About the Friends

The Trust has long recognised that education and communication are amongst the most important tools of conservation. A very important development over the last ten years has, therefore, been the success of the 'Friends' association. The Trust sees the 'Friends' as a means of getting information on recent project work and the archaeology of north-west Wales in general across to a wider audience, and for promoting the work of the Trust. It is also the framework within which members of the public can become more involved in the work of the Trust.

Members receive newsletters providing updates on Trust projects, and a copy of the periodic review of projects. Activities include lectures and day-schools, guided tours of excavations and study tours to sites and monuments within Wales and beyond.

Lecture series

Talks and lectures are held every week during the winter months (about sixteen to twenty each year) on a particular theme. Topics have included:

An Introduction to the Archaeology of Gwynedd

Art and Archaeology

Recent and Ongoing Archaeological Work in Wales

Dark Age Kingdoms of Britain

Landscapes of Wales

Agriculture, Society and Environment

Interpreting and presenting the past

Thirty years of GAT

Church Archaeology

The Friends' own researches in Local Hand not so local) History

Speakers have included Dr Oliver Rackham (author of The History of the Countryside), Carenza Lewis (of the Time Team), Professor Andrew Fleming (author of The Dartmoor Reeves) and Professor Richard Bradley (author of many authoritative books on British prehistory). We have had speakers from a wide range of organisations in and outside Wales including Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, National Museum and Galleries, Wales, the British Museum, the Countryside Council for Wales, the National Trust, the University of Wales and other archaeological organisations.

Every year the Friends venture further afield on residential study tours. Recent excursions have included:

Ireland: High Kings and High Crosses

Somerset and Cornwall: King Arthur in the West Country

Ireland: Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula

Normandy: Castles and Abbeys of the Normans

Gwyr y Gogledd: Dark Age kingdoms of northern Britain

Britanny: its Megalithic inheritance

Isle of Man: an Island in the Western Sea

Celts, Romans and Saxons in SE England

The End of Empire: The Lower Rhine Frontier

End of Empire 2: The Rhone Valley

Annual membership is open to everyone and costs £10 (ordinary), £15 (family), £8 (senior citizens) or £5 (students, registered unemployed). Cheques (made payable to GAT) should be sent to the Trust at: