Scheduled Tours by Historical Period

In this section we have organised our scheduled tours by historical period to help you easily view those which hold your interest; simply scroll down through our tours or alternatively you can filter by historical period.

Early Periods Tours

Wars Of The Roses Starts 9th July 2018 (6 days) Guide - Dr John Sadler
The Wars of the Roses became one of the most defining periods in English history. Lasting for 30 years (1455 – 1485), it split the country in two and produced five different monarchs. The crown passed between the houses of York and Lancaster, with the Lancastrian’s eventually winning through and Henry Tudor establishing a new royal dynasty. find out more and book
Hadrian's Wall Starts 15th July 2018 (4 days) Guide - Dr Andy Fear
Recognising that the Roman Empire could not expand indefinitely, Emperor Hadrian determined to consolidate his frontiers and the resultant wall reflects that change of policy. find out more and book
The Golden Journey to Samarkand Starts 28th September 2018 (12 days) Guide - Dr Paul Wordsworth
Uzbekistan, intriguing and historically rich, is a cradle of culture from where a mesmerising collection of sapphire and gold buildings, monuments and magnificent cities have arisen reflecting the influence of the diverse cultures that have passed along the ‘Silk Road’. find out more and book
The Archaeology of the Bay of Naples Starts 23rd October 2018 (7 days) Guide - Amanda Pavlick
Our programme covers the best archaelogical sites surrounding The Bay of Naples in Southern Italy - Not only the impressive remains of the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum but also those that are less well-known, including Oplontis, Stabiae, Cumae, Baiae and Pozzuoli. find out more and book

Medieval Tours

The English Civil War Starts 3rd July 2018 (6 days) Guide - Col Nick Lipscombe
The English Civil Wars are part of a living political tradition which continue to rage on paper and debate nearly four centuries after the internecine bloodletting. find out more and book
El Cid and the Reconquista Starts 5th September 2018 (8 days) Guide - Dr Andy Fear
The recovery of Spain from Moorish rule was a long and complex process. This tour starts at the beginning of the story by visiting the site of King Pelayo’s victory over the Moors at Covandonga in AD 722 and then follows the expansion of the kingdom he forged first in Oviedo. find out more and book
Fortress Malta Starts 3rd November 2018 (6 days) Guide - Major General Ashley Truluck CB CBE BA
The Island of Malta stands at the crossroads of the Mediterranean where it has played a strategic role for centuries. find out more and book

18th Century Tours

Frederick the Great Starts 19th September 2018 (8 days) Guide - Major General John Drewienkiewicz CB CMG
This tour visits battlefields from two different wars: The War of Austrian Succession (in particular the First Silesian War) and the Seven Years War. Both of which saw the Austrian Empire defending itself against Frederick the Great’s invading Prussian military machine find out more and book

Napoleonic Tours

Wellington in Portugal Starts 1st June 2018 (8 days) Guide - Col Nick Lipscombe
During the years 1808 – 1811, the forces commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley successfully repulsed three French invasions of Portugal. find out more and book
A Near Run Thing Starts 15th June 2018 (4 days) Lead Guide - Tim Clayton
The Waterloo campaign in June 1815 ensured the relative peace of Western Europe for the next fifty years. find out more and book
Wellington in Spain Starts 12th September 2018 (8 days) Guide - Col Nick Lipscombe
Often referred to as the 'classic' Peninsular War tour, this eight-day battlefield tour visits some of Wellington's most notable battles and sieges during the period 1809 – 1812. find out more and book
Walking Waterloo Starts 5th October 2018 (4 days) Guide - Major General Ashley Truluck CB CBE BA
Following the success of the 2016 tour, The Cultural Experience’s own Alan Rooney and Ashley Truluck are once again inviting guests to join them on a walking tour of the Waterloo Campaign. find out more and book
Napoleon in Italy Starts 12th October 2018 (8 days) Guide - Martin Boycott-Brown
In 1796, France's army in Italy was under-fed, under-equipped and unpaid. It’s fair to say it was also low on morale. It was this army that Napoleon picked up by the scruff of its neck and turned into the effective fighting force that would defeat successive Austrian armies and conquer northern Italy. find out more and book
Wellington in India Starts 16th November 2018 (10 days) Guide - Major Gordon Corrigan MBE
India was where Sir Arthur Wellesley, later to become the Duke of Wellington, first exercised independent command and learnt his trade. find out more and book
Austerlitz: Napoleon's Masterpiece Starts 30th November 2018 (4 days) Guide - Alan Rooney
We spend a fascinating long weekend exploring the whole battlefield, which has changed little over the years, and intermingling with the numerous participants preparing for the spectacular anniversary re-enactment that will be taking place near the actual battlefield. find out more and book

