Itinerary Suggestions for History Buffs

You should go to Cardiff Wales and go to the St. Fagan's Museum. Personally, I think you are spending too much time in Scotland.

You can never spend too much time in Scotland!

Mike (Auchterless)

Ha ha Mike! I thought this was a mostly Scotland trip but I just added up the nights in Scotland v. England and realized it's 50/50. If my partner had been to London and Bath we would probably have skipped those locales in favor of more time in Scotland or elsewhere. But there are some archaeological "meccas" that he has to see (like Stonehenge).

Ooohhh Cala! That looks really interesting! We will definitely need to consider a detour to Wales. If not this trip, next time.

Hi,
We agree with Mike (Auchterless) that you can't possibly spend too much time in Scotland! If you're interested in ancient history there is much to be discovered.

About an hour's drive north of Inverness is the Tarbat Discovery Centre with some original & replica Pictish Stones. It's a bit of a hidden gem staffed by some very knowledgeable volunteers. We were a good hour there.

Tarbat Discovery Centre
https://www.tarbat-discovery.co.uk

There are other Pictish stones in the area along the Highland Pictish Trail. This website provides a good introduction to the Picts.
Highland Pictish Trail
https://highlandpictishtrail.co.uk/the-picts

Happy planning!

While in London, consider the City of London museum. They have excavations of early London.

You mention a lot of day tours from places I wasn't sure there were daytours. Example, is there a day tour to Hadrian's wall from Durham?

Near Hadrian's Wall is Vindolanda. Considering your interests, you probably don't want to miss this.

If you are interested in day tours, I'd suggest looking into Rabbies

I was going to suggest joining a dig of interest, but then I see October. Schools - where a lot of volunteers come from - will be back in session so unlikely any would be possible... foo

You will be close to a number of Roman villas and if Roman is of interest they are well worth a visit. For example, near Cirencester and just off the Fosseway is National Trust's Chedworth Villa https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/gloucestershire-cotswolds/chedworth-roman-villa which is simply fabulous.

You could slip in a side visit to Hadrian's Wall on the way to Glasgow. Leave London on the 1830 train from Euston, and alight at Carlisle at 2152, staying overnight at the Station Hotel (literally steps away from the station entrance), or the County Hotel (opposite). The Station Hotel was originally built for Queen Victoria on her way to Balmoral, and she had her own private entrance.
There is also a later train an hour later. Either way you still get a full day in London.
Starting in January 2026 there will be a direct bus from Carlisle to Hadrian's Wall (re-instating a long lost service), then late afternoon/early evening train to Glasgow. The bus service is funded (by the Government)- just awaiting legal approval.
There may even be digs happening in the area of Roman remains. We've just closed down the Drumburgh dig a week or so ago (that was an exceptional one) but around the October half term there is what seems to have become an annual dig in Carlisle- closed this week I believe, some quite exciting stuff has been found.
You may be able to pick up a tour run by Great Guided Tours (Carol Donnelly, a local Guide) or maybe a private tour run by someone like Solway Tours. Various options.

One place you seem to be missing is the Highland Folk Museum at Newtonmore. You could cut up there from Fort William, as opposed to going via Loch Ness (which may be a better fit for you?). While at Fort William maybe visit The Commando Memorial (also commemorated outside the Duncansburgh Church in the Town Centre).

You won't have time on this trip, but in the future, I would recommend a visit to the island of Lewis and Harris, which has a number of prehistoric sites and some wonderful things to see. And of course, there are lots of historic sites on Orkney as well. As the others have said, I guarantee you that you will want to come back to Scotland. It's an incredible country. And of course I love England with all my heart, so I'm not denigrating that, but you must already know that since you've been there. 😊

While at Fort William maybe visit The Commando Memorial (also commemorated outside the Duncansburgh Church in the Town Centre).

Thanks for that, Stuart. I didn't know about Commando memorials in Fort William.

