2021 Tours Bulletin

ACE CULTURAL TOURS Cultural Travel Worldwide 2021

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Welcome

As we look forward to returning to cultural travel in 2021, ACE is pleased to present a selection of highlights from our tour programme taking place principally in the first half of the year. In addition to eagerly anticipated returns to classic destinations such as Greece, Italy and France, we are delighted to offer some brand new experiences. Spring will find us uncovering the history of the Vienna Secession with architectural expert Christopher Bourne, and we will undertake a fascinating exploration of Southern Russia in the company of Alex Koller in the summer. In addition, this brochure features an array of tours exploring history, art and archaeology around the British Isles, all led by specialist Tour Directors. We warmly invite you to browse these pages in search of inspiration for your next cultural escape with ACE, and look forward to welcoming you back on tour with us in 2021.

For a full list of the tours that we are planning to run in 2021, please see the schedule overview on pages 62-63.

New tours are released on our website on a regular basis.

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ACE CULTURAL TOURS

The ACE Experience

Over 60 Years of Expertise Established in 1958, ACE Cultural Tours is the UK’s longest established cultural travel tour operator, with over 60 years’ experience. Continuing to build on this heritage in 2021, we look forward to offering tours to new and exciting destinations worldwide, alongside perennial favourites.

The Tours Our tours aim to uncover cultural intricacies and connections across a wide range of subject areas and themes including art, architecture, archaeology, history, music, regional culture and natural history. Rather than exclusively focusing on the isolated history or development of one artistic work, archaeological site or historical occurrence, our itineraries are also designed to take in the bigger picture and provide context within a wider cultural landscape. Our Tour Directors illustrate and illuminate their themes with formal lectures and on-site talks, and where appropriate local guides will supplement their knowledge.

Many itineraries include privileged access, exclusive visits and private concerts to further enhance your enjoyment. No prior knowledge is needed, just an interest in the subjects concerned.

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Our Tour Directors Chosen not only for their specialist knowledge, but equally for the clarity and enthusiasm with which they communicate and impart their passion to others, our expert Tour Directors are personally involved in the creation and planning of our tours. Biographies and further information about all of our Tour Directors are available at the back of this brochure, as well as on our website.

Several of our tours, particularly our river cruises, combine the expertise of multiple

Tour Directors, whose specialisms across distinct subject areas combine to create a unique amalgamation of perspectives.

On many of our tours, the Tour Director or Directors will be supported by an experienced Tour Manager, responsible for ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of our itineraries.

Travelling with Us Our travellers, whilst often independent in spirit, enjoy the relaxed ambience we like to create on our tours. Group dinners, for example, are a wonderful opportunity to get to know new friends and discuss the day’s visits and experiences in a convivial atmosphere. On shorter tours all days will typically have a full itinerary whilst on longer tours we often include some free time to allow for individual exploration or relaxation. Solo travellers make up a significant proportion of all of our groups – so those travelling alone can be assured of finding a welcoming atmosphere amongst like-minded people.

We pride ourselves on looking after single travellers very well, from working to minimise the additional cost incurred by single supplements at the booking stage, to ensuring that there’s always somebody with whom to share a coffee or lunch once on tour.

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ACE CULTURAL TOURS Group Sizes The majority of our 2021 tours have been designed for groups of approximately 20 participants, enabling everyone to make the most of our itineraries and of the insights of our expert Tour Directors whilst adhering to government guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of our natural history tours are limited to 15 participants, ensuring all travellers have the best possible chance to engage with the flora and fauna on offer. Numbers on some of our cruises may be greater, in line with the capacity of the vessels used. In these circumstances, support is provided by additional Tour Directors, Tour Managers, guides or members of the crew, to ensure due attention is paid to the needs of all group members.

Am I Fit Enough to Travel?

Our tours range from fairly strenuous and challenging departures to those with a more relaxed feel, particularly our cruises and gentler tours. Regardless of the type of tour, it is important that our clients meet minimum fitness criteria to ensure that the enjoyment of the rest of the group is not compromised. Most days on tour will involve a considerable amount of walking, perhaps visiting galleries, archaeological sites on rocky terrain, or simply exploring the cobbled streets of hilltop towns and villages. Walks on natural history tours are typically 3–5 miles in length, often in hilly or mountainous regions.

Gentler Tours Our gentler tours have been created specifically by ACE for travellers who prefer a more laid-back, less physically demanding itinerary while retaining the same high level of academic content.

Information regarding the fitness requirements for all our tours is available throughout this publication and on our website. For those concerned about their suitability to travel, our Sales & Reservations team, contactable via email or over the phone, are always happy to advise on the specifics of individual tours.

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Value for Money Generally, our tours are very comprehensive and there are few personal expenses apart from some meals and drinks. Customers have frequently complimented us on the value for money offered by our tours, and our policy of including gratuities for most services as standard has proven particularly popular.

Our brochure descriptions give a clear indication of what is included for each tour.

Accommodation and Food We work closely with the hotels we use to ensure that facilities, cleanliness and comfort levels are up to expected standards. In selecting accommodation for our tours, we strive to achieve a balance between factors such as accessibility, location and costs. We also recognise that the opportunity to sample different cuisines is an integral part of the cultural experience, so when travelling overseas we like to give you the chance to try traditional dishes. When travelling off the beaten track it is sometimes necessary to use simpler accommodation.

Responsible Tourism We are proud to be the preferred travel provider for people who are committed to supporting local communities in the countries they visit. Each year, the trustees of the ACE Foundation (the Association for Cultural Exchange), an educational charity founded in 1958 which owns ACE Cultural Tours, support charitable and educational projects all over the world in the regions we visit. These include international conservationist and research projects, as well as work closer to home at Stapleford Granary, our base near Cambridge.

A Commitment to Excellence The feedback provided by ACE customers is invaluable in helping us to continue delivering a first-class experience, or helping to identify areas that could be improved for the future. In 2020, ACE Cultural Tours was awarded the Feefo Gold Trusted Service Award. This is an independent accreditation awarded to businesses that consistently deliver exceptional experiences, as rated by real customers. We are very grateful to those of you who take the time to give us feedback, and are committed to continuing to improve the service we provide.

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STAPLEFORD GRANARY

Stapleford Granary: an inspiring home for the arts, education and the culturally curious https://www.staplefordgranary.org.uk Dear readers,

The offices of ACE Cultural Tours are also located here and we work together, sharing and exchanging cultural ideas.

For me – a classically trained clarinetist, a lover of art and architecture, an insatiably curious person and serial book-buyer the irresistible synergy of travel and art provides a perfect environment in which to develop an invigorating future for Stapleford Granary.

As the new CEO of Stapleford Granary Arts Centre, home of the ACE Foundation, I’m delighted to welcome you and tell you more about this beautiful complex and our plans for the future.

I’ve a long and very happy association with Stapleford Granary since it first opened its doors in 2010 and my own chamber music ensemble took up an artistic residency. Over a decade, driven by the vision and leadership of Paul Barnes, I saw this derelict 19th century farm and outbuildings transformed into the first-class facilities that make the Granary such a favourite amongst artists, audiences and participants. Facilities include an intimate 120-seat recital hall with superb acoustics and a Steinway Model B piano, adjoining art gallery, recording studios and workshops for printing, painting, bookbinding and jewellery making.

This RIBA Award-winning arts centre is set in sweeping countryside, just seven miles to the south east of Cambridge city centre and two miles from the Gog Magog chalk hills rising gently from the flat East Anglian landscape. In late summer, you can hear the reedwarblers by the small stream that runs off the River Granta and creeps into the old orchard behind the Granary. It’s a truly idyllic location, which visitors never fail to fall in love with and want to return to.

WHAT DO WE HAVE PLANNED? The ACE Foundation exists to foster worldwide cultural understanding – both historical and contemporary – through education. The pandemic has brought many challenges to the participatory ways in which we work at Stapleford Granary (concerts, courses, workshops and exhibitions) but we have used this time to reflect and to develop imaginative and safe ways to deliver our events and charitable aims.

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STAPLEFORD GRANARY

From Autumn 2020, we’ll be bringing you a unique, artist-led online programme throughout the year via our new Stapleford Granary YouTube channel and website. You can enjoy live recitals from world-renowned artists such as pianist Joanna MacGregor, jazz saxophonist Toni Kofi and the award-winning Brodsky String Quartet online, direct from the Granary’s concert hall. We’ll share insightful artist profiles with you, delving deeply into the extraordinary minds of the creators and performers we work with.

We’ll bring you special behind-the-scenes events and unique opportunities to chat with artists and curators. We plan to grow our online activity into a Wunderkammer of ‘cultural curiosities’ where you can expect the unexpected and discover the ideas behind the philosophy of the ACE Foundation.

Whilst we are still living with restrictions, we’ll be reaching out to artists in new ways. We’ll offer time and space for them to develop ideas at the Granary and we’ll work with them to dream up alternative platforms for sharing new work. We will invite audiences back into the concert hall as soon as it is safe to do so. We are exploring ways to embed music and the arts deep within the local and wider community of Cambridge; by next summer, we hope to be able to host outdoor events at the Granary, creating magical, memorable events for families and younger audiences.

Like travel, we believe that music and art is a transformative opportunity to discover new experiences, widen our horizons and help us to better understand one another. We hope you will join us as we embark on this ambitious and exciting new phase for Stapleford Granary. Please do keep an eye on our website and newsletters where we will be unveiling our plans, including various ways that you can become more involved in our cultural offers and activities and our charitable work supporting artists and communities.

We hope to see you soon!

Best wishes and safe, happy travelling

Kate

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OUR HISTORY

Kate Romano

1958: pioneering journalist Philip Brooke Barnes founded the ACE Foundation (Association for Cultural Exchange), an educational trust promoting cultural and international understanding.

1960s: ACE provided European study tours and student exchange programmes with a strong focus on archaeology and Scandinavia. By the end of the 1960s, affordable air travel opened up the ACE world to a new audience.

1970s: This decade saw the first long haul study tours outside Europe, starting with Mexico, then Peru, Iran and India. By 1974, there were 36 programmes of study (12 abroad and 24 in the UK) mostly built around architectural themes.

1980s: Regular long haul destinations now included China, Japan, Burma, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Australia and Ethiopia. Closer to home, East Anglia and the Fenland Abbeys became a favoured tour destination and ACE introduced popular tours based around UK music festivals, such as the Three Choirs Festival.

1990s: The 90s saw a strong acceleration in ACE grant giving, providing support for sustainable development and education projects around the world including Burma, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nepal and India. By the end of the decade ACE was making around 15 life-changing grants per annum.

2000s: Philip Barnes stepped down as company secretary after 44 years, succeeded by his son, Paul Barnes. ACE now runs around 200 tours a year, enjoyed by over 3000 participants. In 2010, Paul Barnes purchased the farm complex Stapleford Granary to provide a home for the ACE Foundation where art, education and culture can flourish. In July 2020, Kate Romano was appointed Chief Executive, succeeding Paul, who continues as Secretary to the ACE Foundation.

ABOUT KATE ROMANO Kate is the CEO and Artistic Director of Goldfield Productions which she founded in 2010. Driven to increase and diversify audiences and find new ways of presenting music and arts, she elevated the charitable company profile from local to international over ten years, working and creating bespoke gamechanging opportunities to develop talent in artists and composers.

Since 2017, Kate has been a regular writer and broadcaster for BBC Radio 3. She is an active and renowned clarinetist who has performed and recorded extensively as a soloist and chamber musician.

Kate is a highly experienced independent producer who has worked in the UK and abroad since 2013. From 2003 - 2016 Kate was a senior member of academic staff at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Kate studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, Cambridge University and holds a doctorate in composition from Kings College London. www.kateromano.co.uk 7

Tours by subject

CULTURAL CRUISES Lycian Cruise Douro River Cruise on the Royal Barge

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ARCHAEOLOGY Pompeii with Herculaneum Early Christian & Medieval Rome Aquileia: City of Antiquity Roman & Byzantine Ravenna Jordan: Kingdoms of the Desert Albania: From the Illyrians to the Ottomans Eboracum: York & the Roman North Northern Greece Prehistoric & Roman Anglesey & Snowdonia Hadrian’s Wall

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Please see our website for further details.

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ACE CULTURAL TOURS

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Front cover image: detail of The Stoclet Frieze (detail Tree of Life) by Gustav Klimt, MAK, Vienna For more information about our Vienna Secession tour, see page 43.

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ART & ARCHITECTURE Turin: Rise of a Royal City Art Collections of Liverpool Art on the Côte d’Azur Art Treasures of Dresden: Porcelain & Paintings Roussillon Art in Naples Venice: The Triumph of Light & Colour Cornwall Calling: The Artists of Newlyn, Lamorna & St Ives Churches of Suffolk Flemish Painting: From van Eyck to Rubens From Bologna to Parma: A Feast for the Soul & Senses Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels Great Bardfield & Beyond: Mid-Century Art & Design in East Anglia The Vienna Secession Artists of the North Bauhaus: German Modern Art & Design Southern Russia: Kossacks, Kalmyks & the Caucasus The Industrial Revolution in Middle England Art Collections & Stately Homes of the West Country The Hanseatic League: An Artistic Legacy

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NATURE Wildlife in Norfolk Somerset Levels in Winter Crete: Birds, Flowers & Minoans Isles of Scilly Isle of Man: A Wild & Ancient Heritage Wild & Ancient Dartmoor Norfolk in Summer The Shetland Islands Donegal & Tory Island Wildlife of the Austrian Alps

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HOUSES & GARDENS Northamptonshire Country Houses Lincolnshire Halls & Houses

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MUSIC Mozart Festival in Salzburg Valletta International Baroque Festival Bach Festival in Leipzig Verona Opera Festival

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Tours by country

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ALBANIA Albania: From the Illyrians to the Ottomans

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AUSTRIA Mozart Festival in Salzburg The Vienna Secession Wildlife of the Austrian Alps

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BELGIUM Flemish Painting: From van Eyck to Rubens

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FRANCE Art on the Côte d’Azur Roussillon

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GERMANY Art Treasures of Dresden: Porcelain & Paintings Bach Festival in Leipzig Bauhaus: German Modern Art & Design The Hanseatic League: An Artistic Legacy

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GREECE Crete: Birds, Flowers & Minoans Northern Greece

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ISLE OF MAN Isle of Man: A Wild & Ancient Heritage

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ITALY Aquileia: City of Antiquity Art in Naples Early Christian & Medieval Rome From Bologna to Parma: A Feast for the Soul & Senses Pompeii with Herculaneum Roman & Byzantine Ravenna Turin: Rise of a Royal City Venice: The Triumph of Light & Colour Verona Opera Festival

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JORDAN Jordan: Kingdoms of the Desert MALTA Valletta International Baroque Festival

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PORTUGAL Douro River Cruise on the Royal Barge

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REPUBLIC OF IRELAND Donegal & Tory Island

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RUSSIA Southern Russia: Kossacks, Kalmyks & the Caucasus

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TURKEY Lycian Cruise

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UNITED KINGDOM Art Collections & Stately Homes of the West Country Art Collections of Liverpool Artists of the North Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels Churches of Suffolk Cornwall Calling: The Artists of Newlyn, Lamorna & St Ives Eboracum: York & the Roman North Great Bardfield & Beyond: Mid-Century Art & Design in East Anglia Hadrian’s Wall Isles of Scilly Lincolnshire Halls & Houses Norfolk in Summer Northamptonshire Country Houses Prehistoric & Roman Anglesey & Snowdonia Somerset Levels in Winter The Industrial Revolution in Middle England The Shetland Islands Wild & Ancient Dartmoor Wildlife in Norfolk

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UNITED KINGDOM

Wildlife in Norfolk January 18–22, 2021 from £875 per person | with Kevin Hand

Bar-tailed godwit

• Visit one of Britain’s most famous bird-watching sites at Cley, where reedbeds, beaches, marshes and lagoons provide an ideal breeding sanctuary • Look out for one of the most impressive seal colonies in England at Blakeney Point • Enjoy a floodlit swan watch from a heated hide at Welney The wetland reserves of Norfolk are internationally renowned for their unspoilt coastlines and outstanding natural habitats. With its vast skies and shimmering frosts, winter offers one of the very best environments to experience the region’s rich and dynamic wildlife – from rapidly wheeling migratory flocks to the grey seals that visit each winter to birth their pups.

Our tour will focus particularly on the bird-watching opportunities for which Norfolk is famous, both for beginners and more experienced observers, with local wardens sharing their unparalleled knowledge of the reserves.

At Cley, where the salt marshes and sand dunes are of major importance for overwintering birds, we will follow one of the most celebrated bird-watching routes in Britain. The RSPB reserve at Titchwell, meanwhile, offers remarkably close views of geese, waders and gulls; and at the Ouse Washes at Welney, we will take part in a moonlit swan watch from the comfort of a heated hide.

At Snettisham on the Wash, Britain’s most vital estuary for wintering birds, 12

we look out for knots, godwits and oystercatchers wading across the mud flats – while stately Holkham Park offers us possible sightings of flocks of pinkfooted geese, marsh harriers and barn owls. A highlight of our tour will be an excursion by boat off Blakeney Point, during which we hope to spot seals, waders, divers and grebes.

We stay in Old Hunstanton at the characterful four-star Le Strange Arms Hotel, positioned a stone’s throw away from the sea.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: While this tour is not particularly strenuous, participants should feel comfortable walking across rugged terrain and getting in and out of boats. Individual walks will be up to a total of four miles, with shorter options for those who wish to take them.

Day 1 Assemble 1530 at King’s Lynn Station for transfer by coach to Hunstanton for four nights at Le Strange Arms Hotel. Welcome and introductory talk.

Day 2 Titchwell Marsh: large hides for close views of geese, waders, gulls and rarer birds. Afternoon: Holkham for pink-footed geese, snow buntings and shore larks.

Day 3 Beach walk for waders, seabirds and fulmar pairs, followed by Snettisham (thousands of godwits, knots and oystercatchers). Afternoon: Ouse Washes for dusk observation of Bewick’s and whooper swans.

Day 4 Morning: Blakeney Marshes and Cley (one of the most famous bird walks in Britain).

Afternoon: Morston Quay for boat trip around Blakeney Point (waders, grebes and seals). Dusk watch for harriers and owls.

Day 5 Tour disperses after breakfast with optional transfer to King’s Lynn Station.

This tour will be led by conservationist and environmental consultant Kevin Hand, MSc, MCIEEM, a long-standing ACE Tour Director with a special interest in birds, mammals and ecotourism. Kevin recently led a team providing access to the British countryside for hard to reach groups, and is currently leading a project on eagles, vultures and other wildlife in Albania. In 2017 he was appointed President of the Cambridge Natural History Society.

Wildlife in Norfolk is Kevin’s longest running ACE tour, and he and ACE are delighted to have now worked with three generations of the Bean family, who operate the seal watching trips from Blakeney Harbour. Kevin says, “I have been leading this tour for over 25 years, and I always find it exciting and full of interest! The coastal changes are incredible to observe, and the wildlife holds new surprises every year.”

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. The itinerary may be altered to allow for changes in weather, tides and bird movements. We cannot guarantee the presence of all the wildlife mentioned.

Cost of £875 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 £30.

TOUR CODE: WILN21

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AUSTRIA Tour Director John Bryden, MA, ARCM, ARCO is an organist and pianist who has performed internationally as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musician.

Mozart Festival in Salzburg

© LAND SALZBURG/NEUMAYR

January 25–31, 2021 from £2995 per person | with John Bryden

Opening ceremony of the 2019 festival

• Experience a specially chosen selection of Mozart’s dramatic music, from his Requiem to his Mass in C minor • Hear some of the most celebrated performers of Mozart in the world, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Daniel Barenboim, Mitsuko Uchida and the Hagen Quartet • Make an excursion to the neoclassical Kaiservilla, once the summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph I Building on its remarkable legacy of performances over many years, the annual Mozart Festival returns for a celebration of the composer as a “creator of musical drama”. The selection of works for the 2021 festival includes almost all of those composed in a minor key – chosen for their particularly powerful impact – and will allow festival-goers to experience the inherent drama of Mozart’s music in all its diversity.

Among the larger-work highlights of our tour will be a dual performance of the Missa brevis and Requiem, both in D minor, by the excellent ensemble L’Arpeggiata under Christina Pluhar with Salzburg’s Bach Choir.

Continuing the emphasis on dramatic sacred works, a musical treat awaits us at the Grosses Festspielhaus where we will experience the magnificent Mass in C minor performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in partnership with Vienna State Opera Chorus and a superb selection of soloists. The Vienna Philharmonic returns later for a performance of symphonic works under

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the baton of Daniel Barenboim, who will take to the stage himself for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor.

Interspersed with these larger works, we will hear a variety of more intimate chamber concerts including string quartets and quintets from the award-winning Hagen Quartet and Spunicunifait Quintet respectively.

Uncovering Salzburg’s musical heritage, we will explore Mozart’s birthplace and Wohnhaus and enjoy a unique private tour of original manuscripts, guided by an archivist of the Mozarteum. Our tour also includes a visit to the 17th century Residenz – the sumptuous home of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg, where Mozart performed as a boy.

We will stay at the four-star Hotel Imlauer & Bräu Salzburg, a pleasant and comfortable establishment ideally placed for exploring the main sites on our tour.

Please note that this tour flies out of Heathrow and returns to Gatwick.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour involves a significant amount of walking to our daytime visits and concert venues, however this is mainly over flat ground, some of which is within the pedestrian zone of Salzburg. While this makes for a relaxing overall experience, participants should be aware of the amount of walking as well as the possibility of snow and ice at this time of the year.

Some terrain is cobbled. Participants should have a good overall level of fitness.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Performances are subject to confirmation by the festival office and some visits are weather dependent.

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1110 on British Airways, arriving Salzburg 1410. Transfer to Hotel Imlauer & Bräu Salzburg for six nights. Short orientation walking tour (time permitting). Evening concert at the Stiftung Mozarteum featuring L’Arpeggiata, Bach Choir Salzburg and soloists: Mozart Missa brevis in D minor, K 65, Requiem in D minor, K 626.

Day 2 Whole day excursion to the Salzkammergut area including private visit to the Kaiservilla (summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph I), visits to ‘Bruckner Church’ in Bad Ischl including organ recital (subject to confirmation) and church in St Wolfgang.

Day 3 Morning lecture followed by guided walking tour of Salzburg to include Mozart’s birthplace, cathedral and Mozart’s Wohnhaus.

Evening performance at the Grosses Festspielhaus featuring Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus and soloists: Mozart arias including ‘Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!’ and ‘Vado, ma dove? Oh dei!’; Mozart Mass in C minor, K 427.

Day 4 Morning lecture followed by late morning performance at Salzburg Residenz featuring Spunicunifait Quintet: Mozart String Quintets No 2 in C minor, K 406, and No 4 in G minor, K 516.

Optional afternoon visits to the Franciscan Church and St Peter’s Abbey. Evening performance at the Grosses Festspielhaus featuring Martha Argerich & Daniel Barenboim (piano): Mozart selected piano works for four hands.

Day 5 Morning lecture followed by late morning performance at the Stiftung Mozarteum featuring Hagen Quartet: Mozart String Quartets No 17 in B flat major, K 458, No 18 in A major, K 464, No 19 in C major, K 465. Afternoon: guided tour of the original archives in the Mozarteum’s Autograph Vault and some free time.

Day 6 Morning lecture followed by visit to Salzburg Residenz and free time. Afternoon performance at the Stiftung Mozarteum featuring Mahler Chamber Orchestra with Mitsuko Uchida (conductor, piano): Piano Concerto No 18 in B flat major, K 456, Ballet music from Idomeneo, K 367, Piano Concerto No 21 in C major, K 467.

Evening performance at the Grosses Festspielhaus featuring Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim (conductor, piano): Mozart Symphony No 33 in B flat major, K 319, Symphony No 38 in D major, K 504 ‘Prague Symphony’, Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor, K 491.

Day 7 Depart Salzburg 1105, arriving London Gatwick 1210.

Cost of £2995 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a superior twin or double bedded room, performances as described, breakfast, one lunch, five dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

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

TOUR CODE: MOZS21

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ITALY

Pompeii with Herculaneum January 29 – February 4, 2021 from £1895 per person | with Steve Mastin

Tour Director Steve Mastin, MA, PGCE, FHA studied history and classics before working as a school teacher for 17 years, leading trips to Italy, France and Germany. He has also worked overseas training history teachers in Singapore, Australia and Kazakhstan. A committed advocate of the power of storytelling, Steve is passionate about bringing a life-long love of history to students of all ages. He is a Fellow of the Historical Association and is a regular speaker at history conferences both in the UK and overseas.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: A good level of fitness is required for this tour, and participants should be aware that the terrain at the archaeological sites can be uneven, with few opportunities to sit down. Please note that the optional ascent up Vesuvius involves a steep walk of around 30 minutes.

Day 1 Depart London 1430 on British Airways, arriving Naples 1810. Transfer to Hotel La Medusa, Castellammare di Stabia, for six nights. Short evening talk.

Domus fresco

• This perennial favourite offers a thought-provoking window onto Roman life • Discover Cumae, one of the most important Greek city-states in antiquity, alongside Pozzuoli with its impressive Roman amphitheatre • The renowned Archaeological Museum in Naples supports our site visits with its excellent collection of artefacts “Meanwhile on Mt Vesuvius broad sheets of fire and leaping flames blazed at several points, their bright glare emphasised by the darkness of night…” – so wrote Pliny of the sudden eruption of Vesuvius nearly 2000 years ago.

Pompeii and Herculaneum, destroyed yet preserved by the volcanic catastrophe, offer unrivalled insights into day-to-day life in the Roman Empire. As well as investigating the ruins of Vesuvius’s twin victims, we will view the exceptional finds on display at the National Archaeological Museum in the evervibrant city of Naples.

Paestum, “inexpressibly grand” according to Shelley, was founded c 600 BC by Greek colonists from Sybaris. Here we 14

will pay particular attention to the Doric sanctuaries of Ceres, Hera and Neptune, which rank among the best-preserved Greek temples to be found anywhere in the ancient world.

Our comprehensive tour in and around the Bay of Naples will take in a wide array of further ancient treasures, such as the vast villa complex at Oplontis.

Adorned with sumptuous wall paintings that unveil the extravagant lifestyle enjoyed by the Roman elite, the villa is thought to have been Nero’s wedding present to his second wife, Poppaea.

Cumae, one of the most important Greek city-states in antiquity, is also on our itinerary together with Italy’s third largest Roman amphitheatre at Pozzuoli.

Day 2 Morning visit to Naples Archaeological Museum (artefacts from Vesuvian sites), followed by lunch on the slopes of Mt Vesuvius. Continue the ascent by coach, followed by optional ascent to the crater (weather permitting; must be done on foot). Evening talk.

Day 3 Whole day visit to Pompeii (forum, shopping macellum, Houses of the Faun and Venus, baths, theatres) including Villa of the Mysteries.

Day 4 Herculaneum (panoramic villas, palaestra, baths, shops) followed by Villa of Oplontis (fine wall-paintings, huge piscina) and Villa Boscoreale.

Evening talk.

Day 5 Whole day excursion to Paestum: Temples of Ceres, Hera and Neptune, museum (fine archaic reliefs and the famous painted Tomb of the Diver).

Day 6 Cumae (cave of the Sibyl, acropolis), Pozzuoli (amphitheatre) and Stabiae Villa. Evening talk.

Day 7 Depart Naples 1255, arriving London 1445.

We will stay at the Hotel La Medusa, Castellammare di Stabia, an attractive four-star establishment set in beautiful grounds.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Archaeological sites can close or change their opening times at short notice; therefore, some visits may be reordered.

Cost of £1895 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, one lunch, dinner with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £255.

TOUR CODE: POM121

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MALTA

Valletta International Baroque Festival January 15–21, 2021 from £2295 per person | with Ashley Solomon

St John’s Co-Cathedral

• Bask in the superb playing of artists including harpsichordists Steven Devine and Mahan Esfahani and early music ensembles Les Passions de L’Ame and Combattimento Consort Amsterdam • Join the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for Handel’s Apollo & Daphne • Delve into Malta’s fascinating history with a visit to the island of Gozo, inhabited for thousands of years One of two European Capitals of Culture in 2018, Valletta has for several years offered a magnificent annual festival celebrating some of the finest Baroque music in the world. Our festival tour will encompass not only performances by world-class musicians, but we will also gain an insight into the vibrant history of a country with foundations stretching back to some of the world’s oldest civilisations.

Opening both our tour and the 2021 festival are Swiss baroque ensemble Les Passions de l’Ame. Known for their fresh, lively playing as well as their individual specialisms in early music, these celebrated musicians are sure to offer fascinating interpretations of Bach’s Four Orchestral Suites.

A treat lies in store at our second concert, as Steven Devine – Principal Keyboard Player with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment – brings us solo harpsichord works by Rameau; his recent recording of these pieces received acclamation from BBC Music Magazine, who described his playing as “excellent”, “spirited” and “thoughtful”. Devine will

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also broaden our experience of Bach’s timeless versatility in a concert featuring none other than the moog synthesizer – certainly an evening not to be missed!

Midway through our tour, the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, specialising in music composed between 1600 and 1800, will collaborate with Dutch soprano Claudia Patacca to bring us works on the intriguing theme of ‘lust and love lust’. Music from an international line-up of composers – including members of the Bach family, Marais and Dowland – will also feature when celebrated German cellist Isang Enders and Iranian-American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani take to the stage.

Rounding off our festival tour in style, Handel’s secular cantata Apollo & Daphne, inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, will come to life through the inspirational playing of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Alongside the music, the ancient history of Valletta is investigated in the prehistoric temples and walled city of Victoria on the island of Gozo, while the island’s Roman heritage is presented in Rabat’s Domus Romana Museum.

We will stay throughout in Valletta’s fivestar Phoenicia Hotel, a recently renovated luxury hotel with magnificent gardens, located a short walk from the major visits on our tour.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour involves extensive walking within Valletta and during our excursions to Mdina and Gozo. Participants should be comfortable walking over uneven ground and have a good overall level of fitness.

This tour will be led by Ashley Solomon, FRCM, FRAM, Chair and Head of Historical Performance at London’s Royal College of Music and Director of the Baroque ensemble Florilegium.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change nearer the time. The festival’s musical programme is subject to confirmation, and the order and nature of our visits may also be adjusted once the performance venues have been confirmed.

