The Appalachian Studies Program at Shepherd University is sponsoring a Celtic Roots travel course in spring 2013. The course will include a travel component to Ireland, Scotland, and parts of England influenced by Celtic culture and heritage. Shepherd and community members are invited to join students on this journey into the Celtic heartland.

The trip will include a visit to the Ring of Kerry, W. B. Yeats’ Coole Park, James Joyce’s Dublin, Blarney Castle, Rock of Cashel, Museum of Kerry Life and Gardens, Muckross House and Gardens and Trinity College, home of the Book of Kells in Ireland. Part of the travel will explore the Robert Burns’ National Heritage Park, Glasgow’s Museum of the Argyll, Sutherland Highlanders Buchanan Street, Merchant City, Stirling Castle, Sir Walter Scott’s Edinburgh and Abbottsford and Bram Stoker’s Whitby in Scotland. The end of trip will be spent in London.

Anyone interested in the Celtic Roots trip is invited to join the spring 2013 class sessions exploring the literature, both Appalachian and Celtic, associated with the travel adventure. For more information about the travel course, visit webpages.shepherd.edu/sshurbut/travelcourse1.htm.

Travelers should contact Dr. Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt, Appalachian studies coordinator, at sshurbut@shepherd.edu. Initial deadline for the $500 deposit is Saturday, Mar. 31.