Booking from 12 November 2025

5 days departing 1st September 2026

All excursionns and guided tours included

Booking and payment deposits contact Jennifer Rothera

info@tasweybridge.org.uk

Immage:  Lincoln Cathedral

Booking 10 June 2026 and 12 August 2026

Built on the site of one of the largest Roman cities in Britain, Verulamium Museum is filled with ancient treasures and some of the finest mosaics outside of the Mediterranean.  After your visit to Verulamium Park, directly outside the museum you can visit the Roman Hypocaust, the Roman Theatre and see the Roman city walls.

With 1700 years of history, St Albans Cathedral houses the longest Nave in England, The Shrine of Saint Alban, The Shrine of Saint Amphibalus, Medieval wall paintings, the Quire, the Norman Tower, the Watching Loft and stunning stained glass. 

Image: St Albans Cathedral

Bookings 8 April 2026 and 13 May 2026

Hatfield House was built by Robert Cecil the 1st Earl of Salisbury in 1611.

We will see the Marble Hall, with its wonderfully extravagant oak carving by John Bucke, the Long Gallery, which runs the entire length of the South Front, the Library which occupies the site of the original Great and Withdrawing Chambers on the west side of the House, the Chapel, the Armoury and the Victorian Kitchen.

Image:  Elizabethan Jewel

Bookings 11 February 2026 and 11 March 2026

Waddesdon Manor was built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild between 1874 and 1885 to display his art collection and to entertain the fashionable world.  Opened to the public in 1959, Waddesdon Manor is managed by the Rothschild Foundation, a family charitable trust, on behalf of the National Trust, who took over ownership in 1957.  It is home to the enormous Rothschild Collections of paintings, sculpture and decorative arts, which we will explore with guided tours of the house, followed by a Stables Cafe light lunch and guided tours of the Gardens in the afternoon, with time for you to indulge with Tea, or possibly a Cream Tea before leaving.

Image:  Waddesdon Manor, Hertfordshire

Booking from Wednesday 11 December 2024

Three nights in Madrid, visit the Plaza Mayor, Puerto del Sol, Estadio Bernabeu and Cuatro Torres.  We have a guided tour of the Museo del Prado and later the Reina Sofia.  A guided tour of Toledo, visit the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza and tour Avila on our way to a two night stay in Salamanca.  We visit Segovia with its Romanesque Churches, Roman aqueduct, cathedral and plaza. 

Click here for a brochure: 

https://www.tailored-travel.co.uk/uploads/docs/TTM4850 Weybridge Madrid Toledo Salamanca Segovia lo.pdf

Booking forms and deposits to Visits Organiser, Tony Collinson-Jones only

Bookings 11 June 2025 and 13 August 2025

We have been fortunate to be allocated 30 places for a Private Tour of Westminster Abbey.  Our guided tour, with music, lasts about 2 hours and offers a unique way of seeing the Abbey in the quiet of the evening and in the company of the Singers of The Purcell Club, former Choristers of the Abbey.

Bookings 9 April 2025 and 14 May 2025

The Gardens at Parham consist of seven acres of Pleasure Grounds, laid out in the 18th Century, with a lake, a brick and turf maze and many specimen tress and an old four-acre Walled Garden.

Image: Parham House

The land was granted by King Hentry VIII to Robert Palmer of Henfield and on 28th January 1577 the foundation stone of the current house was laid by his two-year-old grandson Thomas, a custom thought to bring good luck.  When he grew up, Thomas sold Parham to Thomas Bishopp, whose descendants lived here for eleven generations until 1922, when it was sold to the Hon Clive and Alicia Pearson.  They renovated the house and amassed the treasures we see today in The Great Hall, The Long Gallery, The Green Room, the Great Chamber and the Great Parlour.

Bookings 12 February 2025 and 12 March 2025

Tour the Founder's Building: Chapel, North Quad, Founder's Dining Hall (if available), main Lecture Theatre, South Quad, Founder's Reading Room, Victorian Corridor, Small and Large Board Rooms (if available).  Sandwich lunch in the Picture Gallery, followed by a talk on the paintings, including free time to view the picture collection.