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1125 on Air Malta, arriving Malta 1535. Transfer to the Phoenicia Hotel for six nights. Welcome and introduction followed by evening festival performance featuring Les Passions de L’Ame: Bach Four Orchestral Suites, BWV 1066-1069.

Day 2 Whole day ferry excursion to island of Gozo: prehistoric temple of Ggantija, Dwejra Bay (Fungus Rock of the Knights), Victoria and St John’s Basilica.

Day 3 Morning lecture followed by late morning festival performance featuring Steven Devine (harpsichord): works by Rameau. Afternoon visit to Palace of the Grand Masters (Palace Armoury and State Rooms). Evening festival performance featuring Combattimento Consort Amsterdam with Claudia Patacca (soprano): ‘Lust and love lust’ – programme to be announced.

Day 4 Rabat for Domus Romana Museum (mosaics) and St Paul’s Catacombs. Afternoon: Mdina for cathedral and museum. Evening festival performance featuring Art of Moog: ‘Preludes and Moogs’ – programme to be announced.

Day 5 Morning lecture followed by visit to Co-Cathedral of St John and Oratory (important masterpieces by Mattia Preti and Caravaggio).

Lunchtime festival performance featuring Isang Enders (cello) and Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord): works by the Bach family, Marais, Dowland and others. Afternoon visit to Casa Rocca Piccola.

Day 6 Morning lecture followed by visits in Valletta – ‘The Three Cities’ tour. Evening festival performance featuring the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment: Handel Apollo & Daphne, HWV 122.

Day 7 Illustrated morning lecture: The Baroque Flute – its History, Development and Repertoire.

Some free time. Depart Malta 1655, arriving London Heathrow 1925.

Cost of £2295 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a superior twin or double bedded room, performances as described, breakfast, one lunch, dinner with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, superior double room for single use supplement £280.

TOUR CODE: VALL21

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UNITED KINGDOM

Somerset Levels in Winter February 10–13, 2021 from £795 per person | with Peter Exley

Somerset Levels with Glastonbury Tor in the distance

• Join the RSPB’s Peter Exley on this winter wildlife tour to look out for Somerset’s growing flock of cranes, recently reintroduced after a 400year absence • Visit key historical sites including Glastonbury Abbey, and keep an eye out for bitterns, barn owls and marsh harriers at one of the country’s most exciting and beautiful wildlife projects – the Avalon Marshes • Explore one of the RSPB’s oldest and largest nature reserves at West Sedgemoor, walking along an ancient drove route to view the remarkable winter wildfowl roost The Somerset Levels have had a colourful history: ‘the land of the summer people’ was once home to a Bronze Age population and it was here, in the house of a swineherd, that King Alfred sought refuge from marauding Vikings.

Wildlife is now returning to England’s largest wetland in dramatic numbers – from the millions-strong murmuration of roosting starlings, to the growing flock of cranes recently reintroduced after a 400year absence. As well as observing the region’s wildlife, our tour will investigate key historical sites such as Glastonbury Abbey, England’s oldest abbey, and Glastonbury Tor, reputed to be the birthplace of King Arthur.

The Avalon Marshes host one of the country’s most exciting wildlife projects: over 3000 hectares of wetland habitats have been created from former peat workings, giving refuge to bitterns, barn owls and marsh harriers.

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Greylake, once a series of carrot fields, has been transformed into a wetland reserve teeming with wildlife, whilst West Sedgemoor is home to up to 100,000 ducks and waders during the winter.

Our base will be the charming fourstar Swan Hotel, ideally located in the historical city of Wells, a short distance from its beautiful cathedral.

Day 1 Tour assembles 1500 at Swan Hotel, Wells, for three nights. Visit to Wells Cathedral followed by welcome and introductory talk.

Day 2 RSPB Ham Wall Nature Reserve: wetland and reed beds (bitterns, bearded tits, egrets, harriers) followed by Glastonbury Tribunal (15th century merchant’s house, containing the Glastonbury Lake Village Museum – please note this visit is subject to confirmation). Afternoon: Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury Tor (optional 250foot climb to the summit).

Day 3 RSPB West Sedgemoor (winter wildfowl roost, birds of prey) and look for the crane flock.

Afternoon: Willows & Wetlands Visitor Centre (Somerset osier industry), Isle of Athelney (King Alfred’s hiding place), RSPB Greylake Reserve (swans, snipe, peregrines). Evening: Avalon Marshes (starling roost, birds of prey).

Day 4 Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve: pools, reed beds, wet woodlands (including site of Sweet Track Neolithic causeway) for winter wildlife (bitterns, harriers, waterfowl). Tour disperses 1230 at hotel.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation. Itinerary alterations during the tour are likely due to changeable local weather conditions and we cannot guarantee the presence of all wildlife mentioned.

This tour will be led by Peter Exley, BSc, an ecologist and ornithologist who has held posts with BirdLife International and the Albatross Task Force in South Africa. Now working for the RSPB, Peter has led and managed many ACE tours in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Algarve, New England, Madeira, the Faroes and Shetland.

Peter is delighted to be returning to Somerset for this long-standing ACE tour: “The Somerset Levels are one of our greatest historic and cultural landscapes, yet largely ignored by visitors. But they are rapidly and rightly becoming known as one of our country’s best wildlife destinations.

And for me, it is the conflicted fusion of nature and people through history that makes this place truly unique and special, that draws me back again and again.”

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Walks are along mostly level tracks and paths, which can be muddy in places. These vary from half a mile to just under two miles (over two hours) on the final day, with some stops and occasional seats along the way.

The optional climb up Glastonbury Tor is around 250 feet on a narrow paved path with multiple steps. The ground can be uneven or slippery, and some hides have steep steps.

Cost of £795 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 £90.

TOUR CODE: SOLE21

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ITALY Daniel’s Gallery, Royal Palace of Turin

Turin: Rise of a Royal City

© AMBRA75/CC BY-SA 4.0

February 9–15, 2021 from £2095 per person | with Alex Koller

• Walk in the footsteps of royalty as we explore the grand churches and palaces of Turin’s visionary Baroque architects • Take in stunning views across the city at the Monte dei Cappuccini • Discover Guarini’s highly original Palazzo Carignano Established under the Romans, Turin in northern Italy was transformed during the 17th and 18th centuries into a magnificent royal city and centre of Baroque architecture. With their idiosyncratic constructions, architects Guarino Guarini, Filippo Juvarra and their pupils were responsible not only for the layout of the city but also for some of the most imaginative solutions in Baroque design the world had ever seen.

These visionary designers lent their skills particularly to the churches and palaces of the Royal House of Savoy, whose opulent residences now constitute a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our tour takes us to many of these grand locations, including the Royal Palace of Turin with its rich art collection, Guarini’s Palazzo Carignano with its lavishly frescoed interiors, and Juvarra’s characterful hunting residence at Stupinigi. Juvarra also designed the Grand Gallery and church belonging to the Palace of Venaria.

Taking the Via Roma, we will wind our way through the architectural marvels

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This tour will be led Alex Koller, PhD. Alex is an expert in art history and architecture, and gained his doctorate from Magdalene College, Cambridge. of Turin’s churches, experiencing the wonderful acoustics of the Chapel of the Merchants beneath its frescoed ceiling. The strikingly eclectic Santuario della Consolata, meanwhile, features a Romanesque bell tower above an elliptical 17th century nave.

Our understanding of the developing craft of Turin’s architects is enhanced by a visit to the Superga Basilica.

We will stay throughout at the Grand Hotel Sitea, an elegant and architecturally significant establishment dating from 1925, located in the heart of Turin.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour has a full and comprehensive itinerary, making the most of our stay in Turin, so a good level of fitness and stamina is required. Many visits will be made on foot, and participants should expect to spend a significant amount of time walking – including over potentially uneven ground and cobbles – as well as standing in galleries and at historical sites.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Opening times in Italy can change at short notice, so some visits may be reordered.

On this study tour, Alex Koller will examine the reasons for Turin’s late arrival on the scene of great Italian cities; it acquired capital status only in the middle of the 16th century. Alex explains: “The necessity to turn this rather provincial town into something worthy of the residence of the Dukes of Savoy saw an ambitious programme of construction that dominated the subsequent two centuries and peaked in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Guarino Guarini and Filippo Juvarra, neither of them originally from Piedmont, produced some of the most daring and imaginative solutions in the transition from the high to the late Baroque. It would be wrong, however, to reduce Turin solely to the Baroque.

The city contains important examples of 19th and 20th century architecture as well.”

Day 1 Flight from London to Turin. Transfer to Grand Hotel Sitea, Turin, for six nights. Welcome and introductory lecture.

Day 2 Piazza Castello: Duomo and Palazzo Reale (Royal Armoury, Galleria Sabauda, Turin Shroud and gardens). Afternoon: Palazzo Madama (Museum of Ancient Art) and Church of San Lorenzo (designed and built by Guarini).

Day 3 Walk along the Via Roma: Piazza San Carlo, Santa Cristina, San Filippo Neri and Palazzo Carignano (unique rounded façade). Continue to the Baroque quarter: Piazza Palazzo di Città (ancient market square), churches including Cappella dei Banchieri e Mercanti (Chapel of Merchants) and Santuario della Consolata (Romanesque bell tower and nave by Guarini).

Day 4 Morning: Monte dei Cappuccini overlooking the River Po, followed by Villa della Regina (Savoy Palace designed by Vitozzi) and Superga Basilica (designed by Juvarra). Afternoon: former Fiat factory at Lingotto and Castello del Valentino (including grounds with Borgo Medievale).

Day 5 Morning in Carignano for Duomo (striking convex façade), followed by Ospizio di Carità and Santuario del Valinotto (visits subject to confirmation). Afternoon: Palazzina di Caccia at Stupinigi (Museum of Arts and Furnishings) and Castello di Rivoli (Museum of Contemporary Art).

Day 6 Castello della Mandria, Royal Palace of Venaria (grand 18th century gallery and church by Juvarra) and Museo Egizio.

Day 7 Flight from Turin to London.

Cost of £2095 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

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

TOUR CODE: TURC21

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ITALY This tour will be led by Andrew Wilson, BA, BD, FSAScot, a specialist in archaeology and ancient history.

Andrew studied archaeology and theology before working overseas as an archaeologist with a particular interest in Roman frontier systems and Byzantine mosaics. He has led many tours for ACE in the GrecoRoman world, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and the Classical Association of Scotland.

Andrew is also a member of the Hadrianic Society.

Early Christian & Medieval Rome

Santa Prassede

• Uncover the various historical layers of Rome’s churches and basilicas while exploring the development of early Christian art in Rome • Soak up the Vatican’s awe-inspiring atmosphere, visiting St Peter’s Basilica and examining the papal tombs in the underground Necropolis • See astonishing frescoes in situ, including at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore This tour will trace the development of early Christian art in the unique context of Rome, where it evolved from the fugitive imagery of a persecuted cult, into the triumphant representation of imperial piety.

Highlights of our itinerary will include a visit to the excavated Vatican Necropolis under St Peter’s Basilica, with its 3rd century mosaic supposedly portraying Christ as the sun-god Apollo, and Santa Sabina, the oldest surviving Roman basilica in the city. Another memorable visit will be to the Scala Sancta of the Sancta Sanctorum chapel, said to be the steps taken by Jesus Christ on his way to trial by Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which were subsequently brought to Rome in the fourth century by Saint Helena.

Within the 4th century Church of Santa Costanza, originally built as a mausoleum, we will discover some of the most important early Christian art in the 18

world. The splendid mosaics, depicting scenes of grape harvesting and details of birds and foliage, aptly illustrate Constantine’s policy of adapting old pagan motifs to new, Christian purposes.

We will examine a succession of popes responsible for some of the unique images of the Virgin Mary to be found in Rome, from Sixtus III, who built the immense Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, to Nicholas IV, who centuries later commissioned Torriti to produce the Coronation of the Virgin mosaic in its apse.

Our investigation will also consider the development of the ‘Roman’ school, characterised by Pietro Cavallini, whose Last Judgment mural in Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is considered his masterwork.

We will stay throughout in the three-star Albergo Santa Chiara, situated in the very heart of Rome.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour has a full itinerary and involves extensive walking, including over many cobbled streets, so a good level of fitness is required.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Some sites in Rome can undergo last minute closure owing to local events.

© LIVIOANDRONICO2013/CC BY-SA 4.0

February 22–27, 2021 from £1895 per person | with Andrew Wilson

Tour Director Andrew Wilson writes, “Scattered among the better known imperial monuments, the thrill of this tour is the opportunity to explore a variety of early churches, allowing us to trace the gradual development of an art form (tied into liturgy and architecture) that gives us so much pleasure in the place where it had its roots, the Roma Caput Mundi.”

Day 1 Flight from London to Rome. Transfer to Albergo Santa Chiara for five nights.

Day 2 Morning: San Crisogono (Paleochristian crypt), Santa Cecilia and the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. Afternoon: Santa Sabina (fine example of an early Christian church in Rome), Santa Maria in Cosmedin and San Giorgio in Velabro. Evening talk: Early Christian Rome.

Day 3 Morning: Catacombs of Priscilla (frescoes including earliest image of Madonna and Child), Santa Costanza and Sant’Agnese. Afternoon: Santa Maria Maggiore (nave and triumphal arch mosaics), Santa Pudenziana and Santa Prassede. Evening talk: The Development of Early Christian Art. Day 4 Morning: San Clemente and Santi Cosma e Damiano, followed by some free time in the area of the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Afternoon: San Giovanni in Laterano, Sancta Sanctorum cappella papale, Santi Quattro Coronati. Free evening.

Day 5 Visits in the Vatican City: St Peter’s Basilica and Necropolis. Afternoon: Castel Sant’Angelo.

Day 6 Morning walking tour: Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Santa Maria sopra Minerva and Campo de’ Fiori. Flight from Rome to London.

Cost of £1895 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a standard twin or double bedded room, breakfast, four dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, single standard room supplement £50, single superior room supplement £95.

TOUR CODE: ECMR21

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UNITED KINGDOM Port Sunlight War Memorial

Art Collections of Liverpool March 22–25, 2021 from £995 per person | with Stella Lyons

• Discover rich art collections in and around UNESCO-listed Liverpool, from the holdings of the Walker Art Gallery to Sir Antony Gormley’s coastal sculptures • Explore the outstanding collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings and decorative arts at the Lady Lever Art Gallery • Visit Knowsley Hall, historical seat of the Earls of Derby

This tour will be led by Stella Lyons, BA, MA, an art history lecturer and speaker accredited with the Arts Society. Stella studied at the universities of Bristol and Warwick, and lectures regularly throughout the UK, Europe and in Asia.

Her particular interests include 19th century British art, American figurative artists from the 20th century, and Renaissance Italian art, having spent a year studying at the British Institute in Florence and in Venice.

In 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.

collection of 18th century English furniture and decorative Wedgwood.

Throughout the centuries, Liverpool has benefitted from substantial artistic patronage, and is now home to a wealth of works by the Pre-Raphaelites. The Walker Art Gallery, opened in 1877, is known as the National Gallery of the North, and contains a magnificent collection of Old Master and PreRaphaelite works, which we will explore in depth on a guided visit.

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 the country’s largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings, as well as an exquisite

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Modern and contemporary art will also feature on our tour, with an excursion to see Sir Antony Gormley’s remarkable series of 100 cast-iron figures on Crosby beach, and a visit to Tate Liverpool, located on Albert Dock. Opened in 1846, this historical waterfront was once a treasure house of precious cargoes from all over the world, and today it is home to a number of museums.

We will also make a special visit to one of Merseyside’s hidden treasures: the stately home of Knowsley Hall. Historical seat of the Earls of Derby, the Hall is not frequently open to the public, and boasts extremely fine Jacobean, Baroque and Victorian interiors.

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

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This is not a demanding tour, but participants must be comfortable with a moderate amount of walking, as well as periods of standing in galleries and navigating steps.

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

Day 1 Tour assembles 1345 at Crowne Plaza Liverpool City Centre Hotel for three nights.

Afternoon: Metropolitan Cathedral (Lutyens Crypt) and Liverpool Cathedral (Sir Giles Gilbert Scott). Evening lecture: The First Modern British Artists? The Radical & Scandalous Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Day 2 Morning: Knowsley Hall (seat of the Earls of Derby), Ullet Road Unitarian Church (William Morris stained glass). Afternoon: Albert Dock and Tate Liverpool. Evening lecture: The Naked Truth about Victorians – the Nude in 19th Century Art. Day 3 Morning: Crosby Beach (Sir Antony Gormley’s Another Place) followed by Port Sunlight Village and Lady Lever Art Gallery. Afternoon: Speke Hall (Tudor manor house with Arts & Crafts aesthetics). Evening lecture.

Day 4 Morning: Walker Art Gallery. Tour disperses 1230.

Cost of £995 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 £145.

TOUR CODE: LVPL21

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ITALY

Aquileia: City of Antiquity March 8–13, 2021 from £1645 per person | with Andrew Wilson

This tour will be led by Andrew Wilson, BA, BD, FSAScot. Andrew studied archaeology then theology before working overseas as an archaeologist, specialising in Roman frontier systems and Byzantine mosaics. He has led many tours for ACE in the GrecoRoman world, and also several in Britain, with a particular emphasis on the archaeology of his native Scotland.

Day 1 Flight from London Gatwick to Venice.

Transfer to Udine in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region for five nights at the Astoria Hotel.

Day 2 Morning lecture. Whole day excursion exploring the ancient city of Aquileia including the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta (mosaics depicting scenes of the prophet Jonah, gospels, apostles and portraits of patrons, 11th and 12th century Byzantine frescoes), the Paleo-Christian Museum, Roman forum and Archaeological Museum.

Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta

• Visit the city’s remarkable basilica with its sequence of 4th century mosaics • Journey across a beautiful lagoon to find the cobbled streets and courtyards of Grado, home to historical churches with 6th century mosaics • Discover the Lombard Temple and medieval Duomo in Cividale, high above the Natisone River

cobbled streets and courtyards with splendid mosaics from the 6th century located in two of its historical churches.

Cividale is located high above the Natisone River, and although little remains of this important Roman town (its original name of Forum Iulii gives the modern region of Friuli its name), we will explore the fine medieval Duomo, whose foundations date back to the 8th century, and the lovely Lombard Temple from the same period.

Day 3 Morning in Cividale: Duomo (originally an 8th century structure, rebuilt 15th century), Christian Museum, Hypogeum, Lombard Temple (fine Byzantine frescoes and stucco decorations) and Archaeological Museum. Afternoon in Udine: Diocesan Museum (housed in the Patriarchal Palace), Duomo and Baptistery.

Aquileia, once described by Emperor Justinian as “the greatest of all towns in the West”, is today a little known but important Roman city perched on the Adriatic coastline. As a hugely important strategic city in the Roman Empire during the 1st century AD, Aquileia served as a crossroads, with a wide trading network between Rome and the East.

Our final excursion is to the enchanting seaport of Trieste. A cultural meetingpoint throughout its history, today the city is the site of interesting AustroHungarian architecture alongside superb Byzantine mosaics, a Roman theatre and the medieval Castello di San Giusto.

Day 5 Whole day excursion to Trieste via Miramare: walking tour of seafront and downtown Trieste (important Austro-Hungarian architecture, Roman Theatre), St Justus Cathedral (superb Byzantine mosaics) and medieval Castello di San Giusto.

From 182 BC, when it became a Roman colony amid the local Gallic peoples, until the arrival of Huns, Goths and Lombards in the late imperial and early medieval period, Aquileia was revered for its military and economic assets as well as its cultural and spiritual magnificence.

Our tour takes in the tranquil cypresslined forum and harbour, delights in themselves, but the city’s crowning glory is contained within its magnificent basilica, a remarkable sequence of 4th century mosaics that provide some of the oldest and most illustrious PaleoChristian memoirs in Western Europe.

Nearby, we journey across a picturesque ‘Venetian’ lagoon to the beautifully situated town of Grado, a maze of 20

The tour will be based at the Astoria Hotel in the city of Udine, where there is a superb Duomo, and two fascinating art galleries, including a pictorial cycle by the Venetian artist Tiepolo.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour is not expected to be particularly strenuous, with visits reached either by coach or a short walk from the hotel. The full day in Aquileia involves some longer walks of up to 15 minutes, and the visit to the Civic Museums of History and Art in Udine involves a steep flight of steps. Participants should fulfil our usual fitness requirements and be prepared for some uneven terrain.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation. Sites in Italy can close at short notice for restoration works, and so some adjustments may be made nearer the time.

Day 4 Morning lecture followed by visits in Grado (Basilica of Sant’Eufemia, Santa Maria delle Grazie and old town) via Palmanova (late 16th century defences). Late afternoon visits to Piazza Libertà (15th century town hall and clock tower) and optional visit to Udine’s Civic Museums of History and Art (housed in the 16th century castle).

Day 6 Flight from Venice to London Gatwick.

“Excellent planning – I felt very well looked after throughout...

I knew nothing about this area before going on this tour but would now recommend it without reservation” – ACE customer on 2019 Aquileia: City of Antiquity tour with Andrew Wilson

Cost of £1645 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £110, double room for single use supplement £170.

TOUR CODE: AQU121

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FRANCE

March 1–8, 2021 from £2295 per person | with Sarah Burles

This tour will be led by Sarah Burles, MA, who studied History of Art at the University of Cambridge before going on to a career in museum and gallery education. This included 12 years at the Fitzwilliam Museum as well as work in other Cambridge museums. Sarah has a passion and enthusiasm for making art accessible, engaging and enjoyable.

The Port at Sunset, St Tropez, Opus 236 by Paul Signac

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: A good level of fitness is required for this tour, as some visits will be made on foot and by boat. Participants must be prepared to navigate steps and walk for up to a mile at a time, occasionally uphill and on uneven ground. To access the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nice participants are required to traverse a number of steps, as there is no ramp, and the museum does not have a lift to reach the first floor. The longest coach journey is to St Tropez, taking approximately 2 ½ hours, and we hope to return by boat (weather permitting), although this can be choppy if windy.

Art on the Côte d’Azur

• Visit museums dedicated to individual artists such as Matisse, Chagall, Picasso, Léger and Renoir • Find out what made these artists and others travel to the south of France to live and work • Experience the work of leading 20th century artists in the peaceful hillside setting of the Fondation Maeght

the Musée Matisse, Musée Renoir, Musée National Fernand Léger and Musée Chagall. The latter is home to the twelve great paintings that make up the Biblical Message series, whilst the Musée Renoir offers an opportunity to visit the house of this great artist, where he spent the final decade of his life. It houses a number of his paintings and sculptures, and boasts beautiful views towards the sea.

From the late 19th century onwards, the vivid colours of the Côte d’Azur, as well as the region’s mild climate and dramatic landscapes, captivated a succession of Europe’s leading artists.

The great strengths of the Musée de l’Annonciade in St Tropez are the collection of works by Signac and the neo-Impressionists, Bonnard and the Nabis, Matisse and the Fauves.

Meanwhile, above the beautiful walled village of St Paul de Vence lies the Fondation Maeght, its pinewooded grounds adorned with work

by Giacometti, Calder and Miró. The Foundation possesses one of Europe’s most important collections of 20th century painting, drawing and sculpture: Braque, Chagall, Léger and Calder are all represented.

Following in the footsteps of Cézanne, Monet and Renoir both visited the south of France in the 1880s, while Signac famously sailed into St Tropez harbour in 1892 and stayed, later building a house and inviting other artists to join him.

Matisse arrived in Nice in 1917 and it was not long before his friend and rival Picasso joined him on the Côte d’Azur.

During our week in Nice and its environs we will consider what drew these artists and others to the south of France and explore the legacy they left in the region: from Matisse’s stunning Chapelle du Rosaire to Picasso’s work at the former Château Grimaldi in Antibes and Jean Cocteau’s ‘Salle des Mariages’ at Menton.

A number of these artists have museums dedicated to them, amongst which are

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We will stay throughout at the fourstar Hotel Nice Riviera, a comfortable modern hotel ideally situated in the heart of Nice close to the Promenade des Anglais.

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

Day 1 Flight from London to Nice. Transfer to Hotel Nice Riviera for seven nights.

Day 2 Morning lecture: The French Riviera – Art, Love & Life followed by walking tour of Nice.

Afternoon: Musée des Beaux-Arts (Old Masters) and Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain.

Day 3 Morning lecture: Matisse, Chagall & the Côte d’Azur followed by Musée Renoir. Afternoon: Musée Matisse and Musée Chagall (Biblical Message). Free evening.

Day 4 Morning: Fondation Maeght (20th century art including Miró, Chagall, Matisse and Léger) and walk down the medieval Chemin Sainte-Claire to St Paul de Vence. Afternoon: Matisse’s celebrated Chapelle du Rosaire.

Day 5 Menton: Salle des Mariages and Musée du Bastion. Afternoon: Villefranche-sur-Mer (Cocteau’s Chapelle de Saint Pierre des Pêcheurs).

Day 6 Morning: Musée National Fernand Léger in Biot. Afternoon in Antibes: Musée Picasso (Château Grimaldi) followed by Château Vallauris (Picasso collection and chapel). Free evening.

Day 7 By coach to St Tropez (favoured haunt of artists since the 1890s): walking tour of the old port, Musée de l’Annonciade (Bonnard, Braque, Maillol, Matisse and Signac) housed in former chapel of Pénitents Blancs. Return by boat and coach to Nice.

Day 8 Flight from Nice to London.

Cost of £2295 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a classic twin or double bedded room, breakfast, one lunch, five dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, classic double room for single use supplement £330.

TOUR CODE: ARC121

21

ITALY ceremonial procession of martyrs and virgins, saints and angels.

Just outside the ‘city of mosaics’ we will visit the ancient port of Classe, founded by Augustus, to view the huge Basilica of Sant’Apollinare with its exceptional mosaics rich in gold and turquoise. While here, we will have an opportunity to stop at the site’s excellent new museum, which takes visitors on a journey back in time to explore the origins of Ravenna and Classe.

Roman & Byzantine Ravenna March 15–19, 2021 from £1295 per person | with Andrew Wilson

Accommodation is in Ravenna’s four-star Hotel Bisanzio, situated in a quiet area of the city just a few steps from San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.

Mosaic of St Lawrence in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

• The ‘city of mosaics’ welcomes us for a five-day tour brimming with some of the most impressive early Christian monuments in the world • Stand opposite Ravenna’s earliest mosaics in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, including an intense portrayal of the martyrdom of St Lawrence • The ancient port of Classe, founded

by Augustus, awes us with its immense Basilica of Sant’Apollinare, shimmering with gold and turquoise Today a small, tranquil town of cobbled streets, Ravenna was once one of the Mediterranean’s most illustrious cities.

The final capital of the Western Roman Empire, Ravenna served as the seat of Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, before the Byzantines transformed the city into one of Europe’s foremost centres of art and culture.

Ravenna’s surviving collection of early Christian monuments and mosaics is without parallel in Christendom, a beguiling blend of Greco-Roman tradition and Christian iconography.

At the heart of this opulent legacy 22

This tour will be led by Andrew Wilson, BA, BD, FSAScot. Andrew studied archaeology then theology before working overseas as an archaeologist, specialising in Roman frontier systems and Byzantine mosaics. lies the Basilica of San Vitale, begun during the Ostrogoths’ rule and finished under Justinian, where the glittering mosaic portraiture of Justinian and his wife Theodora capture the essence of Byzantium: the emperor, set against a flat, gold background, is resplendent in imperial purple, a gold paten in his outstretched hand, a halo encircling his scintillating crown.

The seemingly humble Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, erected a century before San Vitale, boasts Ravenna’s earliest mosaics, including a vivid portrayal of the martyrdom of St Lawrence as he approaches the red-hot grid-iron.

Breathtaking, too, is the interior of the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, erected by Theodoric and later reconsecrated under Byzantine rule: the twin nave mosaics depict a sparkling

© GALLA PLACIDIA. CC BY-SA 3.0

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

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Please note this tour is conducted primarily on foot from the hotel. While coffee breaks will be provided at suitable intervals, the majority of visits are an hour long with few opportunities to sit down, and participants should therefore be comfortable walking and standing for a minimum of 60 minutes.

Day 1 Flight from London Heathrow to Bologna.

Transfer to Ravenna for four nights at Hotel Bisanzio. Welcome and evening talk: The Church Architecture of Ravenna.

Day 2 Morning talk: Dante in Ravenna followed by 5th century Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (exceptional late antiquity mosaics), Basilica of San Vitale (famous mosaics of Justinian and Theodora), National Museum of Ravenna (archaeological objects from early Christian and Byzantine periods), cathedral, Dante Museum and tomb, Archiepiscopal Museum and Neonian Baptistery (outstanding early Christian mosaics).

Day 3 Morning talk: Church Mosaics of Ravenna followed by Arian Baptistery (built by Theodoric), Church of San Giovanni Evangelista, Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo (splendid frieze of martyrs), 7th century Domus of the Stone Carpets (beautiful floor mosaics), return visits to Mausoleum of Galla Placidia and San Vitale.

Day 4 Morning: excursion to 11th century Abbey of Pomposa (interior repainted in 14th century

by Vitale de Bologna). Afternoon: Mausoleum of Theodoric and ancient port of Classe for Basilica of Sant’Apollinare (gold and turquoise mosaics) and optional visit to the new museum.

Day 5 Flight from Bologna to London Heathrow.

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

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £95, double room for single use supplement £145.

TOUR CODE: RAV121

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GERMANY This tour will be led by Lars Tharp, MA, FSA, an art historian, lecturer and broadcaster who is well known for his work on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.

Lars is a ceramics specialist who has curated or overseen exhibitions at York Art Gallery and London’s Foundling Museum. He is the author of several works including Hogarth’s China, and has led tours to Dresden, Copenhagen and China.

Art Treasures of Dresden: Porcelain & Paintings

Zwinger

• Visit the city described as the ‘jewel box’ of Germany, discovering a wealth of cultural riches, including magnificent collections of porcelain • Explore the outstanding collections of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, recently reopened following several years of refurbishment • Enjoy an excursion to Meissen, a medieval medley of red-tile and stucco architecture, and go behind the scenes to view a demonstration at the celebrated porcelain factory “There are unbelievable treasures of all kinds in this beautiful place,” wrote Goethe of Dresden, where the magnificent Baroque dome of the reconsecrated Frauenkirche, in which Bach and Wagner once performed, vies with Augustus the Strong’s Zwinger Palace as the city’s dominant landmark.

