May 4th-7th:  Medieval Lincoln (3 nights, half board, based in the heart of uphill Lincoln).
Lincoln: the topography of the historic town; 12thC houses; Lincoln Castle; Cathedral (including the controversial ‘fortified’ W front and the roof spaces); Old Bishop’s Palace. Excursions to Gainsborough Old Hall; South Kyme fortified manor and solar tower; Tattershall Castle; Boston; Old Bolingbroke Castle.

May 22nd -29th: A Taste of Puglia (By air; 7 nights, half board)
Accommodation in the hilltop village of Locorotondo in traditional trulli (the beehive-like houses that are such a feature of the vernacular architecture of the region) and with a chef who featured in Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Cooking TV series to add to the experience. Castel del Monte will be a highlight of a tour that takes in a wealth of fortifications, churches and ancient remains that chart the long, rich and diverse history of Apulia at Trani, Bari, Brindisi, Taranto, Alberobello, Martina Franca, Ostuni, Caravigno, Bitonto, Egnazia, Massafra, Mottola, Lecce.

June 14th-18th: Medieval Yorkshire: the Moors (4 nights, half board based in The Worsley Arms, Hovingham, a spa hotel built in 1841.)
Includes castles at York, Pickering, Scarborough & Helmsley; York Minster; abbeys at Whitby, Old Byland , Rievaulx & Lastingham (with early Norman crypt); medieval wall-paintings at Pickering; reconstructed vernacular houses at Ryedale Folk Museum.

June 25th-30th: Medieval Castles & Fortified Palaces in Pembrokeshire (5 nights, half board based in Broadmead Hotel, Tenby)
Includes castles at Pembroke, Manorbier, Wiston, Llawhaden, Laugharne, Llansteffan & Carew (plus Carew Mill & Cross); Bishop’s Palace at Lamphey ; Cathedral & Bishop’s Palace at St. David’s; medieval town walls, castle & 15thC Merchant’s House at Tenby.

July 15th-19th: Power & Conflict in the Vexin: Royal France versus the Dukes of Normandy (by Eurostar, 4 nights, half board based in Hotel Bords de Seine, picturesquely situated on the riverbank at La Roche-Guyon.)
Includes castles & fortified sites at La Roche-Guyon, Château Gaillard & Les Andelys, Vernon, Gaillon, Ivry-la-Bataille, Gisors, Château-sur-Epte, Rouen (plus Cathedral)&  Jumièges Abbey ; an opportunity to visit Monet’s Garden at Giverny is optional.

October 3rd- 10th: Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade in Medieval Languedoc (By air; 7 nights, half board) Based in Hotel des Trois Courronnes at Carcassonne, set at the edge of the Bastide St. Louis (the ‘New Town’ founded c.1250 next to the ancient city of Carcassonne). The hotel has splendid uninterrupted panoramic views of the walled medieval city across the River Aude.
Includes castles & fortified towns at Carcassonne, Puivert, Montségur, Quéribus, Cucugnan, Peyrepertuse, Arques, Lastours, Saissac, Villerouge-Termenès, Minerve, Caunes- Minervois, Mirepoix plus abbeys at Caunes- Minervois & Lagrasse.

Visit www.realmsofgold.co.uk for further details, or contact p.marshall752@btinternet.com, or ring 01522-792780 to request a brochure.