Actual Education Interactive Guided Tours

The Berwick Walls Interactive Guided Tour
Due Late 2010

We have a 'thing' for fortifications here at Actual Education and we were delighted to be able to take photographs around the stunning Elizabethan fortifications at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Built to protect the crucial border town against the maurauding Scots, these ramparts are some of the finest preserved in Europe. This unique virtual tour CD-ROM gives you a comprehensive understanding of not only the 16th century fortifications, but also the earlier ones built during the reign of King Edward IV and earlier.

Features

• Over 60 panoramic scenes
• Each image taken has 'full screen' capability
• This tour is a perfect way guide to the fortifications of Berwick
• This tour acts as the perfect accompaniment to an actual visit to the ramparts
• This tour has informative text and audio commentary
• Video clips and still images are included to aid understanding

Berwick Walls
Tour 1
Meg's Mount to Brass Bastion

We start our guided tour of the Berwick Walls at the Meg's Mount bastion. This impressive structure overlooks the River Tweed. Passing over the stone bridge which sits on Berwick's busiest street, we soon come fo the massive Brass Bastion. We are able to explore this in some detail, both from the ground level view of would-be attackers and from the relative security of the top of the defences. We get an understanding of the key principles of sixteenth century fortification architecture such as cavaliers, flankers and enfilading fire.

Berwick Walls
Tour 2
Brass Bastion to King's Mount

We head off from the Brass Bastion and pass the little Cowgate on our way to the Windmill Bastion. The strength and strategic position of this bastion is underlined as we explore the WW1 and WW2 gun emplacements built onto this massive structure. We can also see the solid little magazine building as we head down to King's Mount and the River Tweed.

Berwick Walls
Tour 3
King's Mount to Coxon's Tower

We now turn out attention to the older sea defences for the next two parts of our virtual tour around Berwick's walls. This tour contains special 'focus' sections which let us see the Fisher's and Coxon's Towers from the River Tweed at low tide.

Berwick Walls
Tour 4
Coxon's Tower to Meg's Mount

We leave the little Coxon's Tower and follow the low wall around to the Old Bridge. We pause to enjoy the fantastic view from here before heading on to the other two bridges across the Tweed, namely the Royal Tweed Bridge and the Royal Border Bridge on our way to the ruins of Berwick Castle. We return to Meg's Mount to complete our circular tour.

Berwick Walls
Tour 5
The Earlier Defences

Our final tour takes us around the earlier defences which were built to protect Berwick. We start at the Bell Tower and quickly move into the well preserved remains of the artillery position at King's Mount. After exploring these ruins we head down one of the early defensive ditches and rejoin the Elizabethan ramparts at the Brass Bastion. Our next defensive position is the earthworks of King Edward IVs 'Citadel'. Finally we skip round to the remains of Berwick Castle at the end of our tour.

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(Panoramic scene from our "Berwick Walls Interactive Guided Tour". Use your mouse to control this scene. Double click to access the 'full screen' feature.)

(Video preview of our "Berwick Walls Guided Tour")

(Click the 'play' button to see a slideshow of screenshots from our "Berwick Walls Interactive Guided Tour" CD-ROM)

You may also be interested in the following Interactive Guided Tours;

The City Walls Collection - Interactive Guided Tours of the town walls around York, Chester and Edinburgh.

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne Interactive Guided Tour

The York's History Collection - Interactive Guided Tours around historic York.