Dresden’s Royal Palace, the former seat of the Saxon government, hosts the fabulous Green Vault treasure chamber. The gilded and mirrored Baroque chambers of the Historic Green Vault reveal items collected by Augustus the Strong.

The Zwinger is a vast complex of formal gardens, ornate fountains and grand pavilions. It is home to the Porcelain Room, which, flooded with natural light, displays the Dresden porcelain collection assembled by Augustus the Strong. We will also visit the recently refurbished Old

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“We couldn’t have had a better guide – informative, interesting and witty” “Lars is hugely knowledgeable and informative. His guided tour of the Zwinger was a masterclass” – ACE customers on previous Art Treasures of Dresden tours

Masters Picture Gallery, with works by Raphael (notably his Sistine Madonna), Botticelli, Velázquez, Dürer, Vermeer and Rembrandt.

Meissen, a medieval hotch-potch of red-tiled roofs and stucco architecture, is Saxony’s oldest town. It was once home to the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger, who discovered the formula for creating white porcelain in 1708. Here we will tour the Gothic cathedral and visit the celebrated porcelain factory for a demonstration of the manufacturing process and an opportunity to view an exhibition of their wares.

Further highlights of our tour will include a guided visit to Charlottenburg Old Palace with its Porcelain Cabinet.

© JORGE ROYAN/CC BY-SA 3.0

March 15–20, 2021 from £1885 per person | with Lars Tharp

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour requires a good level of fitness, as it involves a moderate amount of walking, sometimes over uneven ground and cobbles that can be particularly challenging if wet. We will also spend periods of time standing in galleries. Lifts are not always available at sites so participants must feel comfortable using stairs. Our visit to Meissen will involve navigating steep steps.

Day 1 Flight from London to Berlin. Transfer to Dresden for five nights at Hyperion Dresden am Schloss. Welcome and introduction.

Day 2 Morning walking tour of Dresden including Frauenkirche, Meissen Wettin dynasty tile frieze and Synagogue (exteriors) followed by visit to the Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments (located in the Zwinger Palace).

Afternoon: Augustan porcelain collection at the Zwinger Palace.

Day 3 Morning visit to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Master paintings). Afternoon: New and Historic Green Vaults (located in the Royal Palace – subject to confirmation).

Day 4 Whole day excursion to Meissen for visits to Albrechtsburg (castle), citadel cathedral and modern Meissen Factory (demonstration of manufacturing process, exhibition of wares and Meissen shop). Free evening.

Day 5 Morning lecture followed by visit to the Panometer. Free afternoon.

Day 6 Transfer to Berlin with visit en route to Charlottenburg Old Palace (Porcelain Cabinet) and New Wing (time permitting). Flight from Berlin to London.

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

Cost of £1885 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, two lunches, four dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £190.

TOUR CODE: ATDR21

23

FRANCE

Roussillon March 22–29, 2021 from £2145 per person | with Juliet Heslewood

Sant Pere de Rodes

• Visit Céret, home to iconic 20th century artists such as Picasso, Braque and Matisse, and visit the Musée d’Art Moderne • Delve into Dalí’s Surrealist imagination by visiting his unmissable Teatro-Museo in Figueres • Explore the Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes and view its remarkable Romanesque architecture Nestled between France and Spain, Roussillon – a former county of the Principality of Catalonia – boasts diverse landscapes and a unique identity. This French gateway to Spain inspired and welcomed several artists from the 20th century avant-garde, such as Picasso, Miro, Matisse, Dalí and Braque.

The village of Cérét drew Picasso and Braque as well as other leading artists including Matisse, and this creative emulation led to the foundation of a rich Musée d’Art Moderne. In addition to exploring collections of Cubism, Fauvism and Surrealism, we will also devote time to exploring the Musée d’Art Hyacinthe Rigaud in Perpignan, encompassing fine examples of regional art from the Gothic period through to modern times.

As well as the art collections, our stay in Roussillon will enable us to study Romanesque architecture and sculpture.

Highlights include the Abbey of Saint Michel de Cuxa, Serrabone Priory, the Musée du Maître de Cabestany and the Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes – decorated by the Maître de Cabestany’s workshop in the 12th century.

We will cross into Spain, taking the 24

This tour will be led by Juliet Heslewood, MA, an author and art historian who lived in France for nearly 30 years where she devised and led study tours in six different regions.

Juliet studied at the universities of London and Toulouse, and she has written many books, including most recently Van Gogh: A Life in Places.

In addition to leading tours, Juliet frequently lectures at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. opportunity to look at the restored stonebuilt town of Besalú with its complex fortified bridge. Indeed, the defensive architecture of this frontier zone, studded with 17th century strongholds, is one of the region’s most fascinating aspects.

Forteresse de Salses, keeping watch over the border with Spain, is a masterpiece of 15th century military architecture. We will also look at Dalí’s theatrical works in his purpose-built Teatro-Museo in Figueres.

We will stay on the Mediterranean just outside the fishing port of Port Vendres, once home to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, at the comfortable and simply furnished three-star Hotel Les Jardins du Cèdre. The terrace enjoys panoramic views overlooking the sea and the hotel is particularly noted for its excellent restaurant.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour involves a significant amount of walking on cobbled and uneven surfaces. Because of the age of many of the buildings, steps can be of differing sizes and depths.

Lifts are not available at many of the sites, nor at the hotel. Participants must therefore have a good level of mobility.

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

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1320 on British Airways, arriving Toulouse 1605. Transfer to Hotel Les Jardins du Cèdre, Port Vendres, for seven nights.

Day 2 Introductory lecture followed by excursion to Collioure: harbour and Church of Notre Dame des Anges. Continue to Elne (preRoman Iberian citadel of Ilíberis).

Day 3 Morning: Prats de Molló and St Joan de les Abadesses. Afternoon: stone-built town of Besalú in Spain, returning to France via border town of Le Perthus.

Day 4 Whole day excursion to Catalonia: Figueres (Dalí Museum) and Sant Pere de Rodes (superb Romanesque monastery).

Day 5 Morning: Church of St André de Sorede followed by Chapelle St-Genis-des-Fontaines and Céret (provincial town frequented by turn of the century artists) for the Musée d’Art Moderne (Picasso). Afternoon: Church of St Martin de Fenollar. Free evening.

Day 6 Morning: Serrabone Priory followed by a walking tour of Villefranche-de-Conflent.

Afternoon: Abbey of St Michel de Cuxà (10th century Romanesque church).

Day 7 Forteresse de Salses (huge complex built to withstand early artillery) followed by Musée d’Art Hyacinthe Rigaud in Perpignan and Cabestany (Musée du Maître de Cabestany).

Day 8 Transfer to Toulouse for visit to Basilica of St Sernin (time permitting). Depart Toulouse 1910, arriving London Heathrow 2010.

Cost of £2145 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, six dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £285.

TOUR CODE: ROU121

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ITALY

Art in Naples March 1–7, 2021 from £2195 per person | with Alex Koller

This tour will be led by Alex Koller, PhD, an art historian who has studied in Vienna, Salzburg and Cambridge, where he gained his PhD in History of Art from Magdalene College. Alex has been leading tours since 1998 and is an accomplished linguist. His experience ranges from Eastern Europe, Russia and the Himalayas to Japan and southeast Asia.

Day 1 Depart London on British Airways flight to Naples. Six nights at the Grand Hotel Oriente.

The Crucifixion by Giovanni Lanfranco

• Learn about the rich heritage of Naples, from classical antiquity to the 18th century • Discover the city’s wonderful Baroque art treasures • Visit the perfectly preserved monastic complex of Certosa di San Martino overlooking the city and the Bay of Naples, housing an impressive assembly of works by celebrated 17th century artists The city of Naples has a long and eminent history as one of the few European centres that can claim an unbroken continuity as a metropolis since its classical origins.

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, 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.

We will also view the Renaissance sculpture adorning Castel Nuovo.

Attention will also be paid to a number of religious buildings that contain works of art of the highest order, including medieval royal tombs at Santa Chiara,

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and churches that have retained either all or much of their original decoration.

Among the most fascinating are Pio Monte della Misericordia, which displays Caravaggio’s Seven Works of Mercy, and the important Baroque church of San Gregorio Armeno, decorated by Luca Giordano.

We will stay throughout at the four-star Grand Hotel Oriente, located in the historical centre of Naples.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour has a full and comprehensive itinerary, making the most of our stay in Naples, so a good level of fitness and stamina is required. Many visits will be made on foot and some by public transport, and participants should expect to spend a significant amount of time walking. Most of the city of Naples is on flat ground but the group will be required to climb up steps occasionally, and to traverse potentially uneven ground and cobbles. There will also be a significant amount of time spent standing in galleries and at historical sites.

On this study tour, Alex Koller will examine the cultural richness of Naples, a living historical city that for centuries enjoyed a reputation as one of Italy’s foremost sites, not least in the days of the Grand Tour. Alex explains: “While the individual buildings have changed, the Greek Neapolis survives in the plan of the city to this day, with the result that the feeling of being present in an antique city can probably be experienced better in Naples than anywhere else. In contrast to many cities that can trace their history to antiquity, Naples has never ceased to function as an urban community, not even in the darkest hours of the early Middle Ages.”

Day 2 Morning introductory lecture. Visits to Palazzo Reale, Castel Nuovo (Museo Civico) and religious houses with outstanding schemes of tomb monuments and paintings: Gesù Nuovo, Santa Chiara, San Domenico Maggiore and Sant’Angelo a Nilo.

Day 3 Visits in the ancient quarters of Naples: San Gregorio Armeno, San Paolo Maggiore, baptistery, Complesso Monumentale dei Girolamini, Pio Monte della Misericordia, San Lorenzo Maggiore (catacombs), Museo Cappella Sansevero (18th century sculpture and frescoes) and Sant’Anna dei Lombardi.

Day 4 Morning: by funicular to the Chiaia district for Santa Teresa a Chiaia and Chiesa dell’Ascensione a Chiaia, followed by churches of the Pizzofalcone quarter (Santa Maria degli Angeli and Santa Maria Egiziaca). Optional visit to Castel dell’Ovo (time permitting). Afternoon: San Giovanni a Carbonara, Complesso Monumentale Donnaregina Vecchia (Santa Maria) and Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Roman wall paintings from the Vesuvian sites).

Day 5 Morning visit to the park at Villa Vannucchi (villa exterior) followed by Villa Bruno and Reggia di Portici (former royal palace). Afternoon: Villa Campolieto and Parco Archeologico di Ercolano.

Free evening.

Day 6 Morning: San Leucio and Reggia di Caserta (Europe’s last great Baroque palace scheme).

Afternoon: San Michele Arcangelo (duomo).

Day 7 Morning: Certosa di San Martino (Neapolitan School), catacombs of San Gaudioso and San Gennaro (subject to confirmation).

Afternoon: Museo di Capodimonte. Depart Naples on flight to London.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation. Historical sites in Italy can close at short notice, for instance to undergo restoration works.

Cost of £2195 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, one lunch, five dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, optional visit to Castel dell’Ovo, double room for single use supplement £245.

TOUR CODE: ANPL21

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JORDAN

Jordan: Kingdoms of the Desert March 29 – April 8, 2021 from £3285 per person | with Andrew Wilson

Petra

• Delve into the rich layers of Jordan’s history, from the grand colonnades of Rome to the castles of the crusaders • Marvel at the awe-inspiring stronghold of Petra, carved from rock by the Nabataeans more than 2000 years ago • Journey through the desert landscape of western Arabia, discovering the prehistoric rock engravings of Wadi Rum From the remains of the Stone Age to the magnificence of the Ottomans, Jordan has long felt the tide of history. Today, the country is home to a spectacular array of archaeological sites offering tantalizing glimpses into some of the world’s most iconic cultures: Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, Parthia, the Byzantines, the Umayyads, Abbasids, Crusaders and Ayyubids have all left their mark.

We begin our journey on the seven hills of Amman with the biblical city of Madaba, the centre of a Byzantine mosaic school in the 6th century, and home to the famous floor map of the Holy Land and Jerusalem. Meanwhile, at nearby Mount Nebo, site of the mosaic museum and Sanctuary of Moses, we will 26

Tour Director Andrew Wilson, BA, BD, FSAScot, studied archaeology then theology before working overseas as an archaeologist. He has led many tours for ACE in the Greco-Roman world, and also several in Britain, with a particular emphasis on the archaeology of his native Scotland. Andrew is a member of the Society for Libyan Studies and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and the Society for Promotion of Byzantine Studies. He has led several ACE tours to Jordan and is thrilled to be returning with a group in 2021.

enjoy unrivalled panoramas of the Dead Sea and the River Jordan.

The superb Hellenistic and Roman city of Jerash was created at the end of the 4th century BC by the Greco-Roman confederation as one of the 10 cities of the Decapolis. Built to integrate Hellenic and local populations, it is one of Rome’s grandest imperial outposts and boasts a colonnaded oval forum, magnificent theatres, colonnaded Roman streets and the beautifully restored Precinct of Artemis.

Petra, the imposing stronghold carved out of rock by the Nabataeans more than 2000 years ago, is a true marvel.

On our visit to the rose-red city we will journey through the towering Siq ravine and admire the stunning vista of soaring temples, dramatic halls and lofty altars hand-chiselled into the sandstone cliffs.

Highlights include Al Khazneh (the Treasury), the rock-cut theatre, the Great Temple and the Nabataean temple of Qasr al-Bint. Petra’s northern suburb of Siq al-Barid, often referred to as ‘Little Petra’, holds a further gathering of wellpreserved Nabataean tombs, and nearby the prehistoric site of Al-Beidha holds great significance for understanding the beginnings of the Neolithic period in Western Asia and the birth of European civilization.

Our journey south takes us into the Valley of the Moon (Wadi Rum Protected Area), a remarkable example of desert scenery, and part of the Hizma basin of western Arabia. Here we will take a ‘safari’ through the magnificent desert landscapes to see the wealth of prehistoric rock engravings and the 1st century Nabataean temple in Wadi Rum village.

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Mackint

JORDAN Dotted throughout the steppe-like terrain of eastern Jordan is a string of fortified palaces, towers and caravanserais. These desert castles, eloquent examples of early Islamic art and architecture, include Qasr Amra, its interior adorned with lively frescoes and colourful mosaics, and the oasis and fortress of Azraq, where Lawrence of Arabia quartered during the Great Arab Revolt. We will also visit Kerak, home to the famous Crusader castle used as a stronghold by Reynald de Châtillon.

The Madaba Map

Our visits will be supplemented by informative talks from Tour Director Andrew Wilson throughout.

In Amman we will stay at the Amman Marriott Hotel, before transferring to the Mövenpick Resort at the very entrance to Petra. On the shores of the Dead Sea we will stay at the Dead Sea Jordan Valley Marriott Resort & Spa. OUR VISIT TO PETRA: We have the opportunity to spend a whole day in Petra, with an optional return the following day, to maximise our visit to this splendid site.

Andrew Wilson explains: “On the morning of the first day we will take a 15 minute walk to the entrance to the Siq, down a gentle gradient on a reasonable path (horses are available).

This is followed by a stroll through incredible surroundings, down through the Siq to the Treasury on a beaten earth path.

We then make our way through the heart of the ancient city, with some steep ascents and descents over rough ground and rocky, broken paths, finishing at our lunch stop. In the afternoon there is an optional climb to the monastery, which can take an hour uphill over some tricky and slippery steps in places. The return journey on foot to the hotel from the monastery can take up to two hours, or from the lunch stop 90 minutes.

On our second day in Petra we offer an optional ascent to the High Place of Sacrifice, starting from a point halfway between the Treasury and the lunch stop from the previous day. This climb is shorter but steeper than the monastery and takes over 30 minutes, including a precipitous final stage.”

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

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Please note that some of the walks in Petra take in long, steep and demanding gradients, and a good level of fitness is required for this tour. We recommend participants read the ‘Our Visit to Petra’ information box for further details.

Day 1 Depart on flight from London to Amman.

Day 2 Transfer to Amman Marriott Hotel for three nights. Whole day excursion to Madaba for Church of St George (6th century mosaic floor map of the Holy Land and Jerusalem) and Mount Nebo for mosaic museum, Sanctuary of Moses and decorated early churches.

Day 3 Whole day excursion to the Hellenistic and Roman city of Jerash in northern Jordan: early Byzantine remains, oval forum, theatres, colonnaded Roman streets and restored Precinct of Artemis.

Day 4 Transfer to Petra via Dhiban (where the famous Mesha Stele was found), Wadi Mujib and the crusader town of Kerak. Four nights at Mövenpick Resort, Petra.

Day 7 Whole day excursion to southern Jordan into the Wadi Rum Protected Area (safari drive in 4x4s to see the prehistoric rock engravings and magnificent desert landscapes) and Nabataean temple.

Day 8 Transfer to the edge of the Dead Sea for visit to Bethany (traditional baptismal site of Jesus).

Overnight at Dead Sea Jordan Valley Marriott Resort & Spa. Day 9 Return to Amman by road for two nights at Amman Marriott Hotel. Afternoon: Jordan Archaeological Museum, Roman Theatre and Citadel.

Day 10 Whole day excursion to the Umayyad Desert Castles of Qasr al-Kharana (8th century inscriptions), Qasr al-Hallabat (2nd century mosaics) and Azraq (oasis and headquarters of Lawrence of Arabia). Continue to Umayyad hunting lodge of Qasr Amra (remarkable frescoes).

Day 11 Flight from Amman to London.

“…excellent value for money. Well planned, led and informative” “Very good tour leader, Andrew Wilson, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the area”

Day 5 Visits in Petra: rock-cut tombs, Al Khazneh (the Treasury), ancient Roman remains, theatre, colonnaded street, the Great Temple and the Nabataean temple of the Qasr al-Bint. Optional walk to Al Deir (rock-cut monastery with preserved tombs).

– ACE customers on 2019 Jordan tour with Andrew Wilson

Day 6 Morning: Siq al-Barid (‘Little Petra’) for well-preserved Nabataean tombs and archaeological site of Al-Beidha (Neolithic ruins dating back 9000 years). Afternoon: optional return visit to Petra for ascent to the High Place of Sacrifice.

Cost of £3285 includes: return airfare, group visa, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, nine lunches, dinner with water, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £800.

TOUR CODE: JORD21

01223 841055 Mackintosh at the Willow © Rachel Keenan

27

ITALY

Venice: The Triumph of Light & Colour March 2–8, 2021 from £2295 per person | with Tom Abbott

This tour will be led by Tom Abbott, BA, MA, an independent art and architectural historian associated with the Foundation of Prussian Palaces and Gardens. Tom is an accomplished lecturer and tour leader, with extensive experience directing cultural and art tours in Europe including in Italy. His expertise ranges from the medieval to the modern, and he is particularly fascinated by the Baroque and Rococo.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Historical buildings in Italy sometimes undergo restoration at short notice, and visits may be reordered.

Day 1 Flight from London Gatwick to Venice.

Transfer by water taxi to Hotel Ca’ dei Conti for six nights.

Day 2 Morning visits to Doge’s Palace and Museo di San Marco (famous bronze horses and Treasury). Afternoon: San Giorgio Maggiore for Palladio church (Tintoretto) followed by visit to San Zaccaria. Evening lecture.

The Glory of St Dominic by Giambattista Tiepolo

• Explore Venice’s mosaics, monasteries and magnificent artistic creations • Visit the beautiful Ca’ Rezzonico, a museum of 18th century art and furniture housed in a palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal • Enjoy a visit by private boat to the island of San Francesco del Deserto for a guided tour of the monastery This exploration of Venice, one of Europe’s richest cultural cities, will take in a wonderful array of art and architecture, across palazzi, galleries and churches.

‘colore’ was key. This involved not only the choice of colours themselves, but also their mode of application by layering and blending.

Our exploration of the richness of the Venetian palette will continue as we discover the city’s fine churches. The Scuola Grande di San Rocco contains superb decorative schemes by Tintoretto, a notable member of the Venetian school, while the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni is home to an exquisite cycle by Carpaccio, a student of Gentile Bellini.

Located in the middle of the Venetian Lagoon, the city today bears witness to its heritage as the Republic of Venice – a major financial and maritime power lasting from medieval times, through the Renaissance, until the 18th century.

We will begin with a tour of the Doge’s Palace – where the work of the Venetian administration was carried out, and where the architecture and adornments speak of its function as a symbol of the city.

Amongst other fascinating historical churches on our itinerary are the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, known as ‘I Gesuiti’, with its stunning Baroque interior, and the Gothic Church of Madonna del Orto.

The Galleria dell’Accademia, located in the Dorsoduro district, houses the largest single collection of Venetian art, and offers an opportunity to view a range of paintings showcasing the Venetian masters’ accomplished use of colour. Whilst the concept of ‘disegno’ underpinned the Florentines’ approach to art during the Renaissance, in Venice,

We will stay at the four-star Hotel Ca’ dei Conti.

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We will also enjoy excursions by boat to the islands of Burano, San Francesco del Deserto and Torcello: the latter is home to vivid Byzantine mosaics in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Please note that a good level of fitness is required for this tour, as many of our visits will be made on foot, and will involve navigating steps and bridges. A number of journeys will be made by boat, so participants must feel comfortable on water and when embarking and disembarking boats, which may be rocking.

Day 3 Morning: Galleria dell’Accademia (largest single collection of Venetian art). Afternoon visits to Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni (paintings

by Carpaccio), Dominican Church of Saints Giovanni & Paolo (San Zanipolo, fine altarpieces) and Santa Maria dei Miracoli (exquisite early Renaissance church). Evening lecture.

Day 4 Morning: Gothic Ca’ d’Oro (Franchetti collection of paintings), Church of Santa Maria Assunta (known as I Gesuiti, with stunning Baroque interior), Gothic Church of Madonna del Orto.

Afternoon visit to Jewish Museum followed by coffee & cake at Ca’ Sagredo (fully restored palace on the Grand Canal). Free evening.

Day 5 Morning: Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Franciscan church, Titian and Bellini altarpieces), Scuola Grande di San Rocco (Tintoretto).

Afternoon: Scuole Grande dei Carmini (Tiepolo frescoes) and Church of San Sebastiano (Veronese).

Day 6 Island of San Francesco del Deserto for guided tour of Franciscan monastery, followed by island of Torcello for Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (vivid Byzantine mosaics). Afternoon on island of Burano: Lace Museum and San Martino Burano. Independent dinner followed by private evening visit to Basilica di San Marco (subject to confirmation). Free evening.

Day 7 Morning: Ca’ Rezzonico (beautiful museum of 18th century Venice). Transfer by water taxi to Venice airport for flight to London Gatwick.

Cost of £2295 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, one lunch, four dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £310.

TOUR CODE: VENI21

aceculturaltours.co.uk

UNITED KINGDOM

Cornwall Calling: The Artists of Newlyn, Lamorna & St Ives April 24–29, 2021 from £1325 per person | with Sarah Burles

Packing Fish, St Ives Harbour by Gwendoline Hopton

• Discover the works of the Newlyn School artists, who were enchanted

by Cornwall in the late 19th century • Visit the recently extended Tate St Ives and Barbara Hepworth’s atmospheric home and studio • Visit Trelissick Estate, which enjoys beautiful maritime views, en route to Falmouth Art Gallery

Perched above the River Fal, leading to the sea, the neoclassical columned house at Trelissick offers unparalleled, spectacular maritime views amidst beautifully landscaped gardens and woodland. We will continue to Falmouth Art Gallery, described as having “one of the leading art collections of Cornwall and the South West”, including works by Henry Scott Tuke.

The beauty of the countryside, the drama of the sea and the clarity of the light attracted a succession of artists to the Cornish fishing towns of Newlyn, Lamorna and St Ives in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Reopened in 2017 after a £20 million transformation by Jamie Fobert Architects, Tate St Ives was the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year in 2018. The gallery hosts a rich collection of modern art in a dramatic seafront setting, including pottery and stoneware by Bernard Leach and marine paintings by local artist Alfred Wallis. A short walk away is Trewyn Studio, Barbara Hepworth’s home and studio from 1949 to 1975.

The rooms feel as though she has only just left them and the small, tranquil garden provides the perfect setting for her sculptures.

The painters of the Newlyn School were led by Stanhope Forbes; they adhered to the principle of painting en plein air and found subject matter amongst the local fishermen and their families. In the 20th century, St Ives became a focus for leading avant-garde artists such as Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo and Barbara Hepworth, as well as Patrick Heron, Roger Hilton and Peter Lanyon. Our tour will follow in the footsteps of the artists inspired by the Cornish land and seascapes from the 1800s to the present day.

The tour will be based in Truro, a predominantly Georgian town, where we will visit John Loughborough Pearson’s neo-Gothic cathedral and the Royal Cornwall Museum, home to a collection of Cornish paintings by artists from both the Newlyn School and the Lamorna Group.

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Key works by Newlyn School artists reside at Penlee House Gallery and Museum in Penzance. Artists such as Dod and Ernest Procter and Roger Fry created a series of unique paintings for the church at St Hilary. Our tour also includes an afternoon at the romantically named and justly famous Lost Gardens of Heligan.

We will stay throughout at the four-star Alverton Hotel in Truro, with elegant and comfortable rooms housed in a Grade II-listed building.

This tour will be led by Sarah Burles, MA, who studied History of Art at Cambridge University before going on to a career in museum and gallery education. This included 12 years at the Fitzwilliam Museum as well as work in other Cambridge museums. Sarah has worked on the St Ives artists and their links to Kettle’s Yard, and has taught a short course on ‘The Art of Cornwall’.

She is looking forward to leading this ACE tour in 2021.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: A good level of fitness is required for this tour, and participants should be prepared for a moderate amount of walking and standing during walking tours and gallery visits.

Day 1 Tour assembles 1730 at The Alverton Hotel, Truro, for five nights.

Day 2 Morning lecture followed by visits in Truro: Royal Cornwall Museum (Cornish art including the Newlyn School) and neo-Gothic cathedral.

Afternoon: Lost Gardens of Heligan (giant Himalayan rhododendrons, bamboos, ferns, palms).

Day 3 Morning: Trelissick (house and gardens with unparalleled maritime views). Afternoon: Falmouth Art Gallery (one of the leading art collections in Cornwall).

Day 4 Visits in Newlyn (Cornwall’s largest fishing port) and Penzance (Penlee House Gallery and Museum) followed by St Hilary’s Church (decorated by members of the Lamorna Group).

Evening lecture.

Day 5 Whole day excursion to St Ives for Bernard Leach Pottery and Tate St Ives (including works by Patrick Heron, Alfred Wallis and Naum Gabo). Afternoon: Barbara Hepworth Museum and Porthmeor Studios (one of the oldest working artists’ studios in the country – visit subject to confirmation).

Day 6 Tour disperses after breakfast.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. We cannot guarantee the availability of all artworks mentioned.

Cost of £1325 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 £195, double room for single use supplement £275.

TOUR CODE: CORN21

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UNITED KINGDOM

Churches of Suffolk © MICHAEL GARLICK/CC BY-SA 2.0

April 26–30, 2021 from £1075 per person | with Imogen Corrigan

St Nicholas’s Church

• Delve into Suffolk’s prosperous past at the churches of Holy Trinity in Long Melford and St Peter & St Paul in Eye • Encounter some hidden medieval treasures – from bench carvings to wall paintings – in less frequented churches • Stay in the heart of Bury St Edmunds, a stone’s throw from its fascinating cathedral Like its neighbour Norfolk, the undulating landscape of Suffolk possesses one of the highest concentrations of churches in the UK. Many are famous for their magnificent stained glass, celebrated nationally “for the people they depict, the stories they tell and their famous designers” (National Churches Trust, 2018).

Yet these churches also help to reveal important religious, architectural and economical developments: rising on the back of the 15th century woven cloth trade, many owe their life and character to the region’s burgeoning wealth, as well as changes that came later, from the Reformation to 19th century revisions.

Encasing some fine 15th century stained glass, the parish church at Stratford St Mary boasts a beautiful exterior, characterised by flint flushwork and medieval inscriptions. A similar impression awaits us at Eye, where one of East Anglia’s grandest churches – St Peter and St Paul – offers a striking reflection of the region’s medieval prosperity; it is particularly famous for its late-15th century rood screen depicting saints and monarchs beneath graceful, gilded arches.

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Churches of Suffolk is one in a series of more gently paced tours, ideal for those who prefer a more laid-back, less physically demanding itinerary while enjoying the same high level of academic content. Walking and travelling distances are typically shorter, and time is dedicated to the gradual appreciation of, and explorations within, our immediate surroundings.

Hotels will usually be situated in central locations to allow for ease of access to major amenities. Participants should meet ACE’s usual fitness requirements.

Among the most renowned wool towns of the county, Long Melford boasts a fittingly spectacular parish church in Holy Trinity, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in the country.

Perched at the village’s highest point, it entrances visitors with its medieval stained glass, including the famous depiction of the Trinity as three interlocked hares, and its light-filled lady chapel.

St Nicholas’s Church in Denston is a prime example of late Perpendicular architecture and a treasure trove of original features, including misericords, a panelled font and medieval benches topped with animal carvings.

Originally a parish church, St Edmundsbury attained its cathedral status in 1914. Following 19th century restorations by George Gilbert Scott and James Wyatt, this fascinating and multilayered structure has since undergone significant modern expansions.

This tour will be led by medieval historian Imogen Corrigan, BA, MPhil.

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 subsequently an MPhil from the University of Birmingham. Her book Stone on Stone: The Men who Built the Cathedrals was published in 2019. A proficient lecturer, Imogen has run ACE’s perennially popular Churches of Norfolk tour for several years and is delighted to be able to offer this brand new exploration of Suffolk.

Our base for the tour will be the four-star Angel Hotel, a stylish and charming boutique establishment set among the cobbled streets of Bury St Edmunds.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: While we do not expect this tour to be especially strenuous, some of the sites visited will contain uneven flooring, steps, ramps and dimly lit interiors. The visit to St Gregory’s Church in Sudbury will involve a walk of around one mile, and the visit to Holy Trinity Church in Long Melford will require a short walk up a shallow slope.

Day 1 Tour assembles 1330 at the Angel Hotel, Bury St Edmunds, for four nights. Welcome lecture followed by a visit to St Edmundsbury Cathedral.

Day 2 Morning visits to St Mary the Virgin Church, Bergholt and Stratford St Mary. Afternoon: St Mary’s Church, Combs.

Day 3 Morning: St Nicholas’s Church, Denston and Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. Afternoon: St Gregory’s Church, Sudbury and St Mary’s Church, Brent Eleigh.

