Williamson Tunnels

To make your visit successful and enjoyable, we have developed the following information as a guideline:

Planning your visit

PRE-VISIT PREPARATION

A free preliminary visit is available for teachers to familiarise themselves with the site, prepare information for the pupils and to locate facilities. A 40 minute guided tour will take you through a section of the tunnel network. If possible, please contact the Heritage Centre to arrange your visit in advance, so any queries can be answered.

Activity sheets

Generally, visits are more successful if pupils have an area of focus during their visit and some basic knowledge of the tunnels prior to their arrival. If possible, please discuss your educational needs before hand and send any activity sheets in advance so that the guide can be fully prepared for the day.

Accompanying Adults

We require at least 1 adult for every 15 pupils.

Equipment

Hardhats are provided by the centre. We recommend that all visitors wear sensible shoes and warm clothing.

Group Numbers

Due to safety procedures, the maximum number per group is 15 children, plus two teachers/helpers. If you have more than the maximum number, we can provide additional tours as needed. Tours last 40 minutes and there needs to be a 20 minute gap before the next tour commences.

If your visit includes the Artefact Session, one group can participate in that, whilst the other group tours the tunnels. After 40 minutes, they then swap around.

Please contact the centre to arrange your visit so we can cater for your individual needs.

Prices

For current prices please refer to the pages detailing the Primary and Secondary Programmes.

Booking Confirmation

Please telephone the centre with an idea of the dates and times you wish to make your provisional booking. Your booking can not be fully confirmed until the centre has received your booking form and £25.00 deposit.

Cancellation Fee

Any cancellation must be at least 7 working days prior to the visit. Late cancellation will be subject to a fee of half the option price. If the organiser has booked the group at short notice and no booking form can be returned in time, the centre will try to reorganise a new date or invoice the party for a cancellation fee of 50% of the total cost.

If, for any reason, you are delayed on the day, please contact us so that we can try to reorganise the time of your visit.

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Arriving at the Heritage Centre

Checking In

Groups should arrive 10 minutes before their tour time and make their way from the car park to the reception desk to register the precise number of pupils and adults per group. This is so we can comply with safety regulations.

Payment

Payment can be made by cash or by cheque to The Joseph Williamson Society. Alternatively we can invoice your school.

Toilets

Toilets are located in the off the foyer area near the restaurant/bar. Please ensure pupils use these if necessary before their tour.

Shop Merchandise

Museum memorabilia is displayed in a small unit near the reception area such as rulers, video. Booklets and much more.

Visitors with Disabilities

a) Visitors using Wheelchairs

Regretfully, the tunnel network is not suitable for wheelchair users. Only the cafe, exhibition area and the toilets are accessable. Therefore, there is no charge for admission. Visitors with limited mobility are usually able to complete the tour. The tour does move slowly, and although there are steps and varying surfaces, we usually find that a person who is capable of going up and down a staircase in a normal house can manage the tour.

b) Visitors with hearing impairments.

At present we are unable to supply an induction loop.

c) Visitors with visual impairments

Guide Dogs are welcome on site. Visitors will be able to feel the sandstone and brick tunnels, hear the history of Williamson and his network and feel some of the artefacts found in the tunnels.

Please telephone the centre to discuss your needs or attach details to your booking form, so we can make arrangements and ensure you have an enjoyable visit.

Health & Safety

In an emergency evacuation, if on tour, the guide will direct the group out of the visitor centre towards the assembly point. It is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure all pupils are accounted for.

Please ensure that pupils are supervised at all times during the visit. The Williamson Tunnels Heritage Centre cannot be held responsible for pupils’ safety.

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Primary Education Programmes

KS2/3 Tunnel Vision tour

Explore the tunnels with a guide and look for clues to how the tunnels were built. Find out what we can learn about the workers’ lives from the features inside. The tour encourages pupils to use their powers of observation and deduction and to think about the reasons behind the construction of the Tunnels. This session can be used to support cross-curricular study in history, science and geography.
Preliminary visit is available. Tour lasts approximately 40 minutes and accommodates 15 pupils per tour. £2.50 per pupil. Teacher free.

KS2/3 Pieces from the Past – workshop

Take on the role of an archaeologist and investigate the past by analysing artefacts from the 19th Century, originally found in the tunnels during excavation. This activity assists pupils to develop their powers of observation and can be used to support the history syllabus.
A preliminary visit is available. A Centre led activity with supporting material, worksheets and equipment provided. Activity lasts approximately 40 minutes and is available for groups of 15 pupils. £1.50 per pupil. Can be successfully combined with KS2/3 Tunnel Vision tour.

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Secondary Education Programmes

‘A’ Level Leisure and Tourism/ Travel & Tourism AVCE

As above, but with further information regarding the following issues:
1. The impact of Regulatory bodies on the facility
2. Analyse the scale and growth of the site.
3. Evaluate the impact of the regulatory bodies

This tour accommodates 15 pupils per time slot. £3.50 per pupil, Teacher free.

KS3 Pieces From the Past – workshop

KS3 Tunnel Vision Tour

KS3/4 Leisure and Tourism (GCSE)

As a small, relatively new Heritage attraction developing its services and situated in Liverpool – The Capital of Culture for 2008, The Williamson Tunnels is an ideal case study for the Leisure and Tourism syllabus. It can usefully be compared with the larger scale and higher budget attractions.

On a 40 minute guided tour of the first phase of the tunnel network, pupils will be able to analyse the public tour as experienced by visitors to the Heritage Centre. This also includes a general background to Williamson and his story and details the centre’s plans for the future.

This is followed by an information and question and answer session with either the Centre Manager or Finance Officer.

There is a resource pack available for collection or by email which shows the staffing and volunteer structure, funding sources, marketing, visitor numbers and facilities and evaluation procedures. Please send an example of any worksheets pupils may use, so that we can ensure that they can obtain all the information they require.

This tour accommodates 15 pupils per time slot. £2.50 per pupil. Teacher free.

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