour will explore both some of the best and lesser known organs and colleges of Oxford, with private recitals This tour will be led by organist and concert pianist John Bryden, MA, who has also led organ tours in Cambridge, Edinburgh and Saxony, and Nicholas Wearne, BA, MPhil, an international competition prize-winner and previously Assistant Organist at New College, Oxford.

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given on each instrument. We open dramatically with the Dobson Organ of one of Oxford’s oldest colleges: Merton.

Installed in 2013 and remarkably versatile, it has since enabled performances by a wide range of the world’s finest organists in a variety of genres. Our Tour Directors will present a striking contrast to this at nearby Oriel College, the University’s oldest royal foundation, home to an earlier 20th century instrument more suited to Baroque compositions.

A particular highlight – and further contrast – will be found at The Queen’s College, whose chapel houses a 1965 Frobenius Organ, one of the most distinguished in the UK, resplendent amidst the chapel’s impressive acoustics and sparkling stained glass. William Drake, meanwhile, built the fine late-20th century instrument at Jesus College, reflecting early 19th century English organs and pairing

colourful, mellow sounds with dynamic contrast. Visits to St Peter’s, whose 19th century chapel was originally the church of St Peter-le-Bailey, and Balliol College – one of the oldest in the city alongside Merton – round off our diverse exploration of Oxford’s varied organs and colleges.

Outside the city itself, we will enjoy a morning excursion to UNESCO-listed Blenheim Palace, one of England’s largest houses and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, whose Long Library organ was built by one of Britain’s most famous builders, ‘Father’ Henry Willis.

We will stay throughout at the four-star Mercure Oxford Eastgate Hotel, a converted coaching inn conveniently located in central Oxford.

Due to the special nature of this tour, please note that access to colleges is subject to availability, and we cannot confirm some visits until nearer the time.

ITINERARY Day 1 Tour assembles 1415 at Mercure Oxford Eastgate Hotel, for 1500 departure. Afternoon: organ recitals at Merton College and Oriel College. Evening: Choral Evensong at Magdalen College Chapel.

Day 2 Morning: Blenheim Palace (tour, recital and introduction to Long Library organ; subject to confirmation). Afternoon: organ recitals at St Peter’s College and The Queen’s College. Evening: Choral Eucharist at New College Chapel.

Day 3 Morning: organ recitals at Jesus College and Balliol College.

Tour disperses 1200.

Cost of £785 includes: accommodation based on sharing a privilege twin or double bedded room, performances as described, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, privilege double room for single use supplement £160.

TOUR CODE: OCCO19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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ACE TOURS IN THE WIDER WORLD South Africa: Flowers of Namaqualand

Aloidendron dichotomun

© John Parker

August 30 – September 13, 2019 | £4295 | with John Parker, MA, DPhil, FLS, VMH Abutting the Atlantic Ocean to the west, fringed with an untouched coastline and bound by desert to the north and east, the region known as Namaqualand encompasses one of the least populated areas of South Africa. The town of Springbok founded to exploit copper mining, lies at the heart of our tour at the furthest point north. To arrive there, we will sweep up from Cape Town through the West Coast National Park and deep into the Northern Cape. On the way we will discover awe-inspiring scenery of coast and mountain, together with remarkable botanical richness in nature reserves and National Parks. At Postberg, closed for most of the year to preserve its unique flora and fauna, floral fields set amidst granite outcrops open onto stunning ocean views. The charismatic fauna of South Africa is never far away. We will see many bird species at sites such as Lambert’s Bay with its highly accessible Cape gannet colony. Amongst large mammals, we will look out for gemsbok, eland and zebra and may come across smaller species such as mongooses.