Day 4 Morning visits to St Mary’s Church, Thornham Parva, St Mary the Virgin Church, Yaxley and the Church of St Peter & St Paul, Eye. Afternoon: St Andrew’s Church, Wingfield and St Mary’s Church, Dennington.

Day 5 Morning: St Mary’s Church, Bacton and St Andrew’s Church, Cotton. Afternoon visits to St Ethelbert’s Church, Hessett and St Mary’s Church, Woolpit. Tour disperses 1630 at Bury St Edmunds Station followed by the hotel.

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

Cost of £1075 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 £120.

TOUR CODE: CHUS21

aceculturaltours.co.uk

GREECE Lassithi Plateau

Crete: Birds, Flowers & Minoans © ROLF DIETRICH BRECHER/CC BY-SA 2.0

April 27 – May 4, 2021 from £1995 per person | with Kevin Hand

• Absorb captivating views across the Cretan landscape from the beautiful Lassithi Plateau • Explore the Minoan palace at Knossos in addition to the remains at Gournia and Malia • Look out for waders, migrant pipits and larks in the coastal town of Elounda, followed by a nearby cliff walk where wild gladioli and endemic orchids grow above the sea 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-of-Bethlehem.

Although the emphasis of our programme will be on flowers and birds,

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Tour Director Kevin Hand, MSc, MCIEEM, is a conservationist and environmental consultant with a special interest in birds, mammals and ecotourism. He has led many projects linking nature and communities, and recently led a team providing access to the British countryside for hard to reach groups. Kevin is currently leading a project on eagles, vultures and other wildlife in Albania. In April 2017 he was appointed President of the Cambridge Natural History Society. there will also be a guided tour of the famous Minoan site of Knossos and visits to the smaller remains at Gournia and Malia. The majestic Selinari Gorge, meanwhile, offers opportunities to visit an old chapel and newly founded monastery.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Participants should have a good overall level of fitness for this tour, as a number of visits will involve negotiating rugged or uneven terrain.

Day 1 Flight from London Gatwick to Heraklion.

Transfer to Agios Nikolaos for five nights at Hotel Miramare.

Day 2 Morning lecture followed by coastal town of Elounda (waders, migrant pipits, larks in former salt-pans) and peninsula of Spinalonga (sunken city of Olous). Afternoon: boat trip to Venetian island fortress of Spinalonga, followed by cliff walk (wild gladioli, endemic orchids, birds of prey).

Day 3 Minoan Palace of Malia (marsh shore with short turf covered in Cretan camomile and catch fly). Afternoon visit to the famous Minoan Palace at Knossos.

Day 4 Lassithi Plateau (large, fertile mountain plateau with panoramic views) for orchids, upland plants, fruit groves with optional visit to Dhiktean Cave (birthplace of Zeus).

Day 5 Morning: ruins of Gournia (unusual Minoan town), rocky coastline in search of Cretan ebony.

Afternoon: gigantic gorge mouth at Monastiraki (chough, Alpine swift).

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.

Day 6 Orthodox Easter Sunday Selinari Gorge (chapel, monastery and vulture colony), Rethymnon, Agia Lake (waders and migrant waterbirds) then transfer for two nights at Neos Omalos Hotel in mountains of western Crete.

Our first five nights are spent at the Hotel Miramare Resort & Spa, a small hotel close to the sea near Agios Nikolaos. In Omalos we stay at the Neos Omalos, a mountain resort hotel.

Day 7 Across Omalos Plateau to Samaria Gorge, exploring little-known paths, searching for mountain plants (endemic Cretan tulip, aubretia, yellow Star-of-Bethlehem, centuries-old cypresses), with possible sightings of bearded vulture and agrimi (wild goat).

Cost of £1995 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £160.

TOUR CODE: CRET21

Day 8 Flight from Chania to London Gatwick.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation. Changing local conditions may also affect our itinerary nearer the time.

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BELGIUM

Flemish Painting: From van Eyck to Rubens April 13–18, 2021 from £1685 per person | with Rupert Dickens

Raising of the Cross by Peter Paul Rubens

• Discover the works and worlds of the Flemish masters across Belgium with visits to important collections in Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels • See Hubert and Jan van Eyck’s iconic ‘Ghent Altarpiece’ – The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb – in full, its panels reunited at the Cathedral of St Bavo • Enjoy a new day excursion to Mechelen, to visit the Museum Hof van Busleyden, a splendid Renaissance palace, and to see Rubens’s famous altarpiece at the Church of St John

This tour will be led by Rupert Dickens, MA, an art historian specialising in Dutch and Flemish art. Rupert studied art history at Birkbeck, University of London, before gaining a Masters degree in Dutch Golden Age Studies at UCL. Previously a BBC television and radio journalist for more than 20 years, Rupert is now an Arts Society lecturer and a guide lecturer at the Wallace Collection. He has been visiting and working in the Netherlands and Belgium since the 1980s.

Few countries have made such a profound contribution to European art as the land we know today as Belgium.

With the development of oil painting in the 15th century onwards, Belgium played an essential role in the evolution of western painting.

We will also visit the Memling Museum, housed in one of Europe’s oldest medieval hospitals, and pay homage to Michelangelo’s marble Madonna and Child in the Gothic Church of Our Lady.

The ‘golden age’ of Flemish art began with the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck, before being continued by Hans Memling in Bruges, Rogier van der Weyden in Brussels, and Hugo van der Goes in Ghent. Flemish Mannerist architects spread Renaissance ideas throughout northern Europe, and in van Dyck and Rubens we have two of the most formidable of all Baroque artists.

The first stop on our tour will be Bruges, where we will enjoy a visit to the Gruuthusemuseum, a luxurious city palace reopened in 2019 following a major refurbishment, and housing a multitude of artistic treasures celebrating the glories of the Burgundian age.

Meanwhile, the Groeningemuseum is host to an enviable collection of van Eyck and van der Weyden, and is the setting for Hieronymous Bosch’s Last Judgment.

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A particular highlight of our 2021 tour will be the opportunity to view the entirety of the van Eyck brothers’ magnificent Ghent Altarpiece, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, in a new dedicated visitors’ centre at St Bavo’s Cathedral. The panels, some of which have recently been refurbished, will be reunited and on display together at the cathedral for the first time in many years.

We also look forward to a new excursion for 2021, to the city of Mechelen, once the capital of the Burgundian Netherlands and an important political and cultural hub for the Burgundian and early Habsburg princes. A visit to the Museum Hof van Busleyden, a wonderful Renaissance palace, will shed further light upon this period of history. St John’s Church, a stone’s throw from the palace, contains a magnificent altarpiece by Rubens, its central panel depicting the Adoration of the Magi.

In Antwerp, the great commercial port on the Scheldt, we will feel Rubens’s presence in his palatial house and studio, and explore the Mayer van den Bergh Museum, home to a collection of northern Renaissance art assembled during the 19th century. Our tour concludes with a visit to the Musée d’Art Ancien in Brussels, home to Flemish and Belgian paintings dating from the 15th to the 18th century.

We will stay throughout in the centre of Ghent at the four-star NH Gent Belfort, opposite the town hall.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour involves a moderate amount of walking, including over cobbled streets which may be busy with bicycles, and participants must be prepared for navigating steps and spending periods of time standing in galleries. There is no lift at the Gruuthusemuseum, and parts of the collection can only be accessed via narrow, steep and winding staircases.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. We cannot guarantee the availability of all artworks mentioned.

Day 1 Depart London St Pancras 1058 on Eurostar, arriving Brussels 1405. Continue to Ghent for five nights at NH Gent Belfort. Evening lecture: Art in Bruges from Jan van Eyck to Hans Memling.

Day 2 Whole day excursion to Bruges: Gruuthusemuseum (recently refurbished), Groeningemuseum (works by van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Hieronymus Bosch and Memling), Church of Our Lady and Hospital of St John (Memling Museum).

Day 3 Visits in Ghent: Cathedral of St Bavo (The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb altarpiece) and Museum of Fine Arts. Evening lecture: Peter Paul Rubens and his Antwerp Studio.

Day 4 Whole day excursion to Antwerp: Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady (Rubens altarpieces), Mayer van den Bergh’s Museum (Flemish primitives, major collection of late Gothic sculpture) and Rubens’s House. Free evening.

Day 5 Excursion to Mechelen: Museum Hof van Busleyden (Renaissance palace), St John’s Church (Rubens altarpiece) and some free time.

Day 6 Morning lecture: Pieter Bruegel the Elder – Peasant or Scholar? followed by transfer to Brussels for Musée des Beaux Arts (15th-18th century Belgian painting). Depart Brussels 1656, arriving St Pancras 1803.

Cost of £1685 includes: return travel, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, four dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

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

TOUR CODE: FLMP21

aceculturaltours.co.uk

TURKEY Antiphellos

Lycian Cruise April 19 – May 3, 2021 from £3345 per person | with Andrew Wilson

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Participants on this tour should have a good overall level of fitness. Many of the archaeological sites visited will involve short but steep ascents, often on broken paths, with the longest taking about 30 minutes to complete. All ascents are, however, optional and the degree of difficulty will be advised at each site. On occasion participants should be comfortable climbing in and out of a small dinghy via a stepladder.

Day 1 Flight from London to Dalaman. Transfer to MS Lycian Queen for 14 nights. Overnight at Göcek.

Day 2 Morning cruise to island of Gemiler: ruined churches, vaulted processional way, large ecclesiastical complex. Overnight at Gemiler.

Day 3 Cruise westwards to pretty village of Kas (ancient Antiphellos): well-preserved Hellenistic theatre, tombs. Overnight at Kas. Day 4 Sail via Uluburun along coast and into bay of Kekova to small Turkish village of Kaleköy (ancient Simena): dramatic citadel with Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman remains, haunting Lycian necropolis. Overnight at Gokkaya Liman.

Day 5 Sail to Myra. Overnight in Kekova area.

• Explore ancient cities containing fascinating classical remains on a voyage around the coast of southwest Turkey • Journey inland to discover further ancient sites, including the beautifully located town of Pinara with tombs cut into the rock face • Cruise down the Loryma Peninsula, where mountain tops are guarded by impressive fortresses of the Hellenistic age Many of the most striking cities in the Greek and Roman world are found along the coast of south-west Turkey, where the towering limestone cliffs and lofty mountain ranges have changed little since classical times. The armies of Alexander, the emperors of Rome and the traders of Byzantium all brought untold wealth to these rugged shores.

One of the most thrilling ways to experience the bygone cities of Lycia and south-eastern Caria is as the ancients saw them: by sea. Our private voyage on board MS Lycian Queen, a traditional Turkish gulet, will begin with a cruise to Gemiler, where the vestiges of the oncethriving monastic community conjure up the majesty of high Byzantium at the time of Justinian.

After a relaxing day’s sailing we will reach the cities of the Xanthos valley – Xanthos itself, for its Roman theatre and Byzantine citadel, and Letoon. One of the most fascinating aspects of our cruise will be the opportunity to spot ruins

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This cruise will be led by Andrew Wilson, BA, BD, FSAScot, a specialist in archaeology and ancient history with a particular interest in Roman frontier systems and Byzantine mosaics.

Andrew studied archaeology then theology before working overseas as an archaeologist. beneath the clear waters of the eastern Mediterranean: the remains of Aperlae and the Byzantine town of Tersane, for example, are clearly visible to the naked eye.

The cruise along the Bay of Fethiye to the ancient hilltop settlement of Lydae is always inspiring. At the extreme end of the Datça Peninsula we will drop anchor at Knidos, one of Asia Minor’s most dramatically-sited cities. Once home to Praxiteles’s celebrated Aphrodite, Knidos retains many original Hellenistic features and current excavations are unearthing more and more of this riveting twinharboured settlement. Our journey ends in ancient Halicarnassus, site of the famous mausoleum built in honour of King Mausolus c 350 BC.

The deluxe air-conditioned MS Lycian Queen, launched in 2015, has a saloon, a spacious deck, and eight cabins including two masters, all with en-suite facilities.

It is a ketch Turkish gulet, a two-masted wooden vessel typically seen along the coastline of Turkey.

Day 6 Cruise along mountainous shores of Lycian coast to tiny harbour of Kalkan then by minibus to Letoon and Xanthos. Overnight at Kalkan.

Day 7 Travel inland to ancient Pinara in Esençay Valley and Tlos. Two nights in bay of Fethiye.

Day 8 Ancient site of Telmessos, including magnificent tomb of Amyntas.

Day 9 Morning sail to Agalimani: walk through pine forest to remains of ancient Lydae. Overnight at Agalimani.

Day 10 Morning cruise followed by transfer to small boat for visit to site of ancient Caunos.

Overnight in bay near Caunos.

Day 11 Cruise along peninsula to Loryma: Hellenistic fort. Overnight in Loryma.

Day 12 Cruise to Knidos: temple of Apollo Karneios, temple of Aphrodite Euploia, Doric portico, early Byzantine churches, harbour theatre.

Overnight in ancient harbour of Knidos.

Day 13 Cruise to Bay of Bodrum. Overnight in Bay of Bodrum.

Day 14 Sail to Bodrum (ancient Halicarnassus) and visit the remains of the Mausoleum. Overnight at Bodrum.

Day 15 Flight from Bodrum to London.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change. Opening times in Turkey can change at short notice and so some visits may be adjusted nearer the time. The itinerary is fluid and weather conditions can affect the order and nature of visits, so participants should be prepared to be flexible.

Cost of £3345 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded cabin, full board (except lunch on day 8) with water, tea & coffee, shore excursions & admissions, crew gratuities.

Not included: visa, travel insurance, cabin for single use supplement £1285. Master suite cabin supplement on request.

TOUR CODE: LYC121

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ALBANIA

Albania: From the Illyrians to the Ottomans April 28 – May 7, 2021 from £2275 per person | with Carolyn Perry

Tour Director Carolyn Perry was Manager of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL, and since then has worked as a museum consultant with public and private collections in Europe and the Middle East. She frequently lectures on various aspects of the ancient Mediterranean and Islamic world and is a regular contributor to the British Museum’s public programme.

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

Day 1 Depart London Gatwick 1650, arriving Tirana 2045. Transfer to Durrës for three nights.

Apollonia

• Travel the length of this mountainous country, discovering historical wonders left behind by Illyrians and Greeks, Romans and Ottomans • Explore the complex of Apollonia, once home to a famous school of oratory • Delve into the extensive archaeological remains at Antigonea Naturally stunning, spanned by majestic mountains and dazzling coastlines, Albania is home to some of Europe’s most remarkable archaeological treasures. Warmed by the gentle sun of a Mediterranean spring, we will take a voyage into Albania’s absorbing heritage and discover its place in the annals of European history.

Our journey begins in the bustling port city of Durrës. This multi-layered centre – which has assumed roles in both trade and conflict – began life as a Greek colony known as Epidamnos, and its walls have since witnessed centuries of Albanian history.

Originally an Illyrian settlement, Shkodër is one of Albania’s oldest towns, and played an important part in the resistance to the Ottoman invasion. Here we will take in the Great Mosque and English clock tower, and visit nearby Rozafa Castle, which looms high on a rocky outcrop and is connected with mysterious local legends.

Moving south, we will journey on to Krujë, the city of George Kastrioti, or Skanderbeg, Albania’s national hero. Dramatically located against a 34

mountainous backdrop, Krujë also boasts layers of history and houses a museum to Skanderbeg in a historical citadel. It is paired in the afternoon with a visit to the city of a thousand windows: Berat.

Two further UNESCO-listed sites are included on our journey: Gjirokastër, originally an Illyrian settlement and now an impressively preserved Ottoman town dominated by its pre-12th century castle; and the ancient city of Buthrotum (Butrint), described by Virgil as ‘Troy in miniature’ and boasting remains from both Epirote and Roman times.

A scenic drive through the ‘Albanian Riviera’ takes us via the intriguing castle at Porto Palermo to Fier. From here we make our final excursions to the ancient site of Apollonia, founded as a Greek colony in 588 BC and later home to a famous school of oratory, and to the Monastery of Ardenica, which witnessed the marriage of Skanderbeg and noblewoman Donika Kastrioti in the 15th century.

We stay throughout in comfortable hotels of three- and four-star quality.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Please note this tour has a very full itinerary involving a significant amount of walking, often over u neven and rugged ground at extensive archaeological sites. Visits often include a lot of steps and relatively steep inclines, for example at castles, and the terrain requires careful negotiation. Participants should have a good level of overall fitness and be able to walk for up to 2 hours at a time. As our itinerary has been designed to make the very best out of our stay in Albania, we will be undertaking a lot of travel, and there will be a number of hotel changes across the tour.

Day 2 Morning lecture: An Introduction to Albania & the Illyrians. Morning walking tour of Durrës, including forum and amphitheatre. Afternoon: archaeological museum.

Day 3 Lezhë followed by Rozafa Castle and Shkodër. Evening lecture: Skanderbeg followed by free evening.

Day 4 Morning visits in Krujë including Skanderbeg Museum, ethnographic museum and Ottoman bazaar. Afternoon in Berat including citadel, Church of St Mary and Onufri Museum (time permitting). Overnight in Berat.

Day 5 Morning visits in Berat including Mangalemi quarters and Gorica Bridge, followed by archaeological site at Byllis. Continue to Gjirokastër for visits to castle and ethnographic museum.

Overnight in Gjirokastër.

Day 6 Antigonea followed by ‘Blue Eye’ cold water spring. Continue to Sarandë for two nights.

Evening lecture: The Greeks & Romans in Illyria.

Day 7 Morning in Butrint: 4th century BC walls, sanctuary to Asklepios, theatre. Afternoon: Ksamil followed by free time in Sarandë. Evening lecture: From the Byzantines to the Ottomans followed by free evening.

Day 8 Scenic drive through ‘Albanian Riviera’ to Porto Palermo Castle. Continue to Vlorë for afternoon visits: Mosque of Sinan, Independence Square. Transfer to Fier for overnight stay. Evening lecture: The Long Road to Independence.

Day 9 Morning: Apollonia Archaeological Park.

Afternoon: Monastery of Ardenica. Continue to Tirana for overnight stay. Evening lecture.

Day 10 Morning visits in Tirana (time permitting) including Skanderbeg Square and National Museum of History. Depart Tirana 1300, arriving Gatwick 1510.

Cost of £2275 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, eight lunches (some packed), refreshments on arrival, six dinners with water, wine or beer & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

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

TOUR CODE: ALBN21

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ITALY

From Bologna to Parma: A Feast for the Soul & Senses

San Giovanni Evangelista

• Experience the artistic highlights of northern Italy from bases in historical Bologna and Parma • View works of art by the Old Masters, including the superb collection of Bolognese paintings in the Pinacoteca Nazionale • Explore fascinating churches and cathedrals, including Mantua’s sumptuous Palazzo Te This navigation of northern Italy absorbs the cultural splendours of Bologna and Parma, and includes excursions to the city of Mantua and the walled Renaissance town of Sabbioneta.

Bologna’s architectural icons include the Gothic Basilica di San Petronio, originally intended to dwarf St Peter’s in Rome, and the lavish Basilica di San Domenico, a Renaissance showpiece that preserves the delicately crafted tomb of the eponymous saint.

Mantua – which only joined the kingdom of Italy in 1866 – is famed for the Renaissance Palazzo Te, notable for its sumptuous decorations by Giulio Romano, in addition to the Palazzo Ducale, once the stronghold of the Gonzaga family, today home to majestic works by Rubens and Mantegna.

En route to Parma, we will learn about one of the area’s most famous gastronomic exports with a visit to the Parmesan cheese-maker at 4 Madonne Caseificio dell’Emilia, near Modena.

We will enjoy a tour and a tasting at the factory, described as a ‘cathedral of Parmesans’.

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Parma’s Romanesque octagonal Baptistery is crowned with sculptures by Benedetto Antelami, whilst the cupola of the 11th century cathedral is acclaimed for its masterful ceiling frescoes by Correggio. In the imposing Palazzo della Pilotta we find the Galleria Nazionale, presenting paintings by Murillo and Parmigianino.

The walled town of Sabbioneta is a uniquely preserved example of Renaissance town planning, demonstrating how the ideal of rational order became manifest not only in paintings, sculptures and buildings, but in the urban environment itself. Mostly built in the late 16th century, the town has its own Ducal Palace, now the Town Hall, and is home to the Palazzo Giardino, a richly decorated villa. It also features one of only three surviving examples of a Renaissance theatre, which we will compare with that in Parma, and a rare 19th century synagogue.

Our first three nights will be spent at the four-star Art Hotel Commercianti, just a few steps from the Basilica of San Petronio, in a traffic-free area of Bologna’s historical centre. The final three nights of the tour will be spent at the four-star Hotel Mercure Parma Stendhal, located in Parma’s old town.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: A good overall level of fitness is required for this tour. Participants should expect to spend much of each day walking, and be aware that some of our visits will involve standing for periods of time.

© LIVIOANDRONICO2013/CC BY-SA 4.0

April 26 – May 2, 2021 from £2245 per person | with Andrew Spira

This tour will be led by art historian Andrew Spira, MA. Andrew studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art as well as City University, London. For several years he was a specialist in Byzantine and Russian icons at Temple Gallery, London, before working as a curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Andrew was subsequently Programme Director at Christie’s Education. He has been leading tours to cultural sites in Russia, Armenia, Georgia and all across Europe for over 20 years.

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow for Bologna.

Transfer to Art Hotel Commercianti, Bologna, for three nights. Evening lecture: Medieval Devotion & the Origin of the Renaissance.

Day 2 Morning: Pinacoteca Nazionale (Bolognese paintings). Afternoon: Palazzo Poggi, Oratory of Santa Cecilia (fresco cycle by Costa, Francia and Aspertini) and San Giacomo Maggiore.

Day 3 Morning: Cathedral and Archiginnasio (Anatomical Theatre). Afternoon: San Petronio, San Domenico and Oratorio di Santa Maria della Vita. Evening lecture: Humanism & Courtly Culture followed by independent dinner.

Day 4 Depart for Parma via 4 Madonne Caseificio dell’ Emilia (Parmesan cheese factory) for tour and tasting. Visits in Parma: Palazzo della Pilotta (former palace of Farnese dynasty), San Giovanni Evangelista (Correggio’s Vision of St John frescoes), Cathedral and Baptistery. Evening lecture: Art, Theatre & Propaganda. Three nights at Hotel Mercure Parma Stendhal.

Day 5 Whole day excursion to Mantua: Palazzo Te (Giulio Romano frescoes), Church of San Sebastiano and Civic Museum (Palazzo San Sebastiano), Mantegna’s House and Guilio Romano’s House (exteriors), Basilica di San Andrea, Palazzo Ducale (Mantegna and Pisanello), Camera Picta and Teatro Scientifico Bibiena.

Day 6 Whole day excursion to Sabbioneta: Synagogue, Palazzo Ducale, Teatro all’Antica, Palazzo Giardino and Galleria degli Antichi.

Return to Parma via former Valserena Abbey (Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione dell’Università di Parma).

Day 7 Depart Bologna for London Heathrow.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change. Historical buildings in northern Italian cities often close at short notice – for example, to undergo restoration works – so some visits may be reordered or subject to confirmation nearer the time. We cannot guarantee the availability of all artworks listed.

Cost of £2245 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, one lunch, five dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £235, double room for single use supplement £380.

TOUR CODE: BOLG21

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UNITED KINGDOM

Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels May 11–14, 2021 from £895 per person | with Imogen Corrigan

Churches of Norfolk is one in a series of more gently paced tours, ideal for those who prefer a more laid-back, less physically demanding itinerary while enjoying the same high level of academic content. Walking and travelling distances are typically shorter, and time is dedicated to the gradual appreciation of, and explorations within, our immediate surroundings.

Hotels will usually be situated in central locations to allow for ease of access to major amenities. Participants should meet ACE’s usual fitness requirements.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Please note that on this tour, some of the sites visited will contain uneven flooring, steps, ramps and dimly lit areas, and time will be spent walking around the church interiors. Our hotel, the Maids Head, is one of the oldest and most characterful in Norwich.

As a historical property, it is full of warmth and character however travellers should note it does contain some areas of uneven flooring and low beams as well as several staircases. Some of the rooms are accessible by lift (six steps from reception).

All Saints’ Church, Bale

• View the remarkable ‘Memento Mori’ panels of a surviving medieval rood screen at St Mary in Sparham • St Botolph’s in Trunch offers a beautiful 15th century hammerbeam roof • Appreciate the stained glass at Bale alongside fascinating murals at Wickhampton and Hemblington

Tour Director Imogen Corrigan, BA, MPhil, is a medieval historian. Imogen obtained a first-class degree in AngloSaxon and Medieval History from the University of Kent and subsequently an MPhil from the University of Birmingham. Imogen’s new book, Stone on Stone: The Men who Built the Cathedrals, was published in 2019.

Around 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.

We shall delve into the various media for church art, from misericords and woodcarving to wonderful stained glass at Bale, and fascinating murals at Wickhampton and Hemblington. St Botolph’s in Trunch presents a stunning collection of features from its beautiful 15th century hammerbeam roof to its superb oak font canopy, one of only four of its kind in England.

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 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.

Also included will be the much-maligned doodling of the medieval graffiti artist, as seen at St Margaret’s in Cley. Further highlights will include those treasures that elucidate the rich pre-Reformation sacramental life of England’s parish churches, such as the splendid rood screens at Cawston and at Ranworth.

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

Day 1 Assemble 1330 at the Maids Head Hotel, Norwich, for three nights. Welcome followed by free time to visit Norwich Cathedral including an introduction to the cloisters. Evening lecture: The Dregs of the People Remain – Black Death and its Aftermath.

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 All Saints’ Church, Weston Longville (mural and Apostles’ Creed screen); All Saints’ Church, Mattishall (beautiful 15th century painted rood screen dado); St Mary’s Church, Sparham (remarkable surviving ‘Memento Mori’ 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 1530 at Norwich Station followed by 1545 at hotel.

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

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 £150.

TOUR CODE: CHN121

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UNITED KINGDOM

Eboracum: York & the Roman North May 6–10, 2021 from £1095 per person | with Mark Corney

Statue of Constantine the Great

• Follow in imperial footsteps as we explore the far reaches of the Roman Empire • Uncover the remnants of Rome’s military past in the crypt of York Minster and at the fortifications at Cawthorn • View the stunning mosaics at Aldborough, former ‘capital’ of the Brigantes tribe Established as a fortress in AD 71, Eboracum – Roman York – served as home to the Sixth Legion before evolving into the capital of the province of Britannia Secunda. A triumvirate of Roman emperors visited Eboracum, reflecting the city’s importance in the ancient world: Hadrian passed through in AD 120, Septimius Severus set up court in 208 and Constantius I, father of Constantine the Great, paid his respects a century later.

Today York boasts evocative reminders of its Roman past, including, in the crypt of York Minster, substantial traces of the ancient headquarters (principia) of the original legionary fortress. The recently enlarged Yorkshire Museum, one of the earliest purpose-built museums in the

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This tour will be led by Mark Corney BA, FSA, a specialist in Roman history and former presenter on Channel 4’s Time Team. An honorary research fellow at Bristol University, Mark was previously an investigator with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.

Day 1 Assemble 1530 at the DoubleTree by Hilton York Hotel, York, for four nights. Welcome and introductory lecture.

world, proudly displays an exquisite statue of Mars and the skeletal remains of the 4th century ‘ivory bangle lady’.

Day 2 Walking tour of Roman York: Yorkshire Museum (statue of Mars, head of Constantine), ‘Roman Bath’ (public house and museum) and York Minster crypt (well preserved remains of Roman headquarters building).

Our travels outside York will take us to Roman Aldborough – notable for its in situ mosaics – while at Piercebridge we will admire the massive foundations of the Roman bridge that once carried Dover Street across the River Tees.

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

Day 3 Cawthorn Roman Camp (fortifications overlooking North York Moors National Park) and Malton (earthwork remains of a substantial fort, including site museum).

Day 4 Piercebridge (Roman fort and bridge) and Aldborough (‘capital’ of Romanised Brigantes): museum, mosaics, Roman town wall.

Day 5 Tour disperses after breakfast.

We stay in the heart of the city at the four-star DoubleTree by Hilton York Hotel, overlooking the historical city walls and within short walking distance of York Minster.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: While this tour will be taken at a gentle pace, some sites involve traversing steps and uneven terrain. Participants should have a good overall level of fitness and be comfortable undertaking walks of between one and two hours.

Cost of £1095 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 £200.

TOUR CODE: YORN21

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Isles of Scilly May 11–18, 2021 from £2095 per person | with Peter Exley and Diana Ward

Porthcressa beach

• Explore the botanical and ornithological highlights of the tranquil Isles of Scilly in the company of expert ecologists • Visit the famous sub-tropical gardens of Tresco, home to a rich diversity of exotic plants • Take in archaeological sites, wetland birdlife and maritime-influenced vegetation More peaceful and relaxed than mainland Britain, Scilly embraces five inhabited islands and dozens of rocky outcrops, rich in sea birds.

The archipelago’s location and singular maritime micro-climate endows this Atlantic haven with great botanical and ornithological interest; with over 350 days of the year warm enough for plant growth, flora from the Canaries, South Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand flourish across the islands, and a unique list of migratory birds find a feeding refuge on the last outpost of south western Britain.

We will take in the islands’ spring highlights, with a particular focus upon their flora, in the company of ecologists Peter Exley and Diana Ward. On coastal paths and nature trails, we will discover the exotic vegetation that makes these islands the subject of such great botanical interest. A particular highlight will be Bryher, the smallest community on the Isles of Scilly: the west and north coasts are wild and rugged with superb coastal 38

This tour will be led by Peter Exley, BSc, and Diana Ward, MSc, CBiol, MCIEEM. Peter is an ecologist and ornithologist who works for the RSPB, and has previously held posts with BirdLife International and the Albatross Task Force in South Africa. Diana is an ecologist and wildlife specialist: her company, Ward Ecology Ltd, carried out ecological assessment work, and she has worked for many years on Sites of Special Scientific Interest and river restoration projects. vegetation and wind-pruned ‘waves’ of heather; the east, sheltered and mild, flourishes with exotic vegetation.

We stay at the three-star St Mary’s Hall Hotel on St Mary’s, an elegant townhouse originally built for an Italian noble family.

Travel to and from St Mary’s is not included in the cost of this tour.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: A good level of overall fitness is required for this tour. Participants must be able to walk for a minimum of four miles over uneven ground, and be comfortable with getting in and out of small boats. Walks will be taken at a reasonable pace, and participants should be aware that weather and climate can be unpredictable at times.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Our itinerary will be flexible to allow for tides, weather conditions and local reports of bird arrivals.