Image:  Royal Holloway College

Booking from 10th October 2023

5 days departing 30th September 2024

All excursions and guided tours included

Booking and payment deposits contact Tony Collinson-Jones

info@tasweybridge.org.uk

Bookings 12 June and 14 August 2024

Marble Hill House is the last complete survivor of the elegant villas and gardens which bordered the Thames between Richmond and Hampton Court in the 18th Century.  Built in the 1720's Marble Hill was an idyllic Thames side retreat from court life for Henrietta Howard.  In this perfectly proportioned villa, inspired by the 16th Century architect Palladio, she entertained many of the poets and wits of the age.  Marble Hill was saved for the nation by Act of Parliament in 1902 which followed a public campaign to preserve the view from Richmond Hill from suburban expansion.

Image:  Marble Hill House

Strawberry Hill House and Garden created by Horace Walpole in the 18th century has been open to visitors for over 250 years.  This extraordinary building is internationally famous as Britain's finest example of Georgian Gothic revival architecture and home to an increasingly important collection of paintings and objects.

Bookings 10 April and 8 May 2024

Wilton House near Salisbury has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years.  It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey.  Following the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII presented Wilton Abbey and its attached estates to William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke.

Image: Holbein Porch and Triumphal Arch at Wilton House

The present Grade 1 listed house is the reslt of rebuilding after a 1647 fire, although a small section of the house built for William Herbert survives; alternations were made in the early 19th and early 20th centuries.  The house stands in gardens and a park which are also Grade 1 listed.  While still a family home, the house and grounds are open to visitors during the summer months.

Bookings 14 February and 13 March 2024

Once a favoured medieval palace and then a Tudor royal residence, in the 1930s Eltham Palace was transformed by eccentric millionaires Stephen and Virginia Courtauld.  Get a taste of the Courtaulds' extravagant lifestyle as you explore their unusual home, try on a range of period costumes, follow the family trail and admire the magnificent medieval great hall.

Image: Ranger's House, Blackheath

Ranger's House is an elegant Georgian villa on the boundary of Greenwich Park and Blackheath which houses The Wernher Collection, a world class art collection amassed by the 19th century businessman, Sir Julius Wernher.  Over 700 works of art are displayed across a dozen panelled interiors, and include medieval sculptures, glittering enamels, ornate jewellery, Renaissance paintings including Madonna of the Pomegranate (Madonna della Melagrana) from Sandro Botticelli's workshop, Dutch Old Masters and French tapestries.

Booking from 9 November 2022

6 days departing 23 October 2023.

All excursions, entrance fees and guided tours included.

Booking and payment deposits contact Tony Collinson-Jones

info@tasweybridge.org.uk

Bookings 14 June and 9 August 2023

Pitzhanger Manor is an English country house famous as the home of neoclassical architect, Sir John Soane.  Built between 1800 and 1804 in Walpole Park Ealing (then to the west of London) the Regency Manor is a rare and spectacular example of a building designed, built and lived in by Sir John Soane himself.

Image: Pitzhanger Manor

The Musical Museum tells the fascinating story of how people have captured and listened to music over the last four centuries.  From tiny music boxes to the Mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ in the concert hall, our visit involves live presentations of an impressive array of instruments and inventions, so bring your ears and be entertained.

Bookings 12 April and 10 May 2023

At Pashley there are 11 acres of beautiful borders and vistas.  All the ingredients of the English Country Garden are present - sweeping herbaceous borders, ha-ha, well maintained lawns, box hedges, espaliered rose walk, historic walled garden, inspiring kitchen garden, venerable trees and the Grade I listed house as a backdrop.

Great Dixter was built in 1910-12 by architect Edwin Lutyens, who combined an existing mid-15th century house on the site with a similar structure brought from Benenden, Kent, together with his own additions.  It was the family home of gardener and gardening writer Christopher Lloyd - the focus of his energy and enthusiasm and fuelled over 40 years of books and articles.

Bookings 8 February and 8 March 2023

Two Temple Place is a dazzling neo-Gothic gem on Victoria Embankment, commissioned by and built for William Waldorf Astor when he emigrated to England from the United States in the 1890s.

Image: Two Temple Place

The Courtauld is home to one of the world's great art collections, located in the magnificent historical setting of Somerset House in Central London recently refurbished.

Bookings 11 January 2023 and 8 February 2023

TASW Annual Lunch - selection of hot roasts from the Carvery (Fish alternative) hot and cold sweets.

"Stratfield Saye is a low and not very large house but warm and comfortable with a good deal of room in it"  Queen Victoria's Joural 1845

We will view the fascinating collection of paintings and furniture and see the wonderful Wellington Exhibition featuring his magnificent funeral carriage and charting his military and political life.

