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Lancaster Walking Tour: Explore Historical Sites and Traces of Slavery Trade
4.9
65 Ratings
Lancashire
Embark on a captivating Lancaster walking tour to uncover historical sites, including Lancaster Castle, the slave trade’s impact, and the first forensic murder case. Join us now!
Embark on a captivating Lancaster walking tour to uncover historical sites, including Lancaster Castle, the slave trade’s impact, and the first forensic murder case. Join us now!
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Lancaster Castle - An ancient castle - but what else? Learn about the Castle’s place in history - its famous and not so famous prisoners, trials and executions.
- Saint George’s Quay - An eighteenth century harbour on the River Lune, its connections to the international slave trade, and characters connected with this area.
- **Judges’…
- Lancaster Castle - An ancient castle - but what else? Learn about the Castle’s place in history - its famous and not so famous prisoners, trials and executions.
- Saint George’s Quay - An eighteenth century harbour on the River Lune, its connections to the international slave trade, and characters connected with this area.
- Judges’ Lodgings - The oldest house in Lancaster. Who it was owned by and its link to witchcraft.
- Church Street - A prince goes missing. Some stories about a potential king of England.
- Market Street - A prince raises the banner and another loses a shoe. Stories about two Royal prices - 300 years apart.
- Dalton Square - A murder and a government bonus. Learn about the first murder solved by forensic science and the bonus paid to slave owners.
- Lancaster Canal - The White Cross Mill and the Lancaster Canal. Learn about the Storey Brothers and the heyday of this coastal canal.
- Penny’s Almshouses - A look at an almshouse - still functioning today. Who founded it and how it was financed.
- The Storey - An educational institute founded by donations - which became the forerunner of the university tradition in the City.
What's Included
- Guided walking tour
- Guided walking tour
Additional Information
Home to a rich legacy from the Roman era, a historic castle, a unique national song, ties to the transatlantic slave trade, and the first case of a brutal murder cracked using forensic science, Lancaster brims with intriguing sites and stories.
Our journey commences at Lancaster Castle, delving into the trials of the Pendle Witches and prominent Quakers….
Home to a rich legacy from the Roman era, a historic castle, a unique national song, ties to the transatlantic slave trade, and the first case of a brutal murder cracked using forensic science, Lancaster brims with intriguing sites and stories.
Our journey commences at Lancaster Castle, delving into the trials of the Pendle Witches and prominent Quakers. We’ll delve into the ways in which Lancaster flourished due to its involvement in the 18th-century slave trade. We’ll learn about Lancaster’s Black and White Canal and how the pioneering use of forensic science helped solve a murder in the heart of Lancaster.
Sites we’ll explore:
- Lancaster Castle
- The Priory
- The Quayside
- Almshouses
- Affluent houses tied to the slave trade
- Other distinctive edifices linked to architects and industrial magnates
- Lancaster Canal
- The residence of a physician that transformed into a murder scene
Location
Castle Approach
In front of the Castle front gate on the steep slope - guide will be carrying a red umbrella
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(65 Ratings)
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Louiseb392
May 8, 2025
Interesting tour :) - Fascinating insight to Lancaster - Barrie’s knowledge is phenomenal! I hadn’t appreciated how much of a role Lancaster had in the slave trade so it’s pretty humbling at times with various tales that are brought to life outside houses with stories. He’s made a big effort to pull this walking tour together and it was almost three hours long although there’s not tons of walking because of listening to the historical context. I say this as it’s easy for anyone without any fitness to do the trip, aside to a wheelchair user due to a steep downward track at one stage. A toilet/ refreshment stop could be perhaps incorporated to improve the trip. Barrie also sends very helpful tips on eateries ahead of the trip which we appreciated being there for the weekend and used one of them. Barrie, we also popped to the crook of lune on leaving the next day and enjoyed a sarnie from the lovely lady at Woods/ Woodys. Learned she’s been there 37 years :) Thanks for that recommendation and also to help us visit the beautiful Sambo’s Grave at the coast. All the best.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amanda
Apr 28, 2025
Historic Lancaster - Barrie was an excellent guide: informative and interesting who knew a lot about Lancaster's history. He obviously has a key interest in the city's slavery. We now know a lot more about the people who contributed to the city of Lancaster thanks to him.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Clare
Apr 10, 2025
Interesting and informative - Barrie knew his stuff and told it well. We got a good feel for the city and it's history. A very enjoyable trip and helped us with the geography of the city. He also made recommendations for places to eat, which were very helpful.
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924sarahd
Mar 17, 2025
Great tour - The tour was really good - lots of interesting content & Barrie was a great guide. We really enjoyed it. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jimdonaldson
Mar 16, 2025
Top recommendation - 3 full hours of fascinating local history with our incredibly knowledgeable guide Barrie, quite gentle walking but still tired by the end.
Review provided by Viator
A9054fljohnw
Mar 16, 2025
Fantastic walking tour of Lancaster Execution and Slavery. - Had a truly fascinating walking tour of Lancaster with a local historian. Highly recommended. Barrie was very knowledgeable and provided the tour with lots of interesting facts.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sue_w
Mar 3, 2025
Highly recommended tour! - Excellent tour with extremely knowledgeable guide. Really brought the city of Lancaster and its incredible history to life for us!
Review provided by Viator
Colin_m
Jan 31, 2025
Great experience - It was very interesting learning about the history of Lancaster.
Tour guide very knowledgeable, easy pace tour.
Review provided by Viator
O5389twstevet
Nov 18, 2024
Excellent value for money. Highly recommended - We went on the tour on a wet Sunday morning, when several other people cancelled at the last minute due to the weather. Despite the low turnout, no corners were cut and the tour was delivered with great enthusiast. We learnt so much about this lovely city from Roman times through the execution of the Pendle Witches to the way modern building has ensured the character of the city has not been impacted. We didn’t realize there was so much to see.
Our guide had an encyclopedic knowledge of all the facts and figures, as well many antidotes. Our experience on this tour means we’ll certainly look for similar tours when we visit other cities.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Natalie_m
Mar 13, 2025
The guide never showed up. - We waited at the designated meeting spot and the guide never showed up. The guard at the castle even checked CCTV to see if they showed up earlier. Very disappointing, since all other tours scheduled through Viator have been great.
Review provided by Viator