Day 1 Assemble 1800 at St Mary’s Hall Hotel and check in for seven nights. Welcome and introduction.

Day 2 By ferry across St Mary’s Sound to St Agnes (superb maritime heath) and Gugh (spectacular coastline walks).

Day 3 Walk (wetland birdlife and coastal vegetation) to Bant’s Carn (Bronze Age burial chamber), Halangy Down (Iron Age settlement), Holy Vale, Higher Moors, Porth Hellick Down (Bronze Age grave and burial chamber). Return along coastal path over Salakee Down to Old Town and church.

Day 4 By charter boat to Western Rocks (seals, coastal birds) and Samson (largest of uninhabited isles with abandoned village) – sea and weather conditions permitting.

Day 5 By ferry to Bryher: superb coastal vegetation (search for rare dwarf pansies) and heather moorland on Shipman Head Down with visits to prehistoric entrance graves and promontory fort.

Day 6 By charter boat to Eastern Isles (cobble bars linking small isles, undisturbed coastal and heath vegetation, seals, birds) with visit (sea conditions dependent) to island of St Helen’s: remains of St Elid’s hermitage (8th century chapel), 18th century Pest House.

Day 7 Morning: excursion by ferry to Tresco Abbey Garden (sub-tropical gardens). Afternoon free in St Mary’s or optional walk on Castle Down, Tresco.

Day 8 Tour disperses after breakfast.

Cost of £2095 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: return travel, travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £355.

TOUR CODE: ISCY21

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UNITED KINGDOM

Northamptonshire Country Houses May 18–22, 2021 from £1595 per person | with Adam White

This tour will be led by Adam White, PhD, an art historian and museum curator who is an expert in country house collections and one of Britain’s leading authorities on English sculpture of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. He originally studied French and Philosophy at Oxford University before gaining a PhD in History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art. Adam has held the role of Hon Curator of Collections at Lotherton Hall in Yorkshire.

The houses will be complemented with a selection of visits to estate churches, containing fascinating family memorials.

Boughton House

• Enjoy visits to an array of stunning private houses and gardens, from Drayton House to Cottesbrooke Hall • Discover the beautiful Grade I-listed gardens at Holdenby • Visit Boughton House, seat of the Dukes of Buccleuch and home to a notable art collection Northamptonshire, known as the ‘County of the Spires and Squires’, offers a wealth of fine stately homes nestled amongst charming, gently rolling countryside in the heart of England. The county is notable for containing more privately owned historical houses than any other, several of which we will visit on our tour.

Drayton House, home of the StopfordSackville family, has evolved gradually over the centuries and boasts a magnificent Baroque frontispiece by the architect William Talman, while Holdenby House has a fascinating royal history. Originally built as a palace by Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor and favourite of Elizabeth I in 1583, it also served as prison to Charles I following his crushing military defeat at the nearby Battle of Naseby. The house contains a beautiful range of paintings and is surrounded by 20 acres of exquisite gardens.

Lamport Hall shows how an enlightened patron could remodel his house during the difficult years of the Commonwealth and adorn it with paintings, which

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“Excellent programme of private visits to country houses, all of which were outstanding and all different from one another” “Five stars for Adam White – he is so extremely good in every aspect” – ACE customers on a previous Northamptonshire Country Houses tour

remain in the house to this day.

Boughton House, the former seat of the Dukes of Montagu, is a French-style chateau with an extraordinary collection of artistic treasures, whilst Kirby Hall is a magnificent Renaissance ruin.

Northamptonshire has traditionally been a popular place in which the privileged have indulged their passion for country sports, and this is nowhere more evident than at the idyllic Cottesbrooke Hall, set in stunning 18th century gardens.

Rumoured to be the model for Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, this splendid Queen Anne house boasts arguably one of the finest collections of sporting art in Europe.

Lyveden New Bield and the Triangular Lodge at Rushton parade the beliefs of a Roman Catholic, whose faith was regarded as treason in late Elizabethan England.

We will stay at the magnificent fourstar Rushton Hall Hotel & Spa, located close to Kettering. This Grade I-listed Victorian mansion is a former preparatory school whose architecture was influenced by nearby Kirby Hall, and our Tour Director will introduce us to its considerable historical interest.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: A lot of the walking on this tour is over uneven ground, including flagstones and cobblestones that can be slippery when wet. There is a narrow iron staircase to access the viewpoint at Lyveden New Bield.

Day 1 Tour assembles 1330 at Kettering Station followed by 1400 at Rushton Hall Hotel & Spa. Afternoon: St Peter’s Church, Deene, followed by Deene Park (house and gardens). Four nights at Rushton Hall Hotel & Spa. Day 2 Morning: Drayton House and St Peter’s Church, Lowick. Afternoon: Holdenby House & Gardens. Evening lecture.

Day 3 Morning: St Edmund’s Church, Warkton and Boughton House & Gardens. Afternoon: Kirby Hall, Lyveden New Bield and Rushton Triangular Lodge.

Day 4 Morning: All Saints’ Church, Lamport and Lamport Hall (house and gardens). Afternoon: Cottesbrooke Hall (house and gardens) and All Saints’ Church, Cottesbrooke.

Day 5 Tour disperses after breakfast at hotel or c 1000 at Kettering Station.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change. Owing to the special nature of some of the visits, some details may not be confirmed until nearer the time.

Cost of £1595 includes: accommodation based on sharing a superior twin or double bedded room, breakfast, three lunches, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, classic double room for single use supplement £200, superior double room for single use supplement £280.

TOUR CODE: NHCH21

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UNITED KINGDOM

Great Bardfield & Beyond: Mid-Century Art & Design in East Anglia May 11–15, 2021 from £1295 per person | with Alan Powers

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 Twentieth 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 Bauhaus Goes West.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour will involve a moderate amount of walking, so a good level of fitness is required, and it also involves coach journeys of up to an hour.

Two Women in a Garden 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 From 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 served as the subject matter for their works, 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 reveal some of their influences.

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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.

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 at Cambridge University 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.

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

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 (focusing on Bawden). Afternoon: Cambridge University Library (viewing archival items from the Curwen Collection).

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

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change. Due to the special nature of the visits, some details may be confirmed nearer the time.

Our tour concludes with a 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, conveniently located in the heart of Cambridge.

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 £290.

TOUR CODE: GRBB21

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UNITED KINGDOM

Isle of Man: A Wild & Ancient Heritage May 19–26, 2021 from £1795 per person | with Kevin Hand

Milner’s Tower

• From rugged coastal heathland to dramatic mountain views, explore the geology and landscape of this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve • Discover a diversity of seabirds, plant and marine life – including some of Europe’s largest hen harrier and chough populations • Human and natural history intersect as we learn more about the island’s Celtic, Viking and early Christian past

Nestled in the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man boasts a unique accolade: an independent crown dependency, it is the only entirely self-governing territory to have been awarded UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status, reflecting a harmonious relationship between people and nature.

Visitors to its shores soon discover why: the island’s remarkable human history, dating back to 6500 AD, has left evocative traces on the landscape alongside some of the most captivating seascapes and clifftops in the world.

Our tour has been carefully designed to reflect this balance between humans and nature. From a base in historical Castletown – the island’s former capital – we will explore several of its most rewarding natural environments. The heather moorland of Dalby Mountain Reserve will introduce us to a wide variety of birdlife including chough, hen harrier, snipe and red grouse; while a rich array of wildlife will greet us at the Ballaugh Curraghs Ramsar wetland, an internationally recognised site of biodiversity. Visits to the small

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villages of Cregneash and Port Erin will present some of the best opportunities to see seabirds including kittiwakes, fulmars and black guillemots, and the stark beauty of the landscape will come alive as we walk along the Point of Ayre alongside its rare lichen-rich coastal heathland.

As a cultural counterpoint to the natural elements, our tour will also touch on the island’s 10,000 year-old social and political history. Founded in the 5th century AD, Maughold parish church is home to several historically important Celtic crosses: the Pillar Cross displays one of the oldest ‘three legs of man’ – or triskelions – on the island. We will engage further with the island’s past with a visit to Douglas’s Heritage Museum, which touches on more recent WWI and WWII history, and Peel’s Leece Museum, home to a fascinating array of local objects including the last birching stool to be used on the island. Our excursion to the fishing port of Peel will also take us via Tynwald Hill in St John’s, thought to be the oldest continuous parliament site in the world, originally founded by Norse settlers over one thousand years ago.

Further highlights will include a visit to Peel Castle and coastal walks boasting picturesque views towards the Calf of Man. Several visits will take us along routes used during the island’s famous TT race, later in May and June.

We will stay at the historical threestar George Hotel in Castletown, conveniently located for the visits on our itinerary.

This tour will be led by Kevin Hand, MSc, MCIEEM, a conservationist and environmental consultant with a special interest in birds, mammals and ecotourism. Kevin has led many projects linking nature and communities, and was a Director of the Tree Council in the UK for 13 years. He has overseen a team providing access to the British countryside for hard to reach groups, and a project on eagles, vultures and other wildlife in Albania. In April 2017 he was appointed President of the Cambridge Natural History Society.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Certain visits are weather permitting, and we cannot guarantee the presence of all the wildlife mentioned.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour includes several walks, some of up to two and three miles, often over rough terrain. While options will be given for those who would prefer not to do the full walks, participants should have a good level of fitness. They should also feel comfortable negotiating uneven steps and occasionally dark interiors.

Day 1 Tour assembles 1815 at the George Hotel, Castletown, for seven nights. 1830 welcome and introduction to the tour.

Day 2 Morning walk in and around Castletown including the bay area and Langness Peninsula.

Optional visit to Castle Rushen. Afternoon visit to Scarlett for visits to old lime kilns and quarry.

Day 3 Dalby Mountain Moorland Nature Reserve. Afternoon: Niarbyl and Ballaugh Curraghs Ramsar wetland site.

Day 4 Ramsey and Maughold for slate cliffs and seabirds, including Maughold parish church.

Afternoon: Point of Ayre walk and lighthouse.

Day 5 Colden Mountain followed by Douglas for Heritage Museum. Free evening.

Day 6 Morning: village of Cregneash for sightings of early activity at seabird colonies and coastal chasms. Afternoon: Port Erin for walk to Bradda Head and Milner’s Tower. Please note today’s itinerary might be adjusted to include a visit by boat to the Calf of Man, weather permitting.

Day 7 Whole day excursion via Tynwald Hill to Peel: Leece Museum, St Patrick’s Isle.

Day 8 Tour disperses after breakfast.

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

Not included: return travel, travel insurance, single room supplement £175, double room for single use supplement £245.

TOUR CODE: ISMN21

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UNITED KINGDOM

Wild & Ancient Dartmoor

Wistman’s Wood

• The UK’s most southerly upland boasts stunning views and rich wildlife, interwoven with a fascinating mix of archaeology, history, myth and legend • Visit Wistman’s Wood, one of three rare remnants of high-altitude ancient oak woodland • Take a tour of Higher Uppacott medieval farmhouse, guided by a member of the restoration team

At Yarner Wood National Nature Reserve we will look out for pied flycatchers, redstarts and wood warblers, and investigate the unique granite tramway once used to transport hewn granite blocks to the Teign Estuary to be shipped for construction around the world. A trip to the high moor will take us to eerie Wistman’s Wood, where lichens cling to the boughs of ancient oaks, and we will also walk amongst some of the flowerrich hay meadows still to be found here.

Dartmoor is the last, and largest, remaining wilderness in southern England, a landscape steeped in history and culture, made famous by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles.

It is astonishingly rich in wildlife – lush oak woodlands teeming with songbirds, rolling moorlands where the song of the skylark and the call of the cuckoo are still widely heard, high mire systems where dunlin breed, and fast flowing rivers where trout and dippers thrive.

We will stay throughout at the threestar Two Bridges Hotel in the heart of Dartmoor National Park, perched on the banks of the West Dart River.

Today it is one of our most popular national parks, yet Dartmoor owes its present appearance to millennia of human influence. Our tour will venture beyond the picture-postcard image of ponies and cream teas to explore medieval villages and farms, ancient droves and track ways, and the abandoned industrial landscapes shaped by tin, lead and granite extraction.

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FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: As we will explore the area largely on foot, participants should be prepared for walks of around three miles over paths that can be uneven, rocky and muddy (particularly at Yarner Wood National Nature Reserve and Wistman’s Wood).

Participants should have a good overall level of fitness.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. The Tour Director might also adjust the itinerary in response to local weather conditions.

This tour will be led by Peter Exley, BSc, a conservationist and ornithologist who works for the RSPB. Peter lives on the edge of Dartmoor, and is a Board Member of the Moor than Meets the Eye project to restore the landscapes and support the communities of the Moor.

Day 1 Assemble 1530 at Exeter St David’s Station or 1700 at the Two Bridges Hotel, Dartmoor.

Check in for three nights followed by welcome and introductory lecture. Optional evening walk on Trendlebere Down to listen for nightjars (weather permitting).

Day 2 Rich oak woodlands at Yarner Wood National Nature Reserve (possible pied flycatchers, redstarts and wood warblers, Haytor Granite Tramway), Trendlebere Down (sundews, orchids, Dartford warblers, butterflies), Hound Tor (abandoned medieval village).

Day 3 Holne Moor (rich historical landscape, home to whinchats, cuckoos and adders), Higher Uppacott (restored medieval longhouse) and Wistman’s Wood (atmospheric ancient oak woodland).

Day 4 Walk from Bronze Age settlement of Grimspound through Challacombe (abandoned medieval village) and Soussons Down (wildlife rich valley) to Headland Warren (former commercial rabbit warren). Tour disperses 1300 at the hotel or c 1400 at Exeter St David’s Station.

Cost of £995 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 £150.

TOUR CODE: DART21

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May 21–24, 2021 from £995 per person | with Peter Exley

AUSTRIA

The Vienna Secession May 17–21, 2021 from £1745 per person | with Christopher Bourne

This tour will be led by Christopher Bourne, BA, who read History and French at the University of Manchester and lived and worked in Brussels for 15 years, where he was an architectural tour guide and a freelance translator and editor. His interest and enthusiasm for the art and architecture of the Vienna Secession and the Jugendstil is a natural progression from his knowledge of Art Nouveau. He is now based in London, where he is a member of the Victorian Society and the Twentieth Century Society.

Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt

• Discover the influential group of innovative young artists who ‘seceded’ from the Austrian art establishment in 1897, including Gustav Klimt and Otto Wagner • Understand the Secessionists’ links with their Art Nouveau and Jugendstil contemporaries and their influence on the Expressionist and Modernist movements • Enjoy guided architectural tours and visits to Vienna’s leading art museums Following their motto ‘To every Age its Art, to every Art its Freedom’, the Secessionists’ designs – from metro stations to office buildings, and from elaborately decorated apartment buildings and luxurious villas to churches – shaped the Viennese cityscape in the early years of the 20th century. The revolutionary art of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele and the extraordinarily modern-looking furniture and interiors designed by Josef Hoffmann and Kolomon Moser were a radical break from the conservatism of the 19th century Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Our tour will include a visit to the movement’s elegant gallery, designed

by Joseph Olbrich to house the first exhibitions of contemporary art in the city, now home to Klimt’s 34-metre long Beethoven Frieze. We will also pay visits to the Belvedere Museum, to see its large collection of other paintings by Klimt and Schiele, and to Klimt’s last studio in the suburb of Hietzing.

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Other highlights will include a visit to Otto Wagner’s landmark Postal Savings Bank, views of his metro stations at Karlsplatz and Schönbrunn as well as his Majolika Haus apartment building, and a private tour of his masterpiece, the Church of St Leopold in the grounds of Steinhof Psychiatric Hospital.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour requires a good level of fitness and mobility, as it will involve significant amounts of walking and standing, including over cobbled streets and up steps. Some journeys will be made by tram.

The Secessionists’ use of the latest building technology and decorative techniques appealed to the period’s new industrial and commercial middle classes, and their designs and interiors remain popular today. We will see well-preserved examples of cafés, bars and shops, as well as furniture and homewares designed by the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops) set up by Moser and Hoffmann in 1903, influenced by William Morris’s craft workshops in Great Britain.

Day 2 Morning: walking tour looking at buildings in the city centre (including Karlsplatz metro station designed by Wagner and Olbrich), followed by visit to the Secession Building (Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze). Afternoon: tour of ‘Vienna 1900’ and ‘Wiener Werkstätte’ galleries at the MAK (Museum of Applied Arts) followed by free time to explore the rest of the museum. Free evening.

We will stay throughout at the Hotel Mailberger Hof, an elegant family-run hotel situated in the historical First District.

Cost of £1745 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a superior twin or double bedded room, breakfast, four lunches, three dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, superior double room for single use supplement £235.

TOUR CODE: VISE21

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1220 on British Airways, arriving Vienna 1525. Transfer to Hotel Mailberger Hof for four nights. Introductory lecture.

Day 3 Morning: Majolika House, Schönbrunn metro station and villas in suburb of Hietzing (exteriors) followed by private tour of Klimt Villa & Studio. Afternoon: Wagner’s villas in Hütteldorf (exteriors) followed by private tour of Church of St Leopold in the grounds of Steinhof Psychiatric Hospital.

Day 4 Morning: Wagner’s Postal Savings Bank and Belvedere Museum (Klimt/Schiele galleries).

Afternoon: tour of ‘Vienna 1900’ galleries at the Leopold Museum followed by free time to explore the rest of the museum.

Day 5 Morning lecture followed by visit to Karl Marx-Hof (famous 1920s housing complex) and Steinfeldgasse (Hoffmann villas – exteriors).

Depart Vienna 1630, arriving London Heathrow 1750.

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

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PORTUGAL Porto

Douro River Cruise on the Royal Barge May 21–28, 2021 | from £3250 per person September 24 – October 1, 2021 | from £3275 per person with Martin Symington

• Sail aboard the Spirit of Chartwell, formerly Her Majesty’s Royal Barge, as it cruises along the ‘River of Gold’ • Take in the vineyards and historical towns of Portugal’s northern valleys • Learn about the history of port, Oporto and the Douro Valley

Our Tour Director, Martin Symington, BA, is a travel journalist who contributes to The Times and Wanderlust, and is the author of Dorling Kindersley’s guidebook to Portugal.

Martin was born and raised in the region, and is a port expert.

Beginning our tour with an exploration of the old town of Oporto, we cast off for our voyage eastwards. Along the way, we will explore one of Europe’s most handsome Renaissance cities, Salamanca, and pay a visit to the 18th century Mateus Palace.

Port Lodge – owned by the Symington Family Estates – to discover and taste some of their fine vintage.

Our tour will also embrace some lesser-known delights, including the picturesque town of Pinhão, strikingly situated at the confluence of the Douro and Pinhão Rivers, and the medieval hilltop town of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo.

During an excursion to the pilgrimage town of Lamego, where Baroque mansions and churches grace the skyline, we will enter one of the country’s most majestic shrines – Our Lady of Cures – acclaimed for its monumental Baroque staircase.

Continuing into Spain, we will explore Salamanca, famous for its honeycoloured buildings, ancient university, 18th century Plaza Mayor, and twin cathedrals, perched high above the River Tormes. The city has passed through the conquering hands of Carthaginians, Romans and Moors, a fact that is evident from its mix of architecture.

Upon our return to Oporto, we will visit the historical Factory House of the British Association, and tour Graham’s 44

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Overall, this tour is not especially strenuous, and participants can easily opt out of the more difficult elements.

Day 1 Depart London Gatwick 1150 on TAP Portugal, arriving Porto 1400. Walking tour of Oporto (including cathedral and cloisters). Embark Spirit of Chartwell for seven nights. Overnight Oporto.

Day 2 Cruise up the river through the Douro Valley to Entre-os-Rios. Continue to Régua for the Douro Museum and overnight stay. Evening lecture: Douro River & the Region.

Day 3 Lamego: museum, Sanctuário Nossa Senhora dos Remédios. Cruise to the riverside town of Pinhão for walking tour and overnight stay.

Evening lecture: Port.

Day 4 Sail past rolling hills and terraced vineyards to Barca d’Alva. Afternoon excursion to the medieval Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo. Evening lecture: Portugal’s History followed by Captain’s dinner on board. Overnight Barca d’Alva.

Day 5 Whole day excursion to Salamanca (UNESCO World Heritage site): Plaza Mayor, Casa de las Conchas, Salamanca University, New Cathedral. Overnight Pocinho.

Day 6 Morning cruise to Régua. Visit to Mateus Palace. Evening lecture: Portugal in the 20th Century.

Overnight Porto Antigo.

Cost of May tour: £3250 Cost of September tour: £3275 Cost includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded cabin, full board with unlimited wine, beer, soft drinks, tea & coffee with lunch & dinner, shore excursions & admissions, crew gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, supplement for the Royal Suite £200 per person, double cabin for single use supplement £1795.

TOUR CODES: DRR121 / DRR221 Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time.

The Spirit of Chartwell Refurbished for use by Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, the Spirit of Chartwell is the flagship vessel on the River Douro.

This royal river barge, now based in Portugal, offers a spacious and sumptuous design with the finest interior furnishings. The vessel is fully equipped with a restaurant, piano bar, observation deck, and 14 comfortable outside-facing cabins, each with private facilities. Professional and highly attentive crew members provide unequalled service during this calm passage through the Douro River Valley.

Day 7 Morning cruise down river to Oporto: visit to the historical Factory House of the British Association and visit to Graham’s Port Lodge.

Overnight Oporto.

Day 8 Disembark Spirit of Chartwell. Some free time in Oporto and Vila Nova de Gaia. Depart Porto 1755, arriving London Gatwick 2005.

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UNITED KINGDOM

Norfolk in Summer June 28 – July 1, 2021 from £995 per person | with Mark Welch

Blakeney

• 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 frontline conservation in the UK In a landscape where vast flawless beaches stretch for miles, where wind-tousled reeds bob their heads beneath huge summer sunsets and flint-walled 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 bird, insect and plant life. We expect to see woodlark, waders and warblers, and will enter the mysterious twilight world of the nightjar.

Tour Director Mark Welch will adopt a holistic perspective, with commentary ranging 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

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will offer 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, immortalised in a stainedglass window after this tiny bird was discovered in the vicar’s garden. To finish the day, we shall 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 England Reserves Manager, who will explain more about the challenges and joys of taking care of this beautiful environment for conservation. Indeed, conservation is a theme throughout our tour, which will celebrate Norfolk’s distinctive natural history while appreciating the need to protect its habitats.

We stay throughout at the four-star Pheasant Hotel, a relaxing country house hotel close to Blakeney village, and our tour finishes with a delicious lunch at the award-winning Rose & Crown Pub in Snettisham.

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 27 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 in Cornwall, East Anglia and northern Scotland, and is delighted to be directing this ACE tour to Norfolk.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour will involve some walks over rugged terrain, including through bracken and heather and on shingle beaches. Most walks will last for as least one hour, with some lasting up to two hours. While the programme of visits will be relaxed, participants should have a good general level of fitness.

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.

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

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 white-crowned sparrow) and the Blakeney esker (a glacial feature from the last Ice Age). Evening talk.

Day 4 Morning visit to Sandringham Estate for Dersingham Bog National Nature Reserve (guided conservation walk). Lunch at the award-winning Rose & Crown pub, Snettisham. Tour disperses 1515 at King’s Lynn Station.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Certain visits are dependent on local weather conditions and tides.

Cost of £995 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 £135.

TOUR CODE: NORF21

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GREECE

June 14–26, 2021 from £2895 per person | with Andrew Wilson

Dodona

• Explore the untamed landscape, classical history and fascinating architecture of northern Greece in the company of archaeologist and specialist in the Greco-Roman world, Andrew Wilson • Learn about the region and its history through visits to Byzantine churches, sanctuaries and monasteries, taking in mosaics and early Christian art • Uncover the ancient treasures of Vergina, Macedonia’s first capital, and journey to Alexander the Great’s birthplace of Pella Between the Ionian and Aegean Seas lie the untamed mountains of northern Greece, where Zeus once roamed. It was here, too, that Philip of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great, held indomitable sway.

Byzantine monasticism once thrived in centres such as Mount Athos – still a semi-autocratic republic inhabited by monks – and Thessaloniki, erstwhile rival to Constantinople. Our varied itinerary will touch both coastlines as we taste the gorges, waterfalls and layered histories of Macedonia and Epirus.

Our circuit begins and ends in Thessaloniki, home to an unforgettable array of Byzantine churches, featuring important early Christian mosaics. We will also chart the rise and fall of Roman Thessaloniki with a visit to the ruins of the emperor’s palace.

Antiquities galore await discovery in Vergina, the first capital of the kingdom of Macedonia. We will also visit Pella, capital of Philip’s empire and the birthplace of Alexander the Great, and Nikopolis, founded by Augustus to 46

celebrate his victory at the Battle of Actium. At Nekromanteion, we will track down the legendary gates of Hades.

The frescoed monasteries of Meteora, or ‘columns in the sky’, perched on towering pillars of natural sandstone, were first settled by hermits in the 11th century and were later endowed with 24 seemingly inaccessible monastic communities.

We stay in comfortable hotels of three to four-star quality, with some dinners taken in local tavernas or restaurants.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour is designed to make the most of our stay in northern Greece with a wide variety of visits. The itinerary therefore contains some long days and a significant amount of walking, and participants should have a good overall level of mobility.

Day 1 Depart London Gatwick 0640 on British Airways, arriving Thessaloniki 1200. Transfer to Hotel Royal for three nights. Introductory talk.

Day 2 Thessaloniki (major Greek Orthodox centre): Byzantine walls, Heptapyrgion tower, Church of Agios Acheiropoietos, 8th century Agia Sofia (splendid mosaics), White Tower (part of Turkish ramparts) and Archaeological Museum.

Evening talk: Byzantine Church.

Day 3 Whole day cruise along western shore of Mt Athos peninsula (spiritual home of Orthodox Church since 1054). Evening talk: Pebble Mosaics.

Day 4 Along Via Egnatia to Pella (capital of Philip of Macedon’s empire): peristyle houses, huge palace complex, museum (superb mosaics), ancient site of Loggos, then Edessa (picturesque town famous for waterfalls and old bridges). Continue to Veria for two nights at the Hotel Villa Elia.

Day 5 Dion at the foot of Mt Olympus, with visits to sanctuaries of Isis and Demeter. Vergina (former capital of Macedonian empire).

Day 6 Veria (Byzantine Museum) and Kastoria.

Two nights in Kastoria at Hotel Chloe. Evening talk: Neolithic Greece.

Day 7 Kastoria: churches, Folk Museum and Mavriotissa Church (13th century frescoes).

Evening talk: Oracle at Dodona.

This tour will be led by Andrew Wilson, BA, BD, FSAScot, specialist in archaeology and ancient history.

Andrew, who has also led many tours for ACE, studied archaeology and theology before working overseas as an archaeologist with a particular interest in Roman frontier systems and Byzantine mosaics.

Day 8 Visits in Dodoni (ancient oracle of Zeus), including sanctuary and theatre, followed by Ioannina (major Ottoman centre). Transfer to Hotel du Lac, Ioannina, for three nights. Evening talk: Byron in Epirus.

Day 9 Whole day excursion to Nekromanteion (sanctuary of Persephone and Hades), Kassopi (4th century BC Hippodamian town) and Nikopolis (founded by Augustus after battle of Actium).

Day 10 By boat to Nisaki (island monasteries).

Visits to Monodendri (Byzantine monastery) and majestic Vikos Gorge.

Day 11 Transfer to Kalambaka for Meteora (‘monasteries in the air’, 16th century frescoes) and overnight at Hotel Amalia.

Day 12 Return to Thessaloniki: Roman Forum, Agios Dimitrios (6th century pilgrimage centre), Rotunda (Galerius’ mausoleum) and Galerius’s Palace. Overnight at Hotel Royal, Thessaloniki.

Day 13 Thessaloniki: Museum of Byzantine Culture. Depart Thessaloniki 1315, arriving Gatwick 1445.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Some sites in Greece can close unexpectedly and at short notice; therefore adjustments may be made, including to the order of visits.

Cost of £2895 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with wine & water, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £475.

TOUR CODE: NGRE21

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© ONNO ZWEERS/CC BY-SA 3.0

Northern Greece

UNITED KINGDOM This tour will be led by Stella Lyons, BA, MA, a freelance Art History lecturer and speaker accredited with the Arts Society who lectures regularly throughout the UK, Europe and in Asia.

Stella studied at the universities of Bristol and Warwick and at the British Institute of Florence. Her particular interests include the Italian Renaissance, 20th century American figurative art, and 19th century British art.

Artists of the North June 14–17, 2021 from £995 per person | with Stella Lyons

Work by Ford Madox Brown

• 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 Manchester Art Gallery, home to fine paintings by the PreRaphaelites The Yorkshire landscape has famously influenced the work of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, 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 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.

At the spectacular 18th century park we will see permanent pieces by Moore and Hepworth, and others including David Nash, Anthony Gormley and Andy Goldsworthy. We will travel further north where Jonathan Silver, a close friend of David Hockney, amassed a

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

Manchester Art Gallery contains important 20th century works by artists ranging from Augustus John to Lucian Freud. We will take a particularly in-depth look at its holdings from the late 18th and 19th centuries, including paintings by the Pre-Raphaelites, and Ford Madox Brown’s iconic 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 2008 has been home to its exceptional collection of 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.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: A good level of fitness is required for this tour, and participants should be prepared for a moderate amount of walking and standing during walking tours and gallery visits. There will be options for participants to take shorter routes on our visit to Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Please note that the 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.

Day 1 Assemble 1430 at Radisson Blu Hotel, Leeds, for three nights. Afternoon visit to Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery. Evening introductory lecture.

Day 2 Morning: orientation walking tour of central Leeds and visit to Leeds Art Gallery followed by optional independent visit to the Henry Moore Institute (world recognised centre for the study of sculpture, with contemporary exhibitions). Afternoon excursion to Yorkshire Sculpture Park (landscaped park including work by Hepworth and Moore). Evening lecture.

Day 3 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. Evening lecture: Henry Moore & Barbara Hepworth – National Identity in 20th Century British Art. Day 4 Morning: Saltaire (World Heritage site).

Afternoon: Hepworth Wakefield. Tour disperses c 1700 at Leeds Station, followed by hotel.

Cost of £995 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: ARNH21

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GERMANY Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time.