Art Treasures of St Petersburg March 8–15, 2019 | £2495 | with Andrew Spira, MA Seemingly impervious to the ravages of time, siege and communist levelling, St Petersburg retains much of its pre-revolutionary magnificence. As well as reviewing the Hermitage’s unsurpassed collections of Old Master and 20th century canvases, we will venture deep inside the museum’s storage chambers, the Staraya Derevnya Depository, where we will admire a wealth of rarely-seen treasures, ranging from imperial wardrobes to regal carriages. A number of delights await us outside St Petersburg, not least Rastrelli’s Konstantinovsky Palace, one of 18th century Russia’s most beautiful historical monuments. Just south of St Petersburg lies Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin), where the Catherine Palace was transformed into a Baroque masterpiece for the Empress Elizabeth by Rastrelli before being remodelled for Catherine the Great by Charles Cameron. Cameron also worked on Pavlovsk, just a few miles away, with its English Park and Temple of Friendship.

The Hermitage

FROM NEW ORLEANS TO MEMPHIS: JAZZ, BLUES AND THE MAKING OF MODERN AMERICA MARCH 29 – APRIL 9, 2019 | £4295 | with Sandy Burnett, MA In 1718 the French Mississippi Company founded a colony on the twin banks of the Mississippi River and called it La Nouvelle-Orléans. Over its subsequent three hundred years, New Orleans’ diverse communities gave rise to deeply distinctive musical and culinary traditions, and from its unique cultural blend emerged one of the world’s most recognisable, multifaceted and popular musical genres: jazz. Led by one of ACE’s most experienced music specialists, we will explore the origins of jazz in its many forms. From the leafy courtyards of the French Quarter, heavily influenced by Louisiana’s Spanish colonial past, to Jackson Square, site of the ‘Louisiana Purchase’ by the United States in 1803, we will seek to understand how and why jazz developed here, and what it meant for the growing popular musical traditions of the USA.

Bourbon St, New Orleans

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ACE CULTURAL TOURS

FRANCE

RHÔNE RIVER CRUISE APRIL 10–16, 2019

• Explore the beautiful stretch of river

between Chalon-sur-Saône and Martigues, on board our privately chartered vessel, the MS Van Gogh Five ACE Tour Directors share their unique perspectives and knowledge of the landscape, history and culture of the area surrounding the Rhône Chart the history of the region from antiquity to Post-Impressionism

• •

F

ollowing the launch of our 2018 Seine River Cruise in celebration of ACE’s 60th anniversary, we are delighted to showcase the newest in our series of cultural cruises, taking in the wonders of the Rhône in April 2019. From the Beaujolais vineyards to the medieval Papal Palace at Avignon, and the archaeological site at Glanum to the fascinating natural history of the Camargue, this stretch of river is endowed with an array of sites of cultural interest.

Traversing this beautiful landscape aboard our private vessel, the MS Van Gogh, the cruise will offer a multi-layered perspective on the region, taking in Roman ruins, Romanesque architecture, and exploring the rich artistic heritage of the land that inspired Van Gogh to paint some

Rail Option For participants wishing to travel to and from the cruise by rail, ACE is offering an option to travel on April 9 by Eurostar and TGV from London St Pancras at 1224 via Paris to Lyon, arriving 1834. Participants will stay overnight in Mâcon at a three-star hotel with breakfast included, before transferring to join the rest of the group at Tournus on April 10.

Participants choosing this option will then depart from Aix-en-Provence on April 16 at 1228 by TGV and Eurostar via Lille, arriving London St Pancras 1806.

We are pleased to offer this rail option at a cost of £69 per person for twin occupancy (£89 for single occupancy). Please note that spaces are limited. Contact the ACE office to reserve your place and to enquire about options for first class upgrades.

ACE CULTURAL TOURS

The Papal Palace, Avignon

This tour will be led by five ACE Tour Directors: archaeologist Philip Kenrick, MA, DPhil; art historians Cathy Oakes, PhD, FSA and Peter Higginson, MA, PhD; concert pianist Emilie Capulet, MA, MMus, PhD and botanist and specialist in church architecture, John Parker, MA, DPhil, FLS, VMH.

of his most famous works, including Starry Night over the Rhône (1888).

This cruise will be led by multiple ACE Tour Directors, who will each offer

their unique perspectives and individual expertises on the Rhône’s history, art and landscape. Our excursions will be complemented by music recitals and onboard lectures.

Participants will require a good level of fitness.

Please note that while we will endeavour to deliver the below itinerary in full, some elements may be subject to confirmation, and due to the changing conditions associated with waterways, the precise timings and order of visits may be subject to change.

