July’s Historic trips… Ten Things To Do

1: Enjoy the summer’s biggest historical bash

A thousand re-enactors converge on Kelmarsh Hall for the spectacular English Heritage Festival of History. The star event of the weekend is the Second World War display where you’ll be able to watch fighter planes engaged in 1940s-style aerial combat. Other highlights include a recreated Roman Century, a Boer War battle and action from the Napoleonic Wars. Plus we’ll be there too, so please come and say hello.
Event: 
English Heritage Festival 
of History 
Kelmarsh Hall, Northamptonshire
17–18 July 2010
0870 333 1183
www.english-heritage.org.uk

 2: Explore industrial Preston

Notables from the 18th and 19th centuries reveal Preston’s part in the industrial revolution. Learn how Preston-born inventor Richard Arkwright transformed the factory system and how thinkers were influenced by developments in the area.
Exhibition: 
Industrial Revolutionaries
Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston
26 June–6 November  

01772 258248 

www.harrismuseum.org.uk

 3: Fight the war at sea

See the ship’s bell from the Lusitania, medals for bravery at Dunkirk and the lifeboat from HMS Indefatigable at a new exhibition about war in the oceans. Find out about the living conditions of Britain’s sailors from the First World War until today and check out the uniforms that they wore. You’ll also learn about some of the animals that served with the navy and discover why they were taken aboard.
Exhibition: All Aboard: 
Stories of War at Sea 
Imperial War Museum 
North, Manchester
17 July–24 April 2011
0161 836 4000
www.iwm.
org.uk

4: Meet Arthur 
in Wales

Caerleon is often suggested as the court of the legendary King Arthur so it is a fitting location for a weekend of Arthurian entertainment this month. There will be a living history encampment, thrilling re-enactments and lots of fun activities to entertain the whole family.
Event: 
Arthur: Caerleon to Camelot

National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon
3–4 July 
01633 423134
www.museumwales.ac.uk

5: Peruse images of Shackleton

The heroic and nearly disastrous 1914–16 Antarctic voyage led by Ernest Shackleton is the subject of a new photographic expedition. It features 150 shots taken by photographer James Francis Hurley, showing the group trapped on the ice and then the remarkable journey to South Georgia that precipitated their rescue.
Exhibition: Endurance

Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool
16 July–3 January 2011 

0151 478 4499
www.liverpool
museums.org.uk

6: Be dazzled 
by Surrealism

One of the major art movements of the 20th century, Surrealism headed into the world of dreams and nightmares. Standout artists such as Salvador Dali and René Magritte created startling paintings that reflected the confusions of the interwar years. The Scottish National Galleries hold one of the world’s premier collections of surrealist art and have combined this with major loans to produce a new exhibition.
Exhibition: Another World: Dali, Magritte, Miró and the Surrealists

Dean Gallery, Edinburgh
10 July–9 January 2011

0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org

7: Take a fresh look 
at the world

Environmental history is a fast-growing field, propelled by our growing awareness of current environmental concerns. It is the theme of this year’s Anglo-American History Conference, the 79th instalment of the Institute of Historical Research’s flagship event. Among the topics being discussed are flooding, nuclear waste, ecological imperialism and cockles.
Event: Anglo-American Conference

Institute of Historical Research, London
1–2 July 2010

020 7862 8756
www.history.ac.uk/aac2010

8: Debate 
history education

At a time when history teaching is regularly criticised in the media and only 30 per cent of schoolchildren are taking a GCSE in the subject, should we be worried about the state of history education? Lord Baker and the newly elected MP Tristram Hunt are among a panel debating history in schools at the Institute of Education this month. Historian 
David Cannadine chairs the event.
Event: History in Schools: 
What is the Future?
Institute of Education, London
19 July
020 7735 3901
www.history.org.uk

9: Revel in the 
very distant past

Before the rise of both ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, advanced civilisations existed in the Danube valley in south-east Europe. For years the Cold War impeded the study of these Neolithic people but in recent times work has resumed in earnest. One result is a major new exhibition which brings together 250 artefacts from the period 5000–3500 BC. The gold, copper and clay items reveal an impressive amount of skill.
Exhibition: 
The Lost World of Old Europe

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Until 15 August
01865 278000
www.ashmolean.org

10: Don’t believe your eyes

Paintings may not always be what they seem. An unusual new National Gallery exhibition draws on the work of its scientific department to reveal fascinating insights into the artworks in its collection. Some are found to be fakes, while others are discovered to have been altered or to be combinations of more than one image. Viewers will get the chance to test their own artistic understanding: can you spot the real Botticelli?
Exhibition: Close Examination: 
Fakes, Mistakes & Discoveries

National Gallery, London
30 June–12 September
020 7747 2885
www.nationalgallery.org.uk