Bookings - June/August

"Stratfield Saye is a low and not very large house but warm and comfortable with a good deal of room in it"  Queen Victoria's Joural 1845

We will view the fascinating collection of paintings and furniture and see the wonderful Wellington Exhibition featuring his magnificent funeral carriage and charting his military and political life.

Lullingstone Castle - The present Manor House and Gatehouse, which overlook a stunning 15-acre lake, were built in 1497 and have been in the same family ever since.

The World Garden - On 16 June 2000, during his 9-month kidnap ordeal in the Columbian jungle, Tom opened his diary and began plans for a garden which would contain plants from around the globe.  This plan would eventually become 'The World Garden of Plants'.

Bookings - April/May 2022

Lullingstone Castle - The present Manor House and Gatehouse, which overlook a stunning 15-acre lake, were built in 1497 and have been in the same family ever since.

The World Garden - On 16 June 2000, during his 9-month kidnap ordeal in the Columbian jungle, Tom opened his diary and began plans for a garden which would contain plants from around the globe.  This plan would eventually become 'The World Garden of Plants'.

Chiddingstone Castle has Tudor origins, Victorian rooms and was remodelled in the 19th century to resemble a medieval castle.  It has been owned and lived in by an eclectic mix of people: the Streatfeild family, Lord Astor, military forces during WWII, Long Dene School and the collector Denys Eyre Bower.

In 1955, Bower bought Chiddingstone Castle to house his extensive collections of art and antiquities.  His dream was to share his collections with the nation and to preserve them for future generations.  After his death in 1977, a charitable trust was set up to honour his wish.

Bookings - February/March

Chiddingstone Castle has Tudor origins, Victorian rooms and was remodelled in the 19th century to resemble a medieval castle.  It has been owned and lived in by an eclectic mix of people: the Streatfeild family, Lord Astor, military forces during WWII, Long Dene School and the collector Denys Eyre Bower.

In 1955, Bower bought Chiddingstone Castle to house his extensive collections of art and antiquities.  His dream was to share his collections with the nation and to preserve them for future generations.  After his death in 1977, a charitable trust was set up to honour his wish.

Tour of the other Kremlin of Moscow: Izmailovo Kremlin via Zoom with Travel Curious.

Thursday 9th September at 10.00 am.
Please see emails for details

Extended Visit 30 August - 3 Sepember 2021 via coach.

The Historic Houses, Heritage & Beauty of Yorkshire 

Monday 30th August to Friday 3rd September 2021

From £699 per person, staying in a 4* hotel.

Tour of Bhaktapur Durbar Square in the Kathmandu Valley via Zoom with Badri Aryal.

Tour of Cesky Krumlov in Southern Bohemia via Zoom with Travel Curious.

After so long in Lock-down, I think it is time we all discovered the Bohemian within us.
I am pleased to announce our next Virtual Visit

We will explore the picturesque medieval town of Cesky Krumlov in Southern Bohemia.

On this live virtual tour to this fairy tale town, you will discover the second largest castle in Czechia - Cesky Krumlov Castle, the former residence of the Rosenberg family.  The mighty Rosenberg family, the Dukes of Krumlov ruled this town for over 400 years, a period during which Cesky Krumlov was transformed into one of the most beautiful towns in Central Europe. You will be fascinated by the scenery and breathtaking views of this Unesco World Heritage site.
 
I hope I don’t receive too many excuses that you have been there recently!
 
We will send you a Zoom invitation before the meeting, and you are invited to join 5 minutes before the start of the walk at 09.55 to ensure a prompt start.
Please send £5.00 to The Arts Society Weybridge by Bank Transfer 602225 / 37405535 if possible.
Please put VT6 and your name on the transfer.
Or by cheque posted to Keith Douglas-Jones 26 Ashley Close, Walton-on-Thames KT12 1BJ.
 
DO HOPE TO SEE LOTS OF YOU IN CESKY KRUMLOV.
 
If you have any questions, please contact the Visits Organiser:
Tony Collinson-Jones: I, Holme Chase, Weybridge KT13 0BZ 01932 844276

Chavenage House is a 16th century privately owned country house, often used as a filming location, eg Trenwith, the Poldark family pile.

Travel (about 2 hours) will be by Arena Coaches.

Live visit to Chavenage House, Cotswolds, via coach.

Two course lumch, guided tours of Chavenage House with a member of the family.  Tea and cakes.

