ISSUED: 19 August 2016
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Appalachian studies program announces its next Celtic roots travel adventure and course. The travel study will center around the work of Ron Rash, William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Dorothy and William Wordsworth, Oscar Wilde, and other writers with a Celtic connection.
The travel portion of the experience extends from May 8 to May 18, 2017, and will take community and student travelers to places in Ireland, Wales, and Cumbria (the English Lakes). Specific stops will include Dublin, the Cliffs of Mohr and the Burren Center, Sligo, Innesfree and Glencar, Snowdonia, Criccieth, and Porthmadog in Wales, Grasmere in Cumbria and the Lakes, with four days in London at the end of the tour.
Some of the sights and venues included in the tour include Parke Castle, a boat trip on Innisfree Lake to enjoy the poetry of Yeats, a ride on the Ffestiniog Railroad and a Deep Mine Tour in Wales, Criccieth Castle, Dove Cottage and Helm Crag in the Lakes, and a London Theater production. Special tours with local guides include city tours of Dublin and London.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for students and community members to study some superb literature and travel the Celtic places that inspired the words they will read,” said Dr. Sylvia Shurbutt, professor of English, Appalachian studies program coordinator, and tour organizer.
The tour will be managed through World Strides Tours, working with the Appalachian studies program at Shepherd. Course credit is offered for the travel study through two courses, the Appalachian studies Celtic Roots course and the Travel Practicum. Ground costs will range from $2,448 for a group of 15 to $2,627 for a group of 20. The deadline for the $300 deposit is October 15. The Celtic Roots course begins January 19, 2017, and the travel will take place in May when the course is completed.
An informational meeting will take place Friday, August 26, at 7 p.m., in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education. Interested community members and students may also contact Dr. Sylvia Shurbutt at sshurbut@shepherd.edu or at 304-876-3119 or 912-655-2380.
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