Visit the places connected to your family’s history. The towns and villages where your ancestors actually lived and the churches they attended.
Norfolk-Tours offers bespoke, ancestral vacations in England. If you want to see where your ancestors lived, I can help. Taking a tour of places connected to your own family history is a really special way to spend your next vacation. Following in the footsteps of your own ancestors can be very emotional and I do have to warn you, my guests often end up in tears!
Tracing your Norfolk family history
We have some wonderful resources in Norfolk for helping you trace your family history. I love popping into the central library in the Forum in Norwich, or visiting the Norfolk Record Office to learn more about my own Norfolk ancestors. It is common to hear Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and American accents in these places, perhaps more so than Norfolk accents. And that’s without taking into account all the other UK regional accents – Northern, London, Midlands. It’s great to sit beside someone at the microfilm readers or on the computers and hear them talk about their ancestors who were from King’s Lynn, Fakenham, East Dereham or Great Yarmouth.
I can help you access a wealth of historical documents to really add something special to your trip.
If you are thinking of taking a trip to see where your ancestors lived, drop me an email and I will be happy to help.
Time Travel Tours
A very good friend of mine, said to me the other week; “You’re a Time Traveller aren’t you.” As if, that statement shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise. He went on to explain that the stories I have told him about what I do for my guests, is pure Time Travel and he went on to quote to me, one of my own stories.
One of my guests, from Alabama, asked if we could stop off at the Quayside in Ipswich, as that was where her ancestors sailed to America from in 1633. I explained that we could but there was nothing of the old quayside left and it could be a disappointment for her if she was thinking there were still C17th buildings there. Understanding that, we went along and had a great walk along the quayside there, looking out at the boats bobbing in the water and she turned to me with one of the most amazing questions; “Would you think me mad if I waved them off and wished them a safe journey to America?” I pointed out that I totally understood and didn’t think her mad at all. So, that’s exactly what this lady did.
After I told my friend this story, he asked me what I was doing at that time. My own reply amazed me; “I was watching the little wooden sailing boat as it left the harbour.”
A taste of what you can expect on your family history tour
On a recent tour around this beautiful area of England, my guest was looking for the places connected to her family who emigrated to Australia in the 1830s, a time when many farm labourers were leaving England as the opportunities here were drying up and the wages were going down.
We were able to visit the actual village church where several generations of her ancestors had been baptised, married or laid to rest. We were able to have a drink in the village inn, which dates back over three hundred years and would have been where her ancestors drank too. We were even able to visit one of the cottages where her family had lived in the 1851 census.
One of the best things about being based locally is that I can often gain access to places which are otherwise inaccessible and, as I had carried out research prior to this lady arriving, I had found out where the family had lived, visited the village and arranged with the present owners for the lady in question to visit. Walking around the cottage where her ancestors had actually lived was something this lady will remember for a long while. I must say here that this experience did make her cry!
Follow in your own family’s footsteps
If you would like to experience real emotional connections to your ancestors, visit the places they knew, see where they worshipped, walk along the same country lanes as they did and even have a pint in their local pub, I can help. I offer tailored tours of England, taking you where you want to go and staying as long as you want to stay. There are no set itineraries, no deadlines (apart from the flight home) and you have total choice about your vacation in England.
Taking a tour of places connected to your own family is a really special way to spend your next vacation. Following in the footsteps of your own ancestors can be very emotional and I do have to warn you, I often make my guests cry!
If you would like to take a trip to find out where and how your ancestors lived, get in touch and I will be happy to help.