Country house built in 1576, constructed in Cotswold stone with a Cotswold tiled roof.  It has been in the ownership of two families since the reign of Elizabeth the first. The main historical interet is centred on the English Civil War, when the house was owned by Col Nathaniel Stevens MP.  The feature room is the tapestried Oliver Cromwell room.  Visitors may recognise Chavenage from television productions such as the comedy series Grace and Favour featuring John Inman and Mollie Sugden or from episodes of Hercule Poirot and Cider with Rosie.  Tess of the D'Urbervilles and the critically acclaimed Wolf Hall were also shot at Chavenage.  The house featured as Candleford Manor in Lark Rise to Candleford and can now be seen as Trenwith House in the hugely popular Poldark.

Tour of Rome via Zoom with Stuart Harvey.

Friday 18th June at 10am

Monumental Squares and Fountains of Rome
This 1 hour virtual tour, using both video and still images, will take us through the heart of the Eternal City to discover the history behind some of its most iconic monuments … the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps and much much more along the way.
 
Stuart Harvey is both a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide and a qualified Tourist Guide of Rome. He has lived in Rome for 20 years.

We will send you a Zoom invitation before the meeting, and you are invited to join 5 minutes before the start of the walk at 09.55 to ensure a prompt start.
Please send £5.00 to The Arts Society Weybridge by Bank Transfer 602225 / 37405535 if possible. Please put VT5 and your name on the transfer: or by cheque posted to Tony Collinson-Jones 1, Holme Chase, KT13 0BZ.

DO HOPE TO SEE LOTS OF YOU IN ROME.
If you have any questions, please contact the Visits Organiser:
Tony Collinson-Jones: I, Holme Chase, Weybridge KT13 0BZ 01932 844276

Tour of Leiden, Holland via Zoom with Bogdan Cornea.

Leiden is a town 25 miles south of Amsterdam. It is home to prestigious Leiden University, the oldest in the Netherlands, and the town is twinned with Oxford. The university and the Dutch Royal Family maintain ties that go back to 1575 when William of Orange founded the university.

Rembrandt was born and educated here. Other famous painters who lived in Leiden were Jan Steen, Lucas van Leyden and Jan van Goyen.

VIRTUAL VISIT on ZOOM
Wednesday 7th April 2021 at 9.30 am

It is very possible that when you conjure up an image of Japan, Kyoto is that. The Kansai region of the city is arguably the cultural centre of Japan having been the imperial capital for around a thousand years. It is home to over two thousand temples and shrines, 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites, palaces, incredible gardens and the iconic Geisha. Bristol-based Japan travel specialist, InsideJapan will take us on a stroll of the traditional Gion and Higashiyama districts with their tea houses, traditional Machiya townhouses, shrines and gardens.
InsideJapan’s Kyoto-based Insider, Richard Farmer will be guiding the virtual tour, getting views ‘beneath the surface’ and perhaps glimpsing some of Japan’s famous cherry blossom enroute (….depending on nature).
 We will send you a Zoom invitation before the meeting, and you are invited to join 5 minutes before the start of the walk at 09.25 to ensure a prompt start.

Please send £5.00 to the society by Bank Transfer if possible. Please put VT3 and your name on the transfer: or by cheque posted to Tony Collinson-Jones 1, Holme Chase, KT13 0BZ.

DO HOPE TO SEE LOTS OF YOU IN KYOTO.
If you have any questions, please contact the Visits Organiser:
Tony Collinson-Jones: 1, Holme Chase, Weybridge KT13 0BZ 01932 844276

Image: Kyoto cherry blossom

Guided evening walk in Kyoto via Zoom with Richard Farmer

Virtual Visit 10.00 am 

Having now run several Virtual Visits during lockdown, Japan travel specialist, Inside Japan Tours, felt that Ginza was not the best area and have worked up a new tour of the Asakusa District which is now complete, and they have strongly advised that they feel we would get a better all round flavour of Tokyo and Japan by changing venue to this new tour.

So we will now be touring the Asakusa District.

Asakusa is one of the city's more traditional districts of Tokyo with its centre piece being the famous Sensoji temple, marked by the incredible Kamanarimon (Thunder Gate). The temple dates back to 628 AD and has been a Tokyo attraction of hundreds of years, but there is much more to this place once known as the "entertainment" district of Tokyo.

Asakusa retains the vibe of an older Tokyo, with traditional craft shops and street food stalls along Nakamise Street near the ancient Sensoji temple. Mid 19th century Hanayashiki amusement park has rides and cafes, while riverside Kuritsu Sumida Park hosts regular festivals and firework displays.

