10 enchanting prehistoric sites you must visit
If you like your holidays injected with a touch of history, here are some of the world’s best prehistoric sites in suitably pretty surrounds.
1. Ancient hiking in Wiltshire
Blue Badge guide, author and regular contributor to Telegraph Travel, Sophie Campbell leads a strenuous and hilly walking tour from Avebury to Old Sarum. After a talk from Wiltshire Museum curator David Dawson, there is a trip to Avebury’s henge and stone circles, a private tour of Salisbury Museum’s Wessex Collection and an exclusive pre-opening visit inside the stones of Stonehenge at sunrise. The distance walked is around 32 miles (51km) and accommodation is split between Devizes and Salisbury.
Stonehenge – A Walking Tour from £849 for three nights, full-board. Departs Sept 26 2019. Travel Editions (traveleditions.co.uk).
2. Caves in the Dordogne
The cave art at Lascaux near Montignac is estimated to be up to 20,000 years old, but the images are off-limits to visitors. Instead you see a reproduction, but the galloping horses, stags and bison are still an evocative sight. Depicted among the hundreds of animals are a bear, a rhinoceros and four huge black bulls, one of them 17ft long. Coach operator Riviera Travel visits the caves on a tour that also takes in the hilltop village of Rocamadour and the walled town of Domme.
Dordogne, Albi and Carcassonne from £1,119 for seven nights, B&B, with flights, transfers and five dinners. Departs May-October 2019. Riviera Travel (rivieratravel.co.uk).
3. Stone circles in Scotland
Scotland’s northernmost islands are peppered with some of the world’s best-preserved and most atmospheric prehistoric remains. Hebridean Island Cruises’ summer departure sails from Oban to Invergordon, calling in at North Uist’s stone circle of Pobull Fhinn, Lewis’s standing stones at Callanish, and mainland Orkney’s Ring of Brodgar and chambered tomb of Maeshowe, and taking a look at local finds in the island’s museum.
Voyage to the Heart of Neolithic Orkney from £8,210 for nine nights, full-board with two gala dinners. Excludes travel. Departs July 9 2019. Hebridean Island Cruises (hebridean.co.uk).
4. Burial tombs in Co Clare
Prehistoric remains in Ireland aren’t confined to the mainland. Operator Ace Cultural Tours focuses on the Aran Islands with a stay on Inishmore to view ancient hill forts and standing stones accompanied by archaeologist and guide Dr Niamh Whitfield. A further highlight is the limestone landscape of the Burren in Co Clare with its flat-topped, portal tomb at Poulnabrone, where stone tools, jewellery and bones dating from 3800BC were discovered in the mid-Eighties.
The Burren & Aran Islands from £1,875 for seven nights, half-board, including flights and transfers. Departs June 20 2019. Ace Cultural Tours (aceculturaltours.co.uk).
5. Megalithic art near Dublin
The National Museum of Ireland in Dublin houses some of the country’s most important prehistoric finds and an itinerary offered by archaeological specialist Andante Travels, accompanied by expert lecturer Dr Kelli Ann Malone, begins in the capital. Excursions include the Iron Age hilltop enclosure at the Hill of Tara and the megalithic art at the Unesco World Heritage Site of Knowth. The tour also travels to Sligo and Galway to view burial chamber carvings on the country’s west coast.
Prehistoric Ireland from £2,199 for seven nights including flights, transfers and most meals. Departs June 23 2019. Andante Travels (andantetravels.co.uk).
6. Temples in Malta
For a tiny island, Malta punches well above its weight when it comes to Stone Age remains. Its temples, built between 3600 and 2500BC, are older than Stonehenge. On the Unesco World Heritage Site list is the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, a restored underground tomb complex cut from solid rock. Expert lecturer Juliet Rix leads a tour to this Mediterranean island, which includes a morning at the National Museum of Archaeology.
World Heritage Malta – from Neolithic to Now from £2,960 for six nights, B&B including flights, transfers and some meals. Departs Sept 30 2019. Martin Randall Travel (martinrandall.com).
7. Castlerigg stone circle
Britain has more than 300 stone circles, but when it comes to age and atmosphere, Castlerigg is one of the top picks. Dating from around 3000BC, this mysterious and peaceful site overlooks the Thirlmere Valley, near Keswick, and is backed by the mountains of High Seat and Helvellyn. The National Trust’s Millbeck Towers, formerly an 18th-century mill, is four miles (6.5km) from Castlerigg near the Skiddaw range. It sleeps up to 12 people in six bedrooms and has views across the Vale of Keswick.
Millbeck Towers from £616 for a two-night, self-catering stay for up to 12. National Trust Holidays (nationaltrust.org.uk).
8. Dolmens in Andalucia
Prehistory is usually the last thing on your mind when basking in the Costa del Sol sun, but it’s easy to combine modern luxury with a trip back in time. Around 60 miles (97km) inland from Marbella are the Antequera dolmens, a Unesco World Heritage Site comprising three megalithic stone-built chambers from around 5000BC. These are Menga, Viera, and the tholos of El Romeral.
Puente Romano Marbella hotel from £549 B&B for three nights with flights. Transfers excluded. Departs April 1 to 30 2019. Book today for this price. British Airways Holidays (ba.com).
9. Palaeolithic art in Cantabria
Some of the most spectacular ancient cave paintings are in the northern Spanish region of Cantabria, an area listed by Unesco in 1985. Steppes Travel offers tailor-made tours with expert guide Charles Schwalbe to take in the most interesting, including the replicas of Altamira and Ekain. Further highlights include the caves of Hornos de la Pena, El Miron, El Pendo and Covalanas, which is decorated with female red deer thought to have been painted around 20,000 years ago.
Prehistoric Cave Art of Northern Spain from £2,195 for five nights, B&B, including flights and airport transfers. Departs year round. Steppes Travel (steppestravel.com).
10. Menhirs in Brittany
Coach operator Leger’s itinerary offers a tour of north-west France including gentle strolls around St-Malo, Mont-St-Michel, Vannes and Quimper. The itinerary also includes the standing stones in Carnac on the region’s south coast. In an area containing more than 10,000 stones, this is the world’s largest collection of menhirs, thought to date from 3300BC.
Beautiful Brittany from £739 for six nights, B&B, with coach travel and two dinners. Departs May 25, July 28, Aug 5 and Oct 21 2019. Leger Holidays (leger.co.uk).
