A study trip led by Lander University Assistant Professor of English Dr. Rachel Scoggins took in a wide swath of the United Kingdom this May.
The trip was a tour of medieval England and Scotland.
“My research and teaching area is medieval and early British literature, so the itinerary and places we visited were focused around that,” Scoggins said.
In Scotland, the group toured Edinburgh Castle, with some climbing the nearby peak known as Arthur’s Seat and others taking in the city. They also toured the Scottish Highlands, with a stop at Loch Ness.
In England, according to Scoggins, “we visited sites such as Canterbury Cathedral, the pilgrimage site for the characters in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”; York, which still has many medieval buildings and sites; Salisbury, where we saw Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge; and the white cliffs of Dover. In London, we went to the Globe Theater, the Tower of London, the British Museum, the British Library, where we saw medieval manuscripts on display, and many other sites. We also visited multiple places where “Harry Potter” was filmed, such as the abbey in the village Lacock, which was used as Hogwarts, and Oxford University.”
Scoggins was accompanied by Assistant Professor of Political Science and Homeland Security Dr. Matthew Malone, and eight students and alumni. None of the students or alumni had ever been to Scotland or England. Most had never been out of the country, and one had never been on a plane.
All of them “had a fabulous time, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group to spend 12 days with, or to represent Lander. It was my first time leading an international study tour, but it was such a wonderful experience. We’re very lucky that Lander offers our students opportunities like this,” she said.