ITINERARY Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 0635, arriving Lyon 0910.

Transfer to Tournus for visit to Abbey of St Philibert (fine example of Romanesque architecture). Continue to Chalon-sur-Saône and embark MS Van Gogh for six nights. Evening: welcome, Tour Director introduction and piano recital. MS Van Gogh cruises to Mâcon for overnight.

Day 2 Morning: short opportunity to visit Mâcon (historical buildings) before re-embarking MS Van Gogh for lecture whilst cruising to Belleville. Afternoon vineyard excursion followed by cruise to Lyon for overnight. Evening piano recital.

Day 3 Whole day in Lyon: Old Town and ‘traboules’ (historical passageways), Museum of Fine Arts, Roman theatre, 19th century Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. Overnight Tournon.

Day 4 Morning lectures on board whilst MS Van Gogh cruises to Saint-Etienne-de-Sorts. Afternoon excursion to Villeneuve-lèsAvignon: walking tour focusing on medieval architecture (Tour Philippe-le-Bel and Fort Saint-André – exteriors) and visit to Musée Pierre-de-Luxembourg (16th and 17th century Provençal paintings).

Overnight Avignon. Evening piano recital.

Day 5 Morning in Avignon: Papal Palace and free time with opportunity to view Roman ruins in Place de l’Horloge. Afternoon excursion to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence for Glanum (archaeological site) and Saint-Paul de Mausole (asylum where Van Gogh lived and worked). Overnight Arles.

Day 6 Morning excursion to the Camargue (rivers, marshes, flamingos, black bulls, indigenous Camargue horses) with visit to manade. Afternoon lecture and free time on board whilst cruising to Martigues for overnight. Evening Gala Dinner with piano accompaniments.

Day 7 Disembark MS Van Gogh and transfer to Aix-en-Provence (home to Cézanne): free time and opportunity to visit Romanesque cathedral of Saint-Sauveur. Depart Marseille 1645, arriving Heathrow 1740.

Cost of £2750 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a main deck twin cabin, full board with unlimited wine, beer, soft drinks, tea & coffee with lunch & dinner, shore excursions & admissions, crew gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, rail travel option, main deck twin cabin for single use supplement £600. Upper deck supplements available upon request.

TOUR CODE: RHRC19 BOOK NOW: 01223 841055 sales@aceculturaltours.co.uk

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GERMANY

Art in Berlin March 18–24, 2019 | £1945 | with Tom Abbott, BA, MA

Gendarmenmarkt

Berlin, once variously known as the ‘Athens of the North’ and the ‘Sparta of the North’, is rightly famed for the wealth of its art collections. These range from the Alte Nationalgalerie’s memorable array of 19th century German painting and sculpture, to the Gemäldegalerie’s absorbing assembly of 13th to 18th century paintings, and the more intimate Käthe Kollwitz Museum, the tranquil setting for a series of poignant drawings and sculptures by one of Berlin’s most gifted daughters. We will also explore Berlin’s architectural and historical highlights during a tour taking in Potsdamer Platz, the Government Quarter around the Reichstag, and the Alexanderplatz, including the Fernsehturm and the Stalinist architecture of former East Berlin.

Festtage: Opera in Berlin April 11–16, 2019 | £2595 | with John Deathridge, MA, DPhil, FRCO

Berlin Opera House

As Berlin celebrates Easter 2019 with its renowned Festtage, join us for a programme of musical and operatic delights across six days. Our tour not only incorporates an array of splendid musical offerings, but also takes its cue from Wagner, delving into the complex history and cultural legacy of Germany and its famous capital. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim will present two symphonic masterpieces by Prokofiev and Mahler at Berlin’s striking Philharmonie. The tour will also include performances of Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Berlin State Opera.

Leipzig at Easter April 17–25, 2019 | £2575 | with John Bryden, MA, ARCM, ARCO The city of Leipzig, home to so many great composers who established its reputation as a city of music, celebrates Easter each year with an array of concerts, operas and Easter services. Our 2019 tour commences with what is sure to be an exceptional performance of Bach’s St John Passion. Celebrated since its first performance in 1724, this masterpiece of sacred music was composed during Bach’s first year as Leipzig’s director of church music; it presents the Passion of Christ as told in the Gospel of John through a series of recitatives, dramatic arias and chorales building to a deeply affecting conclusion.

