Top 10 Historic & Archaeological Sites to Visit in the UK

15 June 2020

Now that travel restrictions are slowly starting to ease, you might be thinking about your next holiday and how far from home you're willing to travel. If you'd rather just dip your toe in the proverbial water with a short break that doesn't leave the country, you're in luck. We have a new range of UK-based archaeological and historical tours, which include visits to the magnificent sites on our collective doorstep.

With this in mind, we've rounded up a selection of our favourite UK sites to give you a bit of travel inspiration!

1) Kilmartin Glen, Scotland

Nestled between Oban and Lochgilphead is Kilmartin Glen, an area whose history spans an impressive 5,000 years and one that is home to amazing ancient sites such as the Nether Largie Cairns prehistoric burial monuments, Temple Wood Stone Circles, the Nether Largie Standing Stones, and also the Ri Cruin Cairns. Click here to visit this site with us.

2) Caerleon amphitheatre, Wales

This impressive site is home to the remains on an amphitheatre that once held 6,000 spectators and which may well have been constructed for the benefit of the soldiers as well as civilians living in nearby civilian settlements known as cannabae. Built in around AD 90, this amphitheatre can be visited as part of our new Romans in South Wales tour.

3) The Roman Circus in Colchester

Known for being the only one in Britain, Colchester's Roman Circus is pretty special. The site was identified back in 2005 and it is believed that the venue would have once held around 8,000 spectators for sports or racing events. On our Colchester: Capital of Britannia tour, you'll meet Philip Crummy, the Director of the Colchester Archaeological Trust, who will speak to us personally about the excavations carried out here.

4) York Minster

A structure that needs no introduction, York Minster is truly stunning and is one of the largest cathedrals in Northern Europe – built on the city's Roman legionary headquarters. Beneath the Minster are the remains of the headquarters – the place where in all probability Constantine the Great was acclaimed emperor after the death of his father. Today, it holds perhaps the greatest and most accomplished example of medieval stained glass in the country, the Great East Window. Visit with us as part of this tour.

5) Bletchley Park

Set in a country house in Milton Keynes, Bletchley Park is where the so-called Ultra Intelligence gathered, separated from the outside world, and who managed to shorten the war by at least two years. With the development of Colossus, the first programmable electronic digital computer, the work carried out there also paved the way for the digital world that followed the war. Visit Bletchley Park with us on this tour.

6) The Round Table, Winchester

In Winchester's Great Hall, which was built by Henry III, you'll find the iconic Round Table or Arthurian legend. The table itself is surprisingly large and was thought to have been created in around 1290 for the betrothal of one of Edward I's daughters. Pay a visit to the Great Hall to see this artefact on our Alfred's Camelot tour.

7) The Roman Villa of Bignor

If you're a fan of stunning Roman mosaics, head to Bignor. This is a Roman courtyard residence, which is smaller scale than Fishbourne and – built in the 3^rd century AD – is much later in date, too. Unlike Fishbourne, it is clearly a villa rustica, built not only as an elite residence but as a farm. Here we see some of the best preserved mosaics in Britain, including a well preserved mosaic of the Rape of Ganymede as well as an intricate a large mosaic of Medusa. Visit Bignor as part of this tour.

8) Reculver Towers, Kent

Head to Kent's Herne Bay during daylight hours and you'll be met with the striking remains of the medieval church of Reculver. Its twin towers act as a navigation point for ships at sea and while a lot of this site has been lost to erosion over the years, you can also see the ruins of the original early Roman fort. Visit the site as part of our new Behind-the-Scenes in Roman Kent tour.