Tuesday, 19th October, 2010

 Afterwards there will be an opportunity to visit the rarely opened Palladian mansion, Stourhead House, containing its original furnishings by Thomas Chippendale as well as a fine picture gallery.  Purchased in 1720 by the founders of Hoare’s Bank, it has one of the finest libraries in the ownership of the National Trust.

13th – 20th March 2011

‘The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, including Petra’

       

There are three places left on this 'once-in-a-lifetime' holiday/experience.

 




To book this tour please click this link to contact
Jane Moyle, the Visits Scretary by email, or telephone her on 01497 831439 

                

Friday 8th April 2011

The History, Traditions and Architecture of Eton College

The School tour is preceded by a visit to the Eton College Rowing Lake which has been chosen as venue for all the 2012 London Olympics rowing events.   There we hope we may  meet Mr Roderick Watson, former Bursar of Eton College, whose idea it was to create the lake, thereby providing a magnificent addition to the school’s facilities.

Wednesday 11th May 2011

A Dylan Thomas Pilgrimage

Here in this modest terrace house the poet grew up and lived for the first twenty-three years of his life.  Now privately owned and restored exactly as it would have been in the 1950s, we will be stepping back in time as we explore every room in the house, including his parents’ bedroom, his sister Nancy’s bedroom, Dylan’s own tiny bedroom as well as the ‘front’ room and the Parlour.  We hope also to visit  the Dylan Thomas Museum.

 

Thursday 23rd June 2011

Sir Roy Strong’s Garden, ‘The Laskett’

and a private visit to Kentchurch Court, Herefordshire,

the  seat of the Lucas-Scudamore family

A visit to the famous and rarely opened private garden ‘The Laskett’ – the spectacular garden designed by Sir Roy Strong and his late wife, Dr Julia Trevelyan Oman at Much Birch, Herefordshire.   In the 1970s they transformed a four-acre field into a series of stunning garden rooms, vistas, ascents and descents. These include a rose garden, pleached lime avenue, orchard, kitchen garden, knot garden, fountains and parterres as well as a spectacular array of topiary and rich herbaceous and prairie style borders.

  Uniquely, the garden tells the story both of their marriage and their creative lives in the arts.The afternoon will be spent at nearby Kentchurch Court, a beautiful private stately home, seat of the Scudamore family of Kentchurch, since c.1058 . Mrs Jan Lucas-Scudamore, will personally prepare a light lunch for us and will then take us on a tour of the house.  There is also a deer park and a fine garden to view.

Tuesday 19^th July 2011

Birtsmorton Court – A Private Visit to One of the finest estates in Worcestershire 

and to ‘Hellens’,  Much Marcle in Herefordshire

We feel privileged to be able to take you to Birtsmorton Court, near Malvern, for a private visit to one of the finest moated manor houses in the country.  This a C12th Medieval moated manor house and is still a private home; for 40 years owned by Nigel and Rosalie Dawes and still a family home.  It has a rich tapestry of fine fabrics, especially in the Great Hall, beautiful antiques and interesting paintings, but above all, has a stunning  garden.  Mrs Dawes created a magnificent white and topiary garden to commemorate the Millennium and it is now at its height.  Mrs Dawes will personally take us around her beautiful home, surrounded by the moat, entertain us to coffee on arrival and show us her garden as well as their church.

We will then move onto Hellens Manor House, Much Marcle, where lunch will be taken in the tythe barn.  Then, as you go around the house,  you must be prepared for a complete contrast, for here is a living monument to much of England’s history.  But it remains a home and not a museum although it contains a wealth of period furnishings, paintings and decorations.  Among Hellens’ attractions are the haunted rooms prepared for Bloody Mary Tudor and her tutor Fetherstone; the Stone Hall and its great fireplace bearing the Black Prince’s crest and the Minstrel Gallery.  Still furnished as it was, the house has many stories to tell, both tragic and glorious.  A visit to Hellens is highly recommended.