Leipzig

Bauhaus: German Modern Art & Design June 25–30, 2019 | £1955 | with Alan Powers, PhD

The Bauhaus building, Dessau

Of all the avant-garde enterprises in art and design between the wars, the Staatliches Bauhaus provides a paradigm of modernism. The school taught the unity of art, craft and design with the aim of breaking down traditional disciplinary boundaries to achieve material and spiritual welfare. This tour offers a wonderful opportunity to explore the Bauhaus in its centenary year, as well as the wider artistic context of the movement. In 1925, the school transferred from its initial home in Weimar to Dessau, its most famous location, where Gropius designed a new building to house it that, in its restored state, powerfully evokes what it might have been like to study there.

The Hanseatic League July 24 – August 1, 2019 | £2695 | with Tom Abbott, BA, MA

Statue in Hamburg

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The Hanseatic League, which in medieval times dictated trade from the Baltic to the North Sea, left a rich legacy in art, architecture and of course maritime tradition. Dominating the townscapes even today are soaring brick-built Gothic churches, glories of medieval architecture, built at a time when such edifices were unknown in contemporary England.

Our tour is based in three of the major merchant centres that initiated the first trading associations of ‘Hanses’: Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck. We will visit fascinating museums, including the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg, and the European Hansemuseum in Lübeck.

ACE CULTURAL TOURS

ITALY

Art in Naples March 18–24, 2019 | £1995 | with Alex Koller, PhD

San Paolo Maggiore Church, Naples

Once the favourite haunt of Roman citizens, and later Italy’s only truly royal city for almost six centuries, Naples was never short of artistic patronage. Dukes, archbishops, nobles and religious orders contributed to an extremely dense collection of buildings and works of art in and around the city: in particular, many examples of Neapolitan painting from the 17th and 18th centuries have remained in their original locations and can thus be appreciated as part of a uniquely authentic artistic landscape. Our tour covers the main collections of Neapolitan art at the Museo di Capodimonte, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale and the Royal Palace alongside smaller collections such as the picture gallery of Girolamini, which holds a delightful range of Baroque paintings.

Villas & Gardens of the Italian Lakes May 18–25, 2019 | £2495 | with Peter Higginson, MA, PhD

Garden by Lake Como

The shores of Lakes Maggiore and Como are home to some of the finest gardens in the world, which owe their presence to the irresistible landscape settings of blue water and mountain peaks; a unique microclimate of protected south-facing valleys; and a rich social, political and religious history. On this tour we will experience the Renaissance intimacy of Villa Cicogna Mozzoni with its uniquely preserved residence and sunken garden, and the luxurious expansiveness of Villa Taranto, commenced in 1931 by a Scot, Captain Neil McEacharn. The gardens of Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella include magnificent terraces evoking the prow of a ship, and an impressive water theatre: perhaps the most extravagant example of Baroque landscape design.

Ancient Sicily May 20–29, 2019 | £2745 | with Philip Kenrick, MA, DPhil

Taormina, Sicily

Our circuit of historical Sicily, starting in the heart of Palermo, travels via Agrigento and Syracuse to Taormina: Goethe’s “patch of paradise” characterised by idyllic coastal vistas.

As well as absorbing the monumental magnificence of Sicily’s classical heritage, we will examine later cultural influences, from the extraordinary Arabo-Norman architecture of Palermo to the UNESCO-listed Norman-Byzantine cathedral of Monreale, built by William II. Highlights of Syracuse, “the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all” in the opinion of Cicero, include the vast Archaeological Park and the island of Ortygia, where the Baroque façade of the cathedral barely conceals the Doric columns of the ancient Temple of Athena.

