History Experiences - give them the chance to go back in time

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Get 10% off with BuyaGift.co.uk with our exclusive code AHW2024BAG until 31 December 2024 – it’s site wide and covers special offers and 2 for 1s! Some products are excluded. Visit BuyaGift here - they have lots of gift experinces around the UK!

History Experiences - give them the chance to go back in time

If you're looking for a gift for a history lover, one option is to give them a day out. Visits to historic centres and historical attractions are very popular and give you the chance to immerse yourself in times past. And of course there's lots of history to explore in the UK - it's one of the things I love about it, and it really is a history lovers dream!

	How about a Private Guided Tour, Cream Tea and Interactive Scramble Experience for Two at the Battle of Britain Memorial in Kent? £61.00 This is near Folkestone, and you start off with a 40 minute private guided tour from a site guide, with exclusive access and information. View lifesize Spitfire and Hurricane replicas and enjoy the high-tech interactive Scramble Experience to learn more about the Battle of Britain. There's a unique film created especially for the Trust to show what life was like for the Few in the summer of 1940. Tuck into a cream in in the Cockpit Cafe, with scones, jam, clotted cream and tea or coffee, as you enjoy views of the Channel. Find out more from Virgin Experience Days.
	For people who love knowledge, how about a visit to a museum? Gift experience company BuyaGift has a range of experiences and visits to museums, covering a variety of interests from music to art, sport to transport, crime, cartoons and video games. Some of these include a private tour or a guided tour, some include Afternoon Tea, so there are a range of options around the country from £15.90. And for you can use our exclusive BuyaGift code, AHW2024BAG to get 10% off, until 31 Dec 2024 (some products are excluded). Take a look at the experiences here.
	Gunpowder Plot: A Tower of London Immersive Experience for Two - Off Peak For £90.00, you could immerse yourself in the world of The Gunpowder Plot as you join Guy Fawkes, and his co-conspirators as they plot to assassinate King James I! Travel back in time to London's streets in 1605 where you’ll find yourself spying for the Crown, sympathising with the oppressed rebels, smuggling gunpowder and escaping from the Tower of London. Find out more here from Virgin Experience Days.
	Wonders of Civilisation: A Crash Course in Archaeology at the British Museum for Two, London £82.00 With a qualified archaologist, unlock the secrets of the incredible collection of the British Museum, tracing the journey of humanity from the stone to the modern age. Uncover the history of human civilisation, and see world-famous artefacts such as the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon Marbles. After lunch, hear about the incredible people who decoded ancient languages, and finish with the science behind archaology - how are ancient objects dated? Available from Virgin Experience Days.
	For lovers of royal history, take a look at Into the Blue. They have visits to palaces, castles and places steeped in history, including Blenheim Palace, birth place of Sir Winston Churchill, Windsor Castle, The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, the Household Cavalry Museum, Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Kensington Palace, the King's Gallery and the Royal Mews. There's also a Royal Horses London Day Out with a Sparkling Afternoon Tea for Two. There's also Vintage Open Top Bus Tours and Fort Amherst Tunnel Tours in Kent. The collection start at £8.00. Visit Into the Blue's royal and historic collection here. Enjoy 15% off with our exclusive code ITB15FORME on experiences up to £250.00 - some products are excluded.
	How about a Spitfire Experience? Virgin Experience Days has a number of Spitfire experiences. You can fly IN a Spitfire, or try a Spitfire Simulator to get an idea of what being in a Spitfire was like without actually going up in one. For lovers of military and particularly aviation history, this could be a great gift! From £60.00. Fly off to find out more here!
	Steam Train Driving Taster Experience at Sherwood Forest Railway for One, Mansfield East Midlands £59.00 Give them the chance to take control of a steam engine on a 5/8th scale, 15'' gauge railway through Sherwood Forest! Start with a safety briefing and jump aboard the train for a one-to-one lesson. You'll start on the easier part of the track before moving on to the entire length of the Sherwood Forest Railway - it's the only narrow gauge steam railway in Nottinghamshire! You'll have an experienced tutor is with you so this is a great chance to disocver more about the locos. Puff puff your way to find out more from Red Letter Days here. (Use our code AHW2024RLD to get 10% off, it's valid to 31.12.24 although some products are excluded.)
	Visit to Bletchley Park and Afternoon Tea for Two, Buckinghamshire £113.00 Head to Bletchley Park for an insight into the top secret home of the codebreakers in World War II, where the incredible minds of people like Alan Turing and Bill Tutte helped turn the tide of war. Visit the restored codebreaking huts, explore the beautiful grounds and historic buildings with an interactive multimedia guide and enjoy the atmospheric soundscapes, galleries and exhibitions. Afternoon Tea is served in the Mansion Tea Room. Available from Virgin Experience Days.