Bach Festival in Leipzig

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow on British Airways for Berlin. Transfer to Seaside Park Hotel, Leipzig, for seven nights. Evening festival performance at Leipzig Gewandhaus featuring the Gewandhaus Children’s Choir and Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir, with soloists, under Ton Koopman (conductor): J S Bach St Matthew Passion, BWV 244.

June 14–21, 2021 from £2795 per person | with John Bryden

Day 2 Morning walking tour of Leipzig including Altes Rathaus and Baroque Barthels Hof (exteriors). Free afternoon followed by evening lecture.

Thomaskirche

• Join this spectacular annual festival as it celebrates Bach’s depictions of the story of Jesus of Nazareth, and the faith it inspired • Highlights will include the St Matthew and St John Passions, as well as the timeless Mass in B minor conducted

by Jordi Savall • Pianist Sir András Schiff and organist Olivier Latry will present some of Bach’s most celebrated keyboard music Leipzig lies at the heart of the classical music tradition: Wagner was born here, Mendelssohn died here and Bach spent nearly three decades as Kapellmeister at the Thomaskirche. It is fitting, therefore, that Leipzig plays host to a magnificent annual festival centred on Bach and the composers he inspired.

The 2021 festival will explore a particularly stimulating theme, and one that recurs so often in Bach’s music: the story of Jesus of Nazareth. Christian faith has many dimensions when applied to composer, who spent so much of his life playing the organ, studying the Bible, composing sacred music and working as Director of Music in Leipzig’s churches. It is perhaps unsurprising that he has often been described as ‘the fifth evangelist’: the festival’s Artistic Director, Dr Michael Maul, explains that “with his music, Bach gave comfort, provided reconciliation and transcended boundaries”.

Bach’s keyboard music will come to the fore across concerts with Olivier Latry and Sir András Schiff, including an organ 48

This tour will be led by John Bryden, MA, ARCM, ARCO. A former member of the National Youth Orchestra of Britain, John has played across Britain and Europe as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. setting of An Wasserflüssen Babylon. The psalms recur in a special performance at the Gewandhaus featuring Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms.

The festival’s international line-up of performing artists is no less impressive – among them will be the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir, Collegium Vocale Gent, Netherlands Chamber Choir, La Capella Reial de Catalunya and of course Leipzig’s own Gewandhaus Orchestra.

We will stay throughout the tour in the centre of Leipzig at the Seaside Park Hotel, a four-star Art Deco residence situated within easy walking distance of the Thomaskirche.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour involves several excursions to museums, as well as walking tours, and participants should therefore feel comfortable staying on their feet for extended periods of time. A good general level of fitness is required for this tour.

Cost of £2795 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, performances as described, breakfast, three lunches, five dinners (one light) with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £235.

Day 3 Whole day excursion to Dresden including visits to the New Green Vault and Old Masters Picture Gallery, and opportunity for independent visit to the Frauenkirche. Evening festival performance at the Thomaskirche featuring Olivier Latry (organ): J S Bach Fantasia in G major, BWV 572, Prelude & Fugue in E flat major, BWV 552, An Wasserflüssen Babylon, BWV 653, Fantasia in C minor, BWV 562/1; as well as works by Nicolas de Grigny and François Couperin.

Day 4 Morning lecture followed by visit to the Bach Archive Museum (the world’s pre-eminent centre of Bach scholarship). Free afternoon.

Independent dinner followed by evening festival performance at Leipzig Gewandhaus featuring Collegium Vocale Gent and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, with soloists, under Philippe Herreweghe (conductor): Mendelssohn Mitten wir im Leben sind, Op 23, No 3, Symphony No 5 in D ‘Reformation’, Op 107; J S Bach Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80; Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms.

Day 5 Morning lecture followed by guided tour of the Museum of Historical Musical Instruments including a short recital by the Tour Director (subject to confirmation). Afternoon: guided tour of the Mendelssohn House Museum with piano recital by the Tour Director (subject to confirmation). Evening festival performance at the Nikolaikirche featuring Concerto Köln and Netherlands Chamber Choir, with soloists, under Peter Dijkstra (conductor): J S Bach St John Passion , BWV 245.

Day 6 Morning visits to the Monument to the Battle of the Nations and Schumann House Museum, including private recital with the Tour Director (subject to confirmation). Afternoon: some free time followed by lecture. Evening festival performance at Leipzig Gewandhaus featuring Sir András Schiff (piano): J S Bach English Suites, BWV 806–811.

Day 7 Optional morning service in the Thomaskirche followed by afternoon visit to Leipzig Fine Arts Museum. Independent dinner followed by evening festival closing performance at the Thomaskirche featuring La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Le Concert des Nations, with soloists, under Jordi Savall (conductor): J S Bach Mass in B minor, BWV 232.

Day 8 Köthen Castle (where Bach served as Kapellmeister for Prince Leopold). Continue to Berlin for flight to Heathrow.

TOUR CODE: BACH21

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GERMANY

Bauhaus: German Modern Art & Design June 22–27, 2021 from £2175 per person | with Alan Powers

of Applied Arts) building, designed

by Henry van de Velde, its pre-1914 director. In Weimar, a city already famous for its associations with J W von Goethe and Friedrich Nietzsche, the Bauhaus can be seen in the context of German thinking about art, nature and politics.

In 1925, the school was transferred 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. We look forward to visiting the new Bauhaus Museum in Dessau, opened in 2019 to celebrate the Bauhaus centenary.

On this tour, we will visit these major centres, but also other cities in Thuringia and Saxony that reveal a wealth of 20th century treasures. The Margarete Reichardt Haus in Erfurt displays the looms and workshop of Margarete Reichardt (1907–1984), who studied at the Bauhaus Dessau a year after its opening. In Gera and Jena, our visits will include a finely restored villa by Henry van de Velde as well as Gropius’s pioneering Haus Auerbach.

In Chemnitz, we will visit the Gunzenhauser Museum with its wide collection of interwar paintings and a well-preserved 1935 swimming pool • Discover the highlights of the Bauhaus School and modernist design complex by the City Architect, Fred Otto. An optional tour of the Schocken in Germany • Take in the major centres of Weimar department store’s exterior provides an excellent example of the expressive yet and Dessau alongside the lesservisited but culturally rewarding towns functional designs for which its architect, Erich Mendelsohn, was renowned. of Chemnitz, Gera and Jena • Study the art, architecture and design Passing briefly through Berlin, we will see of the Bauhaus School and related the exterior of another of Mendelsohn’s artists, including creations by Walter well-known designs, the Einstein Tower Gropius, Henry van de Velde and in Potsdam, still an operational solar Erich Mendelsohn observatory today.

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 the opportunity to explore not only the Bauhaus but also the wider artistic context of the movement.

The Bauhaus opened in 1919 under the directorship of Walter Gropius, taking over the Kunstgewerbeschule (School

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Our journey will include stays in three or four-star hotels in the historical centres of Weimar, Chemnitz and Dessau.

Tour Director Alan Powers, PhD, studied History of Art at Cambridge University and is a specialist in the art, architecture and design of the 20th century. A former Chairman of the Twentieth Century Society, Alan’s wide-ranging research, curation and publication on varied topics pertaining to British art – including the Arts & Crafts movement, the experiences of 1930s German émigrés and the teaching of art and design – form the basis of his interest in the Bauhaus and contemporary movements in Germany.

Alan’s book, Bauhaus Goes West, was published in 2019 to coincide with the centenary year.

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

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow for Berlin.

Transfer to Weimar for three nights at Dorint Hotel Am Goethepark.

Day 2 Morning lecture followed by short walking tour of central Weimar: visits to former Bauhaus Building (including restored office of Walter Gropius), Walter Gropius monument, Nietzsche Archive and Haus am Horn. Afternoon: Neues Bauhaus Museum.

Day 3 Whole day excursion to Erfurt and Jena: Margarete Reichardt Haus (former weaving workshop and museum), Walter Gropius’s Haus Auerbach and Ernst Abbe Mausoleum (by van der Velde).

Day 4 Transfer to Chemnitz via Gera: Haus Schulenburg (by van de Velde). Afternoon in Chemnitz: Gunzenhauser Museum (Expressionist paintings), Chemnitz Public Baths (by Fred Otto).

Overnight at Hotel an der Oper, Chemnitz.

Day 5 Optional walking tour of Chemnitz including exterior of former Schocken department store (by Mendelsohn). Transfer to Dessau for visits to Bauhaus buildings, Masters’ Houses, Törten Housing Estate (by Gropius) and new Bauhaus Museum. Overnight at Radisson Blu Fürst Leopold Hotel, Dessau.

Day 6 Transfer to Berlin via Mendelsohn’s Einstein Tower (exterior). Depart Berlin for London Heathrow.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: A good level of fitness is required for this tour as it involves a significant amount of walking, including over cobbled streets.

Cost of £2175 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a double bedded room, breakfast, two lunches, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £200.

TOUR CODE: GBAU21

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UNITED KINGDOM This tour will be led by Peter Exley, BSc, an ecologist and ornithologist who currently works for the RSPB. Peter has also held posts with BirdLife International and the Albatross Task Force in South Africa. He has led and managed many ACE tours in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Algarve, New England, Madeira, the Faroes and Shetland.

The Shetland Islands June 7–14, 2021 from £1995 per person | with Peter Exley

Puffins

• Explore the wonderfully atmospheric, uninhabited island of Mousa, home to seabirds and waders including storm petrels • Absorb the remarkable history of Shetland, from Neolithic settlements to Viking remains • Make an excursion to the island of Unst to visit the Keen of Hamar Nature Reserve, with its otherworldly appearance and rare plantlife The Shetland Islands remain little changed since man first set foot on their far-flung shores. This remote, unspoilt archipelago is an ideal place to study seabirds, observe sea mammals and identify wild flowers – the three main themes of our summer tour.

Our tour will cover the full length of Shetland, from Sumburgh Head in the south where we will look for colourful puffins, to the northern island of Unst.

Here we will visit the remote Hermaness Reserve, over 2000 acres of dramatic coastal scenery and wild moorland with thousands of nesting seabirds, including the UK’s largest great skua colony. Just south of here lies the Keen of Hamar, a unique lunar-like landscape of fractured serpentine rock home to some of Britain’s rarest plants.

The island of Mousa welcomes many seabirds and waders, notably the storm petrel. We will look at the vegetation and geo-morphology of the spectacular sandy causeway – known as a tombolo – that leads to St Ninian’s Isle, famed for the hoard of Pictish treasure uncovered in the ruins of the 12th century church.

We also hope to encounter something of Shetland’s very early history, including Jarlshof, where the original Stone 50

Please note travel to and from Shetland is not included in the cost of this tour.

We recommend that you plan to arrive in Shetland either before June 7, or in time for a morning departure from Lerwick (if travelling by ferry) or by noon (if travelling by air) on June 7. The visits on June 7 will be in close proximity to the airport so a later flight arrival is also possible, however you may miss some of the day’s itinerary. Final transport arrangements, including our return on June 14, will depend on flight and ferry schedules for 2021 – we would be happy to advise you on this once more information is available.

Age dwellings are topped by Pictish wheelhouses, Viking longhouses and the remains of a 16th century mansion.

We will stay at the three-star Glen Orchy Guest House, a converted convent based in a quiet location a short walk from the centre of Lerwick. Whilst the accommodation is of a basic standard, it is clean, comfortable and characterful. Its location in Lerwick is also ideal for many of our daytime visits as well as evening walks. We then transfer to the three-star Baltasound Hotel in Unst, Britain’s most northerly hotel, which offers comfortable accommodation in cosy, log-cabin style rooms equipped with all the usual amenities.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation. Visits in Shetland depend heavily on weather conditions; to make the most of our stay, the Tour Director may need to adjust the order and nature of the visits on the ground. Ferry and flight schedules, which are released nearer the time, may also affect elements of our itinerary.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour will involve frequent walks, some short and others of up to four miles, mostly over paths but occasionally along cliff tops and over rough ground. Participants should be able to walk for up to 90 minutes and stand for 30 minutes.

Day 1 Tour assembles 1100 at Glen Orchy Guest House, Lerwick, or 1200 at Sumburgh Airport. Afternoon: Sumburgh Head (puffins, guillemots, kittiwakes with possibility of seals and humpback whales) and Jarlshof prehistoric site (time permitting). Transfer to Lerwick for five nights at Glen Orchy Guest House. Welcome and introduction.

Day 2 South Mainland for Croft House Museum, St Ninian’s Isle then by boat to uninhabited island of Mousa (broch with towering walls), seals and seabirds.

Day 3 Tingwall: valley (wild flowers) and loch (whooper swans), Althing (Viking parliament), 18th century Tingwall Kirk and Scalloway Museum & Castle (time permitting). By ferry to island of Whalsay (centre of Shetland fishing industry): Yoxie and Beenie Hoose (Neolithic houses), restored Hanseatic booth (warehouse). Late night excursion to Mousa to view storm petrels (weather permitting).

Day 4 North Mainland: moorland and coastal scenery around Ronas Hill with visits to Mavis Grind (regular crossing point for otters) and Urraforth Ayre. Evening talk.

Day 5 By boat to bird cliffs of Noss (guillemot, gannet, Shetland wren, rock pipit) followed by walking tour and free time in historical Lerwick (esplanade, 17th century Fort Charlotte, Victorian town hall).

Day 6 By ferry from Toft to Fetlar (waders, whimbrels, serpentine moorland): Houbie, Loch of Funzie, serpentine moorland. By boat from Fetlar to Unst for two nights at Baltasound Hotel.

Optional evening walk in search of otters.

Day 7 Whole day excursion to Hermaness National Nature Reserve (puffins, gannets, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes) and Keen of Hamar (serpentine desert landscape). Evening talk.

Day 8 Depart hotel by coach and ferry for Sumburgh via Lerwick. Arrive Sumburgh Airport in time for afternoon flight (subject to scheduling).

Please note today’s itinerary will depend on updated flight and ferry information for 2021.

Cost of £1995 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, five lunches (most packed), dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: return travel, travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £285.

TOUR CODE: SHET21

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REPUBLIC OF IRELAND FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour will move at a relaxed pace with a mixture of cultural visits and longer walks taking in the best of the landscape and natural history. Participants should be comfortable both with heights and walking over sometimes rugged and uneven terrain. Longer walks will be between two and three hours.

All visits on Tory Island will be made on foot.

Donegal & Tory Island June 20–28, 2021 from £2195 per person | with Kevin Hand

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Certain visits are weather dependent.

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1245 on British Airways, arriving Belfast 1410. Transfer to Bay View Hotel, Killybegs, for two nights. Welcome and introduction.

Glenveagh Castle

• Discover the beautiful views, fascinating landscape and intriguing culture of County Donegal • Trace the footsteps of St Columba as we take a short voyage to Tory Island, remote but still inhabited • Explore the impressions this part of Ireland made on artists including Derek Hill, founder of the primitive painters’ group on Tory Island This tour provides the perfect introduction to the landscapes, wildlife and cultural history of one of Ireland’s most striking coastal regions. We will follow in the footsteps of Donegal’s most famous son, St Columba, born in 521 AD, with visits to the saint’s birthplace, chapel and holy well. We will uncover the legend of the Flagstones of Loneliness, a mystical megalith that legend says has the power to cure the sorrows of those – most notably Columba himself – who fall asleep on it.

Our itinerary includes the beautiful coastal scenery around Slieve League, the highest sea-cliffs in Europe, where – for those with a head for heights and a fit pair of legs – the reward will be stunning views and an abundance of seabirds.

During our stay we hope to spot redthroated divers, corncrakes, choughs, puffins and perhaps even golden eagles, recently reintroduced to the region.

Orchids and various bog plants should also lie along our route.

As well as headland and moorland walks, we will enjoy coastal strolls along miles of deserted beaches and rocky coves.

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Tour Director Kevin Hand, MSc, MCIEEM, is a conservationist and environmental consultant with a special interest in birds, mammals and ecotourism. Kevin has led many projects linking nature and communities, and was a Director of the Tree Council in the UK for 13 years. Kevin recently led a team providing access to the British countryside for hard to reach groups, and is currently leading a project on eagles, vultures and other wildlife in Albania. In April 2017 he was appointed President of the Cambridge Natural History Society.

From Bunbeg we will take a scenic cruise to Tory Island, the country’s most remote inhabited island. Once home to a monastery founded by St Columba, the island – an important habitat for birds – was also a favourite location for the late artist Derek Hill, who painted many evocative landscapes of the island.

Indeed, primitive painting is another of the themes of our tour, which will include a visit to Glebe House, Hill’s former home and gallery.

Our first two nights are spent at the three-star Bay View Hotel, a recently refurbished establishment in the charming fishing town of Killybegs, followed by three nights near Bunbeg at the four-star An Chúirt Gweedore Court Hotel. Our tour concludes with three nights at the Tory Harbour View Hotel, at the heart of the island’s community life, with simple ensuite rooms.

Day 2 Morning: through beautiful coastal scenery to high sea-cliffs of Slieve League (views and seabirds). Afternoon in Glencolmcille: folk village museum, Stone Age megaliths associated with St Columba.

Day 3 Morning: Blue Stack Mountains and Colmcille Heritage Centre (saint’s birthplace, chapel, holy well). Afternoon: Gaeltacht region (where Gaelic is still the first language): Glebe House, home and gallery of primitive painter Derek Hill. Transfer to An Chúirt Gweedore Court Hotel for three nights.

Day 4 Morning: coastal walks along deserted beaches and rocky coves. Afternoon: Horn Head with dramatic views towards Tory Island and Malin Head – cliff edge and headland walks, seabirds, moorland flowers.

Day 5 Glenveagh National Park with walk along nature trail beside lough and onto moorland (spotting red-throated divers, golden eagles, orchids, bog plants). Visitor Centre with excellent displays on landlords and evictions, ecology and geology. Afternoon: 19th century Glenveagh Castle and gardens (neo-Gothic architecture complete with ramparts, turrets, round tower).

Day 6 Morning ferry to Tory Island with cruise past island and deserted villages. Afternoon walk and free time. Three nights at Tory Harbour View Hotel.

Day 7 Morning walk along the west of the island (lighthouse, Derek Hill’s remote hut). Free afternoon.

Day 8 Cliff walks in search of seabird colonies (including puffins) and free time.

Day 9 Return ferry to mainland. Transfer to Belfast for 1900 flight, arriving Heathrow 2020.

Cost of £2195 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, six lunches (four packed), dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

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

TOUR CODE: DNTI21

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RUSSIA

Southern Russia: Cossacks, Kalmyks & the Caucasus June 15–30, 2021 from £4295 per person | with Alex Koller

View of Ascension Cathedral, Novocherkassk

• Journey from Taman to the Russian Caucasus, via the architecturally important towns of Rostov-on-Don and Volgograd and the spa towns of Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk • Discover the history of southern Russia, from classical Greek colonisation to 19th century literature • Take in the awe-inspiring scenery of Europe’s highest mountain, Mount Elbrus This brand new tour explores a part of Russia that was a relatively late addition to the Tsarist Empire. As we journey from Taman, close to the coast of the Black Sea, to Azau and Nalchik, near the border with Georgia, we will take in a series of historically important towns and cities, their art and architecture, as well as a wealth of stunning natural scenery.

Taman, located on the site of the two ancient cities of Hermonassa and Tmutarakan, is of great archaeological significance. As well as being home to a fascinating archaeological museum, it contains museums devoted to Cossack history and to Mikhail Lermontov, providing an introduction to the various cultural threads that will weave throughout our tour.

Sometimes called ‘the poet of the Caucasus’, Lermontov is considered one of the greatest figures in Russian Romanticism, and we will explore his 52

This tour will be led by Alex Koller, PhD, an expert in art and architectural history and accomplished linguist who has been leading tours since 1998.

His experience ranges from Russia and Eastern Europe to the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. Alex has studied in Vienna, Salzburg and Cambridge, gaining his PhD in History of Art from Magdalene College, where he has also lectured and supervised. Alex developed this new tour following a recce to southern Russia in summer 2019, and looks forward to introducing an ACE group to this fascinating area. contribution to Russia’s literary history in Pyatigorsk with a visit to the house where he spent his last months, now a museum.

Southern Russia also boasts connections with other great writers, including Tolstoy, and also Sholokhov, winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize for Literature and known for his writing on the lives of the Don Cossacks during the Russian Revolution.

The history of the Don Cossacks of southern Russia will form an important theme of our tour. The towns of Starocherkassk and Novocherkassk were both former capitals of the Don Cossacks, and contain exhibitions dedicated to them. Starocherkassk is also home to the Cossack Military Cathedral, which, along with the Buddhist khuruls

(temples) in Elista, is one of the most important religious sites in our itinerary.

Outstanding architecture can be seen in the towns and cities of Rostov-onDon and Azov, and the spa towns of Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk. We will see the generously planned neoclassical layouts, featuring avenues and parks.

Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, will be a particular highlight of the tour.

Its monuments and museums offer one of the most poignant experiences of the magnitude of the war in the Soviet Union to be found in Russia. It is also home to a marvellous collection of Soviet art and architecture in its most exuberant incarnation.

In addition to visiting the towns and cities of southern Russia, we will journey to more rural areas to meet local people, including the Oyrat nomadic people, who speak the Kalmyk language and little or no Russian. They live in tent carts and herd Bactrian camels and sheep. We will have the opportunity to learn about their lifestyle and traditions, and taste traditional tea, pastries and milk vodka.

Later in the tour, we will be privileged to meet a master of Kabardian martial arts, and a musician and blacksmith who makes traditional Kabardian instruments.

The natural landscape of southern Russia is one of the area’s greatest attractions: from the steppe landscape of Kalmykia, to the great rivers of Don and Volga,

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RUSSIA

Interior of Ascension Cathedral, Novocherkassk

and Kabardino-Balkaria in the north Caucasus. We will journey through the latter en route to Mount Elbrus, Europe’s highest mountain, where a partial ascent to the snowfields will provide a fitting finale for our tour.

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1040 on Aeroflot via Moscow, arriving Anapa 2040.

We will stay throughout at hotels of three and four-star quality.

Day 3 Morning excursion to Novorossiysk for city tour (embankment, Malaya Zemlya war memorial, Mikhail Kutuzov warship museum). Afternoon: visit to local winery for tour and tasting. Evening train to Rostov-on-Don. Three nights in Rostov-onDon.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour includes a significant amount of travel by coach, including two journeys of approximately 5 hours in duration through the steppe, with some particularly scenic stretches. We will also travel by train to Rostov-on-Don, arriving late at night.

The tour will involve a moderate amount of walking and standing. Much of the terrain is not physically challenging, but uphill walking will feature at the spa towns and there are steep steps to navigate at some sites. We hope to include a boat trip on the Volga River. The ascents of Mount Cheget and Mount Elbrus, which are optional, will involve use of chair lifts, cable cars and a snow cat. We will reach a maximum of 4200 metres altitude on the latter. These experiences will offer fantastic views, but there are different stages and participants can decide how far they wish to go.

The hike on Mount Cheget is also optional and will take place over gravel-type terrain.

Making the most of our visit to the region, this tour will feature several hotel changes, so a good level of stamina is required. Whilst we hope to enjoy good climactic conditions in the Caucasus, there is always a chance of inclement weather and therefore some elements of the itinerary are weather dependent.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation. Certain aspects of the tour may be dependent on weather conditions.

Day 2 Excursion to Taman for visits to Archaeological Museum, Lermontov Museum, Cossack Museum and Pokrov Church. Return to Anapa for optional early evening visit to the Archaeological Museum and excavations.

Day 4 Excursion to Azov: fortress with 18th century powder store museum (rare example of Catherinian Era architecture in southern Russia) and monuments to 1642 Cossack siege; Azov History, Archaeology and Palaeontology Museum.

Day 5 Morning tour of Rostov-on-Don including Nativity Cathedral, Armenian Holy Cross Church and Don State Technical University (Don Cossack Guard exhibition). Afternoon excursion to Novocherkassk: visits including Ascension Cathedral (built in New Byzantine style in the 19th century, one of Russia’s biggest cathedrals) and Museum of Cossack History.

Day 6 Transfer to Starocherkasskaya for visits including Transfiguration Church, Resurrection Cathedral and Ataman’s Palace (exhibitions on the Cossacks). Continue to Volgodonsk for overnight stay.

Day 10 Morning excursion to Yashkul village for opportunity to meet Oyrat nomadic people.

Return to Elista for afternoon visit to SyakyusnSyume Khurul (Buddhist temple).

Day 11 Transfer to Pyatigorsk (approx 5 hour journey) for three nights. Afternoon visit to Lermontov House.

Day 12 Morning tour of Pyatigorsk: Proval, Academic Gallery, Kirov Prospekt, Park Tsvetnik and Cathedral of the Saviour. Free afternoon.

Day 13 Morning excursion to Essentuki: mud clinic (built in 1915), Tsanderovsky Institute of Mechanotherapy (gymnasium), Church of St Nicholas (built by Cossacks in 1826) and Essentuki Park (opportunity to taste local mineral waters).

Afternoon excursion to Kislovodsk: 19th century fortress, St Nicholas Cathedral and Kislovodsk Park (monuments).

Day 14 Transfer to Cheget village for ascent of Mount Cheget by cable car and mountain hike (weather permitting). Overnight in Azau.

Day 15 Ascent of Mount Elbrus from Azau by cable car and snow cat (weather permitting).

Afternoon: continue to Nalchik for meeting with master of Kabardian martial arts (demonstration of Adyg cold weapons) and Shalushka for meeting and dinner with musician and blacksmith (maker of traditional Kabardian instruments). Overnight in Nalchik.

Day 16 Transfer to Mineralnye Vody for 1325 flight via Moscow, arriving London Heathrow 2125.

Day 7 Transfer to Kalach-on-Don (Monument to the Unification of the Fronts). Continue to Volgograd for two nights.

Day 8 Visits in Volgograd: Avenue of Heroes, Victory Park, Pamyat Museum, Historical-Memorial Museum (history of the Russian Civil War), Stalingrad Panorama and boat trip on the Volga (time permitting).

Day 9 Transfer to Elista (approx 5 hour journey) for two nights. Afternoon tour of Elista including visit to Kalmykia National Museum.

Cost of £4295 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, eight lunches, dinner (one packed) with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £475.

TOUR CODE: SORU21

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UNITED KINGDOM

Lincolnshire Halls & Houses June 29 – July 5, 2021 from £1465 per person | with Oliver Gerrish

Lincoln Cathedral

• Enjoy visits to privately-owned houses including Fulbeck Manor and Doddington Hall, which has been in the same family for 400 years • Visit Burghley House in Stamford, a 16th century prodigy house with magnificent late 17th century interiors by Verrio and Laguerre • Cross into Leicestershire to explore Belvoir Castle, Britain’s grandest Regency castle boasting a palatial sequence of state rooms Baroque swagger, grand architectural conceit and Elizabethan complexity: all are waiting to be discovered in what is sometimes characterised as the ‘lost county’ of England. 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.

Its history is rich, and its grand houses are more than a match for any elsewhere in the country.

The 16th and early 17th centuries are represented by the late Elizabethan Doddington Hall, in all probability designed by members of the Smythson 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 Gunby Hall, with fine furnishings and impressive 54

formal gardens. 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 the architect’s achievements. The 19th century castle at Belvoir is the fourth castle to be built on that spot, and contains a wealth of paintings, sculptures and furnishings. A recent restoration programme has seen once lost plans for the garden designed

by Capability Brown brought to life.

From the medieval foundations of Grimsthorpe to the Elizabethan splendour of Burghley’s extravagant skyline, and from the charm of Doddington’s Jacobean cupolas to the domestic comfort that is Gunby, Lincolnshire has something for all tastes.

We will stay at the three-star Lincoln Hotel, set in the very heart of uphill Lincoln, with the best views of the cathedral to be found in the city.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: A good level of fitness is required for this tour as it involves a moderate amount of walking, including over very uneven ground and potentially slippery surfaces.

Please note that historical buildings do not always have lifts, so participants must be comfortable with navigating stairs, often without handrails. Some visits can be adjusted to avoid longer walks, but participants may miss elements of the visits. Our itinerary includes a significant amount of coach travel.

This tour will be led by Oliver Gerrish, MSt, an architectural historian who studied at the University of Cambridge.

Oliver is a trustee of the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust and founded their Architectural Awards, and is the former Chairman of The Young Georgians, the youth chapter of The Georgian Group. Oliver has written for Country Life, has appeared in a number of BBC and ITV television series on architecture, and has organised and led numerous tours to many of Britain’s historical buildings. He looks forward to returning to Lincolnshire with an ACE group in 2021.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change. Due to the special nature of the visits, some may be confirmed nearer the time.

Day 1 Tour assembles 1400 at the Lincoln Hotel, Lincoln, for six nights. Afternoon: Lincoln Cathedral. Evening introductory lecture.

Day 2 Morning: Gentlemen’s Society of Spalding (founded in 1710, library and museum with varied collections). Afternoon: Grimsthorpe Castle and park.

Day 3 Morning: Brocklesby Park (exterior with possibility of seeing the mausoleum designed by James Wyatt – subject to restoration works) and Thornton Abbey Gatehouse. Afternoon: Stow Church (mother church of the diocese before the cathedral). Free evening.

Day 4 Morning: Doddington Hall (Elizabethan manor house) and gardens. Afternoon: Gainsborough Old Hall (one of the best preserved medieval manor houses in England). Optional Evensong at Lincoln Cathedral followed by free evening.

Day 5 Morning: Belvoir Castle (fine example of Regency architecture with exquisite interiors and important collection of Old Masters). Afternoon: Gunby Hall (described by Tennyson as a ‘Haunt of Ancient Peace’) and gardens.

Day 6 Morning: Burghley House and Gardens.

Afternoon: walking tour of historical Stamford with tea at The George Hotel.

Day 7 Morning lecture followed by visit to Fulbeck Manor (Elizabethan manor containing family portraits spanning 400 years). Tour disperses c 1315 at Lincoln Station followed by c 1330 at the hotel.

Cost of £1465 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 £180.

TOUR CODE: LINC21

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UNITED KINGDOM

Prehistoric & Roman Anglesey & Snowdonia

© RSTERIM64/CC BY-SA 4.0

July 12–16, 2021 from £1055 per person | with Mark Corney

Bryn Celli Ddu

• On this evocative tour, explore the remnants of forts left behind by the Roman occupation of South Wales • Delve into Iron Age settlements including the ‘sacred lake’ at Llyn Cerrig Bach, where workmen discovered a large metalwork hoard • Discover the Neolithic chambered tomb of Bryn Celli Ddu, one of the most famous prehistoric sites in Anglesey North Wales and the island of Anglesey are rich in remains of the prehistoric and Roman periods, many set against the magnificent landscape of the Snowdonia National Park.