FRANCE

Medieval Burgundy July 21–28, 2019 | £2595 | with Cathy Oakes, PhD, FSA This tour pays tribute to some of Europe’s most delightful Romanesque monuments: the once imposing abbey at Cluny, the great cathedrals at Autun and Dijon, and the sumptuous pilgrimage centre of Vézelay. Here, the 12th century Sainte Marie-Madeleine, with its complex imagery, is a tour de force of the Burgundian Romanesque style. The magnificent church at Tournus, dating back to the 10th century, is a superb example of First Romanesque architecture. We will view Gothic art in its emergent form at the almost complete Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay, and in its late flowering at Brou Monastery.

The Basilica of Paray-le-Monial

Festival de Paques in Aix-en-Provence April 23–29, 2019 | £2595 | with Emilie Capulet, MA, MMus, PhD

Aix-en-Provence

ACE CULTURAL TOURS

In 2013, a creative collaboration between violinist Renaud Capuçon and Dominique Bluzet, Director of the Grand Théâtre de Provence, led to the foundation of a magnificent Easter festival in the picturesque and sunlit town of Aix-en-Provence. The 2019 festival will present us with an unrivalled programme from an eminent cast of performers, including Capuçon himself. Concerts will take place in the stunning surroundings of the Grand Théâtre de Provence, the nearby Conservatoire, and the Théâtre du Jeu de Paume; and these official performances will be complemented by a private recital given by our Tour Director, an award-winning pianist, who performed to great acclaim on ACE’s anniversary Seine River Cruise in 2018.

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SPRING 2019

Alentejo & Algarve: Landscapes & Wildlife April 1–8, 2019 | £1895 | with Harriet Allen, MA, MSc, PhD and Peter Exley, BSc This tour takes in the unspoilt landscapes of the Alentejo and Algarve regions, with their rich assortment of wildflowers and diverse birdlife (hoopoes and storks, as well as the possibility of migrating birds). Extensive golden beaches, as well as the dramatic cliffs of Sagres and Cape St Vincent, dominate the coast, while further inland at Serra de Monchique, we will take in stunning views and discover contrasting vegetation to that of the coast. Throughout we will look out for the rich variety of plant and bird species, including cistus, mirror orchids, azure-winged magpies and great bustards. The Guadiana Valley Natural Park will introduce us to another of the Alentejo’s important landscapes, the savanna-like holm and cork oak woodland known as montado. Montado habitat is one of the richest for plants, birds and insects, and is of international importance for conservation.

Tour Director Harriet Allen writes: “My passion is in explaining how these landscapes, and their flora and fauna, have developed through the interplay of geology, evolution, climate and natural history. I would like to share this with you in the hope that you too will discover the rich diversity of these places.”

Algarve

Algeria: Rome meets the Sahara

Notre Dame d’Afrique

© Chettouh Nabil

April 23 – May 5, 2019 | £3475 | with Philip Kenrick, MA, DPhil Algeria’s diverse eastern landscapes range from coastal panoramas set against the backdrop of the Mediterranean, through the beautiful mountainous hinterland to the Sahara desert. The variety of ancient sites and monuments encompasses ruined cities and traces of the desert frontier of the Roman Empire, medieval oasis towns and the Ottoman and French colonial architecture of the coastal region. We will begin our exploration of ‘Alger la Blanche’ with its labyrinthine Casbah and Ottoman palaces, before flying eastwards to Annaba, home to the evocative ruins of Hippo Regius. A stay in Constantine, the ‘City of Bridges’, will include visits to the nearby sites of Tiddis and Djémila. After a southward excursion through the Aurès Mountains to seek out traces of the Roman desert frontier in the vicinity of Biskra, we will return towards Constantine in order to fly south to Ghardaïa in the picturesque M’Zab valley: this is a remote region, to which people have always fled to avoid population movements on the coast. Our tour will end on the coast again, with visits to the entrancing coastal site of Tipasa and the town of Cherchell, once a glittering royal capital.

