Inspire Me
Image: Young girl running barefoot across a lawn at Walmer Castle and Gardens

Make sense of history

With warmer, brighter days here at last, it’s the perfect time to start planning your next visit. This summer, we’re encouraging you to explore our historic sites using your five senses to connect more deeply with the past.

Browse our gallery of the 50 best ways to explore using your senses and download a shorter version to take with you to your nearest English Heritage site.

50 BEST WAYS TO EXPLORE WITH YOUR SENSES

We’ve pulled together 50 of the best ways to immerse yourself in history using your sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Be inspired by our gallery below and use our shorter download to help plan your visit.

Let us transport you back in time to enjoy the same experiences as those who have gone before.

Find your nearest site

Click on each image for ideas on how to explore our sites using your senses

Image: People watch a cannon being fired at Dover Castle
Image: View of Portchester Castle through the lychgate of St Mary's Church
Image: A parent and child examine Hadrian's Wall
Image: Homegrown vegetables at Audley End House and Gardens
Image: Two children walking barefoot on the grass
Image: Close-up of a pig at Boscobel House
Image: Roses at Walmer Castle
Image: Two children touch the bark of a tree at Launceston Castle
Image: Gardeners working in the grounds of Wrest Park
Image: A man reading a book in the library at Audley End House and Gardens
Image: A parterre garden at Wrest Park
Image: Two swifts in flight
Image: A bee on a flower at Gainsborough Old Hall
Image: The Perseus & Andromeda fountain at Witley Court and Gardens
Image: A building and trees reflected in the Long Water at Wrest Park
Image: Strawberries, tea and cake on a table
Image: The house and gardens at Wrest Park
Image: A parent and child look out over the gardens at Witley Court
Image: window at Down House, home of Charles Darwin
Image: Wisteria at Audley End House and Gardens
Image: A purple iris at Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden
Image: Wild orchid at Osborne
Image: Hydrangeas in bloom at St Mawes Castle
Image: A tulip tree in flower
Image: Exotic plants at Walmer Castle and Gardens
Image: A young child playing croquet
Image: Children paddling in the sea at Osborne
Image: visitors walk through Belsay Hall's Quarry Garden
Image: visitor walking with bicycle at Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden
Image: A person and their guide dog sat in the shade
Image: A child in the conservatory at Wrest Park
Image: Staff member talks to a visitor beneath umbrellas at Wrest Park
Image: family explores Boscobel's gardens
Image: Two people at Battle Abbey
Image: A trompe l'oeil painting at Wrest Park
Image: Engraved graffiti on a stone at Stonehenge
Image: A person looking at the sunshine streaming through the ruins of Whitby Abbey
Image: A child carrying a candle in the dark at Boscobel House
Image: A family walking through the wartime tunnels at Dover Castle
Image: Children running across the grass at Battle
Image: Two children sat listening to an audio installation at Clifford's Tower in York
Image: A person walking around the amphitheatre at Richborough Roman Fort
Image: A family look out at the water and bridge at Tintagel Castle
Image: A family exploring Stonehenge
Image: A person and their dog sitting outside the ruins of Whitby Abbey
Image: visitors looking along Hadrian's Wall from Housesteads Roman Fort
Image: The west front of Castle Acre Priory
Image: staff member uses bobbin making machine
Image: Piano keys and music
Image: A parent and child looking out from the battlements of Carisbrooke Castle
Image: Adult and child taking a selfie in the gardens of Kenilworth Castle

Historic gardens in summer

This summer, immerse yourself in sights, sounds and scents that have been enjoyed for hundreds of years.

Throughout June, we invite you to join us as we bring 12 of our gardens’ stories back to life through sensational gardener-led tours that focus on their sights, sounds and scents. 

Find out more
Image: visitor smelling flowers at Walmer Castle with a sign that reads: 'Warning. Smelling these flowers will transport you back in time'

DOWNLOAD OUR GUIDE

Download our guide to help enjoy the senses of history on your next visit to a site. From smelling flowers to listening to the crunch of footsteps in a garden, experience and connect with our historic places in new ways.

Download our guide (PDF 2.65MB)
Image: Sign at Audley End House and Gardens reading 'Caution: This view will live long in the memory'

Sign of the times

To provide inspiration as you let your senses explore our sites, we have reintroduced the much-loved ‘Ministry of Works’ signs. Often censorious in the past, the new signs are a playful update on the original – cautioning visitors not to miss out on sensory experiences, such as removing their shoes and standing where history happened or appreciating memorable views that have remained unchanged for centuries.

Be sure to look out for them at our sites and do as they say!

Image: bridge at Wrest Park

Seven Features that trick the senses

Gardens have always been designed to inspire surprise and wonder to their visitors. Discover features at our sites which impressed and surprised, tricked the eyes and questioned perceptions.

Find out more

MORE TO EXPLORE

  • The English Heritage Podcast

    Join presenter Charles Rowe as we bring the history of our sites to life with news, views and expert interviews across over 200 episodes.

  • Spacious Places

    Here are some of the places where it's easiest to explore history in the open air away from the crowds.

  • Days Out with Dogs

    There are plenty of dog-friendly sites across the whole of England for you to enjoy alongside your furry friends.

  • Join English Heritage

    Enjoy unlimted access to our glorious gardens and historic sites with an annual English Heritage membership.