David Winpenny is an expert on the history of architecture and the history of landscape gardening - and also has talks on subjects as diverse as the 19th-century scientist and eccentric Charles Piazzi Smyth, the history and music of British coronations, the first ascent of the Matterhorn and the history of country house visiting.

His fascination with architectural and garden history has always encompassed the odder and quirkier aspects – his book ‘Up to a Point’ is about pyramids from the 17th to the 21st century in Britain and Ireland.

He has written guide books and books of walks for the AA, and he has recently written a guide to his home city of Ripon in North Yorkshire. He has contributed regularly to the BBC Countryfile magazine and has written for the English Heritage Magazine, for Britain Magazine and for Heritage, and has had features in The Times, The Independent and the Daily Telegraph. He also had a wide-ranging weekly architectural history column in his local newspaper.

David graduated in English at the University of Birmingham and worked as a teacher and as a campaign co-ordinator and press officer for both central and local government. He now runs his own business as a writer and lecturer. He is a Vice President and former Chairman of Ripon Civic Society and he and his wife Sheila founded and organised a music competition for young people in the city. David has been a contestant on BBC Radio's ‘Brain of Britain’ quiz and has twice taken part in BBC's Mastermind quiz, reaching the final in 1999. He is an accredited lecturer for The Arts Society and regularly leads tours for the Historic Houses Association.

Click here to visit David's website >> www.davidwinpenny.co.uk

1. Coronation – Majesty, myth, music

2. 'Opening the Doors' ; a brief history of country house visiting

3. Nijinsky's Camel - Countess de Grey's patronage of Ballet and Opera

4. Science and Sand - the life and work of Charles Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and pyramid fanatic.

5. Up to a Point - pyramids in Britain and Ireland : mausoleums, memorials, garden features, beacons, sculptures - all in pyramidal shape, and their sometimes-eccentric builders

6. Eccentrics, exotics and erratics - buildings in gardens : looking at garden structures in a variety of styles, including Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Hindu, Egyptian, Druidic and Prehistoric

7. Henry Holiday - an alternative Pre-Raphaelite

8. Hackfall - a landscape back from the brink : a spectacular 18th-century Romantic garden of trees, water and follies, designed by the family that owned nearby Studley Royal in North Yorkshire

9. Literature and Landscape : how writers responded to landscape, and how landscape gardeners took their cues from literature

10. Painting with Light – English stained glass : the development of stained glass from the time of Bede to the 21st century

11. British architects from Inigo Jones to Edwin Lutyens : an introduction to architectural history

12. The Architecture of Lisbon and Sintra ; exploring the best buildings of two of the most importantt historical locations in Portugal.

13. Libyan Architecture – from the Greeks to Gadhafi – and beyond : looking at the Bedouin influences, the classical remains at places like Cyrene and Leptis Magna, and more modern influences, including the Italian occupation and the 40-year rule of Gadhafi.

14. 'A very dangerous work’ - Gilbert Scott & the restoration of a northern Cathedral : an outline of architect Sir Gilbert Scott’s career and a typical mid-19th-century cathedral restoration

15. How to write a fake - literary forgeries from Pepin the Short to Hitler : Including the poems of Ossian and the Shakespeare forgeries of John Henry Ireland.

16. The first ascent of the Matterhorn : the story of the success and failure of a party of English climbers in 1865 (includes excerpts from a feature film made in 1938 about the event)

17. The Plot Thickens – a brief history of landscape gardens

18. Going with the Flow - cascades, canals, lakes, fountains and waterfalls in gardens

19. A rocky plot – making the landscape picturesque

20. One for the Plot – pleasure buildings in gardens

21. Architectural Follies - from Gothic gates to perfect pineapples

22. Ice and Architecture – the buildings of Iceland - Iceland’s iconic buildings, from the grandeur of Reykjavik’s Halgrimmskirkja and Akureyri’s cathedral to wooden houses and Iceland’s only windmill.