Crete: Birds, Flowers & Minoans April 23–30, 2019 | £1995 | with Kevin Hand, MSc, MCIEEM

Lassithi

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Its mountains and gorges alive with wildlife, Crete possesses a magical quality that entrances every visitor. One of the most exceptional botanical areas in the Mediterranean, Crete boasts a superb flora containing at least 160 endemic species, including ebony, rock lettuce and birthwort. Myriad orchids grace archaeological sites, and fields sparkle with wild gladioli and irises. Crete is also well known for its fauna, from the kri-kri – the wild ancestor of the domestic goat – to the rare bearded vulture that haunts the island’s mountain passes. During our walks across the Cretan landscape we will enjoy breathtaking views, particularly at the Lassithi Plateau, a fertile mountain expanse where raptors glide in the valley below. At the head of the precipitous Samaria Gorge, where centuries-old cypresses stand sentinel, we will seek out mountain plants, such as aubretia and yellow Star-ofBethlehem. Although the emphasis of our programme will be on flowers and birds, there will also be a guided tour of the famous Minoan site of Knossos and visits to the smaller remains at Gournia and Malia. Our tour to Crete coincides with Orthodox Easter, and we will take in local events and celebrations on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of our stay.

ACE CULTURAL TOURS

SUMMER 2019

Ottoman Turkey June 2–12, 2019 | £2195 | with Andrew Wilson, BA, BD, FSAScot Its skyline studded with domes and minarets, Istanbul pays eloquent testimony to more than 500 years of Ottoman rule. The city’s most celebrated landmark, Justinian’s sixth century church of Hagia Sophia, was the greatest monument in Christendom until the fall of Constantinople.

Opposite the church’s enormous dome rise the supremely elegant minarets of the Blue Mosque, renowned for its mesmerising tiled interior. Nearby Topkapi Palace, isolated behind huge defensive walls that stretch from the Golden Horn to the Sea of Marmara, is the former residence of the sultans, the seat of the Ottoman Empire and the repository of countless artistic treasures. Our tour will continue westwards around the Sea of Marmara with two nights near Çanakkale, close to the remains of Priam’s city, Troy, excavated by Schliemann in the 1870s. Next we cross the Dardanelles on the way to Edirne, the last Ottoman capital before the capture of Constantinople in 1453, where our review of the Ottoman Empire will end with Sinan’s crowning achievement, the Selimiye.

Süleymaniye Mosque

Baltic States June 23 – July 6, 2019 | £2795 | with Alex Koller, PhD

St Anne’s in Vilnius

The capitals of the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are an architectural joy, whilst the surrounding countryside is studded with isolated manor houses, sturdy medieval castles and graceful Rococo churches. Our tour starts in historic Tallinn, one of the gems of northern Europe, where the old town’s cobbled streets are ringed by medieval walls and ancient defensive towers. The fortified hill of Toompea, once the seat of the region’s bishops and nobility, is the setting for the now Lutheran Toomkirik Cathedral, built by the Danes in the early 13th century, and the 19th century Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a souvenir of Russian authority. In the days of the Russian empire, the Baltic port of Riga yielded in importance only to Moscow and St Petersburg. The Latvian capital is blessed with an eclectic array of architectural styles, with its medieval nucleus reflecting the town’s former prosperity as a major centre of the Hanseatic League. Riga’s ensemble of Art Nouveau edifices, epitomised in the work of local architect Mikhail Eisenstein, is unrivalled anywhere in Europe. Vilnius, in Lithuania, has exerted a profound influence on the cultural and architectural development of much of eastern Europe. Despite invasion and partial destruction, Vilnius has preserved a valuable complex of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque buildings whilst maintaining much of its medieval layout.

Iceland: History & Landscape July 7–14, 2019 | £3975 | with Harriet Allen, MA, MSc, PhD assisted by Morag Hunter, PhD

Lakagígar

ACE CULTURAL TOURS

Just south of the Arctic Circle, Iceland is a volcanic island alive with hot springs, geysers, boiling mud-pots and stupendous waterfalls. Our tour, concentrating on the western and southern coasts, provides the perfect introduction to the country’s austere beauty, its singular geology, and its incredible wildlife, as well as taking in some lesser-known sites. Travelling up Iceland’s west coast, we head first to Borgarnes for an introduction to the country’s Viking history at the fascinating Settlement Centre, where exhibits covering the Saga era will set our trip in context. We will explore the famous ‘Golden Circle’: Gullfoss waterfall, the eponymous Geysir, and Thingvellir, where Iceland’s early settlers established their open-air assembly, one of the oldest parliaments in the world. Journeying around the spectacular southern edge of the Vatnajökull glacier, we will walk to the snout of the Skaftafell glacier and make a stop at the otherworldly Jökulsárlón lagoon, where luminous blue icebergs drift across the lake. Travelling back west, we will visit cliffs that are home to diverse birdlife, and we hope to catch glimpses of puffins, fulmars and guillemots.