A trendy upscale dining scene is developing along the waterfront, while backstreets are lined with casual izakaya bars.

Our tour will start at 19.00 Tokyo time, half an hour after sunset, so we will feel the early evening scene.

We will be exploring this multifaceted Tokyo district with Inside Japan's Chantel Frubert who, having grown up in Virginia Beach, first experienced Japan (outside cartoons and pop idols) on a study abroad programme at university. On arrival she soon fell in love with Japan.

Please send £5 payable to The Arts Society Weybridge. Please put VT2 and your name on the bank transfer, or send a cheque to Tony Collinson-Jones.

Tour of the Asakusa District of Tokyo via Zoom with Inside Japan Tours.

Tour of the Dorsoduro District of Venice via Zoom with Luisella Romeo.

VIRTUAL VISIT on ZOOM

Starting at the Punta della Dogana and ranging all the way through the University area of Venice, the district of Dorsoduro in Venice is one of the richest “sestieri” in terms of art and architecture. During our virtual walk, we will see the Church of the Salute and the Gesuati Dome dedicated to Saint Mary of the Rosary and view the Palladian Church of Redentore across the canal on the island of Giudecca. We will pass by the oldest gondola yard still active after 400 years as well as the typical “bacaros” of Venice with their well-known “cicchetti” to end on top of their Accademia Bridge for a final view of the Grand Canal.
We will send you a Zoom invitation before the meeting, and you are invited to join 5 minutes before the start of the walk at 09.55 to ensure a prompt start.
Please send £5.00 to the TASW bank account by Bank Transfer to The Arts Society Weybridge if possible, or else by cheque in favour of The Arts Society Weybridge (to be sent to Tony Collinson-Jones, address on email sent to all members). Please ensure that you identify yourself on the bank transfer.

DO HOPE TO SEE LOTS OF YOU IN VENICE, ON OUR FIRST VIRTUAL TOUR.
If you have any questions, please contact the Visits Organiser:
Tony Collinson-Jones: tonyc-j@tiscali.co.uk, 01932 844276
 

Image: Gondola yard in Dorsoduro

14th to 18th September 2020

Bookings 13th November and 11th December 2019

Please see details below of this extended visit.

Extended Visit to Liverpool 

14 - 18 September 2020

4th to 8th November 2019

Bookings: 
Bookings will be taken from 14th November 2018, when copies of the travel brochure will be distributed to members at the start of the lecture meeting. If you wish to go on this visit, please book direct with Tailored Travel (details below) as Tony Collinson-Jones, our Visits Secretary, will be away during most of the booking period, so please do not send anything to him. As well as the online brochure below, you can click on the View Your Tour tab at www.tailored-travel.co.uk/weybridgeartsssociety_nice_2019 
Print out and complete the booking form below and mail it to Tailored Travel with a cheque in their favour for the deposit of £150 per person. Bookings will not be formally accepted or processed until after 14th November 2019, the date of our November lecture meeting.

The price has altered because three more dinners have been added, and all museum entry fees, and tips for Tour Organiser & Driver (30 Oct 2018).

Day 1: Fly to Nice, 4 night stay at Nice Riviera Hotel (****).
Day 2: Visit Matisse Museum and Marc Chagall Museum.
Day 3: Villa Kerylos at Beaulieu sur Mer, and Villa and Gardens of Ephrussi de Rothschild.
Day 4: Chapelle du Rosaire, Fondation Maeght, St Paul de Vence, and Musee Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer.
Day 5: Morning at leisure before flight home from Nice Airport.

£1,039 pp based on two persons sharing, single room supplement £154.

Go behind the scenes at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, the world's most famous tennis club and home of The Championships. Be inspired with a visit to Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum and a Tour of the Grounds.

plus 
Southside House

Described by connoisseurs as an unforgettable experience, Southside House provides an enchantingly eccentric backdrop to the lives and loves of generations of the Pennington Mellor Munthe families. Maintained in traditional style without intrusive refurbishment and crowded with family possessions of centuries, Southside offers a wealth of fascinating family stories. Southside has associations with Queen Natalie of Serbia and her son Alexander, and the family also have mementos from the Duke of Wharton, Lady Hamilton and others.

Bookings 8th May and 12th June 2019

Private home of the Earl of Radnor with amazing Art Collection. Followed by lunch at the Radnor Arms, then visit Roche Court Art Gallery and Sculpture Park on our way home.

Bookings 13th March and 10th April 2019

Precincts Tour, Multimedia Tour of Castle, including QM Dolls' House and St. George's Chapel. Also "Semi-State rooms" if before end of March.

