Special Guest Post by Dr Sarah A. Morris: The Tudor Travel Guide Goes Large in 2020!

It’s been an action-packed year! Having founded The Tudor Travel Guide in 2018, this year I feel we have got into our stride - and I say ‘we’ as The Tudor Travel Guide is not just me. I have my personal assistant, Rebecca, who helps with transcribing recordings and proof-reading numerous blogs and manuscripts. There is also Chris, my partner, who is my cameraman, sound recordist and video editor - all rolled into one!

We have been on quite a journey of discovery along the way. We have made mistakes. For example, see the time I forgot to switch on a guest’s microphone on location and Chris had to do a severe bit of post-production footwork to salvage the situation.

We’ve also had our fingers burned from time to time - and had to grow some thick skin along the way; see the time my first viral video exposed me to 71,000 people, some of whom seemed to make a living out of sending some pretty personal and cutting ‘feedback’ my way. Ouch!

The Tudor Travel Show

But all of it has encouraged us all to continue to push the boundaries and bring you new and improved blogs, podcasts and videos. So, in January of this year, I uploaded The Tudor Travel Guide’s first podcast: the inaugural episode of The Tudor Travel Show. And my word has the show evolved over the last 12 months!

Initially, all episodes were recorded in the studio. However, in May, I decided to take it to the next level and hit the road. Equipped with new tech that allowed for roaming and recording, my first on-site took place at Kenilworth Castle in May. It felt so good to be recording at a venue, bringing a much more direct and personal experience of some of the places under discussion.

About the same time, we also introduced the Tudor Travel Guide Newsdesk, as part of each monthly podcast. The TTTG newsdesk item is one of the most fun blogging tasks of the month for me, as I get to write about pivotal events that took place in the sixteenth century as if they were happening today. Quite illuminating! I hope you have been enjoying the shows. And if you haven’t tuned in yet, you can do so by going to the show’s homepage. You can also download and listen via Spotify and iTunes.

2019’s Most Popular Blog

Moving on through the year; the most popular blog of 2019 was The Death and Burial of Elizabeth I: Tales from Inside the Vault, which brought to light some long-forgotten details of Elizabeth I’s tomb. The blog drew upon a Victorian account of the search for the ‘lost’ tomb of James I of England, made by the then Dean of Westminster Abbey. To read the original is almost Indiana Jones-esque in its retelling!

One of the vaults he opened along the way, was the one enclosing the coffins of Elizabeth and her half-sister Mary. I was excited to bring to light some details he recounted, as I had never read about them before. It turned out that neither had many other people! Did you miss it? You can catch up via the link above.

The 1535 Virtual Progress - Sept 2019

One of the most popular events of this year has been the 1535 Virtual Progress, recorded as a joint collaboration with my co-author on the In the Footsteps books (In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn and In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII), Natalie Grueninger.

This four-part video series saw Nat and me in a discussion, as we followed Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII through Gloucestershire from Sudeley Castle in the north to Thornbury in the south of the county. Over 1000 people signed up to track the progress. That blew me away!

Looking Forward to 2020

The 1535 Mini-Progress Tour - 2020

On the back of the incredible success of the virtual progress, 2020 sees the launch of The Tudor Travel Guide’s inaugural Mini-Progress Tour. This is where we get to follow in the footsteps of Anne Boleyn for real, visiting places like Sudeley, Thornbury and Berkeley Castles, as well as Acton Court, which is rarely accessible to the public. Dates are fixed for 10-14 September 2020. We are running this in conjunction with British History Tours and if you would LOVE to join in what promises to be a truly memorable journey, you can find out more details and download a booking form via the British History Tours website.

Two other BIG events are on the cards for the first half of the year. Firstly, my novel, Le Temps Viendra: a Novel of Anne Boleyn, is relaunched. This second edition is being published by me, exclusively through Amazon. The original publisher closed down, and this means I have been able to do re-edits, so it is even better this time around! Volume I has just been released on Kindle. The paperback will be out soon. Volume II, which concludes this story of love, passion and betrayal, will be released in May 2020 in remembrance of Anne’s execution.

Also in May, The Tudor Travel Guide will be holding a virtual summit to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Field of Cloth of Gold. We already have some fabulous speakers lined up to talk about a range of different aspects of the event over four days. Here is just a flavour of what you might look forward to:

Dr Glenn Richardson is Professor of Early Modern History at St Mary’s University, and author of one of the latest books about ‘the Field’ called, The Field of Cloth of Gold (Yale and London, 2014). Glenn will be looking at the overall context and significance of the event from the English point of view.

Prof Charles Giry-Deloison is Professor of Modern History at the University D’Artois in France. He has also written about the Field in his book, ‘Le Camp du Drap D’Or’ and will be providing us with a complimentary, French perspective on the event.

Tracy Borman: Tracy is joint curator at Hampton Court Place, a best-selling author and historian, specialising in the Tudor period. She will be talking about Wolsey’s role in the event.
Professor Maria Hayward is a Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Southampton and an expert in Tudor textiles and clothing. She will be talking about the significance of dress at ‘the Feild’.

Claire Ridgeway: Claire is a best-selling author and the magic behind The Anne Boleyn Files. She is an expert on the Boleyns and will be talking about the significance of the event for the family.
Julian Munby is Head of Buildings Archaeology at Oxford Archaeology. He will be sharing his research, which identifies the position of the now lost castle and the fabulous temporary palace built by HenryVIII at Guines.

Brigitte Webster: Owner of Tudor Experience, is an expert on Tudor cookery and will be talking food at the Field of Cloth of Gold.

Natalie Grueninger and Sarah Morris: Authors of the best-selling ‘In the Footsteps’ books and other Tudor related fiction and non-fiction. We will be following the progress of Henry VIII from Greenwich to Calais, bringing to life the places en route and the events that took place along the way.

It’s going to be a fascinating event, and there will be so much to learn! The event will be free, and registration will open in April 2020.

This is just a taster of what’s in store. There are a few, other initiatives that I plan to get off the ground, but I wouldn’t want to share all the juice in one go now, would I? So, to hear about all the latest blogs, book launches, podcasts, videos and events make sure you subscribe to the blog via www.thetudortravelguide.com. You will receive three specially created free giveaways over three days as a ‘welcome’ to The Tudor Travel Guide community. I hope to see you there soon!

Sarah A. Morris