Victorian Era Tours

Custer and the Indian Wars Starts 18th June 2018 (10 days) Guide - Col Bob Kershaw
The years following the end of the Civil War up to the end of the century saw a resumption of the ’white man’s’ expansion into the American West. find out more and book
The American Civil War: Eastern Theater Tour Starts 21st September 2018 (14 days) Guide - Fred Hawthorne
During their Civil War more Americans lost their lives than during the whole of WW1 and WW2 combined. find out more and book
The Franco-Austrian War Starts 20th October 2018 (6 days) Guide - Major General John Drewienkiewicz CB CMG
After nearly 20 years of ‘enlightened’ French hegemony, the Congress of Vienna saw Northern Italy once more placed under Austro-Hungarian control. find out more and book
The Indian Mutiny Starts 3rd November 2018 (12 days) Guide - Major Gordon Corrigan MBE
For a time British power in India – the jewel in the British Empire crown - hung by a thread. With so much at stake on both sides, it was a near run thing, with bravery and treachery in equal measure, and larger-than-life characters on each side... find out more and book
The Zulu War Starts 5th March 2019 (14 days) Guide - Ian Knight
This fascinating study of the Anglo-Zulu War takes us to ground that has hardly changed since the memorable events of the period, all set amongst spectacular scenery still populated by Zulu tribes and an abundance of wildlife. find out more and book
American Civil War: Through the Southern Heartland Starts 19th March 2019 (15 days) Guide - Fred Hawthorne
A wonderful 15 day tour which visits some of the most iconic and beautiful Southern cities and countryside in the states of Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas. We trace the hard-marched routes of the soldiers of both sides through some uncompromising yet striking country. find out more and book

World War 1 Tours

1918 Centenary Tour Starts 29th July 2018 (4 days) Guide - Dr Bruce Cherry
1918 was a busy year on the Western Front. The first half of the year saw both British and French Armies on the back foot, close to collapse and reeling from what were to be the last German offensives before the entry of the USA into the war. find out more and book
Medics and Padres Starts 2nd August 2018 (4 days) Guide - Simon Jones
Because of its industrial nature, the number of casualties in the First World War was on a scale never seen before. However, if you were wounded in the Great War your chances of survival were high, that is if you could be evacuated into the casualty system quickly – from regimental aid post to advanced dressing station, to casualty clearing station, to base hospital, hospital ship and then on to England. find out more and book
Italy During The First World War Starts 13th September 2018 (6 days) Guide - Major Gordon Corrigan MBE
Whilst the Italians prevaricated over whether to join the Entente powers in their struggle against the Central powers, the Austro-Hungarians set about fortifying their Alpine borders. find out more and book
The Russian Revolution Starts 18th September 2018 (9 days) Guide - Orlando Figes
St Petersburg, Russia’s most opulent city, home to the Tsars and the much maligned Imperial elite, was destined to become the epicentre for a revolutionary movement and would eventually take on the name of its leader becoming Leningrad. find out more and book
Walking The Ypres Salient Starts 28th September 2018 (4 days) Guide - Simon Jones
Ypres and its surrounding salient became a major focus point of the war during the race to the sea in 1914, where it was briefly occupied by the Germans, only to be quickly won back and held thereafter by the allies. It became the beating heart of the Allied front line throughout the First World War. find out more and book
The Doughboys Turn the Tide Starts 3rd October 2018 (5 days) Guide - Dr Bruce Cherry
The involvement of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), more affectionately known as Doughboys, is much overlooked and forgotten (especially in Britain) but during this tour we will explore the ground and hear the stories of their crucial and sometimes heroic contribution to the final victory. find out more and book
1918 Centenary Tour Starts 8th October 2018 (4 days) Guide - Dr Bruce Cherry
1918 was a busy year on the Western Front. The first half of the year saw both British and French Armies on the back foot, close to collapse and reeling from what were to be the last German offensives before the entry of the USA into the war. find out more and book
Lawrence of Arabia Starts 11th March 2019 (8 days) Guide - Eamonn Gearon
In the company of accomplished desert explorer, Arabist, historian, author and Middle-east analyst, Eamonn Gearon, we follow the same northward path of Lawrence and the Arab Revolt, from the capture of Aqaba towards victory. find out more and book