I certainly have made my pilgrimage to the Memorial at Spean Bridge and nearby to Achnacarry where my father and other volunteers were trained under live fire and then went on to serve under "Mad Jack" Churchill.

and while I'm at it, I'll note that when he went out to serve in various Med campaigns, including Sicily, Monte Cassino, Greece, Yugoslavia and ended up in Comacchio, just north of Ravenna, Italy, it was a full complement of Commandos. My father and a handful of other mates were all that was left of the original compliment at the end.

Can I note that today is Remembrance Day today in the UK and Commonwealth, and also commemorates 80 years since the end of the Second World War.

We remember all those in all conflicts who did not return. God rest their souls.

Just to note that the Museum of London is currently closed as it relocates to Smithfields. It is due to open in "late 2026" so it's not yet certain if it will have reopened in time for your visit.

Oh No @Cat VH! Museum of London is one of my favorite museums! Hopefully, it's open by the time we visit. If not maybe our first day is super chill. Perhaps I'll take my partner to Harrods - where else can you be served at a lunch counter by a man in a full suit? (assuming they still do this - it's been quite some time since my last visit to London) Or we can just walk around and have afternoon tea somewhere.

Hi, Dulce Pequeno,

As you'll have a car, and you'll be staying near Stirling, there is one site nearby which will tick your historical archaeology and Outlander boxes: Callendar House/Park, near Falkirk.

Callendar House is a very well maintained (and free!) museum. It also has an excellent tearoom. However, for Outlander fans, the Callendar House kitchen is where Murtagh beheaded the Duke of Sandringham (season 2, episode 11).

In Callendar Park, which surrounds the house, is a section of the Antonine Wall, which was completed in 142 A.D.

https://www.antoninewall.org/

There are several more developed Antonine Wall sites within a short drive of Falkirk:

https://www.antoninewall.org/visiting-the-antonine-wall/top-sites-to-visit

If you do decide to visit the Falkirk area, the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel are nearby, although neither has any link to Outlander!

Very best wishes for your travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

Thank you @Diane is Wandering! I didn't know about the Tarbat Discovery Center, and it looks just like the kind of place we would love. Definitely worth a day trip up that way! Adding it to the itinerary.

Thank you @Frank II! We are taking a private tour from Durham via Peter Carney to visit Hadrian's Wall and Vindolanda. (We will take a bus to Hexham where Peter will pick us up.) The Rabbies tours look very interesting - will try to work on into the intinerary.

Thank you @isn31c for the suggestion on the Highland Folk Museum. How that was not on my radar, I don't know, but it's going on the itinerary. And the memorial is definitely something my partner would love to see.

Thank you again Mike (Auchterless)! I will add Callendar House/Park to the list. I did not know about the Antoine Wall - super cool!

I’ll tag onto Mike’s mention of the Antonine Wall. Two years ago we stopped in at the Rough Castle site. It was well worth an hour or so—a dream come true for my husband, who had always wanted visit an ancient Roman site.

Given your interests it seems a missed opportunity not to be visiting Orkney or even better Shetland, where there are many prehistoric and Viking sites. Indeed, having visited both island groups several times, my absolute favourite site is Jarlshof. It has some similarities with Skara Brae in Orkney, but is (in my view) more interesting, because you can still step inside the prehistoric houses. But not only that the site was continuously occupied from prehistoric to medieval times and there are many examples of structures from the different periods of occupation with layers of history very clearly visible. It's an incredible place and only one of many sites in Shetland.

I'd gladly forgo Inverness, Culloden etc for a few days in Shetland. If you do go to Culloden then Fort George nearby is an interesting example of English military occupation (still in use) and can be visited.

Corbridge Roman Town is an extensive site about 20 miles west of Newcastle and about 20 miles east of Once Brewed. Corbridge was where the Roman soldiers families lived. The site, discovered about 1900, is still only partially excavated. There is also an excellent museum adjacent to the site. For some reason, this site doesn't seem to end up in the guide books.

If you stop at Once Brewed, where you can actually walk on the wall, the nearby Twice Brewed Pub is a good lunch stop.