Booking dates 9th January and 13th February 2019

Mon 15th October to Fri 19th October 2018

Grand Houses of Norfolk

Gainsborough House, Sandringham, Houghton Hall, East Runton Gardens, Norwich Walk, Holkham Hall, Blickling Hall, Flatford Mill.

About £695 per person.
Maximum 25 people.

Booking dates: 14th November 2017 and 12th December 2017

Private home of Lord and Lady Saye & Sele. 

Much remains of the original medieval manor house built in about 1300. The castle stands on an island site surrounded by a 3 acre moat. The castle has magnificent plaster ceilings, splendid panelling and fine fireplaces. The garden area includes a formal walled garden.

Bookings: 9th May and 13th June 2018.

A walk with Blue Badge guide Tony Tucker (following his lecture in February)

Bookings: 14th March and 11th April 2018

Cost £15 per person.

Basildon Park is a stunning Georgian mansion surrounded by parkland (once the home of Lord & Lady Iliffe). Greys Court is a Tudor country house and gardens in the southern Chiltern Hills.

Booking dates 10th January and 14th February 2018

Mon 2nd October to Thurs 5th October 2017

Visit the newly opened Rijksmuseum, Mauritshuis, Gallerij Prins and much more

Limited to 25 persons.
Cost: £1,065.
Booking dates: 14th December 2016 and 11th January 2017

Guided Tour of the house Free-flow visit of the gardens.

Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village ofWaddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in theAylesbury Vale, 6 west of Aylesbury. The house was built in theNeo-Renaissance style of a French château between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839–1898) as a weekend residence for grand entertaining.
The last member of the Rothschild family to own Waddesdon wasJames de Rothschild (1878–1957). He bequeathed the house and its contents to the National Trust. It is now administered by a Rothschild charitable trust that is overseen by Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild. 

Bookings: 14th June and 9th August 2017.

Guided tour 

The Wallace Collection is a national museum in an historic London town house. In 25 galleries are unsurpassed displays of French 18th-century painting, furniture and porcelain with superb Old Master paintings and a world class armoury.

Booking dates 11th January and 8th February 2017

Tuesday 4th October to Saturday 8th October 2016

Led by Eveline Eaton BA Hons Courtauld 
Freelance Lecturer in Fine Arts and Tour Guide. Grew up in Berlin. Chairman of The Dresden Trust, an organisation helping with the rebuilding of Dresden.

Includes visits to Pillnitz, Colditz Castle and Meissen.
Cost £890 per person sharing a twin/double room. £160 single room supplement. Plus cost of flights.

Bookings 9th December 2015 and 13th January 2016.

As of 9th December 2015 this visit is fully booked with a waiting list; if a large number of members join the waiting list, it is possible that a second visit may be arranged for those members on the waiting list.

The Most Romantic Castle in the World
Rising majestically from the still waters of its moat, surrounded by 500 acres of parkland and gardens, Leeds Castle is without doubt one of the most beautiful venues in Kent. Every generation has left its mark; today's interiors are the result of the massive refurbishment by top European designers thought the 1920's and 30's for its last private owner, Lady Baillie. The visit includes the flower festival.

NB This visit was previously going to take place on 20th September 2016, but has been rearranged to 27th September.

Bookings 8th June and 10th August 2016

Spencer House, St. James's
(Former Home of the Spencer family)

followed by
A Lunchtime Recital at St. James's Church, Piccadilly

then a visit to
Strawberry Hill 
(Home of Horace Walpole)

Spencer House is London's most magnificent eighteenth century aristocratic palace.

Built between 1756 and 1766 for John, first Earl Spencer, it is London's finest surviving eighteenth century town house. Strawberry Hill is the Gothic Revival villa built in Twickenham by Horace Walpole from 1749. Much restoration work has recently been carried out.

Bookings 13th April and 11th May 2016

Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire was Britain's main decryption establishment during World War Two. Ciphers and codes of several Axis countries were decrypted including, most importantly, those generated by the German Enigma and Lorenz machines.

Bookings 10th Feb and 9th March 2016

Bookings 9th Sept and 14th October 2015

Sunday 4th October to Friday 9th October 2015

Palladio and the Villas of Vicenza

Led by Charles Hind MA, FSA, RIBA.
Cost about £1,250 per person.

Bookings 10th December 2014 and 14th January 2015.