World War 2 Tours

D-Day Landings and Paris Starts 26th June 2018 (5 days) Guide - Dr Simon Trew
D-day and the advance on Paris signalled the beginning of the end of the Second World War. The 6 June and the days that followed it have given birth to some of the most heroic stories from the war, which have inspired authors and film makers ever since. find out more and book
Napoleon 1812 & Hitler 1941-44 Starts 10th August 2018 (8 days) Lead Guide - Alan Rooney
Belarus has seen its fair share of invading forces during Napoleon's invasion of 1812 and again some 130 years later the country suffered the ravages of both German and Russian invaders... find out more and book
The Holocaust Starts 5th September 2018 (7 days) Guide - Dr Isabel Wollaston
Some six million Poles died during the Second World War, half of whom were Jews murdered in the forests in the east of the country or the death camps set up after the German occupation. find out more and book
The Eastern Front Starts 8th September 2018 (10 days) Guide - Dr Matthias Strohn
The defence of Moscow, the siege of Stalingrad and the battle of Kursk - three of the most pivotal events of the Second World War. find out more and book
Holocaust Landscapes Starts 12th September 2018 (7 days) Guide - Tim Cole
The tour takes in some of the countries occupied by Nazi Germany: Austria annexed into the Reich in 1938; Czechoslovakia occupied in 1939; and Hungary which was not overrun until the spring of 1944. find out more and book
The Holocaust Starts 11th October 2018 (7 days) Guide - Dr Waitman Beorn
Some six million Poles died during the Second World War, half of whom were Jews murdered in the forests in the east of the country or the death camps set up after the German occupation. find out more and book
Operation Mercury Starts 14th October 2018 (7 days) Guide - Col Bob Kershaw
Operation Mercury is the fascinating story of a high risk operation fought across a stunning Mediterranean landscape. We follow these hard fought actions along the dramatic coast lines of Crete. find out more and book
The Battle Of The Bulge Starts 5th December 2018 (5 days) Guide - Dr Peter Schrijvers
In the summer of 1944, the Allied momentum appeared unstoppable as troops broke out of Normandy, captured Paris, and raced through Belgium. In early autumn, however, the advance lost steam when logistical lines snapped and Operation Market Garden failed find out more and book

Cross-Periods Tours

Kaliningrad: Russia’s forgotten exclave Starts 2nd September 2018 (6 days) Guide - Alan Rooney
Königsberg, the former capital of Prussia, home to the Teutonic Knights and the great philosopher Immanuel Kant, is today known by its Russian name, Kaliningrad. find out more and book
The Spanish Civil War Starts 18th September 2018 (5 days) Guide - Col Ray Wilkinson
The Spanish Civil War was a particularly bloody conflict that led to the deaths of half a million people, and over 30 years of fascist dictatorship under General Franco. find out more and book
The Holy Land in Turmoil Starts 17th November 2018 (11 days) Guide - Cliff Churgin
Since the dawn of civilization the small strip of land, ultimately known as The Holy Land, has served as a land bridge joining many of the world’s great empires. In the Iron and Bronze Ages, Egyptian, Babylonian and Assyrian armies marched through here fighting for control of cities such as Megiddo and Jaffa. find out more and book

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