Journeying deep into Anglesey’s past, our tour will visit a rich variety of these sites and examine the wealth of the Iron Age societies who regarded the island as a sacred landscape.

The Roman occupation left behind many well-preserved remains of forts, spanning the late 1st to early 5th centuries AD. At Tomen y Mur the visible outlines of a Roman fort, amphitheatre and parade ground evoke the power and ostentation of the Roman Army on the fringe of the Empire. At Holyhead, the walls of a late Roman coastal fort still stand to full height.

We shall visit the Iron Age huts at Ty Mawr and the ‘sacred lake’ at Llyn Cerrig

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This tour will be led by Mark Corney, BA, FSA, a specialist in Roman history and presenter on Channel 4’s Time Team. An honorary research fellow at Bristol University, Mark is a former investigator with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.

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

Day 1 Tour assembles from 1500 at The Management Centre, Bangor, for four nights. 1800 welcome and introductory lecture.

Bach where a large hoard of Iron Age metalwork was discovered during the Second World War.

Day 2 Anglesey: Din Lligwy Hut Group (wellpreserved Romano-British settlement), Holyhead Roman Fort, Ty Mawr (Iron Age settlement with well-preserved hut circles), Llyn Cerrig Bach (site of a Late Iron Age ‘sacred grove’), Bryn Celli Ddu (Neolithic chambered tomb).

In addition to site visits, the tour will present the results of the latest archaeological research, and examine new theories on the Iron Age and Roman period in this evocative landscape.

Day 3 Conwy Valley: Caerhun (former Canovium, Roman fort site), Church of St Tudclud (important early Christian inscribed stones), Tomen y Mur (Roman fort with extensive remaining earthworks including parade ground and military amphitheatre). Return via Llanberis Pass and remains of a Roman marching camp.

We stay throughout in four-star accommodation at The Management Centre, a historical listed building that is part of Bangor University. Many of the rooms boast stunning views of the Menai Strait and Anglesey.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Participants should be comfortable walking over open, rough pasture. A good level of fitness is required for this tour as sites can be located some distance from the road, sometimes involving an uphill climb.

Day 4 Dinas Dinlle (hillfort), Segontium (Roman fort built to command the Menai Straits), Hen Waliau (small Roman fort) and Caernarfon town walls and castle.

Day 5 Morning visit to Beaumaris Castle. Tour disperses c 1200 at Bangor Station followed by 1215 at the hotel.

Cost of £1055 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 £150.

TOUR CODE: PRAS21

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UNITED KINGDOM Cromford Mill

The Industrial Revolution in Middle England August 6–10, 2021 from £995 per person | with Ian Cox

• 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 Britain’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 that inspired and provided contexts for the entrepreneurship of important figures such as Abraham Darby, Sir Richard Arkwright and Josiah Wedgwood, we will see 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 revolutionised the mining, iron and 56

This tour will be led by Ian Cox, BA, MA, Cert ED, a lecturer and 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. For many years Ian directed the Victorian Society of America London Summer School and the Christie’s Decorative Arts Summer School in New York. 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 potteries, including the Emma Bridgewater Factory in Stoke-onTrent.

We will stay at the four-star Best Western Stoke-on-Trent Moat House Hotel, which sits in the grounds of Josiah Wedgwood’s mansion.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Overall, this tour is not especially strenuous, and participants can easily opt out of the more difficult elements.

Ceramics industry During the 18th century, ceramic makers in places such as Stoke-onTrent helped to define the tastes 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.

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

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

Day 2 Morning: excursion to Ironbridge (toll booth and bridge) and Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron. Afternoon: Jackfield Tile Museum and Etruria Industrial Museum.

Day 3 Morning: excursion to Cheddleton Flint Mill followed by National Stone Centre (four limestone kilns, six disused quarries and 120 lead mine shafts). Afternoon: Middleton Top, Cromford model village (world’s first workers’ housing) and Arkwright’s first textile mill (built after his invention of the water-powered spinning frame).

Day 4 Morning lecture: Victorian Ceramics – Innovation & Style followed by tour of Emma Bridgewater Factory (working pottery showcasing traditional skills and craftsmanship). Afternoon: Potteries Museum and Art Gallery (early Greek, Roman and Chinese pottery; important 18th and 19th century collections relating to illustrious Staffordshire firms including Wedgwood, Spode, Minton and Doulton).

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

Cost of £995 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 £100.

TOUR CODE: INRV21

aceculturaltours.co.uk

UNITED KINGDOM the perfectly preserved adjoining 19th century village of Lacock.

Art Collections & Stately Homes of the West Country August 31 – September 4, 2021 from £1365 per person | with Rupert Dickens

Lacock Abbey

• From a base in Bath, explore the art treasures of this fine Georgian city, as well as historical houses in the surrounding countryside • Enjoy special access to Corsham Court, a privately owned Elizabethan manor house containing a notable art collection • Learn about the lives of individual collectors, such as the remarkable William Blathwayt of Dyrham Park The area of the West Country surrounding Bath and Salisbury features some of Britain’s most splendid stately homes, alongside several surprising art collections. This tour will offer an opportunity to explore the careers of individual collectors, and compare the ways they went about compiling their art treasures.

Corsham Court is an Elizabethan house transformed in the 18th century by the Methuen family to provide a setting for their extraordinary collection of Old Master paintings. The Picture Gallery, built by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and furnished by Robert Adam, is little changed since the 18th century, and displays works by van Dyck, Murillo and Filippo Lippi.

Nearby is Dyrham Park, a Baroque country house nestling in the valley at the centre of a deer park. We will hear about the remarkable career of its founder, William Blathwayt, who served as right-hand man to William III after the Glorious Revolution, and who built a unique collection of Dutch pictures, china and furniture which still adorns the house.

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This tour will be led by Rupert Dickens, BA, MA, an art historian, accredited Arts Society lecturer and guide lecturer at the Wallace Collection. Previously a BBC television and radio journalist for over 20 years, Rupert studied art history at Birkbeck, University of London, before gaining a Masters degree in Dutch Golden Age Studies at University College London.

Following his interest in the history of collections, Rupert developed this new ACE itinerary and looks forward to comparing and contrasting the motivations, methods and tastes of different collectors.

We will also visit Stourhead, to savour the splendour of its world-famous landscape gardens and tour the Palladian villa designed by Colen Campbell for the Hoare family. While here, we will examine the art collection assembled by several generations of the family on the proceeds of their banking business.

A further highlight of the tour will be an excursion to historical Salisbury, where we will take in the cathedral, famously depicted by John Constable in one of his most enduring works. We also hope to pay a visit to nearby Wilton House, the magnificent seat of the Earls of Pembroke, which was rebuilt in the Palladian style by Inigo Jones. The 17th century interior displays important works

by Rembrandt, van Dyck and Bruegel.

Meanwhile, Lacock Abbey is a country house with monastic roots, known as the birthplace of British photography. We will have time to explore the grounds and

Our base for the tour will be the beautiful city of Bath. The Holburne Museum is home to works of art by one of the city’s most famous residents, Thomas Gainsborough, who found fame here with his portraits of prominent Georgian citizens. We will also enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour at the Victoria Art Gallery, which houses a municipal collection built largely on bequests of works with a local connection. A visit to the beautifully refurbished No 1 Royal Crescent Museum will complete our tour.

We will stay throughout at The Bird, a delightful four-star boutique hotel in the heart of Bath.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This is not a strenuous tour, but will involve some walking to reach visits and exploring the grounds of stately homes. Please note that the historical buildings visited on this tour may have uneven surfaces and steps to navigate, and lifts are not always available.

Day 1 Tour assembles 1315 at The Bird, Bath, for four nights. Afternoon in Bath: Holburne Museum and Victoria Art Gallery. Evening lecture: Collectors & their Country Houses.

Day 2 Morning excursion to Salisbury for historical walking tour and visit to Salisbury Cathedral. Afternoon: Wilton House (famous state rooms and notable art collection).

Day 3 Morning: Corsham Court (18th century Picture Gallery) followed by Lacock Abbey (with Fox Talbot Museum) and picturesque village.

Afternoon: Dyrham Park (17th century Dutch collection). Evening lecture: Gainsborough, Bath & the Georgian Portrait.

Day 4 Morning lecture: The Palladian Splendour of Stourhead followed by visit to Stourhead (splendid art collection). Afternoon: Iford Manor Gardens (beautiful secluded gardens).

Day 5 Morning visit to No 1 Royal Crescent Museum, Bath (beautifully refurbished Georgian interiors). Tour disperses c 1145.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation. We cannot guarantee the availability of all artworks listed.

Cost of £1365 includes: accommodation based on sharing a deluxe twin or double bedded room, breakfast, dinner with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, standard double room for single use supplement £215.

TOUR CODE: ACSH21

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GERMANY

The Hanseatic League: An Artistic Legacy July 28 – August 5, 2021 from £2875 per person | with Tom Abbott

This tour will be led by Tom Abbott, BA, MA, an independent art and architectural historian associated with the Foundation of Prussian Palaces and Gardens. Tom has extensive experience leading cultural tours in Europe, to destinations including Germany, Poland, France and Italy. He is particularly fascinated with medieval art and architecture, as well as the Baroque, Rococo and Romantic movements.

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

Bremen Cathedral

• Discover the history of the Hanseatic League from the three major merchant centres of Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck, and review their artistic heritage • Explore medieval church architecture in an array of locations, including the Church of St Mary in Lübeck, which epitomises the north German Brick Gothic style • Visit fascinating museums and galleries, including Hamburg’s Kunsthalle and the European Hansemuseum in Lübeck 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.

The League started with the collaboration of Hamburg, Lübeck and Lüneburg in the 13th century, before becoming a union of north European trading cities with the most efficient sailing ships of their time.

In Hamburg, home to the third busiest port in Europe, we will survey the city’s historical buildings and formulate an understanding of the context of the trading association during our museum visits. A particular highlight of our time here will be a visit to Hamburg’s Kunsthalle, which houses works of art dating from medieval times to the present day.

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Lüneburg was an important salt-trading town, and boasts one of the most magnificent and best-preserved town halls in Germany. It was through the vast waterways of Europe that the League built up its trade, and on our way north we will pass through the harbour cities of Stade and Bremerhaven.

At the important Hanseatic city of Bremen, we will survey the collection of European painting and sculpture on display at the Kunsthalle, and visit the medieval cathedral, before continuing to Lübeck. Once the capital of the League, Lübeck is one of the best preserved of all the Hanseatic towns, with a fine array of Brick Gothic buildings.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: A good level of fitness is required for this tour, as it has a full itinerary involving three separate hotel stays and a journey made by ferry. Participants should expect to spend a moderate amount of time on foot during historical walking tours, and standing in galleries and museums.

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1040 on British Airways, arriving Hamburg 1320. Transfer to Hotel Baseler Hof, Hamburg, for three nights. Afternoon visits to Museum of Hamburg History and St Michael’s Church.

Day 2 Morning lecture followed by visit to Hamburg Kunsthalle. Afternoon: walking tour to include exterior views of Chile House, Kontorhaus, Speicherstadt and Internationales Maritimes Museum. Walk through HafenCity and exterior view of Elbephilharmonie. By ferry to Landungsbrücke and return by coach via Rathaus (exterior).

Day 3 Morning excursion to Lauenburg: Palmschleuse. Continue to Lüneburg: St John’s Church, exceptionally preserved Rathaus, Lüne Kloster.

Excursions to the town of Wismar in former East Germany, famed for its 17th century Wasserkunst waterworks, and to Bad Doberan, where we will visit the minster and enjoy a journey on a historical steam train, will complete our tour.

Day 4 Depart for Bremen via Stade (Schwedenspeicher Museum, Church of Saints Cosmas & Damian) and Bremerhaven (German Maritime Museum). Overnight at the Atlantic Grand Hotel, Bremen.

In Hamburg we will stay at the four-star Hotel Baseler Hof in the centre of the city. We will spend a night in Bremen at the four-star Atlantic Grand Hotel, within walking distance of the city’s town hall, followed by four nights in Lübeck at the Atlantic Hotel, located in the old town.

Day 6 Walking tour of Lübeck including Church of St Peter (exterior), 13th century Church of St Mary, Salzspeicher (16th to 18th century salt warehouses – exteriors) and Rathaus. Afternoon: visit to cathedral followed by free time. Evening lecture: The Art & Architecture of the North – Past & Present.

Cost of £2875 includes: return airfare, 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 £415.

TOUR CODE: HANS21

Day 5 Bremen: Böttcherstrasse (brick Expressionist buildings – exteriors), Kunsthalle, cathedral. Transfer to Lübeck for four nights at the Atlantic Hotel.

Day 7 Whole day excursion to Wismar with visits to Church of St Nicholas, Wasserkunst and Church of St George. Afternoon: Bad Doberan (visit to minster and walking tour) followed by historical steam train to Heiligendamm on the Baltic Sea. Day 8 Morning visit to Hansemuseum. Afternoon: Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus and walking tour including Church of St Catherine (exterior), Church of St Jacob, Heiligen-Geist-Hospital and Burgtor (exterior).

Day 9 Morning visit to St Annen-Museum.

Continue to Hamburg for 1645 departure, arriving Heathrow 1725.

aceculturaltours.co.uk

AUSTRIA Lake Constance

Wildlife of the Austrian Alps July 5–12, 2021 from £2575 per person | with Kevin Hand

• Wander the meadows and forests of one of Europe’s most stunning regions, nestled between Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland • Look out for a rich variety of birdlife, from snowfinch and alpine chough to red crested pochard and golden oriole • Delve into the wetlands around Lake Constance and enjoy a relaxing boat trip Perched on the far western tip of Austria, nudging against the borders of Switzerland, Germany and Liechtenstein, the state of Vorarlberg is a cultural visitor’s paradise. Alpine meadows cluster around dramatic mountain peaks; modern architecture mingles with medieval cityscapes; and stretches of tranquil forest still play host to a variety of traditional crafts and customs, not to mention a captivating array of wildlife.

Based in the charming medieval town of Feldkirch, this brand new tour will go in search of some of the most rewarding outlooks and natural environments the region has to offer. We will seek out a variety of birdlife, flowers, mammals and insects as well as cultural highlights, exploring the ways in which this predominantly mountainous landscape has harboured human life throughout its history.

A particular highlight will be an excursion to the area around Lake Constance and the Rhine delta. Walking through the serene wetlands overlooking the lake, we may catch sight of red crested pochard, golden oriole, black kite, flycatchers, orchids and the rare yellow-bellied toad.

We will also take a boat trip on the lake from Friedrichshafen to Bregenz.

The flower-filled alpine meadows near Warth will be teeming with gentians and mountain butterflies during our visit, not to mention birdlife including

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nutcracker, water pipit and alpine chough. A wander through the beautiful nature reserve of Bangs-Matschels on the border of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, meanwhile, will introduce us to a remarkable variety of meadow flora and rare butterflies including the dryad.

Surrounded by awe-inspiring scenery, we will gaze at snowy alpine peaks reflected in the blue mirror of the Lünersee (Moon Lake), and the Kanisfluh massif, voted one of the most beautiful mountains in the Austrian Alps.

This region is particularly well known for its local produce, and we hope to include opportunities to sample the gastronomy of the region, from its cheese to its wines.

Austria’s past, meanwhile, will come alive at the ancient convent of St Peter’s in Bludenz. Founded in 1286, the site has borne witness to stormy waves of human history, from the plague and peasant revolts to the Nazi occupation, and it was restored and revived as a Catholic community in 1997.

We will stay throughout the tour at the Best Western Plus Central Hotel Leonhard. This comfortable four-star establishment is situated in a quiet area in the medieval town of Feldkirch. A fascinating centre in itself, Feldkirch has witnessed visits from James Joyce and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (who attended school here for a year), and boasts historical sites including Schattenburg Castle, where we hope to enjoy a private tour.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: Participants should have a good overall level of fitness for this tour. Vorarlberg is a mountainous region, however our visits will be taken at a leisurely pace, with high-up sites accessed by road or cable car.

Although most walks will be over flat ground, participants should be comfortable ascending mild slopes and walking across rugged terrain. They should also be prepared for walks at high altitude, which may be chilly even during the summer months.

This tour will be led by Kevin Hand, MSc, MCIEEM. A conservationist and environmental consultant, Kevin has a special interest in birds, mammals and ecotourism. He has led many projects linking nature and communities, including a Darwin Initiative on the taiga forests in Siberia and a programme to identify sustainable use of forest resources in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

He was a Director of the Tree Council and ran National Tree Week in the UK for 13 years. In 2017 Kevin was appointed President of the Cambridge Natural History Society.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation. Certain visits are weather dependent.

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow on British Airways for Zurich. Transfer to Best Western Plus Central Hotel Leonhard, Feldkirch, for seven nights.

Welcome and introduction.

Day 2 Visits along the shore of Lake Constance: Rheinspitz (lake and woodland walk; chance to spot red crested pochard, kingfisher, white storks, variety of frogs and toads), Bangs-Matschels nature reserve (meadows with red backed shrike, wetland flowers and many butterfly species).

Day 3 Excursion to Lünersee via cable car for guided walk (beautiful alpine lake with abundant flora, butterflies and birdlife including mountain ringlets, water pipit, alpenrose and fragrant orchid) followed by late afternoon visit to St Peter’s Priory, Bludenz.

Day 4 Whole day excursion to Liechtenstein: walk along the Sassweg trail (alpine forest, seasonally grazed meadows, variety of birdlife including crested tit, crossbill, citril finch and woodpeckers) followed by local wine tasting at the Princely Wine Cellars.

Day 5 Visit to Eriskircher Ried (peaceful nature reserve in the German Bodensee area, home to many protected species) followed by a Lake Constance ferry cruise from Friedrichshafen to Bregenz.

Day 6 Guided walk along the shores of Lake Korber (opportunities to spot alpine marmot and abundant alpine butterflies), followed by afternoon visit to the Rüfikopf via cable car (breathtaking panoramic views, highest cable car in the region).

Free evening.

Day 7 To Mellau for explorations in the Kanisfluh area (one of the most beautiful places in Austria) with chances to spot ibex, alpine chough and golden eagle.

Day 8 Depart Zurich for Heathrow.

Cost of £2575 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, breakfast, two lunches, six dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £250.

TOUR CODE: WIAA21

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ITALY Verona

Verona Opera Festival July 14–19, 2021 from £2945 per person | with Paul Jackson

This tour will be led by Paul Jackson, MA, SFHEA, a conductor, pianist, musicologist and former Director of Music at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. Paul has enjoyed an extensive career as a conductor of opera and also as a chamber musician, performing widely in the UK, Europe and America.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour involves a significant amount of walking over cobbles, up and down steps (sometimes without handrails), and potentially in hot sunshine or over wet pavements. A good level of fitness is required to complete the itinerary, although allowances can be made for those with less stamina. The walk from the hotel to the Arena is on flat ground and takes around five minutes. Please note all performances are scheduled to begin at 2100.

Day 1 Depart London Gatwick 1315 on Easyjet, arriving Verona 1620. Transfer to Hotel San Luca, Verona, for five nights. Evening introductory talk.

• Enjoy productions of Verdi’s Aida and La traviata, in addition to his monumental Messa da Requiem • Take in in the atmospheric surroundings of Verona’s Arena, our venue for all three performances • Explore the ‘fair Verona’ of Romeo and Juliet, and journey by boat across Lake Garda Established for over one hundred years, Verona’s internationally renowned opera festival ranks as one of the most spectacular in the world. Staged in the awe-inspiring ancient Roman amphitheatre known as the Arena di Verona, the festival has hosted many of the world’s greatest opera singers and some of the most magnificent sets in the classical world. As dusk falls and the candles are lit, we take our seats for two operatic masterpieces followed by one of the best known choral works in the world.

Our tour to the 2021 festival begins with a defining opera of the festival: Verdi’s Aida. With its dramatic public scenes and moments of private intimacy, this beloved work comes to life amongst the stunning sets and costumes of Franco Zeffirelli and Anna Anni.

Next we will experience perhaps Verdi’s best known opera: La traviata. Based on Alexandre Dumas’ play, The Lady of the Camellias, this deservedly famous 60

work explores themes of forbidden love, personal sacrifice and doomed youth.

Overflowing with memorable melodies, this production includes direction and set design by Franco Zeffirelli and costume design by Maurizio Millenotti.

On our final evening we have the opportunity to experience a performance of Verdi’s monumental Requiem in the dramatic surroundings of the Arena.

With a huge orchestra, double chorus and a full complement of soloists, the Requiem sees Verdi apply his consummate skills as a composer of opera to the concert stage. The Requiem sees music of searing emotion combined with intensely dramatic moments, no more so than in the thrilling and terrifying Dies Irae.

In ‘fair Verona’, the city of Romeo and Juliet, we will explore evocative Roman ruins and splendid medieval churches.

An excursion will take us to the shores of Lake Garda, which has enchanted writers and travellers from Catullus to Tennyson. In Vicenza we will admire the architectural genius of Palladio, whose articulated classicism graces both private and public buildings in the city, earning it UNESCO World Heritage status.

We will stay throughout at the comfortable and elegant Hotel San Luca, located a five-minute stroll away from Verona’s Arena.

Day 2 Morning walking tour of Verona: Arena, Castelvecchio, Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore and cloister. Free afternoon followed by early evening lecture. Evening performance at the Arena: Verdi Aida.

Day 3 Further visits in Verona: Duomo, Ponte Pietra, Church of Sant’ Anastasia (exterior), Casa di Giulietta and Roman Theatre. Free afternoon followed by early evening lecture and independent dinner. Evening performance at the Arena: Verdi La traviata.

Day 4 Excursion by coach to Lake Garda and its lakeside towns including Riva and Garda (weather permitting). By boat to Limone on the north-western side of the lake, before crossing to Malcesine for dinner.

Day 5 Excursion by coach to Vicenza for Teatro Olimpico, followed by Vigardolo for Villa Valmarana.

Free afternoon followed by early evening lecture.

Evening performance at the Arena: Verdi Requiem.

Day 6 Free morning. Depart Verona 1650, arriving Gatwick 1800.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer. While we will endeavour to deliver this itinerary in full, some elements may be adjusted nearer the time, particularly owing to local weather conditions.

Cast and performance details may also be subject to change by the festival office.

Cost of £2945 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, performances as described, breakfast, four dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £225, double room for single use supplement £495.

TOUR CODE: VROP21

aceculturaltours.co.uk

UNITED KINGDOM

Hadrian’s Wall July 19-23, 2021 from £995 per person | with Mark Corney

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

Mark Corney, BA, FSA is a specialist in Roman history and former presenter on Channel 4’s Time Team. Mark is an honorary research fellow at Bristol University and 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 2021.

A 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.

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. We also hope to visit Birdoswald Roman Fort, situated on one of the longest stretches of the wall, including its on-site museum. Our tour concludes with a visit to the 7th century crypt at Hexham Abbey, constructed entirely out of Roman masonry.

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

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We will stay in the market town of Hexham, at the three-star Beaumont Hotel, situated in a Victorian townhouse close to the Abbey.

FITNESS / PRACTICALITIES: This tour requires a good overall level of fitness, particularly for the visit to Housesteads. Participants should be comfortable walking outdoors over rugged terrain, and negotiating steps and occasionally steep inclines.

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

Day 1 Tour assembles 1600 at Newcastle Station and 1700 at the Beaumont Hotel, Hexham, for four nights. Introductory lecture.

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

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

Day 4 Birdoswald (Roman fort situated on one of the longest stretches of Hadrian’s Wall, with exhibitions) followed by a walk along the wall.

Day 5 Roman camp at Corbridge including military granaries, museum, Lion of Corbridge (visit subject to confirmation), Hexham Abbey (crypt). Tour disperses 1400 at hotel and 1500 at Newcastle Station.

Cost of £995 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 £140.

TOUR CODE: HADW21

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2021 Schedule Overview Please visit www.aceculturaltours.co.uk for more details.

Please note that some details may be subject to change.

January 15 - 21 18 - 22 25 - 31 29 - 4/2

Valletta International Baroque Festival Wildlife in Norfolk Mozart Festival in Salzburg Pompeii with Herculaneum

February 09 - 15 10 - 13 22 - 27 TBC TBC

Turin: Rise of a Royal City Somerset Levels in Winter Early Christian & Medieval Rome Bath Bachfest Elgar, Birmingham & Worcester

March 1-7 1-8 2-8 8 - 13

Art in Naples Art on the Côte d’Azur Venice: The Triumph of Light & Colour Aquileia: City of Antiquity

15 - 19 15 - 20 22 - 25 22 - 29 29 - 8/4 31 - 6/4

Roman & Byzantine Ravenna Art Treasures of Dresden: Porcelain & Paintings Art Collections of Liverpool Roussillon Jordan: Kingdoms of the Desert Festtage: Mozart & Wagner in Berlin

April 07 - 13 13 - 18 19 - 3/5 24 - 29 26 - 30 26 - 2/5 27 - 4/5 28 - 7/5 TBC

Lucca Flemish Painting: From van Eyck to Rubens Lycian Cruise Cornwall Calling: The Artists of Newlyn, Lamorna & St Ives Churches of Suffolk From Bologna to Parma: A Feast for the Soul & Senses Crete: Birds, Flowers & Minoans Albania: From the Illyrians to the Ottomans Shakespeare at Stratford

May 06 - 10 11 - 14 11 - 15

11 - 18 17 - 21 18 - 22 18 - 24 19 - 26 21 - 24 21 - 28

Eboracum: York & the Roman North Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels Great Bardfield & Beyond: MidCentury Art & Design in East Anglia Isles of Scilly The Vienna Secession Northamptonshire Country Houses Mahler Festival in Amsterdam Isle of Man: A Wild & Ancient Heritage Wild & Ancient Dartmoor Douro River Cruise on the Royal Barge

Lycian Cruise

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Danube River Cruise

June 01 - 4 07 - 14 14 - 17 14 - 21 14 - 26 15 - 30 20 - 28 22 - 27 28 - 1/7 29 - 5/7 TBC TBC

The Pre-Raphaelites in Oxford The Shetland Islands Artists of the North Bach Festival in Leipzig Northern Greece Southern Russia: Kossacks, Kalmyks & the Caucasus Donegal & Tory Island Bauhaus: German Modern Art & Design Norfolk in Summer Lincolnshire Halls & Houses Aldeburgh Festival Riga Opera Festival

July 03 - 10 05 - 12 12 - 16 13 - 20 14 - 19 19 - 23 19 - 23

24 - 28 28 - 1/8 28 - 5/8 TBC TBC TBC

October

August 03 - 11 06 - 10 09 - 12 16 - 20 22 - 29 24 - 27 31 - 4/9 TBC

Denmark: From Prehistory to the Renaissance The Industrial Revolution in Middle England Constable & Gainsborough in Suffolk Northumbria in the First Millennium Schubert in Schwarzenberg Artists’ Houses in Sussex Art Collections & Stately Homes of the West Country International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival

September Wild & Ancient Orkney Wildlife of the Austrian Alps Prehistoric & Roman Anglesey & Snowdonia Wild & Ancient Orkney Verona Opera Festival Hadrian’s Wall Houses & Gardens of Herefordshire & the Welsh Borders Worcester Three Choirs Festival Worcester Three Choirs Festival The Hanseatic League: An Artistic Legacy Beaune Baroque Music Festival Buxton Opera Festival Swedish Palaces & Castles

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02 - 7 02 - 7 03 - 12 06 - 10 06 - 11 06 - 20 08 - 17 13 - 17 19 - 3/10 20 - 27 21 - 27 24 - 1/10 27 - 2/10 TBC TBC TBC

Art Nouveau in Belgium Edinburgh: Scottish Houses, Castles & Interiors Ancient Sicily Derbyshire Halls & Houses Isle of Wight Lycian Cruise Danube River Cruise Roman & Byzantine Ravenna Ethiopia Art on the Côte d’Azur Art & Architecture of Puglia Douro River Cruise on the Royal Barge Aquileia: City of Antiquity Mendelssohn in Scotland Haydn in Eisenstadt Lammermuir Music Festival

04 - 8 04 - 11 08 - 15

Bruges Roussillon International Chopin Piano Competition 12 - 15 Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels 14 - 24 Ancient Cyprus 15 - 2/11 In Search of China’s White Gold 18 - 28 Athens, Delphi & the Peloponnese 19 - 26 Princely Courts of the Ile-deFrance 21 - 30 Palladio & the Villas of the Veneto 25 - 1/11 Piero della Francesca 31 - 13/11 West Japan & the Inland Sea: Art & Pilgrimage TBC Glyndebourne TBC Wexford Opera Festival TBC Tippett Quartet in Cambridge

November 08 - 15 13 - 26 16 - 30 TBC TBC TBC

Renaissance Florence: City of Wonders Morocco South Korea Bath Mozartfest Music & Opera in Vienna Oxford College Chapels & Organs

December 08 - 13

Art History in Budapest

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TOUR DIRECTORS

Our Experts View their full biographies and range of tours online at aceculturaltours.co.uk/tour-directors Tom Abbott Tom Abbott, BA, MA, is an independent art and architectural historian associated with the Foundation of Prussian Palaces and Gardens. He is a proficient lecturer and tour leader, with extensive experience directing cultural and art tours across Europe to destinations including Germany, France, Italy and Poland. His expertise ranges from the medieval to the current.

John Binns The Rev John Binns, PhD, has researched and lectured in a variety of Eastern Orthodox countries, including Russia, Israel/Palestine and Serbia. He is Visiting Professor at the Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge and a Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

His publications include The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia: A History.

Christopher Bourne Christopher Bourne, BA, is an expert on the art and architecture of Belgium who also holds a particular interest in the Vienna Secession and the Jugendstil.

Christopher lived in Brussels for 15 years, working as a translator and architectural tour guide. He has translated several books on Art Nouveau, and has given talks on architecture and design to a range of groups in Belgium, France and the UK.

Tom Abbott

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Christopher Bourne

Cosmo Samuel Brockway Cosmo Samuel Brockway is a travel journalist, tour leader and, most recently, author of the award-winning book Glorious Hotels of India (2019). He is a South Asia specialist and editor for Ampersand Travel, and has led tours across the world, including to the Holy Land, Norway, the Greek island of Patmos and India. He lives in New Delhi overlooking the Mughal Humayun’s Tomb and is currently working on his next book on Sri Lanka.