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2019 Tours Full details of 2019 tours can be found on our website. Although some of these tours may be full, we do operate a waiting list system, so please contact us if you are interested in a tour.

23–30

February

Crete: Birds, Flowers & Minoans

2–17

Vietnam

23–5/5 Algeria: Rome Meets the Sahara

11–16

Early Christian & Medieval Rome

24–29

13–16

Somerset Levels in Winter

21–24

Bath Bachfest

26–28

Cambridge Churches, College Chapels & Organs

•

Festival de Pâques in Aix-enProvence

30–6/5 Wagner’s Ring Cycle in Leipzig

June

•

2–8

Provence River Cruise

2–12

Ottoman Turkey

3–8

Cornwall: St Ives & the Newlyn School of Painters

3–10

Hill Towns of Umbria

•

•

May

4–10

Lincolnshire Halls & Houses

4–10

Villas & Gardens in Lazio

5–12

7–10

Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels

From Yeats Country to the Fermanagh Lakes

17–24

Bach Festival in Leipzig

March 1–3

Cambridge Churches, College Chapels & Organs

•

4–8

Roman & Byzantine Ravenna

4–11

Art on the Côte d’Azur

8–15

Art Treasures of St Petersburg

11–16

Aquileia: City of Antiquity

18–21

Liverpool: Private Wealth, Public Riches

•

•

7–13

Glasgow: Patrons, Art & Innovation

17–29

Northern Greece

7–14

Isles of Scilly

18–21

Artists of the North

8–15

Wildlife & Walking in Extremadura

18–25

Islay, Jura & Colonsay

13–27

Lycian Cruise

19–25

Albi & the Languedoc

18–25

Villas & Gardens of the Italian Lakes

20–27

The Burren & Aran Islands

18–24

Art in Berlin

18–24

Art in Naples

21–28

Palaces of the Portuguese Kings

21–28 Roussillon 22–2/4 Uzbekistan: Cities of the Silk Road 29–9/4 From New Orleans to Memphis: Jazz, Blues & the Making of Modern America

