Friday, 18 October 2019

Saturday November 9th


A Day Trip to Oxford*

(calling at the Shakespearean town of Henley-in-Arden)


Tickets £15


Book your seat now via the University Online payment page at


*This is a full day trip departing 08:00 from The Sir Stanley Matthews Sports Centre and returning from Oxford at 18:00. On arrival there will be an optional short guided tour of the city centre.
There will also be the possibility to visit the Ashmolean Museum and Christ Church College in the afternoon (student group rate applies).


TOP PLACES TO VISIT IN OXFORD

1. Oxford Castle
2. Radcliffe Camera
3. Ashmolean Museum
4. Magdalen College
5. The Pitt Rivers Museum
6. Oxford University of Natural History
7. Christ Church College
8. The Covered Market
9. The University Church of St Mary the Virgin
10. The Bodleian Library
11. The Botanical Garden
12. Fairfax Tower



For further details contact:Paul or Lorenzo
l.ball@staffs.ac.uk
p.j.toft@staffs.ac.uk


Sunday, 19 May 2019

The ten best things about York...a fascinating city steeped in history


A Day Trip to York

My Experience UK Travel Club is proud to announce:


A Day Trip to York...........in search of the Vikings!!
Saturday, May 25th

Tickets £15

Hurry!

Tickets go on sale Monday, May 20th


The English Language CentreRoom S 125/7 Mellor Building
p.j.toft@staffs.ac.ukl.ball@staffs.ac.uk




Monday, 8 April 2019

Erddig and the Yorke family

Erddig and the Yorke family


Erddig House and gardens date back to 1684 and remained in the same family until 1973, when Philip Yorke III entrusted the house and gardens to the National Trust. The house had become neglected and was in urgent need of restoration, which took four years to complete. In 1973 he was interviewed for a television documentary in which he reflects on his family's connection to the hall.




Thursday, 4 April 2019

Llandudno

Llandudno


The name Llandudno derives from the name of a famous Welsh saint: Saint Tudno, who founded a small church here in the 7th century. This little church is situated on the Great Orme, the massive rock overlooking the town and the sea. Saint Tudno was undoubtedly the patron saint of the local fishermen who once fished in these hostile waters.

Llandudno is a typical Victorian Seaside resort. The town has a wide seafront promenade, a famous peer and a sandy beach. In fact, the town is fortunate enough to have two beaches. The western beach is considered the most sheltered with its fine sandy beach and dunes.

One of the town's most famous visitors was the writer and mathematician Lewis Caroll, author of Alice in Wonderland. Look out for the curious statue of a white rabbit on the West Promenade not far from the house where the writer spent many summers.

The town lies at the foot of the Great Orme's Head, which towers over it like a dormant volcano. You can visit the Orme by cable lift form Happy Valley. There is also a tramway from Victoria Station in Church Walks. If you are feeling energetic, you can also go up by foot. The views are spectacular and on a clear day, you can see Anglesey, Snowdonia and sometimes even the Isle of Man and the Cumbrian mountains in the North-West of England. The Llandudno area is also steeped in history. Man first arrived here in pre-historic times more than 4000 years ago to mine copper, which they used to make tools and weapons and probably exported as well. Several examples can be seen in the town's museum. Numerous caves have also been found around the Orme, with the remains of many extinct animals besides humans.





Conwy

Conwy


Conwy is probably the best example of a medieval walled town in the whole of Britain.  The castle with its imposing 21 towers and three gateways was built by King Edward I between 1283 and 1287. The castle formed an important link in a chain of large English built fortifications along the Welsh coast, built by the English kings in an attempt to control and subdue the Welsh people. On our way to Conwy you will see several imposing castles but they are not all as old as they appear. Some were built by wealthy Victorians to beautify the surrounding views.

It is believed that the Romans were attracted to this area in search of pearls and mussels. In fact, there is a fine Mussel Centre on the town's quay and the industry still continues today.

The town contains some fine example of period architecture. Aberconwy House (in Castle Street) is a fine example of a 14th Century Merchant's house. Just around the corner from here in the High Street, is Plas Mawr or Great Mansion, built in 1576 for the noble Wynne family.

Don't forget to look out for the small red door on the Quayside. This fisherman's cottage is just over 3 metres high and is reputed to be the smallest house in Britain. It is now a museum and the guide is a Welsh lady dressed in traditional Welsh costume.



Next post...Llandudno, our final destination 

Erddig

Sitting on a dramatic escarpment above the winding Clywedog river, Erddig tells the 250-year story of a gentry family’s relationship with its servants.
A large collection of servants’ portraits and carefully preserved rooms capture their lives in the early 20th century, while upstairs is a treasure trove of fine furniture, textiles and wallpapers. Outdoors lies a fully restored 18th-century garden, with trained fruit trees, exuberant annual herbaceous borders, avenues of pleached limes, formal hedges and a nationally important collection of ivies.
The 486-hectare (1,200-acre) landscape pleasure park, designed by William Emes, is a haven of peace and natural beauty, perfect for riverside picnics. Discover the ‘cup and saucer’ cylindrical cascade or explore the earthworks of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle. A walk through the estate spans the earliest origins of Wrexham to the technology of an 18th-century designed landscape. All around, tenant farmers continue the work of generations.
Erddig is a place where old memories are found and new memories are made.




A Day Trip to North Wales

The "My Experience UK Travel Club" is proud to announce a

Day Trip to North Wales


Visiting Erddig Stately Home*, the medieval walled town of Conwy, and the popular seaside resort of Llandudno.

Friday, 22 March 2019



THE EXPERIENCE UK TRAVEL CLUB
is proud to announce

A DAY TRIP TO OXFORD


Saturday March 30th
Depart College Road 08:00
To include guided tour and visit to The Ashmolean Museum, free time and optional afternoon tour of Christ Church College
Depart Oxford 17:30 (new extended time!)





                                                          Map of Oxford City Centre


To listen to an audio tour, go to:
(Your teachers will provide hard copies of maps if required)

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19GfZ8DSo2HKtZ90Tnu81ddUQa4u0a1ZkMbWGNS_m5dc/edit?usp=sharing
Oxford Tourist video

Oxford is known as 'the city of dreaming spires'.
Take a look at this short video and you will understand why.. 






Wednesday, 6 February 2019

A Day Trip to Bath and Stonehenge

A Day Trip to Bath and Stonehenge

Saturday February 16th

Leaving College Road at 7am

Tickets £20 from the English Language Centre S125/7 Mellor Building