Judy Brown Scottish mezzo-soprano Judy Brown trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and is a much sought-after recitalist, opera and consort singer. She works with the Monteverdi Choir under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the Dunedin Consort, the Academy of Ancient Music and Scottish Opera. Judy has performed on stages across the world, including Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, the Wigmore Hall, the Vienna Musikverein and St Magnus’ Cathedral, Orkney. She greatly enjoys singing German lieder, and her interpretation of Schubert lieder has been praised for its “dynamism and delicacy”.

John Bryden John Bryden, MA, ARCM, ARCO, is an international concert pianist and organist who has given concerts at venues from Princeton and Kathmandu to the Wigmore Hall. Formerly a senior lecturer in music at Dartington College, John has also taught at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh and at Edinburgh University.

John Bryden

Sarah Burles

Sarah Burles Sarah Burles, MA, studied History of Art at Cambridge before going on to a career in museum and gallery education. This included 12 years at the Fitzwilliam Museum as well as work in other Cambridge museums. Sarah has a passion for making museums and their collections accessible.

Sandy Burnett Sandy Burnett, MA, is a musician and broadcaster who spent over a decade as one of the core classical music presenters on BBC Radio 3, interviewing many of the world’s finest musicians. Sandy has conducted numerous orchestras and choirs, and has masterminded a complete cycle of J S Bach’s sacred cantatas.

Emilie Capulet Emilie Capulet, RSA, MMus, PhD, is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Head of Classical Performance at the London College of Music. Emilie studied piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and she regularly performs in international concert halls and at music festivals. Emilie has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, CBC’s Radio Canada, France Bleu Provence and Nicaraguan television and radio.

Mark Corney Mark Corney, BA, FSA, is a specialist in Roman history and former presenter on Channel 4’s Time Team. Mark is an Honorary Research Fellow at Bristol University and a former investigator with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.

Mark Corney

Imogen Corrigan

aceculturaltours.co.uk

TOUR DIRECTORS Imogen Corrigan Imogen Corrigan, BA, MPhil, FRSA, 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 subsequently an MPhil from the University of Birmingham. Her first book, Stone on Stone: The Men who Built the Cathedrals, was published in 2019.

She is an accredited Arts Society lecturer.

Richard Farmer Richard Farmer, BA, read Religion at SOAS and has lived in Japan for the last ten years, where he works leading tours full-time. Richard’s principal area of interest is Japanese Buddhist art, particularly Edo-period Zen ink painting, and the material and visual culture of the esoteric Shingon sect. Richard is also interested in the practice of Buddhist circulatory pilgrimage.

Vivien Heilbron Vivien Heilbron is a Shakespearean actress, Emmy nominee and honorary fellow of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford. Vivien has vast experience of acting in Shakespeare productions, and her roles have included Olivia in Twelfth Night and Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Juliet Heslewood Juliet Heslewood, MA, is an author and art historian. Juliet studied History of Art at London University and later gained an MA in English Literature at Toulouse.

For over 25 years she lived in France where she devised and led study tours on art and architecture. Juliet’s books include Van Gogh: A Life in Places.

Ian Cox Ian Cox, BA, MA, Cert Ed, is a specialist in art history and decorative arts, and has held posts as Director of Studies at Christie’s Education and Course Director at Glasgow University. He has published extensively on the decorative arts, and for many years directed the Victorian Society of America Summer School in London and the Christie’s Decorative Arts Summer School in New York.

Oliver Gerrish Oliver Gerrish, MSt, is an architectural historian who studied at the University of Cambridge. He is a trustee of the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust as well as founder of their Architecture Awards. Oliver has written for Country Life, has appeared in a number of BBC and ITV television series on architecture, and has organised and led numerous tours to many of Britain’s historical buildings.

Rupert Dickens Rupert Dickens, BA, MA, studied art history at Birkbeck, University of London before gaining a Masters degree in Dutch Golden Age Studies at University College London. Previously a BBC television and radio journalist for more than 20 years, Rupert has been visiting and working in the Netherlands and Belgium since the 1980s, and now works as a guide lecturer at the Wallace Collection. He is also an accredited Arts Society lecturer.

Kevin Hand Kevin Hand, MSc, MCIEEM, is a conservationist and environmental consultant with a special interest in birds, mammals and ecotourism. Kevin led a Darwin Initiative project on the taiga forests in Siberia, a project on sustainable forest use in the Ecuadorean Amazon with the Yachana Foundation, and ran National Tree Week in the UK for 13 years. In 2017 he was appointed President of the Cambridge Natural History Society.

Peter Exley Peter Exley, BSc, is an ecologist and ornithologist who works for the RSPB. Peter has also held posts with BirdLife International and the Albatross Task Force in South Africa. He has led and managed many ACE tours in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Algarve, New England, Madeira, the Faroes and Shetland.

Jeffrey Haworth Jeffrey Haworth has worked as an architect for historical buildings, and was Founder-Chairman of the Hereford and Worcester Gardens Trust. He spent over 20 years working for the National Trust as a Historic Buildings Representative and subsequently a curator.

Russell Keable Russell Keable, BA, MMus, trained at the universities of Nottingham and London and studied conducting with George Hurst and Norman Del Mar at London’s Royal College of Music. He currently teaches at the University of Surrey and is active as a composer, arranger, lecturer, broadcaster and performer.

Ian Cox

Peter Exley

Kevin Hand

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Rupert Dickens

Oliver Gerrish

Charles Hind Charles Hind, MA, FSA, is an architectural historian and the H J Heinz Curator of Drawings at the Royal Institute of British Architects. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Visiting Fellow at the Centro Palladio, Vicenza, as well as a Trustee of the Great Dixter Trust and the Lutyens Trust.

Paul Jackson Paul Jackson, MA, SFHEA, a conductor, pianist, musicologist and former Director of Music at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. Paul has enjoyed an extensive career as a conductor of opera and also as a chamber musician, performing widely in the UK, Europe and America.

Juliet Heslewood

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TOUR DIRECTORS Oliver Kenzie Oliver Kenzie, BA, MRes, is a Cambridge-based archaeologist, specialising in Early Iron Age Greece.

Following his BA in Archaeology at the University of Birmingham, Oliver undertook postgraduate research on Early Iron Age religion. He lived for a short time in Athens, conducting research at the British School at Athens.

Philip Kenrick Philip Kenrick, MA, DPhil, is an archaeologist who gained his doctorate on pottery from British excavations at Benghazi. Philip has worked in Libya, Sicily, Italy, Turkey and Jordan, and is a former treasurer of the Society for Libyan Studies, as well as the author of two Libya Archaeological Guides and coauthor of Classical Antiquities of Algeria: A Selective Guide.

Stella Lyons Stella Lyons, BA, MA, is a freelance art history lecturer accredited with the Arts Society, lecturing regularly throughout the UK, Europe, and in Asia. Stella studied at the universities of Bristol and Warwick, and also spent time at the British Institute of Florence and in Venice. Her particular interests include 19th century British art, and the Italian Renaissance.

Steve Mastin Steve Mastin, MA, PGCE, FHA, studied history and classics before working as a school teacher for 17 years. During this time he organised and led many trips abroad, and has also worked overseas training history teachers in Singapore, Australia and Kazakhstan. Steve is a regular speaker at history conferences.

Marcus Kohler Marcus Kohler, BA, is an ecologist and ornithologist. Formerly of BirdLife International, Marcus now works as a freelance international wildlife consultant, supporting conservation projects as well as leading wildlife tours across the world. He is also Managing Director of MKA Ecology, a successful ecological consultancy he founded in 1998.

Donald Maxwell Donald Maxwell is an operatic baritone, director and lecturer. He performs with leading opera companies all over the world, including La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera, and recently appeared as Alcindoro in La bohème at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. He was also Director of the National Opera Studio and Head of Opera Studies at the Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Alex Koller Alex Koller, PhD, is an expert in art history and architecture. Born in Vienna, Alex has lived and studied in Vienna, Salzburg and Cambridge, gaining his PhD in the history of art from Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Alex is an accomplished linguist and has travelled extensively throughout Europe and the Far East.

Elizabeth Morrell Elizabeth Morrell, BA, is a sinologist and Chinese speaker who has been visiting China since 1976 when she studied modern Chinese literature at Fudan University in Shanghai. A founding director of Voyages Jules Verne, Elizabeth wrote one of the earliest guidebooks to China, published in 1984.

Alex Koller

Steve Mastin

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Stella Lyons

Carolyn Perry

Carolyn Perry Carolyn Perry, BA, is an archaeologist and educator with extensive experience of the Mediterranean world. Following a degree in Classics and Archaeology, Carolyn lectured in Ancient History and Mythology at Queen Mary College, University of London, before spending several years in the Education Department at the British Museum. She was also Manager of the Petrie Museum of Archaeology, UCL. Alan Powers Alan Powers, PhD, is one of the UK’s leading architectural historians, and has published widely on all aspects of 20th century architecture and design. Alan was Professor at the University of Greenwich School and currently lectures at New York University in London. His books include Bauhaus Goes West: Modern Art & Design in Britain & America.

John Redmill John Redmill, DipArch, FRIAI, is an English architect who moved to Dublin in 1978 after working for a leading conservation architect in London. He has subsequently worked and advised on many important historical buildings throughout Ireland. John is the Honorary Vice President of the Irish Georgian Society and, since 1990, Chairman of the Society’s London Chapter Committee and Trustees, and a Board member of the Irish Architectural Archive. He lectures frequently on various aspects of historical buildings.

Alan Powers

Andrew Spira

aceculturaltours.co.uk

TOUR DIRECTORS Ashley Solomon Ashley Solomon, FRCM, FRAM, is Chair and Head of Historical Performance at the Royal College of Music and Director of Baroque ensemble Florilegium. As a result of his commitment to editing and performing music from the Mission Churches of Chiquitos and Moxos Indians in Bolivia, Ashley was the first European to be awarded the coveted Hans Roth Prize in 2008.

Andrew Spira Andrew Spira, MA, studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art and City University, London. For several years he was a specialist in Byzantine and Russian icons at the Temple Gallery, London, before working as a curator at the V&A Museum. Andrew was subsequently Programme Director at Christie’s Education, and has been leading tours across Europe for over 20 years.

Martin Symington Martin Symington, BA, is one of Britain’s most prolific travel journalists, regularly contributing to The Times, The Daily Mail and Wanderlust. Born and brought up in Oporto, he is the author of the Dorling Kindersley guidebook to Portugal and the AA Essential Guide to Portugal.

Lars Tharp Lars Tharp, MA, FSA, is a Danish-born art historian, lecturer and broadcaster who has worked on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow as well as Hidden Treasures and Art of the Baroque. A former Director of the Foundling Museum, Lars is a ceramics specialist who has curated or overseen exhibitions at York Art Gallery and the Foundling Museum. Lars’s publications include Hogarth’s China.

Martin Symington

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Lars Tharp

Lucrezia Walker Lucrezia Walker, BA, MA, lectures at the National Gallery and teaches the London Art History Programme for the University of North Carolina. She has 20 years’ experience of leading cultural tours in major European cities, and has lived, studied and worked in Italy. Lucrezia is the author of several books, and was previously Galleries Correspondent for The Tablet.

Christopher Wellington Christopher Wellington, MA, studied history at Cambridge University, and has subsequently spent most of his career working in Italy, where he lives with his family in Piacenza. He is a recognised guide in Emilia Romagna, and his professional interests include history, the Church, and art and architecture, especially of the Middle Ages.

Diana Ward Diana Ward, MSc, CBiol, MRSB, MCIEEM, is an ecologist and wildlife specialist. Her company, Ward Ecology Ltd, carries out ecological assessment work, and she has worked for many years on Sites of Special Scientific Interest and river restoration projects. She was Senior Editor of The Rivers & Wildlife Handbook.

Adam White Adam White, PhD, is an art historian and curator with expertise in country house collections. He studied at Oxford University and the Courtauld Institute of Art, and is one of Britain’s leading authorities on English sculpture of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.

He has held the post of Hon Curator of Collections at Lotherton Hall in Yorkshire.

Nicholas Wearne Nicholas Wearne, BA, MPhil, is a former ACE Bursary student who holds a Junior Fellowship at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. His career as a solo organist has taken him all over the world, and he was winner of the Poul Ruders Prize at the 2011 Odense International Organ Competition. Nicholas has also held the prestigious position of organist at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square.

Richard Wigmore Richard Wigmore, MA, AGSM, is a writer, broadcaster, lecturer and former professional singer. Richard specialises in Viennese Classics, Lieder and Opera and writes for Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine and other journals. He has lectured at Birkbeck College, the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music, and his publications include Schubert: The Complete Song Texts and the Faber Pocket Guide to Haydn.

Mark Welch Mark Welch, PhD, has been a research scientist in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum in London for the past 25 years. He has a PhD in geosciences from Edinburgh University, and taught crystallography at Cambridge University for nine years.

Mark has led many field trips in the UK as a geologist and naturalist, and is currently involved in surveying bees and flies for a wide range of sites in East Anglia.

Andrew Wilson Andrew Wilson, BA, BD, FSAScot, is a specialist in archaeology and ancient history with a particular interest in Roman frontier systems and Byzantine mosaics. Andrew is a member of the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He is also a member of the Hadrianic Society and the Pictish Arts Society.

Diana Ward

Adam White

Mark Welch

Andrew Wilson

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BOOKING PROCEDURE AND CONDITIONS

Booking Procedure and Conditions Please complete the booking form and return it with the deposit required. Alternatively, you can either book online or by telephone.

Upon receipt of your deposit we will send you a confirmation/invoice with, in most cases, a reading list. An itinerary, practical information and travel documents (if applicable) will be sent to you three weeks before the commencement of the tour.

INTRODUCTION ACE Cultural Tours meets or exceeds all the requirements of the Package Travel Regulations 2018, full details of which can be found online at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ uksi/2018/634/contents/made In addition, flight-inclusive tours benefit from the financial protection afforded by our Air Travel Organiser’s License (ATOL 10204), whilst UK and other tours without flights are protected through the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT).

We are also long-term members of the Association of Independent Tours Operators (AITO). For your own safety and financial security we do not recommend you book a holiday that does not benefit from the above protection.

The Package Travel Regulations 2018 together with the following booking information and our promotional material form the basis of your contract with ACE Cultural Tours. We have tried to keep this as concise and simple as possible, so please read all the following paragraphs to make sure you understand and are happy with the terms of your booking.

PAYMENT All tours and courses costing up to £250 per person must be paid in full at the time of booking.

If you are booking 10 weeks or more before departure, the following deposits are payable at the time of booking: £250 per person for UK tours. £350 per person for all European tours. £450 per person for Worldwide tours.

The balance must be received by us not less than 10 weeks prior to departure. This date will be shown on the confirmation invoice.

Reminders are not sent, so please make a note of the date in your diary.

If you are booking less than 10 weeks before departure, full payment for all tours must be made at the time of booking.

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NO SURCHARGES Tour prices are confirmed at the time of booking and thereafter will not be subject to any surcharge. We have forward purchase of currency and other precautions in order to guarantee your holiday is not affected by fluctuations in fuel or currency rates. In the event of extraordinary circumstances making the tour unviable we would offer you a full refund or credit note or an alternative tour.

CANCELLATION BY YOU You may cancel your booking at any time before departure. Notice of cancellation must be in writing and because we incur costs from the time we confirm your booking, the following charges will apply (for which we suggest you purchase appropriate insurance): Notice period

Cancellation charge

70 days or more

Deposit only

69-29 days

60% of total booking value

28-15 days

90% of total booking value

14 days or less

100% of total booking value

COVID-19 If you have to cancel as a result of COVID-19 the above charges will not apply, subject to receipt of a medical note or other official proof of restriction of movement due to COVID-19.

CANCELLATION BY US We reserve the right to cancel your booking if there are insufficient bookings on your tour (this will depend on tour type and destination) or for other unforeseen operational reasons.

In such an event, we will provide you with at least 70 days’ notice of cancellation and provide you with a full refund.

Very occasionally, due to extraordinary circumstances in the immediate vicinity of the destination, it may be necessary to cancel the tour with less than 70 days’ notice, in which case we will likewise provide you with a full refund.

Note that in either situation we cannot reimburse any incidental expenses you may have incurred (for example, train fares, additional accommodation or connecting flights). If you are buying your own flights, please liaise with the office before committing to significant expenditure.

CHANGES BY US We do our utmost to ensure that all the arrangements and visits are as described.

However, it is in the nature of travel that changes are sometimes inevitable, although most of these will be minor in nature. In the event that a particular visit is not possible, we will aim to replace it with another of equal interest. If we have to make more significant changes to the itinerary in advance of departure, we will provide you with a choice of a refund, credit note or an alternative itinerary.

ACCOMMODATION Accommodation in hotels is in twin/double bedded rooms, the majority of which have private bath/shower and toilet.

On cruise ships, accommodation is in cabins with shower and toilet only.

Single rooms: despite the fact that single rooms carry a supplement, such accommodation is sometimes not of the same standard as twin/double accommodation.

Single rooms may not always be in the same area of the hotel as a twin/double and the single supplement does not necessarily mean a twin/double room will be provided for single occupancy. Please note that ACE Cultural Tours very much welcomes single travellers and we make no profit from single room supplements. The costs are simply down to the economics of running a hotel.

Porterage is included on overseas tours where available.

FLIGHTS & TICKETS Specific instructions relating to the departure and travel arrangements will be sent with your air and/or other travel tickets approximately 2 weeks before departure. It is essential that you check your tickets carefully immediately upon receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. Occasionally carriers will make late changes to departure times but we will contact you as soon as possible if this occurs.

We will always aim to provide you with the name of your likely airline and flight times when you make a booking. However, flight schedules are set by the airlines and outside our control. We therefore reserve the right to change the actual carrier and flight times for your tour.

In accordance with the regulations, we are required to bring your attention to the Community List of air carriers subject to an operating ban within the UK & EU: www.ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/ safety/air-ban_en.

aceculturaltours.co.uk

BOOKING PROCEDURE AND CONDITIONS HEALTH & SAFETY We operate a safety audit system and work hard with our suppliers to ensure the safety and comfort of our travellers. However, please note that some of the destinations to which we travel have lower requirements and standards than those of the UK. It is therefore essential that you follow any instructions and guidance provided by your tour manager or director.

FITNESS All tours involve a significant amount of walking, often over uneven paths, hillsides or steps.You should be prepared to walk at a reasonable pace for at least 60 minutes and additionally stand for at least 30 minutes without requiring a rest.

DIETARY AND SPECIAL REQUESTS Please advise us at the time of booking of any food allergies or special dietary requirements you may have for medical or religious reasons and we will do our very best to assist. We are also happy to cater for vegetarians or pescatarians. It is not, however, possible to offer extensive choices at every meal to cater for food preferences as many of our menu selections are fixed. Inclusion of the dietary or special request on your booking confirmation or any other documentation is not a guarantee that the request will be met.

HEALTH REQUIREMENTS Whilst we will provide details of any compulsory health requirements applicable to British citizens for your tour, it is your responsibility to ensure you are aware of all recommended vaccinations and health precautions in good time before departure.

Please check with a doctor or clinic not less than ten weeks prior to departure to ensure that you have met the necessary requirements and have the applicable information. The following website may also be helpful: travelhealthpro.org.uk For tours in the EU/EEA you should obtain an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) prior to departure from www.ehic.org.uk. Please note that an EHIC is not a substitute for travel insurance.

You must be in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure (and pay for any related costs). We regret that we cannot accept any liability if you incur fees or are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry all required documentation.

MEDICAL CONDITIONS OR DISABILITY We aim to provide authentic cultural experiences and to maximise the time spent on tour. As a result, the majority of itineraries are quite intensive and can be tiring. They may involve a significant amount of walking, uneven surfaces at outdoor sites

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or in historic buildings, long journeys, and uncomfortable climatic conditions which might exacerbate existing medical or mobility issues. Destinations include many countries with lower standards of health and safety than the UK and limited adaptations for people with reduced mobility. Some destinations do not (and cannot reasonably be expected to) provide emergency and/or health care to the standard that travellers with mobility and/or health conditions may require in the event of any form of incident or emergency.

For the above reasons, our holidays may not be suitable for people with certain disabilities, medical conditions or significantly reduced mobility.

If you suffer from any medical condition, disability or reduced mobility (including any which affect the booking process) or have any special requirements as a result, please tell us before making your booking so that we can assist you in considering the suitability of the arrangements and in order that we can assess the potential risks to your welfare and health and safety.

If we feel that we cannot reasonably accommodate your needs, we reserve the right to decline your booking or, if full details are not given at the time of booking or the condition/ disability develops after booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.

When we refer to reduced mobility, this means any material reduction in mobility whether this is permanent or temporary and whether caused by age or by physical or mental disability or impairment or other cause of disability.

INSURANCE We consider comprehensive travel insurance essential for all tours (UK and abroad), including cover for medical expenses, infectious diseases, repatriation and personal liability, as well as cancelled, delayed and missed departure and loss or damage to personal possessions. Whilst accidental damage is a rare occurrence, your insurance should also cover any damage or loss caused by you and cover any resultant claims made against you or us. For overseas tours, you must give us details in writing of your insurance, preferably on your booking form but in any case no later than before the departure date of your tour. If you fail to do so, we reserve the right to cancel your booking.

the insurance cover you purchase is suitable and adequate for your particular needs.

We cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of this contract, for example, any additional services or facilities that you agree directly with a local hotel or other supplier. Please make sure you have adequate insurance to cover such services and the acts of other third parties.

CONSIDERATION FOR FELLOW TRAVELLERS One of the great pleasures of ACE tours is meeting other people with shared interests and making new friends. This has always depended on mutual consideration for your fellow travellers. We therefore reserve the right that in the unlikely event you cause danger, upset or distress to any third party, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate your tour without liability for any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

PASSPORTS & VISAS Whilst we will provide guidance for each individual tour and help where we can, your specific passport, visa and other immigration requirements are your responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant embassy or consulate. In particular, if you are not a British Citizen or hold a non-British passport, you must check the requirements for all countries to or through which you are intending to travel. Requirements may change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.

For some tours and destinations we will require a copy of the picture page of your passport.

ISSUES If you are unhappy with any element of your tour or the arrangements, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can attempt to resolve the issue. If you are on tour you should speak directly to your tour manager or tour director and not wait until you return home, when it may be impossible for us to help. In the unlikely event that we cannot agree a satisfactory outcome between us, we will ask AITO’s Independent Dispute Settlement Service to find an amicable solution.

Our contract with you is subject to English law (and no other) and the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales only.

We recommend that insurance premiums are paid as soon as possible as cover (in particular cancellation cover) will not be effective until you have done so. Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that

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INDEX AND QUALITY CHARTER

Index A Albania: From the Illyrians to the Ottomans Aquileia: City of Antiquity Art Collections & Stately Homes of the West Country Art Collections of Liverpool Art in Naples Art on the Côte d’Azur Art Treasures of Dresden: Porcelain & Paintings Artists of the North B Bach Festival in Leipzig Bauhaus: German Modern Art & Design C Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels Churches of Suffolk Cornwall Calling: The Artists of Newlyn, Lamorna & St Ives Crete: Birds, Flowers & Minoans D Donegal & Tory Island Douro River Cruise on the Royal Barge

34 20 57 19 25 21 23 47 48 49 36 30 29 31 51 44

E Early Christian & Medieval Rome 18 Eboracum: York & the Roman North 37 F Flemish Painting: From van Eyck to Rubens 32 From Bologna to Parma: A Feast for the Soul & Senses 35 G Great Bardfield & Beyond: Mid-Century Art & Design in East Anglia 40 H Hadrian’s Wall 61 I Isle of Man: A Wild & Ancient Heritage 41 Isles of Scilly 38 J Jordan: Kingdoms of the Desert 26-27 L Lincolnshire Halls & Houses 54 Lycian Cruise 33 M Mozart Festival in Salzburg 13 N Norfolk in Summer 45 Northamptonshire Country Houses 39 Northern Greece 46

P Pompeii with Herculaneum 14 Prehistoric & Roman Anglesey & Snowdonia 55 R Roman & Byzantine Ravenna 22 Roussillon 24 S Somerset Levels in Winter 16 Southern Russia: Kossacks, Kalmyks & the Caucasus 52-53 T The Hanseatic League: An Artistic Legacy 58 The Industrial Revolution in Middle England 56 The Shetland Islands 50 The Vienna Secession 43 Turin: Rise of a Royal City 17 V Valletta International Baroque Festival 15 Venice: The Triumph of Light & Colour 28 Verona Opera Festival 60 W Wild & Ancient Dartmoor 42 Wildlife in Norfolk 12 Wildlife of the Austrian Alps 59

Professional service and continual improvements All members are committed to high standards of service and believe in regular and thorough training of employees. Members continually seek to review and improve their holidays. They listen to their customers and always welcome suggestions for improving standards.

AIR TRAVEL ORGANISER’S LICENSE All the flights and flight inclusive holidays in this brochure are financially protected either by ABTOT or the ATOL scheme. When you pay for something protected by the ATOL scheme 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

Quality Charter THE ASSOCIATION FOR INDEPENDENT AND SPECIALIST HOLIDAY COMPANIES AITO is the Association for independent and specialist holiday companies. Our member companies, usually owner-managed, strive to create overseas holidays with high levels of professionalism and a shared concern for quality and personal service. The Association encourages the highest standards in all aspects of tour operating.

Exclusive membership AITO sets criteria regarding ownership, finance and quality which must be satisfied before new companies are admitted to membership.

All members are required to adhere to a Code of Business Practice which encourages high operational standards and conduct.

Financial security An AITO member is required to arrange financial protection for all holidays and other arrangements (including accommodation only) booked by customers with the member under the AITO logo.

This financial protection applies to customers who are resident in the UK at the time of booking and to most overseas customers who have booked directly with the member. In doing so, the member must comply with UK Government regulations.

Members are required to submit details of their financial protection arrangements to AITO on a regular basis.

Accurate holiday descriptions All members do their utmost to ensure that all their brochures and other publications, print or electronic, clearly and accurately describe the holidays and services offered.

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Monitoring standards AITO endeavours to monitor quality standards regularly. All customers should receive a postholiday questionnaire from their tour operator, the results of which are scrutinised by the Association.

In addition, customers can leave detailed feedback, accessible from the homepage of this website, or via a direct link supplied by their AITO tour operator, about their holiday.

Sustainable tourism Our members acknowledge the importance of AITO’s Sustainable Tourism ethos, which recognises the social, economic and environmental responsibilities of tour operating.

Customer relations All members endeavour to deal swiftly and fairly with any issues their customers may raise. In the unlikely event that a dispute between an AITO member and a customer cannot be settled amicably, either party can call on an arbitration service to bring the matter to a speedy and acceptable conclusion.

ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT TOUR OPERATORS ACE Cultural Tours is a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators. To contact the Association, visit www.aito.co.uk or call 020 8744 9280.

ASSOCIATION OF BONDED TRAVEL ORGANISERS TRUST LIMITED The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under its ATOL Franchise and The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for ACE Cultural Tours, ATOL number 10204, and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for the following: 1. non-flight packages; 2. flight inclusive packages that commence outside of the EEA, which are sold to customers outside of the EEA; and 3. flight inclusive packages, flight only and linked travel arrangements (LTAs) sold as a principal under the ABTOT ATOL Franchise.

ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if you are abroad. Please note that bookings made by customers outside the EEA are only protected

by ABTOT when purchased directly with ACE Cultural Tours. In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call ABTOT’s 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company. You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here: https://www. legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made

aceculturaltours.co.uk

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A C E C U LT U R A L T O U R S – B O O K I N G F O R M Tour Information Tour Code Tour Title

Booking Ref.

Deposit/Full Payments

Total First Participant

n Male

Title:............... Surname: ............................................................................ (as shown in passport):

n Female

n Vegetarian

n Single Room

First & Middle Names:....................................................................................... (as shown in passport):

Passport details

(if different from first name and surname in passport)

(required for overseas tours only) We require a copy of the picture page of your passport for long haul tours and destinations requiring a visa.

Address:...........................................................................................................

Nationality:

...........................................................................................................................

Passport Number:

...........................................................................................................................

Date of Issue (D/M/Y):

Tel/Mob:...........................................................................................................

Date of Expiry

Known as:........................................................................................................

Email: ................................................................................................................

Date of Birth

(D/M/Y):

/

/

...................................................................................................

:

(D/M/Y)

/

/

/

/

Place of Birth: ...................................................................................................

Country of issue:................................................................................................

Special dietary requests/allergies: ..................................................................

Second Participant

n Male

Title:............... Surname: ............................................................................ (as shown in passport):

Known as:........................................................................................................ (if different from first name and surname in passport)

Address:...........................................................................................................

n Female

n Vegetarian

n Single Room

First & Middle Names:....................................................................................... (as shown in passport):

Passport details

(required for overseas tours only) We require a copy of the picture page of your passport for long haul tours and destinations requiring a visa.

Nationality:

...................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

Passport Number:

...........................................................................................................................

Date of Issue (D/M/Y):

Tel/Mob:...........................................................................................................

Date of Expiry

Email: ................................................................................................................

Place of Birth: ...................................................................................................

/

Country of issue:................................................................................................

Date of Birth

(D/M/Y):

/

:

(D/M/Y)

/

/

/

/

Special dietary requests/allergies: ..................................................................

Payment Instructions I wish to pay a deposit of £

by: (tick method of payment)

Bank transfer : Sort Code 16 – 15 – 19 Account Number 10410774 Account name ACE CULTURAL TOURS LTD Please quote your family name and tour code/ booking reference.

Cheque: please enclose cheque payable to ACE Cultural Tours Ltd. Card payments: please telephone the ACE reservations team on 01223 841055

Booking Authorisation I agree to accept the booking conditions, including fitness criteria in section 4, on behalf of myself and others included on this form.

Please also see our Privacy Policy for information on how we handle your personal data. This is available on our website but if you require a hard copy please contact the office.

Signature ....................................................................................................................................................

Date....................................................................................

Please return to: ACE Cultural Tours, Stapleford Granary, Bury Road, Stapleford, Cambridge CB22 5BP, England

0820

ACE CULTURAL TOURS

ACE CULTURAL TOURS Stapleford Granary Bury Road Stapleford 01223 841055 CAMBRIDGE ace@aceculturaltours.co.uk CB22 5BP www.aceculturaltours.co.uk