Bookings 8th April and 13th May 2015
 

Battle of Waterloo 200th Anniversary: Apsley House / Quadriga Gallery and Cavalry and Guards Club

Bookings 11th Feb and 11th March 2015

Bookings 10th Sept and 8th October

3rd – 6th Sept 2014

Bookings 11th December 2013 and 8th January 2014

Bookings 9th April and 14th May

Tue 13th May 2014 at 5.30pm
Committee only visit to the Government Art Collection, Tottenham Court Road

Bookings 12th Feb and 12th March

17th - 21st September 2013

Based in Bologna, includes visit to Ravenna to see the Byzantine mosaics (the crowning glory of all Byzantine art), Parma and its Duomo, Modena with its Romanesque cathedral, and Ferrara, one of the region's greatest walled towns.

Bookings taken 8th May and 12th June 2013

Bookings taken 10th April and 8th May 2013

This was a self funded visit FOR THE COMMITTEE ONLY to Sir John Soane’s Museum

Bookings taked 13th February and 13th March 2013

Monday 24th to Thursday 27th September 2012.

Elizabeth Newell lives in Liverpool, and is a Blue Badge Guide for Merseyside and the North West. She is a former Chairman of Mersey Guides Assn and North West Tourist Guides Assn. She is also a former chairman and programme secretary of Southport and Formby DFAS. She heads study tours in Liverpool and Manchester, and lectures to NADFAS branches on our heritage in the north west.

Kelmscott Manor, near Lechlade, Gloucestershire, is a grade 1 listed Tudor farmhouse near the Thames. William Morris lived there each summer from 1871 to 1896, and the house contains many of his possessions.

Buscot Park, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, is a late 18th century Palladian style house containing the Faringdon Collection of Art including Old Masters and also works by Pre-Raphaelite artists such as Rossetti and Burne-Jones (including his The Legend of the Briar Rose) following on from our lecture in June 2011 on the Aesthetic Movement.

Cliveden Garden consists of 152 hectares of gardens and woodland. It contains a water garden, herbaceous borders, topiary, a formal parterre and one of the most important collections of statuary in the care of the National Trust.

West Wycombe Park has a rococo landscape garden and a theatrical Italianate house built for Sir Francis Dashwood, the founder of the Hellfire Club and the Dilettanti Society, in the mid 18th century.

This was a self-funded visit FOR THE COMMITTEE ONLY to Chelsea Physic Garden, London's oldest botanic garden

Chiswick House, Chiswick, is one of the first and finest English Palladian villas, built for Lord Burlington from 1725 to 1729. Has opulent interior. The gardens have recently been restored including the conservatory and its world famous camelia collection, and over 1600 new trees have been planted. This visit echoes our SID in October 2011 on Andrea Palladio and the English Country House.

Osterley House, Isleworth, was created by Robert Adam in the late 18th century and has been described as "the palace of palaces". Dazzling interior. Gardens being restored to 18th century glory.

The St. George’s Chapel Windsor Festivo is an evening of words and music introduced by Martin Stanford. St George’s Chapel Choir will perform carols by Cornelius, Gardner, Manz, Rutter and Whitacre amongst others, and  will be joined by Staines Brass Band, performing as both a ten piece ensemble and as a full  brass band under the direction of Melvin White. Darren Hardy will play medieval carols on the Northumberland Pipes. The concert centre piece will be extracts from Handel’s Messiah.

The coach will leave from Mercedes Benz car park at 5pm. Doors open to the Chapel at 6.30 pm. We have reserved seats in the Centre Nave. The concert starts at 7.30 pm. The concert ends at approx. 9.20 pm. The coach leaves at approx. 9.30 pm. The cost is £32.50 per person. Bookings taken on 9th November 2011.

Sunday 18th to Friday 23rd September 2011

Eton College: Guided tour of School Yard, Lower School, Upper School, College Hall, College Chapel and the Museum of Eton Life. Eton was founded by Henry VI in 1440.
Chenies Manor House and gardens was the venue of the first NADFAS meeting on 26th January 1965 with the late Patricia Fay as Chairman when the membership was limited to 90 (ladies were expected to wear a hat and gloves when attending). The Tudor manor house was mentioned in the Doomsday survey (1086). By 1180 the Manor was in the possession of the Cheyne family for 350 years when it was willed to the wife of John Russell, a rising star in the court of Henry VIII. His descendants the Earls and Dukes of Bedford (now of Woburn Abbey) owned the house for 400 years before it was acquired by the present owners the MacLeod Matthews.

