To those who don’t know, Marlborough College Summer School is the Leviathan of summer schools in the UK. Every year the college organises four weeks of courses across an astonishingly wide range of subjects. For some, it is a holiday with purpose. For others, it is about acquiring or developing skills or trying out an activity for the sheer pleasure. Alongside the more practical courses there is also a full programme of tradition classroom learning and this is where I come in. As you will see from my courses page, this year I am offering five courses on different themes in cultural history. Spain features strongly and I am repeating a perennial favourite on the Bloomsbury Group linked to its wider Bohemian context. And then there’s my course on the history of cartography, a veritable feast of maps, atlases and globes!
MCSS is very friendly and has a terrific vibe. The catering is outstanding and the marquee bar is amazingly luxurious and a great place to meet up with others and mingle with tutors. As a school, accommodation is not what you’d get in a decent hotel but it isn’t bad at all and there are a range of options to explore. For those wanting their creature comforts there are a range of hotels and B&Bs in the town which is literally a stone’s throw beyond the gates. Of course, if you live relatively local you can save yourself money and commute each day. There’s plenty of free parking.
For further details look at the MCSS website or else contact the MCSS office on 01672 892388.
The Mound in the school grounds. It has been dated to the Neolithic and is contemporary with Silbury Hill near Avebury a few miles west. As you can see, in the 18th century it was superficially ‘modified’ and planted with trees. The trees risk damaging the archaeology but they also stabilise the slopes. Of course, the spiral path which you can see, and the trees, are part of the mound’s story too.