On Day 20 I don't get why you are travelling from Durham to Hexham by bus. I don't deny that you can very easily do it, either changing bus in Newcastle (the 21's then the 10's or 685)or Consett (the latter is actually quite a scenic route), but it will take a lot longer than the train (change at Newcastle).
Also between Once/Twice Brewed and Corbridge there is Chesters Roman Fort- the best preserved Roman Cavalry fort in Britain, with one of the best examples of Roman Baths in Britain and a rare survivor of a roofed roman strongroom.
Yet it is comparatively little known and visited.
A very good website to find out about places which aren't in the guidebooks in the north of England and increasingly Scotland is 'Fabulous North' .

You can search by place name (say Corbridge or Hexham) or on the map and you will be surprised at what you find.

I know you are not coming west at all, but brand new (not even on Fabulous North yet) is the Silloth Airfield Project- during WW2 Cumbria housed a large number of airfields especially out on the Solway Plain. Literally this week 4 of 5 interpretation boards have been placed to tell that story- part of a wider Solway Military Trail all the way to Stranraer and including Aviation Museums at WW2 airfields at Carlisle (now a Civilian airport) and Dumfries. I am waiting for the 5th to be installed before visiting and recording them.
And of Course on the Solway Military Trail just beyond Gretna you have both the Devil's Porridge Museum (WW1) and the site of the WW1 troop train wreck at Quintinshill. A good military guide in that local area would tell you hidden war stories such as the tragic Gretna Masonic Hall bombing.
Oh and get Peter Carney to tell you about the Jacobites and the Reivers in Cumbria. He should have time to take you to at least one little known Jacobite Memorial- the Capon Tree where 6 Jacobite prisoners were hung on 21 October 1746, having been held at Carlisle Castle.
But you would need a Day 5a for all of that.

Skyegirl Sadly I don't think that Orkney or Shetland are in the cards for us this trip, but definitely something we'd do on a second trip. Thank you for the recommendation of Jarlshof. I will keep that in mind for future trips. And thank you for the suggestion of Fort George - that's something we can work in on this upcoming trip!

isn31c We aren't tied to bus travel to Hexham. For some reason I thought it was faster than train travel, but if not we'd go by train. I much prefer train travel anyway. And this is why we post on forums like this, no? Because y'all are able to provide valuable insights into our plans, so thank you! I hope we can work in Chesters Roman Fort. And thanks also for the tip regarding asking Peter about the Capon Tree. We have so much time and so little to do. Strike that, reverse it. I've already learned about enough stuff to fill another 4 week tour.

Thank you Cynthia! Another item to add to the list - if not this next trip the one after.

In my next life I want to be you, you've paced the trip the same way we typically do, just not for so long. Consider the sunrise tour at Stonehenge where you get to walk within the stones instead of viewing from the roped off area further back. If you do it, bring waterproof shoes because the grass may be dewy. My wife didn't, and her feet were soaked the rest of the day. After Stonehenge, the ruins at Old Sarum may be of interest. This is where Salisbury was before the new cathedral was built.

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/things-to-do/stone-circle-access-visits/

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/old-sarum/

Hi once again, Dulce Pequeno,

I don't think that anyone has responded to your request regarding what to see while you're in Glasgow, so I'm going to be a bit lazy, and link to some Trip Advisor favourites:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g186534-Activities-c47-Glasgow_Scotland.html

Of those, I'd highly recommend the Cathedral, the Necropolis, and Provand's Lordship, which are all near one another. Also the Tenement House, for a nostalgic look back to the 1940s and 1950s. And the Britannia Panopticon, for a bit of theatre history. It's the world's oldest surviving music hall.

Look up the legend of Saint Mungo, the fish and the ring.

The Glasgow coat of arms includes tree, a bird, a fish, and a bell.

"There's the tree that never grew
There's the bird that never flew
There's the fish that never swam
There's the bell that never rang"

As you tour Glasgow in search of historical sites, you'll probably find commemorative plaques displaying this poem embedded in walls and pavements.

Enjoy Glasgow!

Mike (Auchterless)

While in Edinburgh you might enjoy The Georgian House which is run by the National Trust for Scotland. It's in the "New Town".