Bookings taken on 11th May and 8th June 2011

Private visit to Knole, near Sevenoaks (National Trust). Set in the middle of a 1,000 acre deer park, the only medieval deer park remaining in Kent, it has been the seat of the Sackville family for 400 years. There is a wonderful collection of 17th century furniture. Vita Sackville-West lived there and her friend Virginia Woolf based much of her novel Orlando on the house and the history of the family. Coffee and lunch taken here.
After lunch, All Saints Church has a unique collection of 12 Marc Chagall windows (featured in NADFAS review Winter 2009).

Bookings taken on 13th April and 11th May 2011

Saturday 21st May 2011 - 6.45 pm.

Henry Purcell was organist of the Abbey from 1680-95. The Purcell Club consists of former choristers of the Abbey, who sing in various parts of the Abbey during the tour, which lasts just over 2 hours.
Bookings taken on 9th February and 9th March 2011

13th - 17th September 2010

Includes visits to Alnwick Castle and Garden, Cragside, Lindisfarne, Durham, Bowes Museum and Raby Castle.

Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, home to the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, offers a memorable day out.
Set in 2100 acres of beautiful parkland landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown, the exquisite Baroque Palace is surrounded by sweeping lawns, formal gardens and the magnificent Lake.

Bookings taken at lecture meetings on 14th April and 12th May 2010

The Lytton family have lived at Knebworth (near Stevenage, Herts) for 500 years. Queen Elizabeth I stayed here, Charles Dickens acted in private theatricals in the House and Winston Churchill's painting of the Banqueting Hall hangs in the room where he painted it.
Robert Lytton, Viceroy of India, proclaimed Queen Victoria Empress of India in 1877. Constance Lytton, militant suffragette, fought for votes for women in the early 1900s.Originally a red-brick Tudor manor house, it was transformed in 1843 into the Gothic fantasy we see today, with turrets, griffins and gargoyles.
On the first floor is the Raj Display commemorating Lord Lytton's Viceroyalty in India and the great Delhi Durbar of 1877.

Bookings taken at lecture meetings on 10th February and 10th March 2010

14th – 19th September 2009

20th February 2008

The First Emperor - China's Terracotta Army (British Museum)

23rd April 2008

Stonor & Nuffield Place (Henley)

25th June 2008

Penshurst Place & Scotney Castle (Tunbridge Wells)

24th September 2008

Frogmore ouse & Dorney Court (Windsor)

Extended Visit

2008

Cardiff

25th April 2007

The Vyne & Jane Austen's House, Chawton, Hants

28th June 2007

Mottisfont Abbey & Broadlands

19th September 2007

with Andrew Davies

The Cabinet War Rooms followed by a walk around Whitehall

Extended Visit

2007

St Petersburg
 

26th April 2006

with Rosemary Baird, Curator

Glorious Goodwood

21st June 2006

Tyntesfield

23rd August 2006

Kew House and Gardens

20th September 2006

Clarence House and the Queen's Gallery

15th June 2005

Henry Moore Foundation, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire

17th August 2005

Tenterden & Rye. A Guided tour by Dick and Dorothy Bolton

5th October 2005

Charleston Trust & Standen, East Sussex

16th June 2004

Royal Pavilion Brighton & Preston Manor

18th August 2004

New Arts Centre Sculpture Park & Salisbury Cathedral

6th October 2004
Guided by Andrew John Davies

East End of London & Docklands

Extended Visit 2004

20th - 23rd May 2004
Glasgow: Art and Architecture

12th and 18th June 2003

Waddesdon Manor. The Rothschild Collection

9th July 2003

with Geoffrey Opie

The V & A

2nd October 2003
with Jane Tapley

Theatre Royal, Bath

Extended Visit 2003

15th - 18th May 2003
led by Eveline Eaton

Berlin

20th February 2002

The Wallace Collection

14th and 21st June 2002

Hatfield House

20th June 2002

St. Paul's Cathedral

Extended Visit 2002

10th to 15th May 2002

The Loire Valley

19th January 2001

Royal Academy - Turner

8th & 22nd June 2001

Hatfield House

19th September 2001

Legal London

Extended Visit 2001

26th to 30th April 2001

Cornwall

17th May 2000

National Portrait Gallery - Snowdon Photographs

9th June 2000

Surrey Area Millennium Event - Guildford

12th July 2000

Woburn Abbey

27th September 2000

Tate Gallery of Modern Art at Bankside & Globe Theatre

Extended Visit 2000

None