23. ‘Muffled Thunder’ – the artist William Morris's 1870s expeditions to Iceland, which in his journal of the tip he described as ‘a terrible and tragic, but beautiful land, with its well-remembered stories of brave men – a marvellous and solemn place’.

24.Saga People and Saga Places - The Icelandic Sagas are among the oldest of European stories, full of love and vengeance, suffering and heroism; this talk looks at some of those heroes and their landscapes.

25. ‘Where the Atlantic raves’ – Islands of the islands around Scotland - rugged Harris and windswept Lewis, unique Faroes, tiny Fair Isle and bracing Shetland – and, on the way to Edinburgh, Bass Rock and Inchkeith.

25. The Uniqueness of Shetland - what makes Shetland different from the rest of Britain – from its Viking Heritage and role on the sagas to its modern role in North Sea exploration – and its future. We’ll look at landscape and building, as well as some famous Shetlanders.

26. ‘A gentle, sweet place’ – the Faroe Islands - often bleak, with endless rain, grey rocks and primitive buildings but with an impressive network of tunnels, a tiny parliament, long Scandinavian heritage and friendly people in a modern, vibrant community, with plenty of surprises.

27. Mulling it over - A look at the importance of Mull’s past, from the stone age, though the Celtic Christianity of Iona, the turbulence of the Middle Ages and the bloody conflict of the Killing Times, to the Clearances and the Island’s strategic role in World War II to the present-day welcome for its many visitors.

28. Belfast's Buildings - Belfast’s long, bitter history of is seen in its buildings, which reflect invasions from Scotland and England, Victorian industry, including shipyards, 20th-century strife and renewed prosperity since the Troubles ended.

29. Stones of Orkney - The prehistoric standing stones, tombs and houses of Orkney are among the wonders of Britain. This talk looks begins here and looks at buildings through history to two World Wars.

30. Over the Sea to Skye - Skye is home to impressive landscape and some remarkable buildings. We look at how the landscape influenced the form of the buildings, and look at some of the highlights, including Dunvegan Castle, the Fairy Bridge, a folly and two pyramids, as well as some of the innovative new buildings that have found their home on the island.

31. Lewis and Harris – a contrast - Lewis – the northern part of the landmass – is largely undulating moorland but is full of impressive structures, from the prehistoric Callanais stone circle and Dun Carloway broch to the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse, while rocky Harris, to the south, has an impressive medieval church at Rodel and the fascinating remains of a failed industrial fishing town at Leverburgh.

32. Lava and landscape, Mendelssohn and Monks - Islands of Scotland's west coast - The Hebridean islands are the result of turbulent geological forces, which have fascinated travellers since at least the 18th century. This talks looks briefly at how the islands were formed and how they have ben inhabited, from the monks at Iona to todays crofters, and visited by everyone frm musicians to royalty.


Talks can be tailored to particular interests and locations, and I am always happy to speak about the architecture in ports and countries where cruises call.

Ambition A22323 British Isles Discovery 13 Monday 5 September 2023
Borealis S2305 Around the World in 80 days (final leg, Columbia to Southampton) 14 Sunday 30 April 2023
Hebridean Princess X Grand Houses and Castles of the Clyde 7 Greenock Tuesday I Nov 2016
Saga Sapphire SA312 Taste of the Continent 5 Dover Saturday 18 Jun 2016
Saga Pearl II X Floral Delights of the Canaries 13 Southampton Saturday 8 December 2014
Black Watch W 1411 UK and Ireland 10 Rosyth Saturday 23 August 2014
Black Watch BW 1310 Arctic Circle & Midnight Sun 8 Newcastle Monday 1 July 2013
Voyager DIS1300525 Celtic Treasures 7 Portsmouth Saturday 25 May 2013
Artemis P101 World Cruise (>Port Said only) 10 Southampton Saturday 4 January 2011

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.