April

1–8

Ancient Sicily

Alentejo & Algarve: Landscapes & Wildlife

21–28

Art & Architecture of the Austrian Tyrol

2–9

Sardinia: Birds, Flowers & Nuraghi

21–28

3–12

Albania: From the Illyrians to the Ottomans

Wild Poland: From Ancient Rivers to Primeval Forest

24–31

Douro River Cruise on the Royal Barge

•

•

•

•

10–16

Rhône River Cruise

11–16

Festtage: Opera in Berlin

17–23

Wagner’s Ring Cycle in Chemnitz

17–25

Leipzig at Easter

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23–6/7 Baltic States

•

24–28

Country Houses of South Shropshire

24–29

The Battle for Normandy: 75 Years On

25–30

Bauhaus: German Modern Art & Design

TBC

Riga Opera Festival

TBC

Aldeburgh Festival

•

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20–29

5–11 Lucca

•

•

•

•

• ACE CULTURAL TOURS

July

September

•

1–4

Norfolk in Summer

1–5

Roman Kent: Towns, Forts & Frescoes

2–5

Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels

•

October

1–8

The Great Spanish Masters: From El Greco to Sorolla & Picasso

2–16

Lycian Cruise

2–16

Northumbria in the First Millenium

3–7

Great Bardfield & Beyond: Mid-Century Art & Design in East Anglia

8–14

Art & Architecture of Puglia

9–15

Verdi Festival in Parma

7–14 Roussillon

••

•

4–8

The Golden Age of Dutch Painting

3–9

Mendelssohn in Scotland

5–10

Verona Opera Festival

10–16

3–9

6–13

Wild & Ancient Orkney

Sibelius Festival in Finland: 20th Anniversary Tour

Arles: From the Romans to Van Gogh

10–20

Ancient Cyprus

7–13

Swedish Palaces & Castles

Art Nouveau in Belgium

13–30

China: The Silk Road

7–14

Iceland: History & Landscape

9–13

Buxton Opera Festival

15–20

Aquileia: City of Antiquity

16–19

Shakespeare at Stratford

21–28

Medieval Burgundy

22–26

•

•

5–10

•

•

14–24 Jordan

• •

16–25

The Route of Caravaggio

17–24

Medieval to Modern: Music & Art in Germany

17–26

Palladio & the Villas of the Veneto

22–29 Palermo

Dorset Country Houses

24–1/8 The Hanseatic League

•• • •

25–29

Beaune Baroque Music Festival

27–31

Gloucester Three Choirs Festival

29–1/8 Hadrian’s Wall

•

•

31–4/8 Gloucester Three Choirs Festival

August

24–29

•

Hidden Paris

28–4/11 Piero della Francesca TBC Glyndebourne TBC 5–12

Wildlife of Andalucía

6–12

Seine River Cruise: From Honfleur to Paris

7–20

Churches & Monasteries of Armenia & Georgia

•

•

•

Wexford Opera Festival

•

November

•

2–7

Imperial Rome, Ostia & Tivoli

2–18

Gujarat: Traditional Crafts & Tribal Communities

6–18

Teutonic Knights

7–11

Flemish Painting: From van Eyck to Rubens

8–15

6–8

Oxford College Chapels & Organs

8–12

International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival

Brittany: The Land Between Two Seas

8–15

Corsica: Rugged Isle of Beauty

Karelia & Archangel: Architecture of Northern Russia

8–18

Athens, Delphi & the Peloponnese

8–24

Japan in Autumn: Art, Temples & Gardens

9–13

Derbyshire Halls & Houses Palaces of St Petersburg

10–22

•

12–17

Chichester & the South Downs

10–18

13–19

Art & Architecture of Munich & Bavaria

11–16

The Cold War in Berlin

12–19

15–20

Lucca Puccini Festival

Riviera di Levante: From Genoa to Pisa

18–24

In the Footsteps of Luther

16–23

Art on the Côte d’Azur

25–1/9

Schubert in Schwarzenberg

16–25

Ancient Sicily

30–3/9 The Industrial Revolution in Middle England

21–27

Beethoven in Bonn

30–13/9 South Africa: Flowers of Namaqualand

23–27

Roman & Byzantine Ravenna

23–29

Art Treasures of Copenhagen & Sjaelland

•

• •

•

22–3/10 The Dodecanese Islands

23–7/10 Bulgarian Monasteries 30–4/10 Bruges

•••

30–4/10 Isle of Wight

•

14–28 Ethiopia 16–29

Morocco: Archaeology of the Western Kingdom

17–21

Vienna: City of the Arts

18–25

Art & Patronage in Renaissance Florence & Siena

27–10/12 Tasmania TBC

Bath Mozartfest

December 10–14

KEY:

ACE CULTURAL TOURS

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Lower Single Supplement

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Gentler Tour

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Rail Option

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Tasmania: South Eastern Victoria & Melbourne Extension

Forthcoming

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ACE CULTURAL TOURS P roviding E x pert - led T ours since 1 9 5 8 Stapleford Granary, Bury Road, Stapleford, Cambridge, CB22 5BP England 01223 841055 ace@aceculturaltours.co.uk aceculturaltours.co.uk All the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels and other services) is listed on it. Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLcertificate. The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 for ACE Cultural Tours Limited (ABTOT 5237) and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for the following: 1. non-flight packages commencing in and returning to the UK; 2.non-flight packages commencing and returning to a country other than the UK; and 3. flight inclusive packages that commence outside of the UK and Republic of Ireland, which are sold to customers outside of the UK and Republic of Ireland. 1, 2 and 3 provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled. 1 and 3 provides for repatriation. Please note that bookings made outside the UK and Republic of Ireland are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with ACE Cultural Tours Limited.