	Entrance to Kensington Palace & Two Course Meal at The Stablehand for Two £104.00 Explore the wonderful state apartments of Kensington Palace and discover the story of the wife of George II, Queen Caroline, and her interests in the arts and scientists. And take in the incredible artworks from the Royal Collection, and the 18th century decoration. Then walk through Kensington Gardens and go to The Stablehand pub, which was built in 1839. This pub was frequented by notable locales such as Winston Churchill and Tony Blair over the years. Tuck into British gastro pub delights and wash it down with a delicious wine or beer. Available from Activity Superstore.
	*Visit to Roman Baths with Afternoon Tea at the 5 Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa for Two** Bath £152.00 Visit the Roman Baths in the beautiful city of Bath! And see the incredibly preserved remains of one of ancient world's greatest religious spas. There's also a sumptuous afternoon tea at a 5* hotel in a Grade I listed building, too - a lovely escape from the bustle of bath with its secluded gardens and Georgian decor! Devour sweet and savory temptations as you reflect back on your spa visit! Available from Virgin Experience Days
	The Royal Mint Experience For Two with Lunch South Glamorgan, Wales £61.00 Unlock 1,100 years of British history with this experience. See the UK's coins being made and head behind the scenes to follow the journey of a coin from a blank to a bank in a 45 minute Guided Factory Experience. You'll have the chance to strioke your own coin to take home as a momento! There are rare coins to see and over 1,000 years of history in the exhibition gallery. Tuck into lunch with a drink each at the on-site cafe. Visit Virgin Experience Days for more info
	Two Night Medieval Yurt Break for Two at Leeds Castle, Kent £299.99 Escape to Leeds Castle's grounds for a Medieval glamping break! You'll spend two nights in a luxury yurt on the peaceful vineyard. There's a four poster bed, wood burning stove, bedding and cosy throws, and you can enjoy entry to Leeds Castle, the estate and grounds. In the summer evenings, you can use a Medieval-style iron griddle over an open fire pit for al fresco eating. You need to bring food to cook. Available from Red Letter Days and there's 10% off with our code AHW2024RLD (valid to 31.12.24 and site wide, although some products are excluded.)
	Flight simulators go from the old to the modern! There are flight simulator experiences for World War Two aircraft, such as this Spitfire vs Messerschmitt Combat Experience for Two (pictured left) in Bedfordshire, to a Concorde Flight Simulator (Brunswick, Newcastle-upon-Tyne) and Into the Blue has a good list. Helicopters, 737s, Fighter Pilot, Cessna Skyhawks, F-35 Fighter Jets, WW2 Flight Simulators, Spitfires, Messerschmitts, Lancaster Bombers, F3 Tornados...there's a lot to choose from Many are on special offer as well. They've also got a Nationwide Flight Simulator Voucher. From £39.00. Available from Into the Blue Enjoy 15% off with our exclusive code ITB15FORME on experiences up to £250.00 - some products are excluded.
	Visit to The Historic Dockyard Chatham with Cream Tea for Two Chatham, Kent £56.00 This includes entry for two for the Historic Dockyard Chatham, which is a Royal Navy Museum! You can explore over 400 years of British naval history - there are 10 exhibitions as well as three warships, all showing different aspects of life in and history of the Royal Navy. You can rest with a cream tea for two, plus scones - and youo can also exchange your tickets at no extra cost for annual Historic Dockyard Chatham passes! Available from Virgin Experience Days!
	Immerse yourself in "The Mirror and the Light" by Hilary Mantel Not an experience as such, of course, but this book could make a great gift for someone who's been following Wolf Hall and/or enjoys reading historical books. Part of the Wolf Hall Trilogy series and Wolf Hall is currently on our screens on BBC1 on Sunday evenings. ‘If you cannot speak truth at a beheading, when can you speak it?’ England, May 1536. THis book is available from HIve.co.uk for £8.29. Read all about it here.
	What about an overnight getaway to a castle? £189.99 Red Letter Days have a number of castle getaways around the UK. This could be a great way to get away from it all and delve into history! Use the code AHW2024RLD and get 10% off (this doesn't apply to non-discounted products) - this code is valid until 31 December 2024! Find out more about these castle getaways!
	For lovers of art and history, how about this Discover Constable & The Hay Wain Exhibition Catalogue? The catelogue accompanies the exhibition which takes place at the National Gallery, London from the 17th October 2024 to the 2nd February 2025. John Constable produced The Hay Wain in his studio in London in 1821, and before creating the final work, he made many open-air sketches and paintings of the area, and a full size oil sketch to establish the composition. The work is viewed as an iconic representation of the English landscape and the National Gallery say it's a favourite in the collection. The book tells the story of the painting, and it's social. political and art historical significance. It's available for £16.95 from the National Gallery. There's more information about the exhibition here.