Who we are
RING US if you would like to discuss anything below! Our knowledgable team will give you a real answer.
This unique company is now nationally recognised as "the leading archaeological tours specialist" (Daily Telegraph Jan 09), but it was set up 25 years ago in the back bedroom of a (then) young archaeologist who passionately believed that nothing made a more enjoyable holiday than discovering the past - anywhere and everywhere.
This personal approach, combined with a dedication to academic integrity, has led to a National paper describing our holidays as "relaxed but learned tours".
Today an excellent team works in the Andante offices in a converted barn in a Wiltshire village. Their aim is to ensure that every element of our very carefully planned holidays is in place. Because it is only our careful planning which allows you to have a truly carefree holiday.
Denise Allen
Ph.D. is the Deputy Director and head of Archaeology. Mary Reynolds
is in charge of the team of Tour Administrators, with Barnaby Jones
(Spanish speaking tours) as her deputy. Therese de Cuevas is our finance manager (at present at home with her new baby, Abigail Kate). The tours are then arranged by Alex Casey
(Italian); Gudrun Schmid
(Italian, French, German, Mandarin); Pamela Davies (archaeology) and Helen Norstedt Girling (Swedish). The team is assisted by Becki Leo and Marisa Merewood. Daniel Gradwell is the marketing executive. We will soon be joined by Oliver Gilkes
, one of our guides, an archaeologist who has worked in Rome, central Italy and Butrint in Albania. He was formerly with the Institute of World Archaeology, UEA. The company is directed by Annabel K. Lawson Ph.D., also originally an archaeologist.
Together with our fantastic team of Guide Lecturers and Tour Managers, we have taken thousands of people all over the world, introducing them to aspects of humanity few (if any) other travel companies consider - from the very start of our human journey: "Human Origins" in southern Africa to the supremacy of Homo sapiens sapiens over Homo sapiens neanderthalensis as shown in the Palaeolithic Cave Art and the Ice Age world of Europe.
We have followed Caesar's conquest of Gaul with the best possible guide book in our hands - the one written by Caesar himself, and we have stood in awe at the vast geoglyphs of the Atacama Desert of Chile whilst pondering, with one of the world's foremost scholars on the subject, what it all meant.
Archaeology is the study of human beings based on what they left behind, and whilst we know that the gigantic edifices of antiquity never fail to impress, it is often the tiny human details which allow us to span the millennia and make contact with our earliest ancestors. But these details need pointing out by someone who really understands what they mean.
This will be one of our accessible and expert guides (some are international authorities on their subject) whose brief is to create a travelling narrative - a story which develops with each day's visits. This is archaeology at its most exciting - the real stories told by the people at the cutting edge of uncovering them!
Before your holiday you will be sent specially prepared field notes to help you understand the sites more quickly and to give an overview of the whole tour and its context. Some tours include picnic meals of local meats/cheeses/breads and fruit made for you whilst you explore the sites, and waiting in the shade with the wine bottles opened! There may be local cakes passed around the coach at the end of a long day, or a lecture with aperitifs before dinner. You will not go hungry on a Travels in Archaeology trip!
Many people who come on our holidays as the partner of a more enthusiastic traveller then find themselves happily at the start of a lifelong interest in the past.
3 DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPLORE THE PAST
Travels in Archaeology, Bare Bones Tours or Relaxed Breaks?
TRAVELS IN ARCHAEOLOGY - We are well-known for the relaxed and informal ambience on tour. Andante's specially trained tour managers may make you full-blown picnics in the countryside or find local sweetmeats to pass around the coach. You will stay in hotels which we have chosen personally for authenticity, charm, cleanliness, hospitality and good food and wines. Andante will always choose the quirky and fun over the international and bland. That is the tried and tested recipe for our TRAVELS IN ARCHAEOLOGY.
BARE BONES TOURS - Several years ago we recognised the needs of a more independently-minded type of archaeological traveller, who wanted all the archaeological expertise we offered, and the specialist guidance and logistics of getting around, but who did not necessarily want to spend all their time in a group. For them we invented a new kind of holiday: BARE BONES TOURS. On these tours you will be free to find your own meals (or join up with others and the lecturer to find them); set off on your own adventures on the local bus; and do a bit of sketching or further exploring in your free time. The Bare Bones of the arrangements are made for you.
RELAXED BREAKS in ANCIENT PLACES - This is a new programme designed for people who want a less intense approach to their archaeology, and a more relaxing time. Each holiday will be based on one wonderful place in the ancient world, staying in one really enjoyable hotel. There may be a couple of group meals, but on most trips, you will be able to choose where any when you eat. This is the kind of holiday where you have time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, make use of the privilege of having your own archaeologist during the day, and return in plenty of time for a G and T and a dip (assuming there is a pool or you are near the sea!)
Archaeology, wildlife, flowers
Archaeological sites are often in beautiful and remote places. Even those at the very heart of the tourist trail frequently hide an untouched hinterland. This means that the wild flowers, natural geology and birds and beasts of the area add a special interest to our holidays. Many of our guests are knowledgeable and interested in these subjects, and you may come back with yet another area of interest!
Individuality
Our small size means that we are able to exercise personal control over many aspects of your holiday. Our lecturers are frequently closely associated with the archaeological scene in the area you will be visiting, and may occasionally be able to arrange special access. Guests appreciate and comment on the care and thoughtfulness with which their holiday is planned and run.
We are dependent on the assessment of our customers in order to keep improving, and send a detailed questionnaire to everyone who travels with us. We discuss all the suggestions during a "tour surgery" and ensure that appropriate improvements are made, and information is passed on. We also write to you to let you know the overall concensus.
Good value
We choose all elements of each tour with your comfort and pleasure in mind and make absolutely transparent what is included and what is not. If you have any questions, why not ring to ask?
